I’m guessing you’re expecting a wonderful post about some miracle, natural home remedy acne solution that I’ve found and has cleared up my acne in no time flat. But that’s not the case. Well, I guess that depends how you see it. About 6 months ago, I made the decision to go on Accutane. I actually talked about it in a post once to get second opinions from people. Most of the opinions were negative but I also saw many positive ones. So once I started taking accutane, I decided to keep that info out of my blog so I wouldn’t have other people’s opinions changing my own.
So let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve always had a little bit of acne. Nothing to get super upset about, but enough that I saw a dermatologist when I was in high school, when I was in college, and after college. But it wasn’t until I started CrossFit and was competing, that my acne got out of control. And when I say out of control, I mean it was incredibly painful to the touch. I had bad cystic acne that hurt when I was just putting on make up. But since the acne was so bad, putting on make up was my only choice. I’m not sure if it was CrossFit that changed my complexion, but I’m almost certain it had to do with it because of the changes in estrogen and other hormones.
Anyways, after trying many different home remedies such as oil pulling and oil cleansing, changes to my eating habits, removing fish oil from my diet, consuming cod liver oil, and different essential oils, I decided to try some prescription strength drugs. After trying spironolactone and other prescription drugs as well as topical medication, I was finally at a loss. It had been almost 3 years of fighting this cystic acne that was going to lead to much worse scarring if I didn’t do something about it. So I decided to try Accutane out and my dermatologist immediately agreed.
Accutane is a high dose of vitamin A, that you take on a daily basis. Most treatments, like mine, are around 6 months. Some people have to do multiple sessions, but not everyone. Accutane is taken very seriously by not only the doctor, but also the state. It is a state regulation that you must be on birth control while taking Accutane because the birth defects are so awful. There are also other side effects such as depression, muscle and joint pain, extremely dry skin and eyes, and a whole hell of a lot of other things, but those are the things I experienced. The process is quite tedious. Here’s the process you go through every month: get your birth control (remember, no babies), get your blood drawn so they can check that your liver is just fine, then go to the doctor a couple days later where you have to do a urine test to make sure you’re not pregnant, then you get your prescription, then you have to take a test online all about practicing safe sex, once you pass that test, you can then drop off your prescription to finally get your month supply. Then do this many more times until you are off the medication. Annoying, but so worth it in my opinion.
You may be asking why the hell I’m even writing about this on a paleo recipe blog. Which is understandable. But I want to share my experience with people who are trying so hard to change their diet to fix their body issues, and those things are just not working. The more I’ve eaten paleo, the more I’ve found out how many things can be cured through diet alone. I rarely get sick, I sleep better, I have more energy, my depression went away. So many things can change through diet, but my acne did not seem to be one of them. And if it was, it would have taken me YEARS and many scars to find out those reasons. I’m sharing all this information with you in hopes that if you are ever thinking about taking this prescription drug, you have another opinion. A positive one.
I had a truly positive experience with the drug. Not to say that I didn’t have some ups and downs, but most of my 6 month experience was a good one. Here were some of my symptoms:
- The worst symptom by far has been dry lips. You know when you get a sunburn and it peels? Well imagine that happening every single hour, of every single day, for 6 months. It was miserable. By far the worst thing. Not having chapstick on hand truly felt like a meth addict not having his drug. Terrible description, but that’s seriously how it felt. I rarely stop biting or picking at my lips. I have a new habit I need to break.
- Dry skin and red skin. Mostly my face was the only thing that got dry, but it was also my ears, my nose and my hair. So I exfoliated my face daily with one of those soft bristle face rotating brushes. A cheap one. And moisturized a lot. I didn’t stop wearing make up until my skin settled down after the second month, I was too embarrassed.
- Dry, breaking hair. My hair thinned out and my hair stylist said it seemed to be breaking easily. After 4 months, that passed and my hair got a lot better. Wish it would have affected my leg hair, that would have been cool.
- My joints and muscles hurt A LOT about 3-5 months in. Workouts were much more uncomfortable to the point that it hurt to walk. That passed after 5 months.
- Moody and depressed. I got REALLY depressed about 4 months or so into the accutane. I mean, depressed to the point that I couldn’t get off the couch. I couldn’t figure out why I was sad or what was wrong, but I was so unhappy. I fought some depression when I was growing up, so I was more likely to have some while on the drug. It went away with time.
- Super red face. I’m pale when I stay away from the sun, so my neck and my face were completely opposite colors. Weird looking.
So I’m going to share some pictures with you. Disclaimer: these pictures may be frightening. And I’m sure some mean people out there will leave mean comments that will bum me out, but I want to share with you what a huge difference the medication made. I no longer have any acne, only red scars remain, which should go away over time. If they don’t all go away, I plan on doing some chemical peels and/or laser treatment to get rid of the scars.
In the end, I am incredibly happy with the results of accutane and extremely happy that I went on the prescription. I’m not sure what will happen in the future and if I will have to get back on it, but I know that my acne will never be as bad or as painful as it was in the past. This prescription has done wonders for me and if anyone ever asked me, I would recommend it to them. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! But remember, this prescription affects everyone differently. Just because I had a good experience doesn’t mean someone else will. Thanks for listening. You’re my favorite. Please feel free to share your experiences, but do not hate on me for sharing my own experience with it. Kthanksbye.
