Reclaim Your Skin

OK…. last week i finished my 4 month course of the dreaded roaccutane.

am i allowed to swear on these things? anyway.. my skin looks F**KING AMAZING.

i can’t believe it. anyone who is in the middle of their course now and is getting down from the side effects, i advise to stick through it as the end result will make you very happy.

my acne was very bumpy, and was awful to put make up as i was just covering the redness but the little bumps were really obvious. now my skin is so smooth…. i dont even need foundation anymore.

the side effects i encountered were:

obvious- DRY SKIN and lips. aaargh the lips drove me mad. they are only just going down down now… they were inflamed and it even hurt to eat, as the sides of my mouth were so sore.

the skin around my lips was so dry is flaked off… but my advice is just to stick through it as its a small price to pay for clear skin. in the end i just went ‘cold turkey’ with the lip thing… and just used vaseline every now and then. i just let them dry out.

EYES-

anyone else had weird things happening to their eyes? it felt like little lumps were in my eye lids and they were very sore.. i couldnt put eye liner on. it felt very wierd indeed.

RASH-

about 8 weeks in i got a horrid rash on my arms and hands… a bit like ezcema. it was itchy but it wasn’t too bad, i just put moistuiser on.

DEPRESSION-

i think the tablets definately affected me. i think they made me more emotional, and feeling more upset about small things. i can’t say i felt totally depressed but there were times where i would cry and feel low for no apprarent reason. roacc or day to day stress? who knows.

DRY HAIR-

my hair didnt thin…. not as i noticed. it was and still is very dry though… was a blessing for a while as i hardly had to wash it. however i dyed it pink (i was going to glastonbury festival haha) and now its like bloody straw. nothing an intense conditioner wont fix though.

DRINKING ALCOHOL-

i drunk booze the whole way through my treatment and i never had any major problems. (i am not reccommending it though)

i did find that i got drunk quicker… and after drinking alcohol i found that my side effects got worse e.g very dry lips and rash on my arms got worse.

now i am just waiting for another blood test as the roaccutane has considerably raised the lipids in my blood…. but apart from that i am fine. i will try and upload before and after pictures of my face so you can see the difference.

right now i am working on my scars. mine are like tiny little holes in my face… not noticable when i have make up on. i am trying out that bio oil stuff to see if it evens out a bit. i would love to try dermabrasion or a chemical peel but i don’t know if thats possible on the nhs.

i am hoping and praying now that i have come off the Roacc my skin will stay clear…. and hopefully i will never have to go on it again.

its great seeing people i have not seen for ages… its like they know there is something different about me but they can’t put their finger on it. haha! god bless roaccutane. i was on 60 mg per day which is probably why my side effects were crappy, but i told my derm id rather have a higher dosage and it all to be over quicker.

anyway…. good luck with your treatments!

amybee