POSTED UNDER Accutane REVIEWS
Accutane Journey March 29, 2018
ORIGINAL POST
Hello! Starting my journey on Accutane. I have...
981745980April 2, 2018
$165
Hello! Starting my journey on Accutane. I have mild cystic acne, usually only 3-5 flare ups at a time. I have very sensitive skin. I gave up on all topical treatments after my doctor allowed me to use accutane. My skincare routine then consistend of 2 clay masks a week, wash face day and night, then a Vitamin C serum before moisturizing. Started on 40mg a day. I'm 5'6, 116 pounds.
My new routine: washing face every morning and night with a generic cetaphil face wash, SPF moisturizer in the morning followed by cerave moisturizer, and just cerave moisturizer at night. I'll also be taking accutane with fish oil pills.
My concerns: I always have dry skin in the winter since I live in New England. Concerned that it will only get worse with accutane. I'm also prone to kidney stones so I hope my kidneys aren't thrown into shock. I'm traveling to Asia for work a month into my treatment so I'm VERY concerned about dehydration on the 15+ hour plane ride, any side effects while in a foreign country, and maintaining my blood test and prescription pickup while I'm gone for an entire month. Trying to decrease my drinking as I've read reviews to limit even though my doctor did not advise on this. I used to go out 4 nights a week so it will be a slightly lifestyle change (for the better of course)!
DAY 1:
- I take my accutane pills before work in the morning to ensure ill eat a fatty meal with it. I had a crazy headache by 2pm. I never get headaches so it's definitely related to accutane. I upped my water consumption to 144 ounces just because I felt dehydrated. The dehydration is probably due to my slight hangover though (oops).
DAY 2:
- Still severely dehydrated. I haven't drank this much water a day in years. I have a small bladder so it's slightly annoying. My previous breakouts are already cleared up. A few whiteheads surfaced. My lower left back is sore but not sure if that's due to my scoliosis, accutane, or my lack of stretching. No headache! My roommate had a party and I only had two glasses of champagne the entire time - it was tough but it was manageable!
DAY 3:
- Woke up to a giant red dry patch on my cheek. Used layers on cerave but it wasn't helping so I switched to eucerin on that area only. It did wonders! Severely dehydrated. Symptoms of a UTI appeared. A couple cystic bumps grew over night but nothing too horrible. Awful headache by afternoon, took two advil and it went away.
DAY 4:
- Took an at-home UTI test and it was positive. My finger joints hurt. My lips are moderately dry. Two new breakouts in the morning that were surfaced and on the way to healing by evenings. My lower back is killing me but still not sure if its related. Only moderately dehydrated. Mild headache. My scalp is SUPER itchy. I only wash my hair once a week and use a shower cap every day in between. The temperature has been dropping so I had to put on my radiator the past couple of days which always dried out my scalp before starting accutane. Hesitant to use a deep hydrating shampoo as it's hard to find one that won't strip hair color.
DAY 5:
- Had an appointment with my doctor for UTI treatment. Initial tests came back negative but she put me on a 3 day antibiotic treatment while cultures are done. I reminded her about accutane and antibiotic limitations. I only felt super dehydrated in the morning, drank 2 water bottles before / during my morning low-impact fitness class. Back still hurts but not as bad after stretching in class. My lips are SUPER dry, applying vaseline every hour. My fingers still hurt. The newer flare ups already feel like theyre coming down. My nose feels dry so I've been using saline solution every now and then.
My new routine: washing face every morning and night with a generic cetaphil face wash, SPF moisturizer in the morning followed by cerave moisturizer, and just cerave moisturizer at night. I'll also be taking accutane with fish oil pills.
My concerns: I always have dry skin in the winter since I live in New England. Concerned that it will only get worse with accutane. I'm also prone to kidney stones so I hope my kidneys aren't thrown into shock. I'm traveling to Asia for work a month into my treatment so I'm VERY concerned about dehydration on the 15+ hour plane ride, any side effects while in a foreign country, and maintaining my blood test and prescription pickup while I'm gone for an entire month. Trying to decrease my drinking as I've read reviews to limit even though my doctor did not advise on this. I used to go out 4 nights a week so it will be a slightly lifestyle change (for the better of course)!
