Abi’s Third Course - 4 & a half months in

Abi
 

Abi

Wednesday 24 September, 2008

Posted in Abi's Roaccutane Diary

Heeeey!

I havn’t posted in quite a while so thought I would do a quick update. I’ve been taking the roaccutane for almost 4 and a half months now and my skin has been completely clear for about a month so i’m ecstatic about that :-D

I started a new job last week as a personal assistant to a boy with autism and his favourite activity is to go for long walks. After a 5 mile walk with him across some fields my muscles were aching so so much. As i’m not normally one to do much exercise i’d never really experienced the muscle aches associated with roaccutane before, and i didn’t enjoy it! The skin on my heels also ended up being rubbed raw by my shoes and i bled all over my socks. It was all rather unpleasant. As I’m going to be doing alot more exercise now I have this new job, I think I may cut back to 20mg a day to try and limit the side effects. The people I work with also look at me a bit funny because i get my vaseline out every 5 minutes so would be nice to not have to apply it quite as much!

17 Responses to “Abi’s Third Course - 4 & a half months in”

#1 James says...

Why is this your third course if you dont mind me asking. I am currently on roa and have been for about 2 weeks now. I had really oily skin pre roac and its dried up now but im wondering will it return oily when i go of roac?

Thanks :)
x

September 24th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

#2 Abi says...

Hiya James,

Basically, after my other 2 courses of roaccutane i started to get some spots again after 6-9 months, therefore I have taken a third course in the hope my skin stays clear for longer!!! I have taken a higher dose this time so i’m hoping for the best.

After taking roacc my skin never goes back to how oily it was pre-roacc, and i normally have to continue to moisturise as my forehad normally remains flaky!

xxxxxxxxx

September 25th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

#3 Quinton says...

just out of curiosity when you say your started to get spots again are we talking like 10+ or just a few spots.for me i would make a big deal if i saw 1 on my clear face as if it was the worst thing ever to see 1 blemish on a clear face.

September 25th, 2008 at 11:29 pm

#4 Abi says...

Hiya Quinton,

When my skin has broken out again following a course of roaccutane it has been 1 or 2 spots to start with that gradually turn into a cluster on my chin and then on to my cheeks. It’s normally at this stage that I consider taking another course of Roaccutane as I am not too fussed by the odd spot here and there but when they start to cover my chin and cheeks i get very fed up!!!

xxxxxxxxx

September 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm

#5 steph says...

Hey abi,
think I’ve had the same experience as you! Im 1 week into my second course of Roaccutane The 1st was amazing and it was just a dream come true to wake up with a clear face but about 7 month later I started getting spots again (argh). My first course was for 7 months - it needed all that time to clear up my skin. Was your second course shorter and did your spot clear up quicker? 1 week in and the familiar dry lips have started today…
cheers xx

October 1st, 2008 at 2:25 am

#6 Abi says...

Hiya Steph,

Sorry it’s taken so long for me to reply! The second course I took lasted 16 weeks but i didn’t actually take enough Roaccutane to reach my optimum “cumulative dose”. Therefore this time I am taking the full course in the hope my skin stays clear. I have started taking just 20mg a day (to try and reduce the side effects) so i’m going to be taking roacc for atleast another couple of months in order to have taken my maximum amount. Good luck with your second course :-)

P.S. On my second course I found that i was seeing improvements in my skin after about 2 months :-)

xxxxxxxxxx

October 4th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

#7 Gareth says...

See during ur first course of roac, how long did it take before you started seeing decent improvements with your skin? And how long did it take before it completley cleared up? I start mine next tues and i cannot wait to start seeing improvements, wouldnt say i have bad acne but what i do have annoys me and usually im quite confident but even its dropped! Thanks..

October 6th, 2008 at 6:15 pm

#8 Gareth says...

