Update

Well, it's a been about a month since I last posted.  I've taken update pictures but just haven't taken the time to login and post them.  Since week 12, I haven't really seen much of a difference honestly.

No new breakouts, still just that one on the right side of my chin.  It's gone down considerably, but still there.  The hard scar on my cheek seems to be going away some too.

On my last appointment, she said this is the month I should see a considerable difference.  I go back in next Tuesday for my 4 month appointment.  That Friday, November 28 will be the 16 week mark.  I can't say that I've seen a major difference from month 3 to month 4.

She did warn me in the last appointment that for 6 months to a year after stopping, I can't do anything to my face like waxing, facials etc.  wahhh, The skin will still be very sensitive and can cause scarring.

I just worry about the redness that's still there.  I don't see that going away anytime soon.  Maybe I just need sun on my face with no makeup and it will fade away eventually.

Side effects-wise.  My lips are crazy dry and my nose is super dry.  Its bloody every morning and the skin peels off from the the inside throughout the day.  My back and hips are still bad.  My immune system is pretty low too.  Working out with my joints hasn't been easy.  I stretch a lot which has helped some.  I didn't realize how tight my hips were until I (use your imagine) tried to climb on top of my man friend and hada very difficult time doing that, and then one I did, I couldn't actually move!

Anyway, I will FOR REAL post pictures next week after my appointment.

12 weeks

Sorry for the last post and missing a week.  Man, to have a life, geez!  haha.

I went to NYC the weekend of October 3rd.  Great weekend.  Between the last time I posted and now, I have had extremely chapped lips as as well as a bloody nose.  My nose constantly feels like there is a scab in there about to dislocate.

So as of my last blood work, my white blood cell count was low.  Well, apparently, I've had a sinus infection basically since I got back from Vegas.  I've mentioned I've beem sniffly and sneezy.  Apparently, my allergies, led to a minor sinus infection which led me to a minor middle ear infection.  (minor my ass).  I get sinus infections occasionally, but wonder if the low count effected it more of setting in.

I woke up Sunday morning with my ear hurting.  Thought maybe I'd slept on it weird.  But all day it was bothering me.  Woke up Monday with it bothering me still outside as well as in.  I decided to go to a walk in and she said it looked like my sinuses were inflamed which caused fluid build up in my ear to cause the pain,  My ear was the worst part!  I haven't had an ear infection in over 20 years!

So she prescribed me a nasal spray to use once daily, an antibiotic to clear up the minor infection and ear drops for the pain.  I made sure nothing interacted poorly with the accutane with practitioner as well as the pharmacist.

Anyway.  my lips have been super chapped, as well as inside my nose.  I've had a bloody nose almost every day for the past 2 weeks.  I've been putting moisturizer up there, and it burns at first, but definitely helps.  The lethargy is still at an all time high.  I just have no energy whatsoever.  The joint aches have remained, but not gotten any worse, so that's OK I guess.

I've got these little extra dry tiny spots on my face.  Wouldn't even be able to get them in a picture they're so small.  There are two on my forehead, one on the tip of my nose, one on my ear lobe, and one on my left cheek.  They're smaller than a pencil eraser.  They end up coming off, and I moisturize, but they come right back the next day in the same spot.

I'm now half way though my cycle!  I haven't seen many changes in the past month or so, but nothing else new has come up, so now I guess I just wait for this monster on my chin to go away and the redness to subside eventually.  I wonder if after my course, if any sort of peels will get rid of the red blotchy scars.  Anyone else know?

Her are my update pictures!  Week 12, signing out!

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!

Follow up Friday-Week 3!

Hey ya'll!  As of today, I am 3 weeks in to my Accutane journey.  I have been very dry this past week.  Lips are quite chapped and I'm flaky on my chin and in between my brows.  The pimples that have popped up on my chin since starting do seem to be going away quicker than what they used to, except that damn blister of a zit that I've had forever!  I wish that thing would get a weak spot, a little piece of skin, SOMETHING that I could work with to make it leak a little!

My nose has also started doing something weird over the past week.  It's like whatever is in my pores is being pushed out.  My pores were looking bigger, and then this morning it almost looks like teeny tiny little hairs are sprouting.  I tried to take a picture but you couldn't tell.  I scrubbed it in the shower and now its gone anyway.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to get waxed, and I randomly thought to google waxing and accutane and dummy me you can't wax while on it!  Glad I didn't just go and do it!

Anyway, here are my week 3 pictures.  No real changes.

 This one by my mouth was the one that kept me from going earlier to get waxed.  It's pretty much flat now, just a little flaky.  More red than anything

 There's that sucker on my chin that hurts like a mother f'er.  It looks and has the smooth feeling of a blister.  The cheek looks worse than it is in my opinion.  It's pretty flat unless you press on it and you can feel it underneath.

 The chin as a whole.  Also up under my nose I got a couple of white heads that came up and have since popped and gone down.  Those ones on the nose really hurt before you can actually see them!

And straight on.  

I'm headed to Vegas in the morning!  Lot's of sun, booze, bad food, tons of makeup and little sleep.  That should do well for my skin!  The dry weather itself is probably going to make me shrivel up and maybe have nosebleeds (happened my first time there, now with this medication, I bet it will happen again!)  

My next doctors appointment is this Tuesday the 19th to put me on the 60 mg.  I'll prob do my blood work that day too.  I bet its going to say the same thing with my cholesterol b/c I will have been eating bad and boozing it up!  BUT, after this weekend, its lean meats and boring food and no booze for quite a while.  No more ketogenic diet for me.