DAY 1:
- I take my accutane pills before work in the morning to ensure ill eat a fatty meal with it. I had a crazy headache by 2pm. I never get headaches so it's definitely related to accutane. I upped my water consumption to 144 ounces just because I felt dehydrated. The dehydration is probably due to my slight hangover though (oops).
DAY 2:
- Still severely dehydrated. I haven't drank this much water a day in years. I have a small bladder so it's slightly annoying. My previous breakouts are already cleared up. A few whiteheads surfaced. My lower left back is sore but not sure if that's due to my scoliosis, accutane, or my lack of stretching. No headache! My roommate had a party and I only had two glasses of champagne the entire time - it was tough but it was manageable!
DAY 3:
- Woke up to a giant red dry patch on my cheek. Used layers on cerave but it wasn't helping so I switched to eucerin on that area only. It did wonders! Severely dehydrated. Symptoms of a UTI appeared. A couple cystic bumps grew over night but nothing too horrible. Awful headache by afternoon, took two advil and it went away.
DAY 4:
- Took an at-home UTI test and it was positive. My finger joints hurt. My lips are moderately dry. Two new breakouts in the morning that were surfaced and on the way to healing by evenings. My lower back is killing me but still not sure if its related. Only moderately dehydrated. Mild headache. My scalp is SUPER itchy. I only wash my hair once a week and use a shower cap every day in between. The temperature has been dropping so I had to put on my radiator the past couple of days which always dried out my scalp before starting accutane. Hesitant to use a deep hydrating shampoo as it's hard to find one that won't strip hair color.
DAY 5:
- Had an appointment with my doctor for UTI treatment. Initial tests came back negative but she put me on a 3 day antibiotic treatment while cultures are done. I reminded her about accutane and antibiotic limitations. I only felt super dehydrated in the morning, drank 2 water bottles before / during my morning low-impact fitness class. Back still hurts but not as bad after stretching in class. My lips are SUPER dry, applying vaseline every hour. My fingers still hurt. The newer flare ups already feel like theyre coming down. My nose feels dry so I've been using saline solution every now and then.
UPDATED FROM 981745980
1 day post
Day 6
981745980April 3, 2018
Minimal symptoms today. No headache, minimal dry skin around my nose and that pesky dry patch on my cheek (nothing a tinted BB Cream cant hide). Previous flare ups from the past couple of days are gone and are just red marks now. My scalp was EXTREMELY itchy last night. I think the heat in my apartment is much more severe than at work because I never get itchy until I spend an hour or two at home. I still have an occasional itch here and there while at work but definitely not as bad as at night. I read a couple reviews about how an itchy scalp only persisted for a week or two. Hoping this is also the case for me! Lips are chapped but I've only needed to reapply vaseline twice throughout the day. It's almost weird how my skin feels back to normal, hopefully I'm absorbing enough of the medication? idk!
Replies (1)
April 8, 2018
I believe I takes alittle more time for affects to really kick in, from what people tell me personally. Hang in there!
UPDATED FROM 981745980
2 days post
Day 7
981745980April 4, 2018
One week down! Time flies.
Feeling dehydrated today, probably because I did not drink a ton of water yesterday. My head hurt around 3pm but I think this is due to increase in work load. I have been staring at my computer screen more often than normal. My lower left back was VERY painful when I woke up. Again, not sure if this is due to accutane, scoliosis, or working out. It felt much better after stretching during my morning workout and pain went away completely by 4pm.
I had 1 cystic pop up and 2 regular spots appear before I went to bed last night. By 3am the 2 spots reached a head and by 6am they were nearly flat. Healing so much faster than I'm used to!
Skin isn't super dry. Scalp isn't itchy at all (probably because its been 4 days since I washed my hair and I turned off the heat in my room at home).
Feeling dehydrated today, probably because I did not drink a ton of water yesterday. My head hurt around 3pm but I think this is due to increase in work load. I have been staring at my computer screen more often than normal. My lower left back was VERY painful when I woke up. Again, not sure if this is due to accutane, scoliosis, or working out. It felt much better after stretching during my morning workout and pain went away completely by 4pm.
I had 1 cystic pop up and 2 regular spots appear before I went to bed last night. By 3am the 2 spots reached a head and by 6am they were nearly flat. Healing so much faster than I'm used to!
Skin isn't super dry. Scalp isn't itchy at all (probably because its been 4 days since I washed my hair and I turned off the heat in my room at home).
Replies (1)