23 Year Old, Been on This Battle Since Age 12. - Marlton, NJ

Ok so it's been exactly 8 months since I took my last pill and I am definitely happy I went on this journey. It was rough but the end result is worth it. I've been relatively clear since then thankfully. I get a couple pimples here and there nothing major mostly on my nose but always during my time of the month or if I'm really stressed. I complained about my hair falling out but I honestly think it was because I was under intense stress while on accutane as I was studying for a very difficult graduate exam so I doubt both mixed well. I asked my dermatologist about it while this was going on and she said it was unlikely that it was the accutane causing that and asked if I was under stress which I was. I ended up chopping off my hair after I took my last pill and started growing it again and it is growing back normal and the way it used to be. I am so very happy with my results. It feels good not to be afraid to look in the mirror and just to have an overall confident demeanor. The only thing going on with me is that my dermatologist prescribed some topicals for me post accutane just to help maintain my skin. That's pretty much all I've been doing post accutane. I've included some photos.

Ok so where do i begin. I've had a couple of problems since my last update. 2 months ago I ended up in the ER with very painful swallowing although i was diagnosed with viral tonsillitis. I thought it could be related because painful swallowing is listed as a possible side effect however my doctor said it's probably not the case. But so far cross my fingers that hasn't happened again. Another side effect is the basic dryness of lips. That has been pretty tough but i'm not complaining at this point. My job requires standing and bending so I've been experiencing joint pain. But again that's a common side effect. Last major side effect is i'm unfortunately experiencing hair thinning although i'm under a lot of stress right now so i'm not sure if that's the reason. My dermatologist said that was rare side effect. But all in all, i can't believe i'm in my fourth month and just one more month to go i believe. My results have been amazing and that's what is keeping me strong. My dosage increased to 60 mg for the past 2 months so my body is getting used to it. I know i should be drinking a lot of water but it's so difficult since i'm not used to drinking a lot of water. However I've heard it's very helpful. Anyway i will keep you all updated on my progress and if anything else pops up.

Ok so i'm on week 3 now. I see a big improvement. A few things happened within the past 3 days. I started to get insane headaches so i panicked since i'd read about head pressure and all of those so i stopped for a few days (of which i have noticed a few pimples here and there). I realized however that it was due to caffeine. Whenever i don't have caffeine i have insane headaches so i'm def watching that. So far i haven't had any such headache in 2 days. Also it started to feel like my liver was a bit swollen, i felt very bloated not towards the abdominal section where the stomach is but rather the section where the liver resides, so that also scared the life out of me ( I don't know if it is all paranoia). So for the past three days i stopped taking the medication and i have fully recovered. I will be seeing my doc soon so i will let her know about all of these and update back. I have started taking the medication again.