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Accutane: Final Update
Hey guys, it's been a while! I am on my last month of accutane (only 2 packs to go!) and I just wanted to share a quick update.
At this point most of the side effects are gone. After about 8-10 months I just stopped dealing with all the weird little things that would happen. My skin feels wonderful. It's clear, the scaring is not nearly as noticeable, and the redness isn't so severe. My lips aren't stinging and my hands don't get as dry as quickly. That being said, I still have to keep on top of my moisturizing routine and I get one or two teeny, tiny pimples when I get my period, but surprisingly those go away within a few days.
I am so, so happy that I went through with this process. It's given me so much confidence and quite frankly, it's changed my life.
If you have the opportunity to go on accutane, I would 100% recommend it, even if it seems scary at first.
I will try to get my before picture from my doctor and show the difference. I will also try to remember to come back in a few months and let you guys know how my skin is.
At this point most of the side effects are gone. After about 8-10 months I just stopped dealing with all the weird little things that would happen. My skin feels wonderful. It's clear, the scaring is not nearly as noticeable, and the redness isn't so severe. My lips aren't stinging and my hands don't get as dry as quickly. That being said, I still have to keep on top of my moisturizing routine and I get one or two teeny, tiny pimples when I get my period, but surprisingly those go away within a few days.
I am so, so happy that I went through with this process. It's given me so much confidence and quite frankly, it's changed my life.
If you have the opportunity to go on accutane, I would 100% recommend it, even if it seems scary at first.
I will try to get my before picture from my doctor and show the difference. I will also try to remember to come back in a few months and let you guys know how my skin is.
How accutane effects my mood
I wanted to talk about how Accutane has affected my mood because it was a big concern of mine when I first started. Unfortunately, I don't know if I have a clear answer because there were some major changes in the medication I was taking at the time of starting Accutane. I want to explain my situation but I'm not sure that it will help anyone. I feel really frustrated with myself because I'm not sure if it's me or just part of the process with this med. Sometimes I feel like I don't know what's going on with my emotions. I will try to make this as brief as possible!
I have suffered from depression since I was 13 and from severe anxiety since 15. When I was 16 I realized that I was either manic depressive or bi-polar. I started on xanax at 16 for my anxiety and started anti-depressants shortly after. After switching multiple times I finally went on Viibryd at 17 and was really happy with the results. After 2 years I decided I felt good enough and I wanted to quit both xanax and my mood stabilizer, which was about 2-3 months before starting accutane. I switched to klonopin (less potent than xanax) but am currently still struggling with quitting that too.
Also, the birth control I was taking (that was working great on controlling my acne and cramps) stopped working, which is the main reason I broke out and finally decided to try accutane. I started a new one and hated the way I felt on it. Since then I was off of it for a month (don't tell my doctor!) and am now trying a new brand.
At this point, it's really hard to tell if my mood swings and change in behavior is because of the birth control, quitting anti-depressants, or accutane. It's all kind of a big mess, but I do know that there have been changes. I have a hard time controlling my mood and knowing what's going on inside of me and it's very easy for me to slip into a depressive episode, but also equally easy for me to spring into a manic episode. I think everything that happened has had it's own part in this in it's own way.
My advice is not to make any big changes in medication, ie don't stop or start anything new that will change your mood, if you can before starting.
I have suffered from depression since I was 13 and from severe anxiety since 15. When I was 16 I realized that I was either manic depressive or bi-polar. I started on xanax at 16 for my anxiety and started anti-depressants shortly after. After switching multiple times I finally went on Viibryd at 17 and was really happy with the results. After 2 years I decided I felt good enough and I wanted to quit both xanax and my mood stabilizer, which was about 2-3 months before starting accutane. I switched to klonopin (less potent than xanax) but am currently still struggling with quitting that too.
Also, the birth control I was taking (that was working great on controlling my acne and cramps) stopped working, which is the main reason I broke out and finally decided to try accutane. I started a new one and hated the way I felt on it. Since then I was off of it for a month (don't tell my doctor!) and am now trying a new brand.
At this point, it's really hard to tell if my mood swings and change in behavior is because of the birth control, quitting anti-depressants, or accutane. It's all kind of a big mess, but I do know that there have been changes. I have a hard time controlling my mood and knowing what's going on inside of me and it's very easy for me to slip into a depressive episode, but also equally easy for me to spring into a manic episode. I think everything that happened has had it's own part in this in it's own way.
My advice is not to make any big changes in medication, ie don't stop or start anything new that will change your mood, if you can before starting.
Month 4 on Accutane
It's funny how the side affects happen gradually as opposed to it all hitting you all at once when you first start! At this point everything I heard about accutane is happening to me, the only good thing being that my skin is still clear!
- My face is no longer oily! It's amazing!!!! My face hardly gets dry and if it does, a little moisturizer fixes it up.
- My lips HURT!! They start stinging if I'm not putting lip balm on them every hour or so.
- My hair is changing... at first I thought it was just because of thyroid problems (I take meds for it), but I think that's better now but my hair is still falling out. It's also less wavy and has a lot less body to it. My eyelashes also seem thinner and they fall out more.
- I learned the hard way NOT TO PICK!!! Everything heals twice as slowly, especially on my face! I feel like if I pop a zit, it takes 2 weeks to heal!
- My stomach is REALLY sensitive! I eat pretty clean as is and I've always been prone to an upset stomach, but now I feel like my intestines are made of paper, lol! I can't handle big meals anymore and eating anything out of the ordinary like fast food or junk food puts me in pain. My bowel movements are often unpleasant, most likely because my diet hasn't been adjusted.
Things are getting tougher, but I stay strong! I am staying on 20mg 2x a day for the rest of my treatment.
- My face is no longer oily! It's amazing!!!! My face hardly gets dry and if it does, a little moisturizer fixes it up.
- My lips HURT!! They start stinging if I'm not putting lip balm on them every hour or so.
- My hair is changing... at first I thought it was just because of thyroid problems (I take meds for it), but I think that's better now but my hair is still falling out. It's also less wavy and has a lot less body to it. My eyelashes also seem thinner and they fall out more.
- I learned the hard way NOT TO PICK!!! Everything heals twice as slowly, especially on my face! I feel like if I pop a zit, it takes 2 weeks to heal!
- My stomach is REALLY sensitive! I eat pretty clean as is and I've always been prone to an upset stomach, but now I feel like my intestines are made of paper, lol! I can't handle big meals anymore and eating anything out of the ordinary like fast food or junk food puts me in pain. My bowel movements are often unpleasant, most likely because my diet hasn't been adjusted.
Things are getting tougher, but I stay strong! I am staying on 20mg 2x a day for the rest of my treatment.