Accutane Day 73 (very tired)

My skin continues to make progress... but I am extremely tired almost always. I don't know if it is because of accutane or if it's other stuff. I'm hanging in there. I have one small pimple on my neck (the itchy kind under the skin). But as far as breakouts go, my skin is fine. I am going to stay on a low dosage of accutane once this 16 week course is over. I will be on 80 mg per WEEK as my low dosage.

Accutane Day 58 (100% inactive skin)

I am so happy with the progress my skin is making. I have some tiny clogged pores and a few blackheads (no big deal). My spots continue to fade. My skin tone is still splotchy, but I don't really mind that.. and I've been told that that will continue to decrease as well. It is December 14, 2011. My last dosage is February 8, 2012. I think I will be completely clear by then ;) haha jk. I know I will be. I love this drug.

Accutane day 51 and 52

I barely notice my skin now. I love it. :) Warning! Do not pick at your skin while on accutane! I learned my lesson. Now it is back to mostly normal since I haven't picked at it in a week. Cheers! -David G.

Accutane Day 48

I tried my best to take super detailed pictures. This is the best I could do. I am very very VERY dry all over my face. I had a really minor break out a couple of days ago, but now they are scabbed over.
PS. I would discourage using concealer on your face.. it made me break out even while on this drug. But I could have just been using the wrong stuff OR it could have been a mere coincidence.

Accutane Day 37 (very very positive)

All I have left now is fading red marks :) skin feels great. This stuff saved my life! Haha. (Just being a little dramatic). My lips are still sooooo dry. I use polysporin lip balm every 20-30 minutes or my lips will break when I smile.

The lighting makes my skin look better than it actually is. It has improved drastically, but it's not QUITE as good as it looks in these photos. PS I look really mad in these pictures, but I'm not.

Accutane Day 30

Well... there is no denying that this stuff works! All of my cystic pimples are continuously shrinking into the skin. Even compared to yesterday, the redness of my marks has decreased. My skin is very dry and flaky (yes!). My face even feels tight! :) There is still the possibility of another break out, but my fingers are crossed!! Go accutane go!

Accutane Day 29

Today is day 1 of week 5 on my Accutane journey. I am now on 60mg a day instead of 30mg. My face feels significantly better. It doesn't hurt anymore to touch or lay on either side of my face. It doesn't appear much different than a week or two ago, but I definitely can see that this stuff works. My face no longer feels like it's crawling with bugs. I have no oil. Yay! My pores aren't as clogged with crap like before. I have a lot of red marks and scabs still, but nothing new. I decided to stop wearing foundation because it's too much of a hassle.. and it doesn't even completely cover the blemishes so what's the point? And I don't want to be fake anymore. Nobody cares as much about my skin as I do. Hahaha.
Here are today's pics:

Day 24

Here is my face today

Accutane Day 23 (Huuuuuugggeeee update)

This morning I woke up and realized, "Wow. My face doesn't hurt a single bit today." I looked in the mirror and was in pleasant shock. This photo will answer the question "why?" I made it through the initial break out. I was so upset with the initial break out because I wasn't expecting it. This is all worth it.

Phasing out of initial breakout (I hope)

Today is day 22 of my accutane journey. My skin feels really settled down today. I still have a lot of scabs and it's not pretty, but at least I'm not in pain anymore. I really hope that I don't have anymore breakouts. That last one was devastating.

Update already

Okay I know I already posted today, but this is too amazing not to post. I just took a shower and used my really gentle Shiseido facial cleanser (expensive shiz) and it literally washed away like 3 layers of skin. I still have several bumps, but my scabs came off just with the cleanser. It looks very very red, but my pores are closed and my face is settled without any oil. So.... I decided to do something I would normally never do. After I put on my Shiseido moisturizer, I put on foundation very lightly. My face is just too red to go out in public without doing something about it. Here is a photo. It doesn't look FLAWLESS and I didn't expect it to, but it does look a lot nicer.

Day 21

Today is a tiny bit better. My face isn't quite as sore. I hope I am phasing out of my initial break out. At this point, I have no brand new pimples. All of them are scabbed over and flaky. Today I am hopeful.

Important...

