Hey everyone!
I’m Abi, I’m 20 years old and I have suffered with acne since I was twelve. At its worst it has covered my face, my back and my chest. In this background section I am going to mention a few of the products/tablets I have tried over the years and how effective they have been for me. I have currently just started a second course of Roaccutane and will be keeping a weekly diary of my progress. I hope this helps anybody considering Roaccutane.
My skin started to break out before I even started high school. I remember how self conscious I felt moving to a new school with a face full of spots. Nobody else my age had bad skin and I didn’t understand why it was happening to me. When I spoke to people I didn’t tend to look them in the eye and I’d cover my face with my hair. People used to make comments and after one particularly bad day where the girls in my form had targeted me, I asked my mum if we could go to the doctors. All the face washes I had been trying like Clearasil, Oxy and Clean and Clear had been no help so I decided it was time to try some tablets.
I was first prescribed Erythromycin, an antibiotic. I took this for about two years and it did nothing. I was also given some topical lotions such as Dalacin-t. This came in a funny roller ball and felt very sticky on my face. It also didn’t seem to help either. I went back to the doctors and they put me on another antibiotic called Tetracycline. After taking this for several months I also saw no improvement. I think at this time I began madly trying more over the counter products such as Salicylic Acid based ones and Benzoyl Peroxide. I remember the Benzoyl Peroxide (quinoderm) stung so badly when I put it on my face. From what I can recall, no over the counter product has ever been particularly effective at helping my acne. The doctor also gave me another cream called Differin - again this didnt help.
By the end of high school I was at the end of my tether. Another girl I knew who’s skin had got quite bad had taken a drug called Roacctuane (Accutane) and her skin was looking much better so I was keen to find out more. I asked my doctor and she said that the drug was very strong and was only prescribed by a dermatologist. We paid for our first appointment at a private hospital and I was told I would be allowed the drug. The dermatologist said he was going to start me on a low dose due to all the side effects (depression, muscle aches, nosebleeds, dry skin/lips). I started on 5mg a day. I got incredibly frustrated during the first month of my treatment as nothing much was happening as the dose was so low. I was eventually raised to 10mg and then 20mg and then I ended my course on 40mg. Through out the course the only products I had used were Simple face wash and Simple moisturiser. These were great because they were fragrance and colour free so they didn’t aggravate my increasingly sensitive skin. By the end of the course my skin was so much better. For the first time in years I didn’t feel hideously ugly and it was such a relief to be able to talk to people without hiding behind my hair. During the treatment my only side effects were dry skin (especially on the backs of my hands and tops of my arms) and very dry lips. My hair also went from being greasy to being very dry, I was used to having to wash it every day and it was quite a relief to not have to!
At this time I started university. It was great to be able to go away and feel confident about meeting new people. However after about 9 months of good skin, everything went down hill. I started to break out around my mouth. It wasn’t too bad to start with but as the months went on I started to really break out across my cheeks as well and my forehead. The spots on my chest also started to return. The only part of my body that stayed clear was my back. I had a really nice boyfriend and I felt so worried that he would go off me as my skin was starting to get bad. I started to avoid seeing him and when I did I found it very hard to look at him and felt uncomfortable when he looked at me.
I started to research on the internet and came across the N-lite laser treatment. I watched an interview with a girl who had had this treatment and I was desperate to try it myself as her skin looked so good. My fantastic parents knew how much my skin upset me and agreed I could have a consultation at the Private Clinic in Manchester. At the clinic I was told that the laser would kill the bacteria under my skin and also encourage the growth of collagen so my skin could heal. My parents agreed that I could have 3 laser sessions for £750. I also bought some of the Glycolic Acid products they recommended. These products irritated my face enormously so I didn’t use them. At the laser sessions I was given little metal goggles to wear to protect my eyes. The laser was then run all over my face, concentrating on the worst areas. The laser felt like a stinging sensation. After the sessions my face was bright red and blotchy and on one occasion I got little red bruises. They told me my skin would get worse before it got better. After my 3 treatments my face didn’t look better at all. I felt so bad because my parents had paid a lot of money and it hadn’t helped. I thought it might improve over time but even after a month after the treatments no improvement was evident.
At this point I went back to the doctors and they put me on the contraceptive pill Dianette. I had tried this tablet before and it had made me so emotional that I couldn’t take it. It had exactly the same effect on me this time. I was crying every day but I stuck it out in the hope it would help. I think my boyfriend thought I had gone crazy, I’d just be sitting with him and I’d just start crying for no reason. After 4 months I had not seen much improvement in my skin. I also tried microdermabrasion. I bought it off ebay, it was called Epidermx II. They had several promising looking before and after pictures but when I got the cream it smelt nice but that was about the only good thing about it. After a month of massaging this stuff into my face every night i realised it wasn’t doing anything, which sucked as it had cost £20. One thing I have tried that did seem to help a bit was tea-tree oil. I didn’t expect an oil to be able to help but it did calm break outs down. It also didnt aggravate my sensitive skin.
However, I was not happy and I decided I wanted Roacctuane back. I was worried I wouldn’t be allowed it as when I had asked about a second course previously the doctor had said “the dermatologist wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole, your skin isn’t bad enough yet”. But I didn’t want to wait around for my skin to get worse! I decided to go and see one of the nurses who had been seeing me since I was twelve. She said she thought it would be possible for me to take it again but I would obviously need to go and see the dermatologist.
I got an appointment and went to see him. He was encouraging me to try another strong antibiotic before I went back on Roacctuane but he could see I wasn’t keen. Antibiotics hadn’t helped me in the past and I couldn’t see why they would help me now. He agreed I could take Roacctuane again and start on 40mg a day this time as I hadn’t experienced any serious side effects last time. On the NHS I was going to have to wait 9 weeks for my prescription and my parents being fantastic again agreed I could get it privately, even thought it was going to be quite costly. I took my first 40mg on Monday 18th June 2007.
I will keep you informed as to how I’m getting on!
xxx
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Im on week 4 of my course and am taking 20mg. I am really worried as absolutely nothing good has happened and im really not feeling positive about ro-accutane at all! The only thing thats happened is my skin as been worse than normal since day 1 of my treatment