100 days on Roaccutane

Wow…I have now reached the milestone of 100 days on Roaccutane/Accutane. I can honestly say I did not realise I would be on it this long!
When I first researched the drug I did not even think about how long I would be taking it for. I had spend years trying different drugs, topical and oral, with no luck whatsoever. To me, Roaccutane was just another drug I was willing to try in my quest for clear skin.
My dermatologist did not discuss the time scale with me and in retrospect I am rather pleased he did not because the possibility of Roaccutane for six months of my life would have been incredibly daunting.
This Roaccutane journey is one I am incredibly pleased I am on. If it were not for the possibility of serious side effects that some patients go through, I would be shouting from the roof tops telling everyone to take the drug!
It feels like our little secret yet I want to let everyone know “you do not have to have acne, there may be a way out for you too”.
Acne was seriously debilitating me, my life, my lifestyle, my confidence etc etc etc. Before Roaccutane came into my life I was at a stage that I was hiding behind a centimeter thick of foundation and concealer which can only be described as stage make up! I would wear a scarf to cover my lower face whenever it looked chilly enough, I did not want to go out and socialise with friends, I would wear make up until seconds before my boyfriend and I went to sleep, I would even cry every time I took my make up off!
Acne is debilitating!

I am now on day 100 of taking Roaccutane.
I have taken
272 Roaccutane tablets to date.
One week on 20mg
One week on 40mg
The rest on 60mg

Here is my skin last January, in 2012. At this point I had no idea Roaccutane/Accutane existed. My doctor was no help whatsoever and was continuing to put me on “naff” medicine that did not help one bit. I was mid way my “three months of chocolate” to see if that helped…by the way it didn’t! I would cry daily. I felt as if no one understood what I was going through. I felt as if I was the only person on this planet experiencing acne…silly I know but I was upset and a tad selfish. My spots were cystic nodular, painful, inflamed and red but looking back I actually had far few than I had a week into Roaccutane once I had started experiencing my “initial breakout” stage.

Here is a picture of me today, on day 100 of taking Roaccutane. I only have one cystic spot left (this spot came about last week. It is decreasing quicker than any past cystic spots did when I was not on Roaccutane). My skin is incredible smooth and once I have make up on it you can not see any lumps. My confidence has soared. Unfortunately I have a few minor “dented” scars appearing…however they seem to be getting flatter and flatter with each day, along with diminishing redness.

I definitely do not want to be wearing make up for the rest of my life but it is happy making that, if I do wear make up, I can hide the fact I have acne and not feel as if people are staring at me.

Thanks to acne I feel as if I have got my smile back again and as corny as it sounds, I’ve got my life back again!
I know I still have quite a way to go but I definitely feel as if I have got through the worst part x