My blood test was Monday, and after my liver spiked last month due to the massive amounts of advil I was taking when I got the flu, it dropped back down to normal this time. So! The lovely derm increased my dose to 60mg: it's 30mg twice a day, which is kinda annoying cos I have to have two large meals instead of one, but whatever. I'm already noticing what I think are some affects from the increase: I have several new cysts in really odd places (under neck, jaw, back of neck, EAR, etc).

Other symptoms: I have minor joint/muscles aches in my hips and lower back. I'm pretty sure this is accutane related. It's not a huge deal, but worth reporting. Sometimes it's hard to get up if I've been sitting/lying down for awhile. I'm continuing to get mild headaches if I go a few hours without eating.

I'm really hoping that the new cysts will calm down by graduation. I want good pictures!

I've been up since 7AM taking tests and going to lab and class, and I'm about to head off for another class, so I've gotta cut this short. Just wanted to update everyone on the accutane. =)

Three more months to go!

So I am 99% sure I have a yeast infection. Thanks, Accutane. Thanks a ton. I'm going to health services today to hopefully get diflucan.

My head still itches something terrible, but using moisturizing Head & Shoulders shampoo has helped a little bit (and applying aquaphor directly to my head when that doesn't work because this is seriously bad enough to rub lotion into my hair and not care how it looks). My face, overall, looks good. The two cysts on my chin are shrinking significantly (the one on the right is ALMOST gone) and the one under my eyebrow is gone. Creature from the Black Lagoon is still red but has been subdued -- unfortunately, it's spawned three evil offspring. :( So that looks really "fantastic." =/ The two on my cheek are shrinking, though not as significantly as the cysts. Scars still pretty much the same. I really hope they're going to fade more, especially those on my left cheek.

The oil is gone. I don't have to wash my hair/face to get rid of it anymore. My skin has been getting dryer and dryer and my lips have started to crack/bleed overnight, but if I keep things moisturized, it's bearable -- and better than oil, I still say.

Things are still good, except the yeast infection of doom. I'm hoping that I'll be seeing the "prime time" results in a few weeks, since most people seemed to get a lot better in the 2nd/3rd month. Later lovelies!

Quick update because I'll be without a computer for a few days, and didn't want to leave you hanging.

Things have been pretty much staying the same, which doesn't necessarily thrill me, but I've got a lot of pills left. Creature from the Black Lagoon (TM) is still there, but is starting to shrink, I think. Hopefully it'll be gone in the next few days. The cysts I got at the beginning (chin) are still alive and well, but the one under my eye is a little better. I've got two nasty things on my cheek and the scars on the other side are pretty deep, but besides that, no huge problems. And for those of you who have never suffered severe acne, I know that sounds like a ton of problems, but just keep in mind that this is REALLY GOOD for me, and that I dreamed of having skin like this last fall. It always makes me laugh when I hear people complaining about their "acne" and they have maybe three blackheads. No. That is not acne. Whew, rant.

The oil's about the same, no more real side effects. I really think I need a higher dose ASAP. Let's hope my blood work will come back good. Oh, one thing that has been bugging me, my scalp has been really dry. Any suggestions on what to put on it that won't make my hair really greasy? It's not quite at the point where the actual hair is dry, but my head itches.

I've gotta go get on a plane now, but I'll try to update again on Sunday!

Sorry that I neglected a few days in this journal -- I think I'll just stick to updating a few times a week, or whenever there's a relevant change.

Right now, things are pretty much fantastic. The worst thing that's happened is that I think I might have a very mild bladder and/or urinary tract infection from the internal dryness. It was moderately annoying on Friday/Saturday, with having to pee about every 1-2 hours. But it got a lot better by Sunday and is back to normal today, so I don't think I'm going to go looking for antibiotics, since I understand that a lot of those are bad to mix with tane. I thought about asking for another blood test today because I started freaking out about diabetes, but A.) I'm not sure if insurance will pay for two blood tests in less than two weeks, and B.) There's no way I got diabetes in four days, which was when I started showing symptoms. So yeah, I'm just going to wait till my normal blood test around the 20th.

