about a month and a half later... and my skin is still looking great.. even better than the last dosage month.
the scaring is SLOWLY starting to fade and I havent had a breakout since.
see below for some more sans makeup post treatment photos.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
210 DAYS and I am DONE!
it has been about 1 week since i finished my last dose of Isotrentenoin.
I havent had one pimple on my face in about 3 weeks now. I have attached ending pictures below.
you can see that i still have some scaring which the Dr. said will take some time to fade but should fade out no problem. but no more bumps on my face! my skin has never been this smooth.
it was a long process but so happy i stuck through it.
I will update in about a month or so about how my skin is doing after being off of the medication. but to leave you with some even better result pictures.. and a reminder of what the end of month 1 was like... see below
yes its a long process and most of the time i didnt have the patience for, but i stuck through it and now have amazing results. my skin has not looked better in over 10years!
Bbig SHOUT OUT to Dr. S. Schleicher- THANK YOU !
it has been about 1 week since i finished my last dose of Isotrentenoin.
I havent had one pimple on my face in about 3 weeks now. I have attached ending pictures below.
you can see that i still have some scaring which the Dr. said will take some time to fade but should fade out no problem. but no more bumps on my face! my skin has never been this smooth.
it was a long process but so happy i stuck through it.
I will update in about a month or so about how my skin is doing after being off of the medication. but to leave you with some even better result pictures.. and a reminder of what the end of month 1 was like... see below
yes its a long process and most of the time i didnt have the patience for, but i stuck through it and now have amazing results. my skin has not looked better in over 10years!
Bbig SHOUT OUT to Dr. S. Schleicher- THANK YOU !
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Day 200 Complete.
I finished the 2nd-10daypack about 4 days ago.. no new blemishes. and scaring and redness continue to fade. Tomorrow is a derm. appointment and we will see if i am done or if i have to go another month.. either way IT WORKED :)
now my only concern is it continues to work when I go off of it.
fingers crossed but super pleased how my skin turned out.. BIG THANKS are in order when I go visit my Dermotologist tomorrow.
I finished the 2nd-10daypack about 4 days ago.. no new blemishes. and scaring and redness continue to fade. Tomorrow is a derm. appointment and we will see if i am done or if i have to go another month.. either way IT WORKED :)
now my only concern is it continues to work when I go off of it.
fingers crossed but super pleased how my skin turned out.. BIG THANKS are in order when I go visit my Dermotologist tomorrow.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Day 190 Complete.
I just finished the first pack of month 7. I am back down to 40mgs.
I havent had much breaking out just the occasional pimple which I have right on the bridge of my nose (that i am attributing to my sunglasses causing)
but otherwise my scaring is fading. my lips arent AS dry. but still dry and cracked and hopfully this will be my last month on it. but again we wont know until the next dermotologist appointment.
Its a good feeling when you dont have to worry about what your skin is going to look out what kind of new breakouts you are going to have when you wake up in the morning.. :) even though it has taken longer than originally planned. I am so happy I followed through with the treatment.. its made a HUGE difference!
I just finished the first pack of month 7. I am back down to 40mgs.
I havent had much breaking out just the occasional pimple which I have right on the bridge of my nose (that i am attributing to my sunglasses causing)
but otherwise my scaring is fading. my lips arent AS dry. but still dry and cracked and hopfully this will be my last month on it. but again we wont know until the next dermotologist appointment.
Its a good feeling when you dont have to worry about what your skin is going to look out what kind of new breakouts you are going to have when you wake up in the morning.. :) even though it has taken longer than originally planned. I am so happy I followed through with the treatment.. its made a HUGE difference!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Day 180 complete.
Just finished month 6 on the treatment. during month 6 the dermatologist increased my dose to 60mgs.
When the medicine kicked in.. it really kicked in.
Right now i do have some minor scaring, which is begining to fade. but my skin is very very smooth.
and when I put make up on.. it doesnt even look like i ever had a problem with acne.
