Offering some answers

I thought it would be nice to answer to some questions people typed in Google before getting to my isotretinoin blog.

How to reduce lip drying due to sotret - it is perfectly normal for lips to dry when on isotretinoin treatment. This is the most disturbing side effect: skin drying; the lips feel the most uncomfortable. The best thing you can do to reduce the lip drying is to drink a lot of water and keep yourself hydrated. I also had a post about the products I use while on treatment. Nivea lip care is my choice for moisturizing the lips. It works fine and it doesn't cost much

Do you always breakout on accutane - no, not necessarily always. You might expect some breakouts during the treatment, but not always. The IB (initial breakout) is the worst and occurs during the beginning of the treatment. For instance, I have been experiencing breakouts (some of them were mild, others were aggresive) until my 5th month of treatment. It took 5 months for me to see improvements. So if you are experiencing any breakouts, just stay calm, your skin will also improve.

Why you should give Sotret (accutane) a try

note: sotret is the same thing with accutane. The only thing that differs is the brand name. But both of them contain the same substance: isotretinoin, which helps control the acne. So whether I'm using "sotret" or "accutane", I am talking about the same thing.

I am sure everyone thinks deeply before starting a Sotret (or accutane) treatment. And I'm saying that because I did that too. I knew that this new dermatologist was going to prescribe Sotret (as I have a colleague that was on this treatment and visited the same doctor) so I had thought before if I should go for this treatment or not. And I did it.

Well, let me say my opinion about this. First of all, you should think whether you need the sotret/accutane treatment or not. If you have mild acne and you haven't tried anything before, I would suggest you not to jump right into it. Just try to see the reason why you suffer from acne. It may be the hormones, the dirty skin etc. And of course, visit a doctor. If everything seems to be fine but you can't get rid of that acne, then ask your dermatologist if he is ok with you following sotret treatment. 

But to stick to the treatment you have to be motivated. Of course, while some people are motivated by their extremely bad acne, others still try to inform as much as possible about the treatment. Before starting out, read the sotret side effects (see my 2nd months side effects here). The first side effect you will notice is the dry skin and lips (I wrote about it here). Keep in mind that your skin will peel and it will not look that good in the first months. I accepted this challenge because my acne looks damn crappy anyway. So why would that side effect bother me, while the pills may cure my acne? The other side effects you may notice are: back aches/joint pain, lack of concentration (I notice both of them), bleeding nose etc. Not to forget the fact that you may experience breakouts (during the entire course, periodically, rarely or never, depending on your luck). Also, you should take regular blood tests (1 test per month/a month and a half would do), to make sure the liver is not affected by the sotret treatment. And if you notice some weird or bad side effects, let your doctor know. 

Now that you are aware of all the sotret side effects and you know for how much time you will take the pills (some people do it for 5 months, others for 8 etc), maybe you should start the treatment. By the way, don't even think about following the sotret treatment without seeing a doctor. 

And to mention what motivated me: there are lots of chances to get rid of the acne. I know I'll have cracked lips and skin for months, I know I can breakout so I may look worse than ever. But who wouldn't prefer this for a couple of months than having acne for a long period of time?

I will decrease the daily Sotret (accutane) amount

Today I went to my dermatologist and she told me to keep taking 40mg daily until May 20th. After that I will take 30mg/day.

My left cheek cyst is still there, but it's quite smaller.

I have been on Sotret for 83 days now. It's not going very good at the moment, but I hope better days will come.

Another doctor visit

This one didn't go well, actually. She didn't decrease the Sotret amount as I hoped, but she asked me to visit her again next week. The reason is obvious, I still have a big cyst on my left cheek (by the way, I have always had more problems with my left side, while the right side was cleaner) and another one near my mouth is trying to get to the surface. Bastard.

So I guess this is another breakout, I'm quite upset now. However, I know this is normal while on isotretinoin so I am still optimistic. I have been on Sotret for 76 days now (which means 2 months and a half), I hope things will work out.

Heads up!

70 days of Sotret (accutane)

70 days passed since I started the isotretinoin treatment. I'm very happy that I started noticing some results (after finishing my 2nd month I wasn't that sure). I still have 2-3 whiteheads on my chin, but that's so not a problem. My face is cleaner than before. Obviously, my old scars are still there, but there are more days to come. I hope that sotret will work well for me.

Oh, and I should mention that after spending some time in the sun, I think my skin turns red (not that bad, though). I don't feel itchiness or anthing, but I can see the colour. And it doesn't last long.

Next week I will see my dermatologist again in order to reduce the medication amount (at the moment I'm taking 2 x Sotret 20mg per day).

Hello everyone!

Hey everyone! First of all, I want to say that I started this blog to help all of you suffering from acne. I'm doing it because, well, I have been suffering from it for over 3 years now. After the first year I went to a doctor and I kept visiting him for more than 2 years. Beside the fact that I followed minocycline treatment 2 times (first time I got nice results, but not for a long time; the 2nd time I didn't see any result), I didn't do anything. I've just been visiting the doctor once a month to clear my face. Exactly, by squeezing the pimples. So after a time I thought that it's time to see another doctor.

Well, so this is how I started the Sotret treatment (it happened on February 20th). First, the doctor prescribed Roaccutane, but when I found out its price, I asked for Sotret, as my insurance covers only its costs. I'm in the 2nd month of treatment now, but I'll explain the details in another post. If you have a question, don't hesitate. Everyone is free to add a comment and I will try to help.

PS: Take into account that I'm not paid to write on this blog. I am doing it to keep a journal of my treatment and also to help other people planning to follow the Sotret treatment. So keep reading!