Well, it’s the end of week 2 for me and in the past 3 days things have gone dramatically downhill. I had a massive breakout, the worst I’ve had in years, mainly on my chin and around my mouth, which is my problem area. I’ve got lots of painful red lumps and whiteheads. I’m no stranger to painful spots that last a long time but I have so many at once at the moment that have popped up in such a short space of time that it really hurts. Smiling is out of the question – and not just because I don’t feel like it! I know it’s supposed to get worse before it gets better but I hope it doesn’t keep getting worse for a long time. I can’t believe how many spots have surfaced in 3 days. 3 days earlier, my skin wasn’t great but I was able to make it look passable with make up, so much so I was confident enough to go on a date. My date would get a shock if he saw me now. I now have to put off seeing him again until my skin has cleared up a bit. The problem is I have no idea how long this will be. What if it stays like this (or gets worse, which doesn’t bear thinking about!) for weeks to come…
Apart from the breakout, other side effects I’ve had are dry, peeling skin (on face only), dry lips (but manageable so far), hot, itchy eyes (but nothing too serious), hot flushes, headaches and nausea. The last three seem to have subsided over the past few days, in fact since the breakout. I also tried drinking alcohol a couple of times in the first week. My dermatologist said I could do this in moderation, but it appears I can’t! After one drink I felt drunk, had hot flushes and woke up with a massive headache the next day to boot. At first, I was distraught at the thought of not being able to drink, but after seeing the effects, I have decided to try to abstain totally for the whole course. I’m going to be on a long course so the thought of it is tough, but I think it will be good for me. It will force me not to rely on alcohol to give me more confidence, deal with stress etc. That’s not to say that I won’t be very happy to have a celebratory drink at the end of my treatment (hopefully with lovely clear skin at last!)
I’ve got my 2nd appointment with my dermatologist in 2 weeks. She will no doubt up my dose (I’m only on 10mg). I’m wondering if I should encourage her to up it to 30mg rather than just 20mg. I’m not sure if there is any benefit or not in increasing very gradually. I’m eager to speed things along a bit! But not if it means the side effects are a lot worse.
At the moment, I’m contemplating what I can put on my spots to reduce the redness and soothe the pain. I’m using tea tree oil at the moment but wondered if anyone knows of a good product? Also not a big fan of the moisturizer my dermatologist prescribed me – Ceracuta (Noviderm). I live in France so maybe it’s not a brand people are familiar with in the UK. I’ve had to put a lot on and I’m hoping that has encouraged the spots. Any recommendations for a good moisturizer that really works on dry skin but doesn’t encourage spots?
Grateful for any advice!
