The Sixth Month
- Sierra Gillespie
- Jan 17, 2016
- 6 min read
UPDATE Month Six on Accutane Treatment
60 more pills. That’s it. That’s all I have left to do before my wild ride with Accutane is over… probably. I am over the moon with excitement, to say the least.
Dr. Pedretti has continued me on a 40 mg treatment, taking one pill of Accutane twice daily for the next month. As my appointment was about a week ago now, I’ve actually got a little less than a month left of Accutane. It’s almost time to say I’ve got a clear face—without a crazy medication and its awful side effects. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Still, there are a couple things to consider:
1. I may need to continue my Accutane treatment longer than planned.
I’m currently on the six-month track, which Dr. Pedretti says is pretty normal for most patients. If everything continues well, i.e. my face continues on without any breakouts, then I’ll
be good to go after I use up all the current pills I have.
2. After all is said and done, I still may need to go on Accutane again.
This would be the worst-case scenario for me. Dr. Pedretti says patients are required a three-month waiting period before they’re allowed to start Accutane again—so even more waiting for a clear face. While Accutane is supposed to give patients a clear face for life, that’s not always the case (see here.) Still, I’m pretty sure Accutane will help at least some. I’m really hoping I don’t need to go on it again, but if I do, it will be to make sure my complexion is just perfect.
3. I’m not done with doctors visits quite as soon as I had thought.
Biased as I may be, it’s harder being a woman. Though I don’t need another face-to-face with Dr. Pedretti unless I need to continue my current Accutane treatment, I’ll need to go in for two more months to give two more negative pregnancy tests. All this is coming after I’m completely finished with my last pill of Accutane. While this seems like a technicality I could just skip, there are two things to consider here:
a. First of all, I will need to close my iPledge account. The negative pregnancy tests go right into my iPledge account, showing the FDA that I was a model Accutane patient. If I need to complete another treatment of Accutane down the road, I’ll need to have shown iPledge and thus the FDA that I can comply with their requirements.
b. Second, Accutane remains in a patient’s system for 30 days after their last pill is taken. If I were to get pregnant even a week after my last pill, my baby is still at a high risk of deformation. I’m not planning on getting pregnant in the near future, so this doesn’t really worry me. Still, I always say it’s better safe than sorry to continue on with these tests.
All things considered, I am very happy to be beginning my final month of Accutane. Anyone who knows me at all knows that this is something I’ve been very passionate about. Clear skin is a blessing for me, and I am very proud to be able to leave the house feeling generally okay with myself these days.
Side effects for me continue as they have for the past months. My lips continue to be extremely dry. Now that I’ve had a clear face for several months, the thing I’m most looking forward to is having regular lips again. I’m so excited to use regular lip balm. It will fit so much easier in my pocket or purse than a giant tub of Vaseline does, let me tell you.
My hands have scabs on them currently, from the harsh Wisconsin winter air and the dryness Acctuane has given me during them. Though I usually dry out during the winter, I believe Accutane has dried me out even worse this year. Washing my hands sometimes hurts, but I’m not complaining. Dryness is 100 percent worth it for this miracle pill.
To continue one with side effects, it’s really all dryness. My nose bled for the first time ever two weeks ago, due to dryness. In the past few months, I’ve only pulled chunks of blood from my nose. This time it was actual runny blood coming from my nose. It only happened once, so I’m not too concerned.
In addition to my extremely dry nose and lips, my eyes are suffering this winter too. Sometimes I wake up and am unable to open my eyes because of the dryness and excess goop that has frozen them together. My eye shadow sometimes looks flaky too, but I’m sure this is a combination of winter weather and Accutane’s madness. I sometimes wish the increased dosage took place during the summer months, but that could be a recipe for disaster too—Accutane causes increase risk of sunburn.
I guess the moral of the story continues to be this: Accutane is a harsh drug. I’ve made it through the past five months successfully, and hope to say that my entire treatment was a success too. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t dealt with difficulties along the way. If your acne isn’t severe, or if you haven’t tried other drugs to combat severe acne before Accutane, don’t jump in.
IF YOU CAN AVOID IT—PLEASE DO.
The largest side effect I’ve worried about was depression and suicidal tendencies. When I first told Dr. Pedretti about my worry, she said I only needed to be concerned about this side effect if I or my family has a history of depression or mental illness. Simply put, I needed to worry. Or better yet, keep my radar on the lookout for depressed-like feelings. She said that most often, people experience feelings opposite of depression or suicidal thoughts, because they’re so excited about the clear face they’ve been dreaming of.
I’m not sure if Accutane is to blame for my recent anxious or sometimes depressed feelings. They’re not drastic or worrisome just yet, but they would be all together better if they weren’t present at all. I think it will be interesting to see if these feelings were a result of Accutane, or if they’re just me. If they carry on after my final treatment—and the 30 days after—I’ll look into them further. If not, I’m another statistic for Accutane and its correlation with depressed feelings.
Don’t be worried about me just yet! Again, I would like to say how very happy I am for the change in myself since Accutane. I am finally pleased with my face, and will only feel better from now on. My biggest insecurity with my face now lies in my acne scars, but they will fade in the months following my last pill. My lack of breakouts is absolutely uncanny, and now I can focus on insecurities besides acne—ones that other girls my age face. I’m so excited to find something else to worry about! I’ve spent too many journal entries, blog posts, thoughts, discussions and prayers on acne. Give me some new content to work with!
Again, I would like to give a giant thank you to everyone who has helped me through this. The people who are close to me know how much this affects me, but creating a blog has opened my struggle to others who ordinarily wouldn’t have known about my condition.
Even though I posted rather embarrassing and severe photos of my face at its worst, I do not regret it. I opened many peoples’ eyes to what living life with severe acne is all about. I’ve gotten more thank yous than I can count, from people who are suffering or did suffer in the past. So many people have extended support—even people who I haven’t even spoke to in years.
This whole experience helped me learn a lot about myself, and other people too. If it weren’t for my post, no one would know of my struggle and insecurities. By the same token, without my severe acne, I wouldn’t have realized the individual struggle that many people face daily. This “first world” problem opened my eyes to a whole new world of struggles—and we all have them. Hopefully this experience has made me a better person, who isn’t so quick to judge. We all have issues that consume us. Judgment for them is not necessary.
And if nothing else, the most important thing I’ve learned is this: it’s so much easier to be nice to someone than it is to be mean to them. (I think we may have learned that in pre-school, but it seems like a bunch of kids were absent that day.)
Follow up of life POST ACCUTANE is coming soon! Thanks for all the support! You will not be forgotten.
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