Posted in Roaccutane Diary by sparklypickle


 

sparklypickle: end of 6 weeks, with pictures :)

May 26th, 2009

I’ll admit the last couple of weeks have not been great for me, its taken a while to get used to the increased dosage, but am now finding it greatly entertaining to peel bits of my lips off…

great news…today I had NO NEW SPOTS…I see a bump trying to raise its ugly head..but I predict tomorrow or the day after for the appearance of that one!

after 6 weeks, no makeup

to be honest in week 5 my skin got worse on the bad side and chin, but now seems to have gone back to healing mode again…I like to see it like this:

roaccutane is like the skin police, when they gets sent in to raid a criminal gambling ring, most gamblers will run away as fast as possible (appearing as a lovely initial breakout), but some are brave enough to stay put and just hide until the police go away (so they can carry on gambling, presumably). As the frequency, intensity  and accumulation of raids is increased, so the number of criminals decreases, until finally, the entire ring is either dispelled or arrested and the public is once again safe from the ugly side of gambling .

Anywhoos, skinwise, with makeup there isnt too much to give away the fact I have acne…without makeup the red marks are still pretty darned obvious. There are two cysts beneath my ear which seem to just be slowly shrinking away. Still expecting more guests along the jawline and chin before too long though!!

side effectwise, I have sore, chapped, peeling lips, dry eyes, sore ankles, a lovely bumpy rash on the backs of my hands. nothing that can’t be

dealt with by use of moisturiser, eye drops, lip balm and patience

I hope everyone is having a good week, and that you agree there has been some progress (in the pics) from week 3!!!!

Right after 5 weeks with makeup

Left side after 5 weeks with makeup

left side after 6 weeks, no makeup

Right side after 6 weeks, no makeup

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 8:09 pm and is filed under Roaccutane Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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my tasty hand rash… »

7 responses to “end of 6 weeks, with pictures :)”

  1. fanniemarie

    27th May, 09

    Hi Sparklypickle,

    Your skin is looking fab, I’m really pleased for you. I seem to be having a really good reaction to roacc so far (still expecting breakouts to come in future though). I have the red marks like you, but I’m not having many breakouts, just the very occasional whitehead. Lots of blackheads, but they don’t bother me because they’re not cysts or whiteheads. I’m off to the derm tonight any tips on asking him for an up on my dose. Was it your derm that said they’d upped it to try and help with the redness? I kind of feel if I can reach my cumulaive dose or near it faster then I’m prepared for a new onslaught of side effects. So far mine have been ‘copable’ and my mood isn’t too bad, don’t feel down, although my fiance says I do snap occasionally, which I agree with, but that’s probably more to do with worrying about uni work.
    Keep up the good work :)
    FM

    at

  2. sparklypickle

    27th May, 09

    Hi FM, no it wasn’t my derm who upped the dose due to redness. As a general rule, if you are not seeing bad side effects then your derm is most likely going to try and increase your dose so you get the maximum benefit…if your derm is unsure, then strike a deal, that you will try a higher dose, and if you see bad side effects go back down…this is what I agreed with my derm, although mine was more flexible and basically gave me control of what dose I felt comfortable taking. I’m so glad you are reacting well and seeing improvement…the blackheads seem to just disappear after a while..my nose and forehead are now clear of these! yay! not everyone needs to reach the same cumulative dose to get good effects, so I guess just be guided by what your derm says, cos they are the expert :D good luck with the Derm

    Sparksx

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  3. fanniemarie

    27th May, 09

    Hi Sarklypickle,

    Thank you for the advice :D I found who it was, it was Rachel. That’s good news about the blackheads. I’ll try your bargining tack with the derm tonight.Will let you know how I get on…right back to that flippin asssignment!
    TTFN
    FM :)

    at

  4. fanniemarie

    27th May, 09

    Hello again,

    My derm said no, basically he said that I had dry lips already, which means the roacc is working and that the hospital only do 0.5mg per kg so 40mg is their maximum. Was really disappointed, especially as they called about 3 hours before my appointment to tell me the derm couldn’t see me because he had minor ops to do, but he’d leave my prescription and I could talk to the practice nurse. Unfortunately she was off, so he said he’d see me quickly. Told him my side effects weren’t bad, but he wouldn’t go with it. Just telling myself now that it’s working really well really soon and I should just go with it. Think I just wanted to try and get it all sorted sooner.
    On the up side I got my next appointment straight away, next time it’s with a nursing practitioner so hopefully I can ask my questions then, I know she can’t alter my dose, but I found the derm a bit harsh today, I’d never met this one before, not my usual one. Probably seemed like that because I was feeling disappointed with his decision.
    Thanks for letting me bend your ear again,
    FM :D

    at

  5. sparklypickle

    27th May, 09

    eeeek! well, the derm says no, so I guess 40mg is it for you, Im only on 30 and my max is also 40mg, and there are plenty of studies showing that a low dose course (0.2-0.5mg/kg) can be as effective as treatment as 1-2mg/kg…..but just with less side effects…of course the more severe the acne, the higher the dose usually needed. Apparently the course is routinely 4-5 months regardless of the dosage and possibly extended if necessary, but I was told if I stayed at 20mg it would more liekly be 6 months, if I went for 40 or 30, I would have to take it for 5 months in total….evidently my grasp of maths is inadequate to work out why the length of time for 30 and 40 should be the same, but hey, I’m not the doctor, and I don’t sign the scripts. Sorry your derm was so unhelpful, but you are already seeing good progress and the derm could be saving you a lot of potential greif from taking a higher dose. Personally I fear that my derm will ask me to up the dose from 30 to 40 next time I see him, cos I dont want any more random aches and rashes and peeling skin thankyou! If it is hospital policy not to prescribe more than 40mg for you then it’s not worth fighting, and just hope you get a nicer derm next time :) keep up the great attitude, don’t be disappointed, you are already seeing fast improvement, so yay!! :)

    at

  6. kiri

    29th May, 09

    wow after the six weeks your skin looks like it has progressed :) hope it keeps working with no more breakouts!
    xx

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  7. sparklypickle

    30th May, 09

    Thanks Kiri, unfortunately the rebels have fled to my chin and jawline, but at least they are moving south, perhaps they will reach the border of my face and disappear within the next couple of weeks (here’s hoping!!) there is also the possibility that my neck has yet to produce all the bumpy beauties it has to produce! At least my cheeks are pretty clear now as they were the worst part.
    xx

    at

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