Let me start by saying my Before and After pictures really show you how far I have come.
Accutane also known as Isotretinoin is a capsule that is taken by mouth for abour 5-6 months. It is a form of vitamin A. It reduces the amount of oil released by oil glands in your skin, and helps your skin renew itself more quickly. Accutane is used to treat severe nodular acne. It is usually given after other acne medicines or antibiotics have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.
The side effects that I experienced while on the medicine were: joint and muscle aches, Severely dry lips and skin, skin peeling, sensitive skin, extreme fatigue and headaches just to name a few. But if you google Accutane there are other side effects that could effect you because everyone is different.
The most annoying side effects for me were the dry lips, fatigue and muscle aches. You absolutely have to keep chapstick on your lips at all times or run the risk of your lips cracking and peeling. Even if I go to sleep at 9 pm I will still wake up tired, pretty sad when you want to be productive after hours for your business. There are times I had to depend on energy drinks in order to stay up. For the most part I work out about 2-3 times a week, so the muscle aches were one of those things that bothered me the most. Muscles and joints I didn’t know I had were sore and hurting. All you can really do is rest and stretch.
As you can tell Accutane is a very serious medicine. So serious that I had to go to the dermatologist every month to take a pregnancy test to make sure I wasn’t pregnant and I also had to go online and answer a series of questions in order to be able to get my medicine each month. For women, you have to be on birth control. If you were to get pregnant while on the accutane your baby can have birth defects. VERY SERIOUS business.
Price: With my insurance the medicine only came to $10 each month for a 30 day supply. Not bad but without it my pharmacist said it was around $1,000. Yikes!
Dr. Slaughter was very knowledgeable and he wanted to achieve clear skin just as much a I did. He and his nurses were always there when I had questions or concerns and it was a very smooth process.
Check out my Before and After pictures below:
Before The Dermatologist:
May 2015
May 2016
June 2016
Beginning of Dermatologist Visits:
December 2016
January 2017
February 2017
June 2017
August 2017(NOW)
If you have any questions feel free to comment or ask me on IG.
xo,
Alacia says
Hello!
I’m on my second month of accutane and i was wondering what products did you use while on accutane. My lips been dry since the second week but i keep them moisturized real good but right now I’m starting to see my face dry out and i was wondering what you products used.
Derria says
Hello! I used shea Butter for my body, aquaphor for my lips at all times and I used a combo oil for my face that you can purchase from http://allcoiledup.com/collections/286862-hair-body-oils I hope this helps! Best wishes to you on your Accutane journey!
Amanda says
Hi there, in what month did you start to see improvement and no more breakouts? I’m on Week 11 and still feel like I’m getting new blemishes.
Derria says
Within the first month. I didnt have anymore breakouts once I started the medicine. Everyone’s experience is different and your dosage matters as well. I was on a somewhat higher dosage
Tandra says
Hello,
If you don’t mind me asking, what dosage were you on? I just started Friday on 40mg 2x a day. So farther I’ve only dealt with headaches but only around the time of my next dosage. Did you use any creams for scars or discoloration while on it??
Derria says
Hi. I dont remember the dosage that I was on since it’s almost been a year since I was on the medicine. It wasnt anything high just a normal dosage. The discoloration cleared up with Accutane they gave me Aczone for random pimples if I got any.