.Poppy.
28-12-15, 00:35
Hey all. I've had acne since I was about 12 years old; I am now 24. It wasn't too bad starting out, though of course no one else had it at all at 12 years old, so it was a problem. When I hit 16 it got even worse - it's mainly cystic in nature and has left scarring. I've tried just about every pill, topical, and light treatment out there and my derm finally told me that accutane would be the best bet.
I am currently on my 3rd month of a 5/6 month treatment. Overall, my acne has improved greatly. I still get spots, but not nearly as many and they generally aren't as big. I've also had a few instances where I felt something under my skin that previously would have turned super red and erupted into a cyst; instead there was just a very tiny pimple if anything at all. I'm pleased with this, and hoping as time goes on it gets even better. I'm on 60 mg daily now, which my derm says is the average dose for a person of my size (5 ft. 6 inches and 130 pounds). She offered to raise the dose, but I said no.
Anyway, I haven't had terrible side effects up until this point. My skin is a little dry, so are my lips, but really not terribly so. My skin is usually oily, I'd say now it's "slightly dry". The most noticeable dryness is the lips, but then I've always been sensitive about having dry lips.
There are a lot of people who claim anxiety/depression was an issue, but for me so far it hasn't been. But then, I already had anxiety. I've had one episode where I was crying in my room, which would seem alarming but isn't unusual for me at all. I doubt it was the medication and was instead just stress.
I HAVE had joint pain. It's probably the most concerning side effect. It started in my heels, just when I woke up in the morning - then it goes away. But in the past week my lower back, shoulders, and even hips have been a little tender. The lower back has a spot where it almost feels bruised - it hurts if I press. There's no bruise, though.
Of COURSE I looked on Google and found a whole bunch of side effects. Many people say they got better and are happy they took the drug; but I've become more worried about those who say their joint pain lasted years, or they had other side effects like losing hair. I am so, so scared that in the next couple of months all kinds of horrible things will happen to me.
I meet with my doc monthly and have monthly blood tests of course (all good - I have slightly high cholesterol but apparently that's not alarming and I'm not at all overweight). Of course I will ask her about the joint pain and everything else. I just can't shake the fear that I'm going to have all of these awful things happen to me. I'm also terrified that my acne will seem to get better and then will just come back again.
I know no one can really help me here and that I will have to ask my doc myself (which I will) but I just feel so scared and low right now. I haven't felt this way about my health in YEARS and even though I've consistently had anxiety I thought I was done with HA. :unsure:
I am currently on my 3rd month of a 5/6 month treatment. Overall, my acne has improved greatly. I still get spots, but not nearly as many and they generally aren't as big. I've also had a few instances where I felt something under my skin that previously would have turned super red and erupted into a cyst; instead there was just a very tiny pimple if anything at all. I'm pleased with this, and hoping as time goes on it gets even better. I'm on 60 mg daily now, which my derm says is the average dose for a person of my size (5 ft. 6 inches and 130 pounds). She offered to raise the dose, but I said no.
Anyway, I haven't had terrible side effects up until this point. My skin is a little dry, so are my lips, but really not terribly so. My skin is usually oily, I'd say now it's "slightly dry". The most noticeable dryness is the lips, but then I've always been sensitive about having dry lips.
There are a lot of people who claim anxiety/depression was an issue, but for me so far it hasn't been. But then, I already had anxiety. I've had one episode where I was crying in my room, which would seem alarming but isn't unusual for me at all. I doubt it was the medication and was instead just stress.
I HAVE had joint pain. It's probably the most concerning side effect. It started in my heels, just when I woke up in the morning - then it goes away. But in the past week my lower back, shoulders, and even hips have been a little tender. The lower back has a spot where it almost feels bruised - it hurts if I press. There's no bruise, though.
Of COURSE I looked on Google and found a whole bunch of side effects. Many people say they got better and are happy they took the drug; but I've become more worried about those who say their joint pain lasted years, or they had other side effects like losing hair. I am so, so scared that in the next couple of months all kinds of horrible things will happen to me.
I meet with my doc monthly and have monthly blood tests of course (all good - I have slightly high cholesterol but apparently that's not alarming and I'm not at all overweight). Of course I will ask her about the joint pain and everything else. I just can't shake the fear that I'm going to have all of these awful things happen to me. I'm also terrified that my acne will seem to get better and then will just come back again.
I know no one can really help me here and that I will have to ask my doc myself (which I will) but I just feel so scared and low right now. I haven't felt this way about my health in YEARS and even though I've consistently had anxiety I thought I was done with HA. :unsure: