#30dayglowup - Day 20
10 things you should know before taking the extreme 'acne-cure' isotretionoin
As a
continuation of yesterday’s post about my Accutane experience, I thought I’d
give some more concise advice about the drug in the form of 10 things I wish I knew
before taking it. If you’re unfamiliar with Accutane (or isotretinoin), it’s
often used as a last resort acne cure. It is an oral medication which is a type
of retinoid, meaning it’s a type of vitamin A. It works by shrinking sebaceous
glands in the skin and thereby the amount of oil that your skin produces,
preventing it from clogging up pores and causing breakouts.
Accutane has a lot of side effects
and is the most strenuous acne treatment on your entire body. It’s not
something to be taken lightly. I was only able to be prescribed it on the NHS
after many unsuccessful acne treatments including:
- Hormonal birth control
- Many different topical treatments
- Antibiotics
My Accutane experience was very
difficult at the time but looking back now I’m very glad I did it. However, there
are things I wish I’d known so that I could be emotionally prepared and take precautions
to avoid them, and also some tips I picked up from my experience which I feel
would benefit other people. In this article I’m going to list 10 things I wish I’d
known before starting my Accutane treatment and hopefully it will help you with
making the decision and make your experience easier than mine.
1. It’s a long process to get Accutane prescribed on the NHS
If going onto Accutane is
something you’re even remotely interested in doing I’d recommend starting as
soon as possible. You initially discuss the treatment with your GP where you
get referred to a dermatologist as only they can prescribe the drug, and this
only usually happens after you’ve exhausted many other acne treatments. I then
went through an extra stage of having a consultation at a smaller hospital to
ensure I was a suitable candidate to be referred to the dermatology unit. You
can then sometimes be put on a waiting list for treatment which can last a
couple of months – this didn’t happen to me but even then I had to wait a
couple of months for a consultation.
You then need to undergo a blood
test and go on a form of contraception if you’re female and you normally have
to wait at least a month longer to get your initial appointment to be able to
pick up your prescription. Since it takes a lot of NHS resources it’s
understandable that they’d control who gets treatment so strictly, so it’s
something to be aware of if you’re in the UK.
You may be lucky and have a much
shorter time period to get the drug than me, or if you have the funds going
private might be a good option. But be aware if you take the NHS route it can
take a very long time to get anywhere.
2. It dries out everything
Most people are aware about your
skin and lips being dried out when you go on Accutane, but you also have to
consider that Accutane affects your entire body. Your eyes, hair, nose could all
be affected as well. It was actually good in regards that I could go longer
between washing my hair as the oil didn’t build up as quickly, but other than
that it was a nuisance. Think about getting eye drops, keeping the ends of your
hair moisturised and even putting Vaseline up your nose to stop it getting so
uncomfortable.
Starting at the beginning of your
treatment is key – even if you’re not feeling the dryness yet, trust me you
will. Act as if you’re already dry as a bone and it may help you out in future.
3. Put lip balm everywhere
Every room in your house, every
bag you own, gym kits, cars, anywhere you can think of, put lip balm. Trust me
when I say there is nothing worse than not having lip balm with you when you’re
on Accutane, I sat through an hour-long lecture without it and my lips were
peeling by the end of it, it takes that little time. Same yourself that pain by
putting lip balm everywhere you could possible need it – I’m pretty sure my
lips were slathered in a layer of Vaseline my entire way through my treatment
and even then, I still struggled with dryness.
4. You’re at a higher risk of skin infection
This one comes from a particularly
bad few weeks of mine where I contracted impetigo and was on antibiotics
alongside Accutane to heal my skin. Because your skin is so dry you get cracks,
especially around your mouth. These act as open wounds and are therefore
vulnerable to skin infections so please ensure you’re washing your hands
frequently, moisturising a lot to dry and avoid the cracks and trying not to
touch your face. Trust me when I say it’ll save you a lot of pain.
