Accutane: Day 37.
So it's not been so bad, yet. The side effects of Accutane, so far, are just mildly annoying as opposed to being a pain in the ass or worse, dangerous. A quick rundown:
*Dry facial skin, obviously, but I've even managed to keep it under control for the most part. I switched from Cetaphil moisturizing cream to Cerave moisturizing cream on a nurse's recommendation, and it's awesome. Cetaphil was thick enough, but it left my face feeling very greasy -- and while being flaky isn't any better, I didn't like being able to feel all that cream on my face. Cerave is heavy but lighter, if that makes sense. It goes on thick but once it dries, my skin feels great and my skin doesn't look oily. So, I'm passing on that recommendation to anyone who has dry skin -- try Cerave Moisturizing Cream. And for the peskier areas (like in the little crevice by the nostrils -- soooo dry all the time), I put a little Aquaphor on at night for extra help. It has worked wonders.
The skin on my body is drier, also. I noticed about two weeks ago that I had ashy, flaky skin on my forearms. The bottoms of my feet are hardening and flaking in the high-impact areas. For awhile, I felt itchy all over from being so dry. So I moisturize at night, after my shower. It's helped.
*Dry lips. Aquaphor is some amazing shit, and I am relieved/proud to say that my lips have not cracked, which is apparently very common in Accutane users. I literally put Aquaphor on my lips about 20 times a day (no exaggeration). I keep a tub by the bed, a bottle in the bathroom, a bottle next to the couch in the living room, a bottle in my purse, and one at work. I am fucking prepared, man.
The worst my lips felt was the night we went to see SATC2, and I left my purse in the car. My lips were starting to dry by the time the movie began, and once it was over -- 2.5 hours later -- they were totally dried out and literally felt like they were on fire. Not pleasant.
*Dry hair. So far, I'm not even considering this a drawback. As a matter of fact, it's a bonus. I've always had super-greasy hair that requires washing at least once a day, so do you know how great it is to go two or three days at a time without washing it? It's fucking awesome. I keep it hydrated with daily conditioner and do a deep-conditioning mask once a week to help keep it soft. When I got it highlighted a few weeks ago, my stylist said it looked healthy. So far, so good.
*Rash (dermatitis). About three weeks, ago, I developed this weird rash on my arms. It wasn't noticeable until you felt the bumps on the skin. My derm suggested a lotion with lactic acid in it to help gently exfoliate the bumps away. I had intended to go pick some up, but in the meantime I moisturized with Aveeno & St. Ives and it disappeared. Whew.
*Sunburn. I'm getting sunburned in a frighteningly short time. I mean, we're talking the time it takes me to drive to work (ten minutes) and walk from my car to the door (two minutes). If my skin is exposed to the sun in any way for more than about 300 seconds, I burn. I am perpetually pink. And I haven't been able to find a decent body lotion with SPF. Everything I've tried feels thick and gross and sticky, and I think that's more unpleasant than being a little burned. Nevertheless, I am a high risk for skin cancer and I need some SPF on my body. And since my skin is always dry, I'd like to combine the sunscreen with a decent moisturizer so I don't have to apply two coats of crap every day. Any suggestions?
*Dry eyes. It comes and goes. The first two weeks my eyes were extremely dry, the second two weeks it pretty much disappeared. Lately they get dry now and then, but it's not been bad enough for me to not wear my contacts. I keep eyedrops in my purse and a set at work, and I just put in a few drops every day. I have an eye doctor appointment this Saturday so I can ask for some tips then.
*Joint pain. My lower back hurts, and sometimes my knees ache. They don't hurt while I'm working out, but rather at night, when I'm lying in bed, or when sitting for long periods of time at work. I just bought some Tylenol to keep on hand, because my derm said to take some if the pain got severe. Haven't had to use it yet.
*Mood. Mood is normal. I was super cranky for the first two weeks, but since then I've felt fine. so I don't know if the moodiness was a PMS-related or drug-related thing, but it hasn't been a worry, yet.
*Nosebleeds. Not a problem, yet. For awhile, I would have blood coming out with the mucous when I blew my nose, but haven't seen as much of that lately.
So, for the positive, my skin is still looking better. No huge breakouts. Scars fading. Skin feeling smoother. Around week three, I noticed, upon close inspection in the mirror, that my forehead was full of blackheads (gross), as well as my nose, which felt like fine-grain sandpaper to the touch. They're all gone now. My pores haven't looked this small in, well, ever. Small victories, right?
