Week 5...Bring it On!

My skin is still a roller coaster with new things happening every few days. Earlier this week, my skin was clearer than it has been since before I started Accutane - I only had a few small bumps along my jawline and most of the flakiness was gone. My skin was smooth and normal (as opposed to being oily) and I started feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, confident that everything would just get better and better from here on out. Well, today I broke out again. My left cheek is covered with about a dozen small bumps and the two medium-sized bumps on my right cheek got bigger over night. But, I am noticing that these bumps are smaller (yet still whiteheads/pustules) than before and my skin is otherwise not at all oily and actually very soft. Also, with the exception of a very small area on the corner of my nose, much of the flakiness is gone and those areas are especially soft...I guess all the dried oil finally pushed itself out in those places. Still some flakiness on my cheeks, but at least things are working. I guess this is why people have such a hard time with Accutane - every time you think the breakouts are over, they come right back.

So, yesterday I went back to my dermatologist for my 2nd month prescription. I have to say, my Derm is an arrogant prick. He insists that he was one of the 1st and only Derms prescribing Accutane 20 years ago, and therefore created the shit. He was adamant that I wouldn't have a WBB phase (which, clearly I did) and when I told him about my roller coaster of a 1st month, he said it was highly uncommon for people to break out at the beginning when they start at a lower dose and increase later, and that my case was unusual. UM...huh? Everything that I have EVER heard or read pretty much tells you to brace yourself for the worst breakout of your life regardless of whether you start small; it's a strong medication with serious effects. I get the impression he likes to lie to his (probably mostly teenage) patients so that they stay positive and don't get discouraged and drop the treatment, so he can get whatever little subsidy he probably receives for turning the masses onto this overpriced drug. But why lie to a grown ass woman? Anyway, I couldn't care less - I am well-educated about this entire process and really only need him to sign the prescription slip, okaaay?

So during my visit, they did a urine pregnancy test (negative) and did blood work (called me today to let me know everything is fine). We talked about my skin and he increased my dose from 40mg to 80mg, which is a full dose for my weight. I also told him that I've not only been breaking out, but the large majority of my pimples are large, inflamed pustules. So he also prescribed me an antibiotic that I will take for the entire 2nd month to suppress the bacteria and prevent so many pimples during the WBB phase. I wish he had done that from jump, but I understand why he would prefer to wait until patients have issues because over-prescribing antibiotics is actually an issue in this country. Neither iPledge nor my insurance gave me any issues and I filled my prescriptions last night without issues, $15 for the Clarivis and $25 for the antibiotic.

Changes to my Skin
Like I said, my skin is not oily anymore, some flakiness on my cheeks, and small whiteheads along my jawline and cheeks.

Side Effects
Dry Lips
Yep, still dry. Easily controlled with Aquaphor and drinking lots of water. I've started lightly brushing them with my toothbrush in the morning to get rid of any peeling. I expect them to shrivel up like a prune with this increased dose, but we'll see.

Dry/Sensitive Skin
My scalp has still been flaky. I washed my locs last night and my scalp is also sensitive. I have never been "tender-headed" but now I know the feeling. I used leave-in conditioner, which I don't usually do, in addition to some oils and aloe vera gel to moisturize my locs. I plan to oil my scalp every 5 or so days to keep the flakiness at bay. I've noticed my skin is VERY sensitive on other parts of my body. If I scratch somewhere, it is very easy to scratch too hard and break my skin. For example, I have a mild case of eczema in the opening of my ear...I got carried away the other day rubbing my ear lobe and left what looked like a rope burn on my ear...it hurt, scabbed over, and healed very quickly...but still! =/ Same thing with my nose - I got tired of the flakiness and started scratching the flakes off with my fingernail, leaving myself with a scabbed over bruise the next day! I really have to be more careful with myself.

Backache
This just started two days ago. My lower back is kinda killing me. I hesitate to say "killing" cause it's not thaaat severe, but it is very sore. At first it was only at night and I had to curl in fetal position for a few minutes until it went away. But yesterday and today, it's been all day. It forces my posture to be even worse than usual and really just doesn't feel good. I hope it doesn't get much worse...

Blurry Vision?
I'm not quite sure whether I have slightly blurry vision when reading or staring too hard at a computer screen. I have fluorescent lighting in my office and sometimes it feels like I have a hard time focusing my eyesight. However, I do stare at a computer screen all day in a tiny office the size of a closet with no windows, so it might just be nature telling me I need some fresh air...but it's something I'm going to watch out for.

That's about it. My camera died this week and it took days for me to remember to get batteries for it so...no photos this week :( I'm sorry, and pretty mad at myself for slippin' but stay tuned for next week :)