It has been a blessing and curse. The blessing visible daily: I don’t have such a shiny face anymore. My oily skin is a thing of the past. The curse, however, is that since the 6 months that I ended my treatment, I have had several little breakouts on my face. As I speak, there are still several red pimples below my bottom lip and above my chin. So I am still having to wear topical cream to minimize and kill the stubborn acne that continues to reappear on my face.

My treatment was not normal either. I had to restart it three times before I ended, so there were a few months in between that I took away from treatment that might affect how my overall treatment went. This was mostly because of the moronic ipledge program. But that’s another story for another time.

Since I do not have the same medical insurance I had when I was on the treatment, going for a checkup at the dermatologist will cost me too much. But I will be doing one last cosmetic treatment on my face to smoothen it out: microdermabrasion. My days of feeling bad about my skin are over.

Going through this kind of treatment is a very emotional time as well as keeping me very self-conscious about being around people.  I know that in a month from now I shall have much clearer skin, and in a few months this treatment might just be the savior that I've wanted since I was a teenager.  That's why I'm determined to see it through!

After the first few days of being on Accutane, my skin became drier by the day, and my face also started peeling.  The whiteheads appeared much quicker than ever before and they are probably going to continue appearing for at least another 2  weeks or so.  I am staying in this weekend to work so I won't have to face anyone.  And forget shaving!  My skin is just too sensitive and broken out.  All I'd be doing cutting my skin up with a razor blade.

One week down, many many more to go. 

I'm prepared to face rather difficult weeks physically these next couple of weeks.  The whiteheads are starting to appear again very slowly, but I know that by the end of the week my face will be completely red and full of whiteheads.  Makes me not want to go to work this week.

On top of that, I'm still recovering from a flu like virus where I had fever and a runny nose.   I know I'm definitely a little drier than usual but not nearly as dry as I shall be really soon.

But I'm focused.  I know what's ahead. 

Since I quit taking Accutane the 2nd time just over a month ago, my face has returned to harvesting pimples, zits and other forms of acne. I am also a lot more oily, but I can tell that the amount of oil I produce is not as much as it used to be. I guess that the production progresses over time since I had taken this medication once before when I was a teenager.  The time allowed my pores to open up a lot more.  Accutane, from my understanding, reduces the size of your pores.

I think this is the worst time to begin a prescription of Accutane because it's just on the verge of summer, which is my most active time. Not only that but since my skin will be dry and red, I will have to limit my time in the sun. It won't be easy but I know I can do it.

Week 1:  Flared skin, increasing dryness
Week 2:  Whiteheads, swollen acne, more dryness
Week 3:  Less whiteheads and pimples, nosebleeding starts, cracking skin
Week 4:  clearer skin, one or two whiteheads, more nosebleeds, really dry skin

My worst side effects right now are increasing body aches (not horrible, but present), dry eyes, dry and cracking skin, dry lips, and abdomen achiness.  I’m not sure whether any of this is really serious but I’m going to talk to my dermatologist to make sure I’m okay.

I guess I’ll be on Accutane for another 8-12 weeks and then I should be done!  Let’s hope this next month is easier!

As long as I’ve gotten abscesses and whiteheads, I’ve had a blackhead problem.  Mostly, this form of acne resides on my nose and is often a very visible, deep pore full of black gunk.

The formal definition of a blackhead is the incomplete blockage of the hair follicle that results in a semisolid, black plug in a pore.  Our noses usually are full of these pores and this area seems to be the worst problem for mostly guys but some girls as well.  Blackheads also can form around the mouth and cheek areas as well.

Having become a new semi-regular reader of the forums at acne.org, I found a really interesting method that I am going to try for the next few days.  A girl named Jessica Stuart found an interesting technique of using exfoliation on the face using a synthetic, soft bristled brush.  This even includes the Oral B electric toothbrush that can be found at your local drugstore.

Basically, you take a couple of minutes with this brush and go around your face to get rid of dead skin, oil and other bacteria that lives around your face.  This technique, nicknamed Jessfoliation in honor of Jessica, should be performed gently across your nose and other problem areas.  In just a few days you should begin to see immediate results as your skin produces less oil and the bacterial areas don’t have the resource to cause any other problems.

I started this morning and hope this technique produces awesome results because blackheads, although a minor problem, are still pretty annoying to know they exist!  Already, after having taken a shower not too long ago, I can see less blackheads on my nose and my skin is already a little smoother!

So, as a result I’ve been up nursing this nosebleed for the past 30 minutes (it’s 3:45am) and would really like to get some sleep instead as I know I’ll be tired for work later today if I don’t.

The difference between this nosebleed and the last ones is this one was finally coming from my right side.  Every other one came from the left side.  I’d sure love to know how these nosebleeds begin and a better solution to make them end or prevent them all together because this is really annoying.

It’s almost been a month that I’ve been on Accutane and although the acne itself has mostly disappeared, the dryness and cracking is very much alive.  Emotionally, I feel okay, although I can see how this medicine can make someone going through a lot of hormone changes feel bad.  Yet, I don’t think I believe that would be a direct cause of the medicine itself but rather the side effects.  I can’t really say that any physical/mental states have been affected and that it’s mostly an emotional rollarcoaster, especially at the beginning.

Okay, back to bed if I can!

I think that dry, cracked lips are really annoying too.  You put lip balm and not before long, it’s right back to being super dry!  I constantly have to worry about my lips.  My lip area is so dry that I get open wounds to the sides of the mouth, as if they are really chapped.  The skin just falls off and exposes a raw area which needs a little treatment so that it doesn’t hurt too much when juices or acidic foods touch it.

I wonder why Accutane only really dries out certain areas of the face such as around the mouth.  You would think that it would dry out the whole face, even above the eyes and cheeks.  But most of my dryness and cracking is occurring around the mouth areas.

One thing I have noticed is my back is a lot clearer, as in no whiteheads or red pimples.  I’ve still had a few on the side of my face and neck in the past few weeks, but my back and now my chest are almost 100% better!

This morning, I woke like normal to take a shower and nothing seemed out of the ordinary until I began washing myself.  Out of the blue, after scrubbing my hair, I saw a red drip.  A few seconds later, another one falls.  The rest of my shower was met with many more drips before I could try to dry myself off and contain these drips with tissue.  The worst part about this nosebleed is that it’s probably not the last time it’s going to happen.

This is the exact reason I stopped taking Accutane as a teenager.  I don’t remember it being extremely uncontrollable but rather annoying recurring.  After complaining to my mom just one too many times, it was time for me to give up the task of trying to cure my acne.  However, I wish I was a warrior back and stuck through it.

Nosebleeding really isn’t harmful to anyone except yourself.  If you can control the flow and stop it shortly after it begins, everything’s okay.  The easiest thing to do is give up, but the best thing to do is remember that nosebleeding because of accutane is temporary.  It will happen, again and again, but the result of putting up with this condition will be shown in the end.