I had a lot of redness on my face earlier in the week, but that's really calmed down now; you can't tell anymore. I'm thinking this is going to mean I will up my dose next month because I'm seriously hardly dry at all. Just a little when I get out of the shower, and that's it. The oil has been totally sucked out of my face, and I love it. I only cleanse once a day (in the shower, hence the dryness), and even when I wake up in the morning, my face is just a little oily in the T-zone. This is awesome for me, since my skin normally starts getting incredibly oily again within hours after washing it. I really wish it could stay like this after I get off tane, but from others' reports, it's probably going to go back to oily. Boo.

As far as the acne? My scars on my forehead from last October are going away!!! delphinbella noticed a difference at the NaNo meeting yesterday, so that told me I wasn't just seeing things. I'm so happy about that. They're still kind of there, but you can't see them from several feet away like before. =D The other scars and/or pre-existing pimples are starting to fade, too, and I've only gotten one new cyst since my last update (under my eyebrow, which hurts, but considering that I was getting one there every other week before tane, not too bad). I have a really bad urge to touch my face all the time that I am trying to resist. It's just so nice now. And I know it's going to get better, so yay!!

I'm going to see Hannah Montana with morluna tonight! =D Just the thing to take my mind off the Creature from the Black Lagoon (TM) that is STILL taking up residence on my chest. =P

This day was much better. Honestly, nothing of note happened. I don't have any new zits except the ones that popped up yesterday, and one of those (by my hairline) is gone. I'm not dry at all; didn't even need my lotion today. Unfortunately, that also means I'm still greasy, but I'm used to that. That horrible angry thing on my chest has scabbed over in this "I SURRENDER, I SURRENDER" kind of way, and I'm hoping that by tomorrow the 'tane will have been like "I TAKES NO PRISONERS, BITCH" and gotten rid of it. I meet with the MUSC admissions committee tomorrow/Friday/Saturday, so I'd really like the creature from the black lagoon to be gone from my chest by then.

Yeah, so far my experience is still on the anticlimactic side, especially since many other people I've read about were miserable by now. I'm gonna cross my fingers that this is the real breakout and that there won't be a nastier one coming up. I can tell right now that I'm likely going to be given a higher dose next month. I can't wait; I'd like to get up to at least 80mg. =)

PS: This Miley song? Soooo weird. =P

Well, I have survived 24 hours (almost) on Accutane. I took the second pill this morning because I want to get myself on a morning schedule. I am slightly dry, but it's not bad at all. I am actually pleased with the dryness at this point (though I'm sure it'll get worse) because it's mostly just cleared up the oil that my face has been drowning in. My head has hurt a little bit off and on today, but I think I'm giving myself headaches from worrying about it. I'm going to ignore it unless it becomes like the headaches my doc described.

I have a few new zits, but nothing too bad. The one on my chest looks hideous, but it's been there for awhile, so I am hoping that accutane has challenged it to a duel to the death that it will not win. I'm used to random new cysts/blackheads/whiteheads/dead fish popping up on my face every morning, so I really don't think I'll care that much about the initial breakout.

I really feel fine. So far, Accutane has been pleasantly anticlimactic, but we'll see what the rest of this week brings.

I took my first pill at 7:00 PM today (about an hour ago). It looks kind of like a misshapen, yellow jelly bean and comes with a warning list longer than the Bible. I never really read those that carefully, but I actually read this one. As in word for word. It wasn't anything I didn't already know, fortunately.

No side effects so far (obviously). I've had a headache all afternoon, probably because I didn't eat lunch, so of course I was freaking out after I took the pill like "OMG is it getting worse BRAIN SWELLING MUST GO TO HOSPITAL." But it's better now, so that's good. I have a huge bottle of Aquaphor and another smaller one to take on the trips I'll be on next month. I also have three sticks of chapstick and one of blistex -- and other recommendations for moisturizers are appreciated.

I took the pill with a full meal and a FULL glass of water (I read the esophagus-burning part of the Bible-sized warning list, freaked out, and chugged a whole glass with it). I've also read that drinking lots of water can help with side effects, so I'll try to start doing that. I don't feel nauseated at all. =)

I hope everybody enjoys reading this journal, and I hope I enjoy the results of these pesky little misshapen jelly beans that took me three months to get!

I know it's a long way down
But you can't walk the wire for anybody else
I might hit the ground
But at least I'll have a story to tell
She said, I gotta find out for myself