by Lexi » Thu May 31, 2007 1:42 pm
Hi All
I've had bad acne since I was 11 and I've tried everything and I've now been on roaccutane for nearly 3 and a half months and my skin has improved 100%, and i've still got a few months treatment left.
I've experienced some side effects such as extreme dry skin and chapped lips. But i've been using aqueous cream and E45 cream, both recommended by my Dermatologist. I use the aqueous cream to wash with and to put on 'lightly' as a day moisturiser under make up and then I use E45 cream before I go to bed, as this is heavier. The worst problem has been my lips, in the earlier stages, my lips were terrible and I would slather vaseline on them as recommended by the Dermatalogist, but this wasn't working, so I have been putting E45 cream on my lips and this has helped loads.
I've also experienced heavy nosebleeds, which is a common side effect. But I bought a nose spray and use that every morning and that seems to have helped.
I know these side effects are a massive pain, but as my skin has improved so much, so has my confidence and having dry skin and chapped lips for a while is better 'for me' than having huge painful spots and the worry that they might scar.
I had a mini breakout about 2 months into the treatment, but this was due, 'so my Dermatalogist told me' to the fact that I'd invested in a day cream that was too heavy and greasy for my face and told me to stop using it and continue with aqueous cream, which I did and within a few days, my skin was looking much better again.
I've also noticed that if I do get the occasional spot, it heals quickly as opposed to before the treatment when it wouldn't heal or just leave red marks under the skin.
A friend of mine also has bad skin and has been having laser surgery for about 9 months and i'd say it's only improved about 50% and every time she goes back they say for her to have another session and it's costing her a fortune, but that's obviously her choice as she didn't want to go on roacutane.
There are days when I feel a bit miserable, but that's just normal and I would have miserable days even when I wasn't on the treatment, so I never put it down to the roacutane, as I say it's normal to have good and bad days. Just remember to try to be positive throughout any treament you decide to take.
Good luck