The dermatologist is keeping me on the medicine.. hopefully 1 more month. but now i am back down to 40 mgs.
hoping the 40mgs works just as good my skin stays smooth and the scaring continues to fade.
below are the pictures (sans makeup) from the end of month 6. (you can also see just how dry my lips are.. all cracked and near bleeding.. rather painful)
HUGE difference from the post with the pictures ending month 1 :)
Just finished month 6 on the treatment. during month 6 the dermatologist increased my dose to 60mgs.
When the medicine kicked in.. it really kicked in.
Right now i do have some minor scaring, which is begining to fade. but my skin is very very smooth.
and when I put make up on.. it doesnt even look like i ever had a problem with acne.
The dermatologist is keeping me on the medicine.. hopefully 1 more month. but now i am back down to 40 mgs.
hoping the 40mgs works just as good my skin stays smooth and the scaring continues to fade.
below are the pictures (sans makeup) from the end of month 6. (you can also see just how dry my lips are.. all cracked and near bleeding.. rather painful)
HUGE difference from the post with the pictures ending month 1 :)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Day 170:complete
I am actually around day 175. only 5 more days away from being done with Month 6!
and I am impressed! I havent had a new breakout in weeks! and my redness is starting to go away and the scaring is begining to fade.
I go back to the Dermatologist this week for my monthly check up and we will see if I am done with treatment or if I will have to be on isotrentenoin a little bit longer.. at this point, seeing the results i dont really care if i have to be on it a little longer.. its working!
my lips are ridiculously dry and crack and bleed quite a bit now. but with a night treatment of Vasoline on them.. its managable.
in about 5 more days I'll have end of month 6 pictures... stay tuned!
I am actually around day 175. only 5 more days away from being done with Month 6!
and I am impressed! I havent had a new breakout in weeks! and my redness is starting to go away and the scaring is begining to fade.
I go back to the Dermatologist this week for my monthly check up and we will see if I am done with treatment or if I will have to be on isotrentenoin a little bit longer.. at this point, seeing the results i dont really care if i have to be on it a little longer.. its working!
my lips are ridiculously dry and crack and bleed quite a bit now. but with a night treatment of Vasoline on them.. its managable.
in about 5 more days I'll have end of month 6 pictures... stay tuned!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Day 160 Complete:
I am currently on day 163.. I was on vacation when I finished 160 and am just getting to the post now.
honestly in the last 4 days my skin has cleared up.. no more bumps! yes i am still a little red, my lips are disgustingly dry and even my eyes are dry.
throughout the whole treatment, I never had a problem with wearing my contacts.. the last few days when I was wearing them.. I could tell my eyes were way drier than usual.
even had 1 more nose bleed but nothing on a regular basis.
I still have 17 more days to go for month 6 and I am not sure if the Derm would want to put me on another month just to make sure.. but we will see.
now that i am finally looking in a mirror without Acne.. I am thrilled! all i need is some time to let the redness and scaring go away. the scaring will take time but the dermatologist said it will go away. it is not permanent. :)
looking back through the series of pictures and where my skin is now.. its a HUGE difference. I am very pleased with the results.. lets just hope once I am off the medicine.. it continues to work and i don't relapse!
I am currently on day 163.. I was on vacation when I finished 160 and am just getting to the post now.
honestly in the last 4 days my skin has cleared up.. no more bumps! yes i am still a little red, my lips are disgustingly dry and even my eyes are dry.
throughout the whole treatment, I never had a problem with wearing my contacts.. the last few days when I was wearing them.. I could tell my eyes were way drier than usual.
even had 1 more nose bleed but nothing on a regular basis.
I still have 17 more days to go for month 6 and I am not sure if the Derm would want to put me on another month just to make sure.. but we will see.
now that i am finally looking in a mirror without Acne.. I am thrilled! all i need is some time to let the redness and scaring go away. the scaring will take time but the dermatologist said it will go away. it is not permanent. :)
looking back through the series of pictures and where my skin is now.. its a HUGE difference. I am very pleased with the results.. lets just hope once I am off the medicine.. it continues to work and i don't relapse!
