Skin 6 months after Roaccutane

I finished my 3rd course of Roaccutane in August 2016. I was happy with the results, there were still a few little spots here and there but nothing like before, the only problem was the oil. I went back to the hospital about 1.5 months after I'd finished my course for a final check up and told them how much oil my skin was producing; it wasn't my usual doctor I was seeing but an acne nurse who told me "well you've had 6 months of this, you don't want to be on it for the rest of your life so if you need to come back get your GP to re-refer you". That was that. He prescribed me a tube of Isotrex and sent me on my way.

Since then my skin has been ridiculously oily; I can feel it forming on my face and am constantly having to reapply makeup and wipe away excess oil with blotting sheets. And with the oil came the spots!

The Isotrex (see my previous post: http://survivingacne.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/isotrexin.html) has done nothing to lessen the spots; in fact, the only thing that has helped is the erythromycin cream that I purchased from the pharmacy to help with the rashes that kept appearing on my hands whilst I was taking Roaccutane.

The spots on the side of my forehead in the above picture were there for at least 2 months; every time one would go another would reappear just next to it and nothing I did would get rid of them. I'm 26 years old, all I want is nice skin; is that too much to ask??

I've sent an e-mail to my dermatologist to ask for an appointment because no, I would rather not be on it forever but it seems to be the only thing that works and I can life with dry lips and hand rashes if it will help clear up my skin! I actually asked another Dermatologist who I know if there was any limits to how many times you could be prescribed R and she said there wasn't and pointed out that despite the research that acne is linked to depression the people who take it are generally happier as they feel that their skin is getting better!

If my Dermatologist does see me and does prescribe me another round of Roaccutane this will be my fourth go; has anyone else out there been on it this many times?

- Natalie

Goldfaden MD Doctor's Scrub

I've been off Roaccutane for around 5 months now (I'll do an updated post about my skin soon, promise!) but in the last few weeks I've started to notice the pores on my forehead are getting clogged, leaving the surface feeling bumpy.  

I went on a mission to by a facial scrub to help combat this; I wanted one that was very grainy, not perfumed, and one that I could use daily.

I came across Goldfaden MD Doctor's Scrub in Space NK; it was a bit of a splurge at £65 for 100ml but the texture was exactly what I was after!!

 

It contains:

1. Ruby Crystals that are perfectly round making it gentle enough to use on a daily basis
2. Hyaluronic Acid that's helps to increase collagen in the skin to lessen pores and wrinkles (basically, increases elasticity in this skin and renews skin cells)
3. Seaweed extract an antioxidant and firming agent. 

It's probably the best facial scrub I've tried, it doesn't irritate or dry out my sensitive skin and leaves it feeling silky smooth after each use.

 

A lot of the cheaper facial scrubs/exfoliators are perfumed but this is doesn't include any chemical ingredients, only natural antioxidants and plant extracts. It's also animal friendly which is a bonus!

- Natalie

How many tablets do you take a day?

I recently started taking 70mg and unfortunately the pharmacists had to give me a mix of 20mg and 5mg tablets

Today I took 10 tablets!

- Natalie

End of month 6

I went back to my dermatologist today for a monthly checkup; I've been taking R for 6 months now (mostly at 50mg) and I'm still breaking out. As this is my third time on R I would have hoped it would have cleared my acne up quicker and been completely effective! 

There hasn't been a day that my skin has been completely clear, you might look at pictures and think "what's she complaining about? My skin's much worse than that" but if I'm still getting spots now (6 months in and on the third course) what will happen when I stop taking it and it's out of my system? Why does it never work properly on me? 

At the moment I have 2 large puss filled spots in both of my ears that have been there for about 2 weeks and don't seem to be going! Every day when I wake up and at least one of my ears is filled with fluid!

Because my skin is so dry I keep getting tiny scabs on my face, mostly on my forehead.

My lips are very dry and wearing lipstick is literally impossible because my lips peel constantly.

Anyway, I explained to my doctor that I have still been getting spots and they decided to up my dosage to 70mg. I've only ever taken up to 50mg but they hope the increased dosage will help stop my spots once and for all. 

I'm due back in 3 weeks to check my progress and I'm hoping it works!

- Natalie

Month 5 (50mg)

I am now on my fifth month of my third course of Roaccutane!

I'm still getting spots; some days my skin looks smooth and I start to get excited thinking "this is it!" and the next day I wake up and i'm covered in new spots and I feel like I'm in a never ending cycle of disappointment. 

Today I woke up to an array of tiny spots on my cheeks and jaw.

I have a lot of blackheads on my cheeks and they seem to be developing into tiny whiteheads.

 

As you can see, my lips are still cracked in the corners. Every day I wake up and open my mouth the brush my teeth and they split down the sides leaving me looking like the Joker in Batman... 

I've definitely noticed my hair has been less greasy and last week I managed 3 days without washing it!!! That is unprecedented; before this course of R I was washing it every night and waking up to it being greasy the next day!

That's what makes me worry about my skin when I stop taking R; I've already taken 2 courses and my skin still went back to the way it was before- who's to say it won't this time?? I can't bear to be a 26 year old woman who still has the insecurities of her 16 year old self. 

I'm still completely paranoid about my face and the way I look; I scrutinise my reflection constantly and when people are looking at me and I see their eyes flicker across my face I'm convinced they're judging me for being ugly.

I feel bad because there are horrific things going on in the world right now and my problems are so insignificant in comparison, as often as I feel sad I feel guilty because in other ways I am so fortunate.

- Natalie

Start of month 4 (50mg)

The inside of my nose is all dry and bleeds whenever I blow it, my lip has been cracked at the side for about 3 months and often bleeds, the tops of my arms are incredibly dry, I sweat a lot, and I'm still breaking out daily.

Other than that everything's great...

- Natalie

Burning hands

The tops of my hands are starting to burn again; i have been keeping them moisturised and have been applying Eumovate when necessary but i can feel them starting to develop a rash like last time.

You can see the rash starting to develop and it feels hot/burning.

I've applied some more Eumovate so I'm hoping that it stops a rash from fully developing.

- Natalie