the use of Roaccutane
Getting real about Roaccutane
SKIN JOURNEY Part 1
I never suffered from acne in my teens. I struck gold with beautiful spot free skin for my teens and most of my 20’s. Thinking I was blessed with good skin, turns out being on conception is a big contributing factor. So, when I was around 23ish I made the decision to no longer pump my body with a daily conception pill. And with that my hormonal acne was born.
It first started on my chest progressively moving towards my face. I would breakout in large painful cystic mainly in my hairline and sideburn area. This then progressively made its way to my jawline, forehead, cheeks and around my nose. It was safe to say my cystic acne was getting worse. Also, the amount of congestion building up was getting worse. I had so many little blackheads and closed comedones around my chin, upper lip and eyebrows.
Naturally being the type of person that hates the sight and feel of a volcanic spot, of course pick and pop. It wasn’t until recently I noticed my spots (popped or not) started to leave little indentations in my skin, also known as scars. And if there’s anything I know; scars are very difficult to reverse, and this was a path I did not want to take. I can’t even tell you how much time I would spend in front of a mirror squeezing a million blackheads and closed comedones. Time consuming, confident flattening and all-round pain in the arse.
See this cute little diagram of the different types of pimples:
Okay, so a little disclaimer here. I am not encouraging anyone to seek this type of treatment unless you are advised by a dermatologist. I tried many alternative treatments before resulting in Roaccutane. My dermatologist is Dr Jack Green who works in Richmond and Werribee. If you would like to have a consultation with him, you will need a GP referral. If you are looking for alternative treatments please leave a comment below and i am more than happy to share.
So here I am on January 25th. This was the pivotal turning point where I could no longer deal with the breakouts. As you can see there are multiple cystic, and scabs scattered over my forehead.
This is February 14th. From this point onward I was never spot free.
I think from this point I just stopped taking photo of myself because I felt so flat!
Okay so around August I was prescribed Oratane 10mg. From what I am told this is a pretty low dosage. I would simply take one of these little soft pink tablets daily with food. Before beginning the 6 month course I had to get a blood test making sure my kidneys and whatever else were in good conditions. There is also a very strong instructions with taking Oratane which is DO NOT GET PREGNANT. There is a very high chance the medication can cause birth defects. Also, limit alcohol intake. Once again, check those kidneys.
So a little about Oratane. Oratane/Roaccutane/Accutane all the same things just different brands. All the above are made up of Isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is a type of retinoid (Vitamin A) which stops your body from producing oil. By cutting down the oil will overall help tto reduce bacteria, inflammation and close up those pesky pores. Its basically a little beauty tablet.
I was instructed that these breakouts would get worse within the first month. However, I noticed no major changes. I still had similar acne breakouts which were already progressively getting worse.
It wasn’t until the 6-week mark is when I started to notice my skin really improving. I basically looked and felt like a new person. There is truly something about bad skin which makes me feel unhygienic and unwell. It’s a real big confidence and mood contributor. So now my skin practically perfect. On the other hand, the side effects started to kick in.
My first side effect was my low levels of energy. Just constantly feeling tired and lethargic. I mean I was just exhausted. I had no energy for anything. Also, kiss your sex drive goodbye! I also have this really annoying headache which just lingers around. The next being sensitive skin. I noticed my skin becoming irritated when using certain products. So, I cut those out.
Products I did use:
Not long after came the ‘DRY’ phase. I went from washing my hair every day to now every 3. Naturally, I produce more oil which is what led me here in the first place. Having less oil produce in my hair is more of a perk than side effect really.
Following the dry hair came the ever so dry skin, all over. My forehead and chin area were dry and flaky. I would simply use large amounts of Nivea all over my face and body because my skin would just be drinking it up. This phase oddly only lasted around 10 days. After that my skin was relatively normal. My legs and arms still remain dry and I need to use a heavy moisturiser each morning.
So prior to taking Roaccutane I was warned to avoid UV as your skin is prone to sunburn. Now you see I rarely burn in the sun. Occasionally the shoulders or tip of my nose is slightly red but that’s the worst of it. However, after 30 minutes in the sun I was burning. My skin was a lot more sensitive than usual and I developed these weird lines. Once again, this didn’t last long and now I’m completely fine to sit in the sun all day. I do not recommend this but just saying.
Next was the dry lips. My lips were fairly dry and crack. It was pretty frustrating because no matter what topical products I used I couldn’t hydrate them. Now, I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who sent me suggestions on lip solutions. I tried many and didn’t have much success. Usually with dehydrated lips you can easily rehydrate by using a product here and there or drinking more water or simply staying out of the sun. However, I am taking a daily dose of dehydration, so I needed something with serious powers. Not to plug myself, but there was a big gap in the market for lip treatments for Roaccutane users, so I had my very own formulated and tested (CRACKD LIP RESCUE BY UNCLOGD). This is a side effect that is persistent and still around.
MY lips were so cracked and dry. They would even bleed.
Around the 8-week mark was the good old blood nose phase. This came in hot and heavy with absolutely no warning. My nose was so sensitive and dry. I would wake up in the middle of the night with a bloody nose, have a bloody nose in the shower, start dripping mid workout, just simply breathing would trigger a nosebleed. Once again, this phrase did improve, and I occasionally now will get the odd nosebleed.
Lastly, the most painful side effect was dry eyes. Now, I am a special case in this situation because I have odd shaped and fairly large eyes. So, they tend to be a little on the dry side. I also suffer from a Saltzman Nodule on my right eyeball. Which is basically a big raised scar. I have used steroids to flatten the bump of the nodule because it rubs against my eye lid causing friction. Due to the Roaccutane, my eye became very dry and somehow re-raised my nodule which is concerning. It was a really painful side effect which resulted in eyedrop and steroid drops again.
Overall, my skin looks incredible and for that I am so happy. The side effects of Roaccutane are confusing and unfamiliar. I think this post is important because I wanted to really uncover the truth of this little pink tablet. I am still currently taking Roaccutane but only every second day.
Can we take a minute here. I do not have a single spot on my face! Look at this before and after!
If you are prescribed any of the following acne medication, I would suggest preparing your body for what’s to come. See here my go to side effect products.
Click through each product to visit the link.
Also to take note - when you are on this type of medication your skin is very sensitive. you can not have any chemical peels, laser treatments, fillers etc. if you suffer from blackheads or the odd breakout please use the unpimpd extraction kit. popping and picking will lead to scaring.
Hope my journey with roaccutane answers some questions for you. if you have anymore questions please comment below.
