~165 days with sotret / accutane

So I have around 165 days with Sotret / accutane and I haven't had any new breakouts lately. I had my latest 2 pimples 2 weeks ago and now my face is clean (except the scars).

I even went to the beach, I got a little sunburnt, but nothing serious. However, I don't recommend it while on treatment, as you may experience side effects.

I went to the dermatologist last week and since August 1st I lowered the dose to Accutane 15 mg per day.

Keep following this thread to find out how is it going for me!

Starting my 6th month with Accutane (Sotret)

Haven't posted anything lately because the situation is the same as the one in my last post. Finally, I can see some improvements! My 6th month will start in 2-3 days.

Since the 1st of July I have been taking 20mg Accutane per day (I switched to roaccutane from sotret, as the last one is not being produced anymore). I haven't experienced any new side effects because of the switching, but I do have a cyst on my left cheek and a pimple on the right one. However, I can say that they started to cure. So I am very happy at the moment.

Since I switched to 20mg from 30mg per day, my fingers stopped peeling and my lips feel better.

In the end of the post, I just want to repeat: don't panic if you can't notice improvements in the first treatment months. As you could see in my case, the treatment took 5 months to notice improvements. Moreover, I heard that there are people who notice them even later. So keep your faith!

PS: you can ask questions or anthing in the comment section or sending an email (you can find it in the sidebar)

5th Sotret (accutane) month

So on June 20th I started my 5th month on the isotretinoin treatment. I have talked to my dermatologist and she said to keep taking Sotret 30mg per day until July 1st. Then I will lower the dosage to 20mg. And after finishing my Sotret medication, I will start taking Accutane (as you may already know, sotret is not made anymore).

The best part: my skin has improved! Still have the scars, but just a pimple per week (and getting away after a couple of days) is excellent at the moment! I hope I won't have any new breakouts. So the results worth waiting for 5 months (at least in my case).

I haven't noticed any new side effects, except that my fingers started peeling because of the dehydratation. Not a big deal, though.

110th day with accutane (sotret)

So basically, in 10 days I will have completed the 4th month on the accutane / sotret treatment. I haven't noticed any new side effects beside the ones already mentioned here and I haven't had new nose bleeds.

My face has been cleaner than before for the last 2 weeks (and I'm proud of it) but a few days ago a new pimple appeared on my left cheek. I hope I will get rid of it soon and my face starts cleaning, as I am already on my 4th month.

For the record, on June 8th I saw my doctor and she told me to continue on the same dosage: isotretinoin 30mg/day and to meet her again on June 20th.

By the way, she confirmed that sotret is not made anymore and said that I will get Accutane after finishing my sotret pills.

Sotret (accutane) nose bleeding

The previous week I noticed another Sotret side effect. For 3 days, I've been having daily nose bleedings. The first two days it happened in the morning, while for the 3rd time, it happened in the afternoon. My nose has never bled before on isotretinoin and I got pretty scared after it happened because I thought it's not normal for me to bleed that often.

The reason why your nose bleeds while on sotret treatment is because it gets very dry (as the pills dry all your skin). If you want to avoid this side effect, make sure you drink a lot of water so that you'll be hydrated. Another way of dealing with it is to have a bowl filled with water in your room. This way the humidity will rise.

However, what I don't suggest you to do is to use vaseline. As long as it's not made for oiling the human nose, why use it?

So if you get this side effect while on treatment, don't panic! It's normal.

Sotret not produced anymore

Or this is what pharmaceutists told me. I asked for Sotret in more than 10-15 pharmacies in my town and just one of them had 1 pack of Sotret 10mg, while I needed 2 packs of Sotret 20mg. I was told that it can't be found anymore. However, I have hardly got my needed medication through a friend. I don't know how.

Anyway, Accutane can still be found in pharmacies.

ps: maybe you will find this link useful (FDA Takes New Regulatory Action Against Ranbaxy’s Paonta Sahib Plant in India)

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).