Monday, February 18, 2013
DAY 150: COMPLETE
What should be the end of my treatment is now the start of Month 6. the Dr. has increased my dosage to 60mgs and is convinced this will be my last month of treatment... we'll just have to wait and see.
I am switching over from My ORISAN, which I have been on the last 5 months to Absorica.. talking wth the Dr. he had a way to help me get the medicine WAY CHEAPER ( I was paying full price for it -nearly 400$ a month) now I was able to get 2 prescriptions (one for 40mgs and one for 20mgs because they do not make a 60mgs dosage) for 10$ a piece! i wish i knew about this program he has access too earlier than the last month of my treatment! *fingers crossed the last month*
no new side effects but im pretty sure my lips will get even drier bumping up the dose.
looking back through the pictures my skin has definitely gotten much better.. still not exactly where I think it should be but hopefully this last month will clear me up completely for good.
so here is to another 30 days. and below are my end of month 5 pictures....
What should be the end of my treatment is now the start of Month 6. the Dr. has increased my dosage to 60mgs and is convinced this will be my last month of treatment... we'll just have to wait and see.
I am switching over from My ORISAN, which I have been on the last 5 months to Absorica.. talking wth the Dr. he had a way to help me get the medicine WAY CHEAPER ( I was paying full price for it -nearly 400$ a month) now I was able to get 2 prescriptions (one for 40mgs and one for 20mgs because they do not make a 60mgs dosage) for 10$ a piece! i wish i knew about this program he has access too earlier than the last month of my treatment! *fingers crossed the last month*
no new side effects but im pretty sure my lips will get even drier bumping up the dose.
looking back through the pictures my skin has definitely gotten much better.. still not exactly where I think it should be but hopefully this last month will clear me up completely for good.
so here is to another 30 days. and below are my end of month 5 pictures....
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Day 140 complete.
I just started my last 10-day pack of month 5.
This was originally going to be my last 10 days on the medicine. My skin has improved, however not as quickly as the Derm. expected so I will be going on the medicine for another month.
I have a Derm. appt. on Thursday of this week to get the next months prescription. acording to my last visit, also looks like they are going to increase my dosage to 60mgs. but we'll see come Thursday.
Over the weekend, my family had a superbowl party and alot of friends and relative i do not see on a regular basis were there. I also had a lot of them come up to me shocked asking what i did to my face because it looks so nice.
so yes i guess it is working. but seeing my skin everyday, makes it hard to tell. I am still very red and kinda scared but hopefully all that fades in the next month.
im not breaking out much at all, right now I have a pimple on my forhead and one under my chin.. given my hair style, you cant even see it.. but i know its there! haha.
i hope within the next month to not have any (at least any that take this long to heal- still about 2 weeks)
and I hope my scaring fades even more.
all in all hearing my friends and family comment on how great my skin looks and looking back at the pictures i posted on here ( particularly the end of month 1) my skin came a long way and I am happy i decided on this treatment. I dont have to go to bed worrying about what my skin is going to look like in the morning, how many new cysts will i have how swollen my face will be etc.. its pretty consistant now and very minimum swelling. :)
still have dry patches but only using the tazorac cream (very small amount) once every other day and it seemed to help with how flakey and peeling my skin was.
next posting will have the end of month 5 pictures! and an update on my medicine dosage.
I just started my last 10-day pack of month 5.
This was originally going to be my last 10 days on the medicine. My skin has improved, however not as quickly as the Derm. expected so I will be going on the medicine for another month.
I have a Derm. appt. on Thursday of this week to get the next months prescription. acording to my last visit, also looks like they are going to increase my dosage to 60mgs. but we'll see come Thursday.