Juli, I am so glad you have found something that works! I totally understand what a blow to your esteem it is to have bad skin and just pray every night before you go to bed that you would just miraculously wake up and have clear, beautiful skin everyone around you has! You look so happy!
I was on Accutane 3 times in high school. Had great skin all through college and up until my first pregnancy when I was 28. Then I couldn’t get it under control and really struggled with my skin. I didn’t want to go back to the dermatologist so I just kind of suffered through for a few more years. I just discovered Nerium and have the best skin ever! For all of you looking for something to help your skin, especially scarring, discoloration, and redness, you need this! I can’t say enough good things about it! http://www.aimeedavis.nerium.com
Juli – I am so glad that Accutane is working for you!
I have had a very different experience with acne and Accutane. I’ve had to take a course of Accutane twice in my life, once when I was 16, and then again (after years of daily antibiotics and prescription topical creams, etc. that ended up being only temporary fixes, and bad ones at that) when I was 25. Both times the acne vanished during the treatment, but would come back again 3-6 months later, slightly different (different breakout zones) but no better than before.
I’m now 27, and have been eating paleo for about a year now. While I still have the occasional breakout from stress at work or around my period, my skin is clearer than it ever was after Accutane. Just goes to show that we are all different. I also think that if I had been eating paleo during my Accutane sessions, they would have worked much better for me! Perhaps the combination of the two is key…
I am so happy that you’ve found something that works for you! You are an inspiration to so many not only in terms of nutrition, but also in terms of your honestly and willingness to bravely put yourself out there as you are. 🙂
Thank you for your recipes, and for helping us all. Best of luck!
Looks great! I am using a treatment that makes me red, but when paired with the microdermabrasion at ulta that has a calming finish it helps. Highly reccomend it!
Juli, has it also made your skin less oily, post-treatment?
I’ve had acne since I was a young teen. Still get it all the time now as a 35 year old. I also have a lot of sun damage because I tanned and burned all the time – tanning beds and sun were the only things that partially cleared it up and hid the blemishes and scars.
The last few years, I now get it horribly on my jaw line, and my neck under my jaw (along with all over my back and shoulders). The thing that drives me crazy, in addition to the actual acne, is that my face looks like an oil slick within a hour or two of cleaning, my pores are huge, and I get a lot of black heads.
My brother did accutane in high school and I think has liver damage from it, but I’m done having babies and am strongly considering it now.
Yeah it’s absolutely not oily anymore
I know exactly how frustrating acne can be! I wrote a post about mine too. I was able to see some improvements with OCM, but what really helped me was doing a liver cleanse. I am currently taking some Chinese herbs that are strengthening my liver and spleen and have noticed my skin is looking really great. So happy for you and hope your skin continues to look great!
I was just thinking how you said your acne got worse after starting Crossfit. If your liver overwhelmed and unable to keep up with filtering “junk” out it might make sense that sense that you were releasing more toxins from sweating more and that was causing the acne. It’s good that you got in under control now, but I would keep that in mind to avoid it coming back.
Judge not, lest ye be judged.
Unless people have suffered with acne, they can’t truly understand how horrible, painful, and detrimental it is to your self-esteem. Good for you for doing what you thought was best for you. You look lovely!
Juli,
I have followed your post and often wondered if you had bitten the bullet with acne and gone the Accutane route. I had recommended you try the spironolactone which I used for years..did not do much of anything long term for me and taking a blood pressure medicine..really?? I am so glad you will not spend the next 20+ years suffering with this disease as I have. At 58 I am finally going to do the Accutane. My hansom son in college at 19 has resorted to growing a beard, I know it’s the lazy stage but I do believe these breakout’s bother him even though he blew off my discussion of doing the Accutane. As a Mom, the minocycline, tazorac, etc, is not going to cure him. He’s going if it’s the last thing I do! You did the right thing, your an adorable, confident, beautiful young lady and your really going to shine now!!
So happy for you! Your skin looks great! I used Accutane for 5 months when I was 20 and it was the best decision ever. I had painful cystic acne like yours and the Accutane really, really helped. I had already tried everything else so it was a last resort. It’s been 13 years and my skin is still in good shape. I’m glad this worked for you!
Julie first I want to say you look beautiful. I’m glad you found something that worked for you. Painful or not it’s important to feel good about ourselves and what we see in the mirror is part of that. I wanted to recommend a treatment for the residual scarring. I don’t have any scaring but am getting to the age where I am starting to see some of those fine lines around my eyes. I started having a treatment done three months ago called a derma pen. It’s performed by a derm or medically licensed esthetician. It’s like a wand with about 11 tiny needles in it. Like acupuncture needles. Tiny. And when turned on the needles move up and down penetrating the dermis. Basically making small punctures all over the face. This procedure is mildly uncomfortable. The more I do it the better it gets. But if you are sensitive they have numbing cream. The derma pen increases collagen production by 100% with each treatment reducing fine lines and scaring. I have only had three treatments at this point but I’m really happy with the results. Good luck!
Juli! I’m so happy for you! I have struggled with cystic acne for so many years – i feel your (literal) pain. Everyone told me that if I ate paleo it would go away. Or if I ate X it would go away. I tried so many medications over the decades with mixed results. Sometimes you just plain have acne. It’s such a hard thing for others to understand – and I do understand. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It helps to educate others about acne and let them know that it’s not anything that we can actually control. Big hug!