Week NINE!

Good evening fellow tane-ers!

I did my monthly blood work Tuesday morning.  They drew blood from a different spot than normal and it left my arm a little sore.  Weird!  Got the call from the doc the next day.  Cholesterol and triglycerides are still just a bit high, but are leveled off, and my white blood cell count is still a little low.  I know Accutane is supposed to leave you a bit lethargic, and I don't know if the meds themselves are causing thing the low blood cell count or if they're low on top of that, but that has to be why I'm so tired all the time.  I have absolutely no energy or motivation to do anything except get through work, and go home and chill on the couch.

Last week has to be the WORST so far with chapped lips.  They've been peeling so bad!  And I can not keep a thing of chap stick to save my life.  I always have it at work.  Some how leave it there, come in the next day, and boom, gone.  Fine one that I lost a week ago (usually in my laundry), use it for a day, and gone again!  These past 2 months I've probably bought 3 chap sticks, and had 3 or 4 at home that I've had already or some sort of lip salve from a birch box, and now they're all missing.  I haven't had one in about 4 days and I'm dying!  But I then have no energy to stop at the store to buy a new one.  Woe is me.

I go to NY at the end of this week.  Hoping the change of pace perks me up, gets the ball rolling again on the physical activity after all the walking around we'll do.

Oh my, and I can not wait to be able to do some sort of hair removal once this course is done!  I am a brunette with thick hair, I am naturally going to have some unwanted facial hair and plucking is just awful.

Here are my end of week 9 pictures.  No real changes in the past few weeks.  But I guess that's better than getting worse.  Haven't had an actual new pimple in well over a month!

2 months in!

Well I've just completed my 8th week of Accutane.  I had my doctor appointment this morning.  She said I'm progessing nicely, and she said again I won't show real progress until after month 3 or 4.  The massive thing on my chin, she said will take a while longer.  I wanted to ask her to inject it with poison or something!  I told her about my joint stiffness, and since it's not too bad, she said we will just monitor it for now.  I'll do my bloodwork tomorrow morning.

Last Thursday, I woke with super dry skin on my chin.  Strange since I haven't been extra dry in a while.  My ears are peeling too, strange.

I still haven't been eating well, drinking well, or working out like I'm supposed to be.  I just have no desire to do anything.  I guess that's part of the accutane journey as well, lethargy.  All I want to do is just get off work and lay around.

Here are my face pictures from this weekend.  Not much change.  I wonder if this will help with redness and not just the break outs.  I'd like to not put as thick of make up on over the parts that don't actually have a pimple.

Week 7

I've been doing really bad on my eating.  It's crazy, b/c I've always been so health and food conscious, and now that I've been told to eat low carb low fat, I'm pigging out.  Is it just b/c someone said I can't that now I feel I have to?!  That's not usually me anyway!

My next doctors appointment is a week from today.  I'll do my blood work that day too.  Until then, good food and no drinks!

I took these pictures this weekend.  Coloring wise, it looks like my big monster on my chin is smaller, but actual size wise it is not.  My back and hips are still achy, and I really noticed the hips while doing sumo squats at the gym last week.  I don't really want to tell my doctor though b/c I want to keep this up and get rid of my acne for good!

I tend to take these first thing in the morning and I look so puffy and cranky!  haha

Week 6

Not much has changed since last week.  It's a little frustrating b/c even though you're told and you read all over the place that it takes a while to notice any differences, you still want to see it.  I also don't experience too bad of drying out, which makes me wonder if it's working on me!  Only time will tell.

I did go back and look at my starting picture compared to this week and holy wow was I inflamed!  The redness of my face has definitely gone down dramatically and I haven't had any new cystic come up since that first week where my chin exploded, so I've got that going for me, which is nice,  Take a look at this side by side from day 1 to week 6!  The lighting is a little different (not sure why since it's the same bathroom!) but you can still see the drastic purple-redness in the first one.  There's not filter on this either from picstitch btw!

I went to the beach Wednesday and got a little burnt.  I was out for an hour and half, wearing 15 SPF and my chest got red, but it has faded.  The accutane has definitely made me more susceptible to the sun.

Hips and upper back are still mildly achy and my rib cage hurts when I sneeze, which has been a lot since my allergies are going crazy.

Here are my week six pics!

Week 5

I didn't get a chance to post my Friday, week 5 pictures on Friday, but I did actually TAKE this pictures on Friday, so they're still on the same timeline as the rest!

Please disregard that hair!  Woof!  I was out quite late the night before and I look it!

So I went 2 weeks (since Vegas) without drinking.  I went out Saturday night and got a little crazy.  I figure if I keep it to just every once in a while I'm OK.  My doctor hasn't told me to stop drinking and they just said for my triglycerides to cut back.  I ate relatively healthy all week and I have 3 more weeks until I get my blood drawn again so I'm on all the low fat foods!

So I DID start the 60mg last week.  The doctors office said that it was the 30 mg prescription and when I picked it up, it was still technically the 30, but double the boxes, so I guess we were both techinically correct.  I've been taking one with either breakfast or lunch, and one with dinner.  

Last week I said my face had completely dried out.  This week seems like its gotten a little oily again.  Not like it used to be by any means, but a little.  I haven't had any new pop ups this week, but the area on my left cheek (picture 2) feels like there may be something underground brewin'.  I hope not!

I definitely do think that the accutane is doing something to my joints.  My hips feel like they need to pop all the time (I pop them and now I can't and they are constantly feeling stiff) and my upper back hurts.  I also used to pop my toes, and now they won't pop.  I've literally been doing it for 20 or so years!

'til next time, have a good week!