*Dry facial skin, obviously, but I've even managed to keep it under control for the most part. I switched from Cetaphil moisturizing cream to Cerave moisturizing cream on a nurse's recommendation, and it's awesome. Cetaphil was thick enough, but it left my face feeling very greasy -- and while being flaky isn't any better, I didn't like being able to feel all that cream on my face. Cerave is heavy but lighter, if that makes sense. It goes on thick but once it dries, my skin feels great and my skin doesn't look oily. So, I'm passing on that recommendation to anyone who has dry skin -- try Cerave Moisturizing Cream. And for the peskier areas (like in the little crevice by the nostrils -- soooo dry all the time), I put a little Aquaphor on at night for extra help. It has worked wonders.
The skin on my body is drier, also. I noticed about two weeks ago that I had ashy, flaky skin on my forearms. The bottoms of my feet are hardening and flaking in the high-impact areas. For awhile, I felt itchy all over from being so dry. So I moisturize at night, after my shower. It's helped.
*Dry lips. Aquaphor is some amazing shit, and I am relieved/proud to say that my lips have not cracked, which is apparently very common in Accutane users. I literally put Aquaphor on my lips about 20 times a day (no exaggeration). I keep a tub by the bed, a bottle in the bathroom, a bottle next to the couch in the living room, a bottle in my purse, and one at work. I am fucking prepared, man.
The worst my lips felt was the night we went to see SATC2, and I left my purse in the car. My lips were starting to dry by the time the movie began, and once it was over -- 2.5 hours later -- they were totally dried out and literally felt like they were on fire. Not pleasant.
*Dry hair. So far, I'm not even considering this a drawback. As a matter of fact, it's a bonus. I've always had super-greasy hair that requires washing at least once a day, so do you know how great it is to go two or three days at a time without washing it? It's fucking awesome. I keep it hydrated with daily conditioner and do a deep-conditioning mask once a week to help keep it soft. When I got it highlighted a few weeks ago, my stylist said it looked healthy. So far, so good.
*Rash (dermatitis). About three weeks, ago, I developed this weird rash on my arms. It wasn't noticeable until you felt the bumps on the skin. My derm suggested a lotion with lactic acid in it to help gently exfoliate the bumps away. I had intended to go pick some up, but in the meantime I moisturized with Aveeno & St. Ives and it disappeared. Whew.
*Sunburn. I'm getting sunburned in a frighteningly short time. I mean, we're talking the time it takes me to drive to work (ten minutes) and walk from my car to the door (two minutes). If my skin is exposed to the sun in any way for more than about 300 seconds, I burn. I am perpetually pink. And I haven't been able to find a decent body lotion with SPF. Everything I've tried feels thick and gross and sticky, and I think that's more unpleasant than being a little burned. Nevertheless, I am a high risk for skin cancer and I need some SPF on my body. And since my skin is always dry, I'd like to combine the sunscreen with a decent moisturizer so I don't have to apply two coats of crap every day. Any suggestions?
*Dry eyes. It comes and goes. The first two weeks my eyes were extremely dry, the second two weeks it pretty much disappeared. Lately they get dry now and then, but it's not been bad enough for me to not wear my contacts. I keep eyedrops in my purse and a set at work, and I just put in a few drops every day. I have an eye doctor appointment this Saturday so I can ask for some tips then.
*Joint pain. My lower back hurts, and sometimes my knees ache. They don't hurt while I'm working out, but rather at night, when I'm lying in bed, or when sitting for long periods of time at work. I just bought some Tylenol to keep on hand, because my derm said to take some if the pain got severe. Haven't had to use it yet.
*Mood. Mood is normal. I was super cranky for the first two weeks, but since then I've felt fine. so I don't know if the moodiness was a PMS-related or drug-related thing, but it hasn't been a worry, yet.
*Nosebleeds. Not a problem, yet. For awhile, I would have blood coming out with the mucous when I blew my nose, but haven't seen as much of that lately.
So, for the positive, my skin is still looking better. No huge breakouts. Scars fading. Skin feeling smoother. Around week three, I noticed, upon close inspection in the mirror, that my forehead was full of blackheads (gross), as well as my nose, which felt like fine-grain sandpaper to the touch. They're all gone now. My pores haven't looked this small in, well, ever. Small victories, right?