I wasn't going to post this, but I do feel that it is necessary for people to read. Let me tell you more about myself. I have suffered anxiety depression for several months. Most of it has to do with my very low self-esteem. Needless to say my acne pimples do not help me deal with that issue which I have had for as long as I can remember. Originally, I was avoiding accutane because I feared that my depression and anxiety would worsen. What I am finding is that my anxiety makes my pimples worse (duh). Sooooo I decided to just bite the bullet and take the meds. Today, I had a very bad episode and started hacking away at all of my healing pimples. That is soooooooo not good to do whilst on accutane.. but I literally lost control for a few minutes and kept picking. I fear that I will have scarring. Basically, I am posting this to warn anyone that is on accutane and already has a depression tendency. Brace yourself.. you might have some really really bad days like the one I did today. I am so desperate to clear my skin that I am choosing to stay on accutane although it is effecting my mood a lot. Be careful. And also, have a good support system.. meaning people that you are close to cheering you on and lifting you up. That is all -David G.

Accutane Day 20

Not a whole lot of improvement from the supposed "initial break out." My cheeks are covered in cuts and scabs. Very sore. I feel pretty discouraged, but I need to keep the faith that this will indeed work in the end. It is still early in the process. My lips are pretty much broken. They are so dry and cracked. I am extremely moody. Idk if that is because of my discouragement or if it's because the drug is actually causing this mood.. or both? All I know is that I just want it all to go away. I'm still trusting that it will.

K now I am just pissed off

Still red. Very flaky. Very Itchy. Very dry. Yet I am still effing breaking out. Uggggh! I am so Impatient. I wish it was day 60. Not day 18. I want results!

Frustrating Day

I feel like I'm back to square one today. My face is so red and I have 10 new pimples. They are small, but infuriating. I'm trying to stay calm and be patient, but I am so unbelievably sick of waking up and looking in the mirror to see a monster. Ugh! Gotta stay positive. It's hard.. especially when last week my skin looked sooooooo good. This is day 17 of my accutane journey. Today, things aren't looking up, but I hope for the best.

Accutane Day 16

Come on clear skin! You're getting there!!

I experienced a little break out the other day, but nothing compared to what I used to get. I am a little choked though because when I got back from Las Vegas, my skin was nigh unto perfection. But the climate where I live is significantly different from the desert. I live in British Columbia. Need I say more?
A lot of the redness and swelling is gone (thank you, Lord). I noticed that I feel really nauseous whenever I eat a huge meal full of carbs and fat.. but then I notice that my skin dries out a lot more when I eat like that. So I can deal with the side effects. In two weeks or so, I move up to 60mg/day instead of 30mg. I'm excited for that. Double treatment! Woo!

Day 2

I don't except to see any improvement yet, but I'm experiencing a headache. I can not sleep any longer. It may be because of my braces.. I've only had them for 4 days now. I'm scared to take tylenol while on accutane. I'll just deal with the pain. I can be strong. I gotta keep an eternal perspective! Everything will be just fine in the long run. :) 4 months of accutane and 6 months of braces. No big deal. :) I know I'll look back on this in a year and smile.

Pre-accutane (Oct. 13, 2011)

Accutane Day 1 (Oct. 18, 2011)

Happy Day!

I saw my doctor today about accutane and he prescribed it to me right away. I started my first round today. I take 30mg per day for now. I'll be bumped up to 60mg per day in about 8 weeks. I can finally relax because I know I'll have flawless skin again. I'm in a lot of pain today from my braces, but I can deal. I'm going to Las Vegas tomorrow! Woo!! It's been a while since I've been back there for a visit. My girlfriend, Kristen, is driving down there from Provo, Utah too. I haven't seen her in nearly 5 months. It's going to be a great reunion. Well I'm going to sleep. Peace!
-David G.

Enough is Enough

Last night, I had a pretty serious meltdown due to my acne worsening. I get intense panic attacks about my skin and my general appearance. Today, however, I am choosing to accept this as a weakness that will soon be my strength if I keep a positive attitude. I have an appointment to see my doctor about Accutane tomorrow (I scheduled it 3 weeks ago and FINALLY it's almost here!!!) I find that the best way I deal with things is to talk about them. So I'm starting this blog to whine. I'll be posting pictures too so you can see my progress. Peace!
-David G.