Over the weekend, my family had a superbowl party and alot of friends and relative i do not see on a regular basis were there. I also had a lot of them come up to me shocked asking what i did to my face because it looks so nice.
so yes i guess it is working. but seeing my skin everyday, makes it hard to tell. I am still very red and kinda scared but hopefully all that fades in the next month.
im not breaking out much at all, right now I have a pimple on my forhead and one under my chin.. given my hair style, you cant even see it.. but i know its there! haha.
i hope within the next month to not have any (at least any that take this long to heal- still about 2 weeks)
and I hope my scaring fades even more.
all in all hearing my friends and family comment on how great my skin looks and looking back at the pictures i posted on here ( particularly the end of month 1) my skin came a long way and I am happy i decided on this treatment. I dont have to go to bed worrying about what my skin is going to look like in the morning, how many new cysts will i have how swollen my face will be etc.. its pretty consistant now and very minimum swelling. :)
still have dry patches but only using the tazorac cream (very small amount) once every other day and it seemed to help with how flakey and peeling my skin was.
next posting will have the end of month 5 pictures! and an update on my medicine dosage.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Day 130- Complete.
I just finished my first 10 day pack on month 5 of 40mgs. during my last visit the dermotologist also gave me tazorac cream to use.. i have been using a very small amount of that twice a day for the last 10 days. My skin is SOOOO DRY! it went from being oily on just the pill to being super dry and flaky on both the cream and the pill.
like stings/burns when i wash my face, put lotion on, put make up on.. i have to fan my face until the lotion and makeup dry completely for it to stop stinging. but its working.. i only have 2 little bumps on my cheek and some scabing from the ones around my chin (in the last picture i posted) left on my face. however my face is flaky and red and irritated.
I am no only applying the tazorac cream once a day and will probably tier it down to once every other day once I go back for my next months prescription ( the derm is going to bump me up to 60 mgs this "last" month).. not sure if it will really be my last month or if ill have to go longer.. we'll just have to wait and see.
I just finished my first 10 day pack on month 5 of 40mgs. during my last visit the dermotologist also gave me tazorac cream to use.. i have been using a very small amount of that twice a day for the last 10 days. My skin is SOOOO DRY! it went from being oily on just the pill to being super dry and flaky on both the cream and the pill.
like stings/burns when i wash my face, put lotion on, put make up on.. i have to fan my face until the lotion and makeup dry completely for it to stop stinging. but its working.. i only have 2 little bumps on my cheek and some scabing from the ones around my chin (in the last picture i posted) left on my face. however my face is flaky and red and irritated.
I am no only applying the tazorac cream once a day and will probably tier it down to once every other day once I go back for my next months prescription ( the derm is going to bump me up to 60 mgs this "last" month).. not sure if it will really be my last month or if ill have to go longer.. we'll just have to wait and see.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Day 120 : Month 4 Complete!
I went to the Dermatologist last week to get started on my month 5 prescription.. what was supposed to be my last month on isotrentenoin. but unfortunately my skin condition is not where they expected it to be.
plus I started getting cystic acne again.
during my appointment, we discussed increasing the time i would be on 40 mgs. so he is extending my treatment 1 month. during this appointment he also injected a few of those cysts with cortizon to bring down the swelling. which actually works pretty quick... and he gave me some aczone cream samples to try and help with the redness that appears to be scaring my skin.
I have been using that cream for about a week and yesterday I woke up with 5 more cysts all over my face from my chin line, mouth, nose and to my forehead. all very swollen and soar. I called the dermatologist up and got an appointment that day to see him and show him what is going on.. He also doesnt think i should be breaking out like this, this far into the game... and thinks that my body has gotten used to the dosage and it just kinda stopped working. he injected all the cysts i had with cortizon and suggested that next month we are going to bump up to 60mgs and see how that goes.
Its just very frustrating right now that i thought i was done with all my painful breakouts and... they came back.
The pictures below are from this morning. (less than 24 hours after the cortizone shots ) and the swelling came down significantly. however the breakouts are still there..
I must say looking back on my pictures, my skin has gotten better.. but just not in the amount of time it was supposed to. I am hoping maybe another month or even 2 on this medicine i will be clear.
Got the pics uploaded!
