180 Pills

Here's the wrap-up video I promised, although I got a little tilted at the end:




Anyway, moving on: I decided to keep my current facial regimen simple. I don't want to poke the dragon until it breathes fire at me again, so here's what I currently use:

Bath gel/wash: Pretty much anything I want. I favor Suave, Bath and Body Works, and Lush, but it's whatever.
Face washing: Bar soap, which I never, ever used before I started Accutane. I prefer Yardley but I also like Dove or anything from Lush. Currently I'm using some Snowcake that Jay sent me.
Moisturizer: Aveeno with SPF 15. It's very light. If I feel I need more, I use Nivea Soft moisturizing cream.
Lotion: At first, I was going with scentless lotion from Vaseline, but now I let myself use fun scented stuff. Currently I have a mandarin scent from Suave!
Makeup:: I still use Bare Minerals, which has been the kindest on my skin. Under it, I use a green stick by NYC to cover up my red, and a concealer from Mary Kay, just to even out my skin tone. Then I use the Bare Minerals on top.
Misc: Baby wipes to remove makeup, also the Bio Oil Experiment (TM)

As of Tuesday, 10/19/2010, I finished my last dose of Accutane. :) So special thanks to Dr. Butler and Dr. Syed for fixing my face. :) I'll be forever grateful. :)

For posterity, I wanted to show you my Amnesteem pills, 40mg, which I had for my last month of Accutane:


The box.


They look more intimidating than they actually are because of the egg size but they're gelatin coated, which makes it easier to swallow.


DON'T GET PREGNANT!

Hay guys, starting Month 5! Actually, I’ve started it already, but it’s taken me forever to update.

They dropped me to 40mg once a day, instead of the 30mg twice a day I’ve been taking. CVS must have not had Claravis in 40s, so they gave me Amnesteem, which I’ll post pictures of soon. The pills are egg-shaped which scared me at first, but they’re gels and easier to swallow than they look.

Face: Month 5 >> Month 4



Definitely still have scars, although Dr. Syed said they were going away. Nothing new. Some facial redness but that’ll go away with lotion and time, I think. Makeup also covers all of the above.

Right side of the face: Month 5 >> Month 4



I have a cyst or something on the right side of my neck, which I wish would go away. I think if it’s not gone in a month or two (I’ve had it awhile), I’ll go see Dr. Syed about it. The Accutane works after you stop, as in it stays in your system, so I think I’ll keep seeing improvement. Cysts always take forever to go away.

Left side of the face: Month 5 >> Month 4



Nothing! The red marks but the edge of my jaw are almost completely gone, although you can’t really see them in the picture.

Back: Month 5 >> Month 4



Just mostly a bit of scarring but nothing that bothers me!

Chest: Month 5 >> Month 4



My chest looks amazing. All of the red marks are faded or completely gone. It was like nothing was there.

Arms: Month 5



It was like I never had anything there at all. No scarring, no redness, nothing, it looks gorgeous.

I’m 1/3 of the way through my last dosage and one blood test to go! I can’t wait to post pictures of The end of Month 5 with the beginning of Month 1. 

Up soon: Pictures of the Amnesteem, ending musings, worries. Not necessarily in that order.

Thanks for reading 

Luff,
Ashe

Hay everyone! I’m starting Month 4 of Accutane in a few days! I’m back with Dr. Syed and he told me that Month 5 will be my last and that five was standard. So I guess I’m nearly done!

Onto the pictures then! Let me add that I’m wearing my good Marks & Spencer’s bra for this.

Face: Month 4 >> Month 3



I’m not quite sure why my face looks red on the right side now, because it doesn’t look like that in person. I’m sure it’s the flash, but I didn’t want you guys to think it wasn’t working!

I have scars on my cheeks but Dr. Syed said that like the redness, they will fade a little over time. I thought when my round of Accutane is over that I’d maybe get microdermabrasion or something, but I don’t think I will. All that is for another post.

