“Aw, You’re in a Flare”

This is my doctor’s slogan. I’m three months into the Accutane, and I’m going to be completely honest here. Things are rough, folks. My acne is not getting much better, and I’m having some not-so-great side effects.

I’ve pretty much been breaking out in pimples since I last updated about a month ago. I would say it’s not quite as bad as when I started the Accutane, but not where I would like to be after taking it for three months. But, I’m not losing hope quite yet.

Now to the new, lovely side effects. I’m still dealing with really dry lips, my feet still hurt, and my nose has started cracking and bleeding on the inside. I also think I have a cold or allergies. I thought that maybe because the inside of my nose was so dry that it might be giving me cold-like symptoms, but my doctor says that Accutane doesn’t do that. The dry nose probably started about a week ago, the same time as my cold symptoms. The last week has been pretty miserable. I’m still breaking out, and my nose is so stuffed up that I’m not sleeping very well. I’m planning to invest stock in nasal saline spray and vaseline. And I’m also using my kid’s humidifier that’s shaped like an elephant. I’m fancy.

When I saw my doctor this morning, she said the famous words I’ve come to hear so often: “Aw, you’re in a flare!” Our game plan: kenalog injections (I got 4 or 5 of those today), a short-course of prednisone, and blue light therapy. This is in addition to the Accutane. We’ll see how the next month goes. I’ll keep everyone updated!