I went to the Dermatologist last week to get started on my month 5 prescription.. what was supposed to be my last month on isotrentenoin. but unfortunately my skin condition is not where they expected it to be.
plus I started getting cystic acne again.
during my appointment, we discussed increasing the time i would be on 40 mgs. so he is extending my treatment 1 month. during this appointment he also injected a few of those cysts with cortizon to bring down the swelling. which actually works pretty quick... and he gave me some aczone cream samples to try and help with the redness that appears to be scaring my skin.
I have been using that cream for about a week and yesterday I woke up with 5 more cysts all over my face from my chin line, mouth, nose and to my forehead. all very swollen and soar. I called the dermatologist up and got an appointment that day to see him and show him what is going on.. He also doesnt think i should be breaking out like this, this far into the game... and thinks that my body has gotten used to the dosage and it just kinda stopped working. he injected all the cysts i had with cortizon and suggested that next month we are going to bump up to 60mgs and see how that goes.
Its just very frustrating right now that i thought i was done with all my painful breakouts and... they came back.
The pictures below are from this morning. (less than 24 hours after the cortizone shots ) and the swelling came down significantly. however the breakouts are still there..
I must say looking back on my pictures, my skin has gotten better.. but just not in the amount of time it was supposed to. I am hoping maybe another month or even 2 on this medicine i will be clear.
Got the pics uploaded!
Picture from end of month 4 begining of month 5
Above is 1 picture from the end of month 4/ begining of month 5. like I said in a previous post, I am having issues with uploading pictures on the blog.. this is the best i can do for the time being.
As you can see, the acne on my left side of my face ( on the right in the picture) is still pretty active around me chin. however my right side of my face (left on this picture is starting to clear up ( even the red, under the skin "scaring" is starting to clear)
As you can see, the acne on my left side of my face ( on the right in the picture) is still pretty active around me chin. however my right side of my face (left on this picture is starting to clear up ( even the red, under the skin "scaring" is starting to clear)
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Day 110: complete.
Sunday I finished my 2nd 10 day pack of month 4. So far i have not noticed any changes since ending month 3 and it is frustrating.
I started breaking out again around my chin pretty bad. almost everyday there is a new pimple.
I have a dermotologist appointment in 2 days so this is something I am definitely going to be bringing this to his attention.
Originally the Dr. said 5 months at 40 mgs will be my course on this medication but right now, I just cant see this being cured in another 40 days. I have a feeling I will either be upping my prescription to 60mgs, or increasing my time on this one.. who knows.. maybe even both.
I really have not experienced any new side effects (except a little drier in the skin, but it is January and the weather is very cold, snowy, and I do participate in winter activities that can attribute to the extra dryness)All my bloodwork I have gotten has come back good. no increases to any of my levels of lipids/ triglecerides etc. so my body should be able to handle increased prescription or increased time.. but we'll see on Thursday.
Next post will have updated pictures and I will keep my fingers crossed for a miracle to happen in the next 10 or so days with the status of my skin.
Sunday I finished my 2nd 10 day pack of month 4. So far i have not noticed any changes since ending month 3 and it is frustrating.
I started breaking out again around my chin pretty bad. almost everyday there is a new pimple.
I have a dermotologist appointment in 2 days so this is something I am definitely going to be bringing this to his attention.
Originally the Dr. said 5 months at 40 mgs will be my course on this medication but right now, I just cant see this being cured in another 40 days. I have a feeling I will either be upping my prescription to 60mgs, or increasing my time on this one.. who knows.. maybe even both.
I really have not experienced any new side effects (except a little drier in the skin, but it is January and the weather is very cold, snowy, and I do participate in winter activities that can attribute to the extra dryness)All my bloodwork I have gotten has come back good. no increases to any of my levels of lipids/ triglecerides etc. so my body should be able to handle increased prescription or increased time.. but we'll see on Thursday.
Next post will have updated pictures and I will keep my fingers crossed for a miracle to happen in the next 10 or so days with the status of my skin.
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