Accutane Log, 45kg Female

Plan B triggered a shift in hormones at 18. Having not dealt with acne in high school, I used several products (birth control, proactiv, eminence, water only... etc) which only made it worse in the last years. The past two months, things have calmed a bit with a mixture of aczone and epiduo. Today, I start Accutane with 3 under the skin cyst-to-be's (although I sure hope not), a few comedones, and PIH all over both cheeks. I have less active acne now, and when I do get some they go away in ~a week. However, they leave terrible red marks. I also used to get painful under the skin cysts which would never go away... the frequencies of those have definitely lessened but I'm hoping Accutane will nix those once and for all! Overall skin is smooth but hyperpigmented


Optimistic and nervous... but I will keep this log updated as much as I can. Hopefully it will be helpful to some, if not.. I don't see why I shouldn't keep track of my progress. It's been a long journey and I'm hoping I'll see the light on the other side soon enough! Fingers crossed

Noticing dry lips and scaly (left) hand in the initial few days. Hand is no longer dry... Been experiencing a little break out where I usually break out (cheek)... but not sure if this is IB or menstruation cycle or stuff that was gonna come out anyway. Scars/PIH still persists, as expected... Joint pain isn't too bad but have definitely noticed some joint discomfort that wasn't initially there prior to accutane.

I'm still using retin-A and epiduo... as advised against my derm. My face isn't dry yet, and actually has been quite oily the past few days. Blessing and a curse I guess, I'm not even sure which I'd prefer the former or latter. Continuing my topical routine as usually until I see some dryness that discourages me.

Scared, excited, nervous all at the same time

I know these are quite terrible pictures. But quick update...

- scaly back of left hand persists on some days and not others... not sure why but I try to keep them moisturized
- i feel like my skin is thinning on my face, I might just be overthinking but when I wash my face, I am almost certain I am closer to my skull than ever before, also veins...... (lol)
- there are some odd bruises on my leg, don't know if that's accutane related
- SCALP IS FLAKY... dry lips I can deal with, but I have never had dandruffs or flakes in my hair before so this is very frustrating
- SKIN, is smoothing out I believe. some scars are diminishing although I might just be overly optimistic. a few tiny 'breakouts' but nothing major in the past week that I can recall. There are some 'hard bumps' underneath my cheeks that have been there since pre-accutane and I'm praying they would surface because I'm almost certain those will be tough buggers.

doctors visit and lab tests next week for second month!