See during ur first course of roac, how long did it take before you started seeing decent improvements with your skin? And how long did it take before it completley cleared up? I start mine next tues and i cannot wait to start seeing improvements, wouldnt say i have bad acne but what i do have annoys me and usually im quite confident but even its dropped! Thanks..

October 6th, 2008 at 6:17 pm

#9 Abi says...

Hiya Gareth,

On my first course i didn’t see improvements for quite a while because I started on a very tiny 5mg. This dose was gradually built up to 10mg, then 20 then eventually 40mg for the last couple of weeks. I would say it took a good 3 months to see improvements, however, I reckon I would have seen them sooner if id been on a higher dose to begin with. On my second course i saw an improvement in my skin faster as i started on 40mg :-)

I agree with you about the confidence thing, as soon as I get a few spots on my face my self-esteem takes a really bashing and i start cancelling plans id made cos i don’t wanna go outside. The roaccutane really helped to give me my confidence back :-)

Good luck with your course! Do you know what mg you will be starting on?

xxxxxxxxx

October 6th, 2008 at 6:38 pm

#10 Gareth says...

I go in the morning to get my bloods and all took so i shall find out then what mg il be starting on, il probably let you no tomorrow :D then u can advise me!lol Cant wait to be honest, its scary how much a few wee spots wrecks every bit of confidence ya have. my girlfriends formal is in february and i want to be picture perfect for that :D

October 6th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

#11 Abi says...

I’m pretty sure that by Feb you will be very happy with how your skin is looking :-)

October 6th, 2008 at 7:11 pm

#12 Deco says...

I’m gunna have to start reading this regulary.

I am currently on my 3rd course and am about 3months in :o
I can’t sleep atm (courtesy of roac) so I best goto bed as I have a lecture in 6hours lol

Its great to know other people have relapsed after two courses (as nasty of me that sounds :o)
Its more that its good to know there are other people in my position.
I hope you stay confident as my morale has long gone and for the first time I think I may be experiencing some of these depressive affects people apparently get.

After my lectures 2morrow am gunna read through all your blogs (yes I mean all of them :p)

(I copied this post from an older blog I posted in by mistake)

October 7th, 2008 at 2:53 am

#13 Abi says...

Hiya Deco,

I have to say, it is quite disheartening to be on my third course as i assumed i would only ever need one course, however, i am trying to stay positive that this will be my last one! I also think that if my acne comes back again I may enquire as to whether I would be able to take low dose roacc long term in order to keep my skin clear, so at least there may be another option :-)

Really hope this course works out for you, let me know how things go,

xxxxxxxx

October 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pm

#14 Declan McKenna says...

I’ve the same plan myself.

My dermatologist says the reason I’m relapsing is due to my age.
There still loads of hormones swilling around and being young my body repairs the “damage” roac does to my glands/cells etc.

If this one doesn’t work out am gunna talke a low dose until am 21 then give it anouther shot and hope for the best :)

and thanks good luck yourself.

October 9th, 2008 at 11:25 am

#15 steph says...

Well I’m 28 and on my second course - my skin has no excuse like hormones anymore! Wish I had known about this when I was 18. On the plus side 25mg a day and 3 weeks in the side affects are very managable.
Steph

October 12th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

#16 Lucy says...

heyy ive just started roaccutane and am 3/4 weeks in but just wanted to know how much time it took your skin to relapse??my acne isnt that bad its just been happening since i was 11 or 12!!
thankyou - your diary is really helpful!!

October 13th, 2008 at 8:31 pm

#17 Abi says...

Hiya Lucy,

After my first course it took about 9 months and then i started to get a few spots, after a bout a year my skin then got really out of hand so i tried laser treatment which was useless so then I took another course of Roaccutane. After that course I only got 6 months of clear skin and then i began getting spots again, however that course i did was not a full course. Therefore I am now doing a third course and taking the full amount I am supposed to and keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Good luck with your course :-)

xxxxxxxxx

October 15th, 2008 at 9:56 am

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