5. Think about when you’re going on
it
Since I wanted to finish my treatment
before university (Spoiler: I didn’t) I wanted to start it as soon as possible,
meaning I ended up taking Accutane over summer. There are positives and
drawbacks to this; on one hand your skin doesn’t get as dried out as in winter,
but on the other you’re more at risk of sun damage as your skin is so
vulnerable. For me the worst thing about taking it over summer was that the
purging I experienced hugely affected my confidence and I struggled to enjoy
myself even during post A-level celebrations. It should’ve been some of the
best times of my life but instead I resented myself and the way I looked because
of the breakouts I was experiencing.
I’m not suggesting either way
choosing winter or summer but please consider when you’re taking it and the positives
and negatives of both.
6. Use a humidifier
This is a very small thing that
can make a big difference. Your skin is begging for moisture while you’re on Accutane
and having a humidifier in your room or at your desk can be amazing to help
with the discomfort. It may also help your throat get less dry and painful, and
I noticed a big difference when I tried out a humidifier about halfway through
my Accutane treatment.
7. Your skin may get worse before it gets better
I’m going to be straight with you
here, the amount of purging I had crippled my self-image and had a disastrous affect
on my mental health at the time. Around month 2 I had the worst breakouts I have
ever had in my life: red, inflamed, cystic acne all over my face where I’d
never had it before. Thinking about it now makes me genuinely sad for my past
self that I ever had to deal with that, even though it helped make me into a
stronger person.
As an extension of this point, my
skin took 7 months of up to 80 mg dosage to begin to see an affect. So, if you
experience purging and if it’s taking a while just keep going, I know how hard
it can be. If you’re considering Accutane think about how much this might
affect you and if you have any important events on at the time because it might
be incredibly difficult for you. If you’re lucky you’ll experience no purging
and your skin will take less time to see the effects, but definitely be prepared
for the worst.
8. You might experience body pains
My lower back hurt a lot over the
course of my Accutane treatment, and bear in mind I was 18 at the time and had
never experienced anything like this before. Since your body is so dried out
your joints may not be adequately lubricated so you might experience a lot of
pain. For me it made it difficult to do sport and to sleep, although now post-Accutane
it’s completely cleared it.
9. The logistics are a nuisance
To get my repeat prescription I needed
an appointment with the dermatologist every month, a pregnancy test every month
and a blood test every 3 months. This meant frequent trips to the hospital,
organising appointments, waiting for appointments and prescriptions and all in
all dedicating a lot of time to getting my hands on the drug. I was willing to
make that sacrifice because I knew I was committed to being on Accutane, but
please consider before going on it if you have the mental strength and the time
to fit all of this around your schedule.
10. It’s easier if you talk about it
For a long time, it was only my
family who knew I was on Accutane because I was too embarrassed to tell my
friends about it. However, I found that as soon as I was comfortable enough to
tell them, the experience was so much easier, and I even found joking about it
helped me feel more normal. Turns out, a lot of people I knew were going
through the same thing. It was easier to explain why I was missing school or
why I didn’t feel secure enough to go swimming without makeup once they knew
what I was experiencing. If you have good friends they will understand, and if they
don’t then they don’t deserve you as a friend.
In conclusion
Even though going through Accutane
was one of the hardest almost-a-year of my life, I am glad I did it and it made
me a stronger person now. All the side-effects have now pretty much gone and my
skin mostly cooperates with me. It’s definitely a difficult thing to go
through, but if you’re prepared it can be a lot easier to deal with emotionally
and physically. Hopefully, you won’t have to experience what I did because my
side-effects and purging especially were more on the extreme end, but if you do
just keep pushing and it’ll be over before you know it.
Apologies for two Accutane posts
in a row – I knew yesterday that I still wanted to write more about it as I feel
that my experience would be able to help other people. I hope you enjoyed the
read and found it useful, feel free to message me on any of my social media or
comment below if you have any questions and sign up with your email below if
you’re interested in following my glow up journey.
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