Right side of the face: Month 4 >> Month 3



Doesn’t look like a huge change but in person, the sides are a lot less red. I have a cyst-like bump on my neck that’s also going away.

Left side of the face: Month 4 >> Month 3



Redness has faded a LOT, which is hard to show since the flash picks it up and I need the flash to get a proper picture!

Back: Month 4 >> Month 3



The back is going to be my problem area, I can tell. I threw a baby shower for my friend and I was running around sweating, and I broke out with two blemishes. In the past couple days, I got maybe two more although they’re dry already. I’m not too worried about it because I know they’ll be gone soon but they make my back worse than it really is. Besides those few blemishes, everything else is just red marks. And this is mostly on the left shoulder, the right shoulder is behaving just fine!

Chest: Month 4 >> Month 3



It may be hard to tell, but the red marks I had faded a LOT more. I have no blemishes on my chest otherwise.

Even though I haven’t been tracking them, I wanted to show you my upper arm:


Both arms are clear and red mark-free.

I’m quite happy about how I look! If I had to stop now and look like this forever, I would be fine.
Next up: A short musing on scarring.

Luff,
Ashe

So! Big changes! It might be hard to tell for you guys, but I can definitely tell.

Face: Month 3 >> Month 2



No big bumps! I have some on my right cheek but you can’t see it, save for my face being a little red in parts.

Right side of the face: Month 3 >> Month 2



What. A. Difference. The right side of my face mainly has red marks that Dr. Butler said would fade.

Left side of the face: Month 3 >> Month 2



Still some stuff going on but not even as much as last month! Also, you can see the dryness in the corner of my mouth.

Back: Month 3 >> Month 2



I had a couple spring up (like the one on my left shoulder) but one happened between my shoulder blades and it was gone in two days or so. I’m also confident to wear tank tops that show my chest and back and no longer feel like I have to cover up with makeup.

Chest: Month 3 >> Month 2



Still some redness but I don’t care!

Up next: Pictures of my zombie elbow!

I promised pics of pill sizes!

40mg:


DON’T GET PREGNANT


30mg, out of the box and on my textbook:



These pics make the pills look WAY bigger than they are.

Another lovely side effect is that my nose is really dry, like the inside of it. @_@ It doesn’t bother me but it’s weird.

I got myself cancelled from work so I could get my bloodwork done, pick up my new glasses, and get schoolwork done, which I'm still working on as we speak. I went to do the blookdwork all by myself and I was fine! Yay me! I did feel a little lightheaded, though, but I didn't pass out. :)

Another post is coming Friday after the doctor, I think. :) I'm dying to know what she's going to say about how good my skin looks!

I took my very first pill yesterday, May 7th. :) I feel better just knowing I've started, although I'm wary of the side effects starting. >_>

I saw my doctor today to finally- *finally* get my prescription. I have to wait a couple days to make sure that my pill-taking and blood-letting is in sync with my trip in August- ie, my appointments and bloodwork don't fall in the middle of it. Two days seems like agony, I want to start taking this ASAP.

She started me on 40mg a day. She said I'd work my way up to 60mg but she likes to start small and that she only saw one patient with a flare-up, so maybe my skin getting worse before it gets better won't happen. The dryness will, though, so I ordered a bunch of different Nivea lip balms and bought some natural lip balm from Sunrise Soap Company (http://www.sunrisesoapco.com) at the PA Fairy Festival. Bring it on, because I don't think that Accutane can bring on worse discomfort and pain than I'm in now. I dunno, we'll see.

So, Month 1: Before Pictures

This is after a shower so I look absolutely terrible. That's why they're called "before" pictures, so here we go.
My face:


A horrifying close-up of my face:


The side of my face and neck, which is very uncomfortable to sleep on:


Chest:


The sides of my arms:


My back:


I can't wait to start!

I'm lashing out at everyone now. Eight more days until my appointment.

I'm starting to think that the pimples are little pods in my face that are making me be a bitch. :/



This is a look at my neck and possibly some of what's going on with my back.