Back in May of this year I did a post on my Acne woes and on starting Roaccutane. It has now been over 6 months and I am on my last week of my course and I think it is now the best time to talk about my experience on Roaccutane especially if you are thinking of going on it yourself.
As mentioned in my first post I have suffered with Acne since my teens. I had what they call Acne Vulca and it never let up. Certain contraceptive pills did help but had to come off those because of reoccuring migraines and pregnancies. To not go over the whole story again, please go back to my last post to catch up *link*.
For the first month or so I never really saw much of a change, if anything my acne had got a tad worse. I knew this would happened so preserved with it. Once I got to my second/third month I started noticing a real change in my skin. Mostly a lot of negativity: the side effects. Some people are lucky and have a couple, some are worse and have them all. I had some I felt were pretty extreme but each person is different.
My side effects...
I became sensitive to the sun.
I started taking Roaccutane in June so I was on it in the height of the summer! I couldn't sit in the sun not even with a sun block on as I burned. I did get some funny looks walking around with long sleeves, a big hat with big glasses just so my skin wasn't exposed to the sun!
My whole body started to peel.
Imagine a snake shedding its skin - it was like that. At one point I could peel a whole layer of skin of my legs. I got really itchy all over and no amount of cream helped. But after about a month the peeling eased and so did the itching.
The dryness got worse.
I got a horrible scaly dry scalp and had to use oilatum shampoo for a while. But once that was under control I stuck with L'Oreal Expertise Ever Riche Nourishing shampoo and conditioner which has done wonders for my hair and haven't really had much dandruff recently.
My lips and eyes got painfully sore.
For just over three months I have not been able to wear lipstick as my lips have been so so dry, chapped and so sore. Some days it looked like someone had given me a "chelsea smile". No amount of lip balms or lip creams helped and believe me I have used up so many. I have never needed to moisturise my mouth so much, in the past I would only on the odd occasion use a balm of some sort. In the end the surprise product was nipple cream that I got from Mothercare. It is 100% lanolin and that stuff was my absolute saviour and for the last couple of weeks my lips are practically back to pre-reoaccutane and I have started wearing lipstick again.
My eyes however are a different story. I suffered from dry eye and light sensitivity for years but my optician has never done anything about it. But for the past few months I have been suffering with my eyes so bad that I have to wear sunglasses outside on overcast days! There are days when i cannot keep my eyes open, my eyes stream continuously and they are so scratchy and sore I cannot relieve them.
It got so bad my optician had a look in my eyes and said my they were severely dry and cornea had been damaged. So he has given me gel drops for night time and watery drops to use during the day. This has helped immensely but not enough. If there was any reason to be happy to stop the tablets it would be for the dry eye!
Mood swings.
I can suffer mood swings (history of depression) but it was more than usual...thank god for an understanding boyfriend!
No Sex Drive.
Sorry TMI I know but this was one I wasn't expecting but apparently is one of the side effects and that is the loss of my sex drive. Don't get me wrong it hasn't disappeared completely but I could go without it! Anyway leaving that there....
Dry Face
The biggest thing I have noticed is how dry my face has become. I had extremely oily skin before, especially on my T-Zone and never really wore foundation because of this and constantly having to touch up through the day. I spent so much money trying to find that wonder product that would stay on my face for more than an hour or two before slipping and sliding or oxidising!
I don't really think that is a downside as I am really happy with my dry face. Okay the dry patches can be a pain in the but if I exfoliate it isn't too bad. I now use two serums and a heavy day moisturiser and at the moment happy with the results I have. The best thing is I don't need to touch up during the day. Even on a night out my face make up is still intact...absolutely MARVELOUS :oD
Three months onwards...
My Acne started clearing up.
I have had the odd pimple, not acne spots just odd small little pimples that would go after a couple of days! My back still got breakouts but I haven't had any fresh breakouts in the last month.
Now that I am just over six months in and finishing the course I have to say that I am more than happy with the results and even with how bad the side effects were for me I would not hesitate going on these again if I ever needed to. There were some low days when my lips and eyes were so sore that I felt I couldn't go on with the course, but seeing how clear my skin had become I couldn't give up and so glad I didn't.
I am now worried about what is going to happen when the tablets have left my system. Will my acne come back or will I now be acne free forever?! Only time will tell I suppose.
I have nothing but recommendation for these tablets and would say go for it! As long as the hospital is aware of your medical history they will watch you closely. Also tell friends/family that you are on it so they can keep an eye on you - especially as depression is a side effect. But if like me, acne has brought you down, made your confidence really low then please seriously think about it. I do not need to wear make up all the time now, I have no more rediness and my acne scarring has almost disappeared.
Below is a before and after picture of me, please be kind as it has taken a lot for me to show you a picture of what I looked like before the Roaccutane. But I hope this helps make the decision easier for you.
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| Before: This was NOT at its worse! |
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| After: This was taken today make up free |
Just remember it can only get better...
Until next time my lovelies
Ciao for now xx
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