Roaccutane the saviour pill

I am so sorry I have been MIA for quite some time. Today, I was more than motivated to blog, as I want to RANT! I have been so disgruntled lately with the 'news' on short bursts of current affairs on the BBC and of course hypeuptheproblem Daily Mail. Everyone and their uncle is trying to highlight the dangers of Roaccutane. 

Having been prescribed the drug myself (I think for a 6 month course) I am a living testament of what a miracle these pills are. Yes, there are side effects hence why it can only be prescribed by a dermatologist. He or She monitors the patient very closely on the course of the prescription (every 3 or 4 weeks). Also, you are told of the negative outcomes; including depression and how a small statistic of patients have committed suicide, which was probably due to the drug. Not only does the dermatologist lists the side effects but you are also required to sign a waiver, saying you have been told of the side effects, you understand and agree to go ahead. 

During my final months of the prescription, I was on 70mg a day. This is a rather high dosage but the doctor prescribes on the the basis of how well you have been coping with drug (emotionally and other side effects); how the progress of trying to clear the acne is going and height and body weight. I didn't feel I was effected in terms of my emotional health, my main side effects were extreme dry and sensitive skin and very achey achey joints. Nevertheless, my dermatologist always made a point of asking how I was feeling emotionally. 

Roaccutane saved my life. I know I would never have been able to do well in university academically as well as socially. How does acne effect your studies??? Simple, I wouldn't have had the confidence to participate well in group work or even talk to lecturers without being self conscious and insecure. 

Yes, I understand some young adults have died from the nasty side effects of this drug. However lets not forget everything in life has risks, surgery has risk, would we stop operating on people due to 1% of those patients unfortunately die? no. I wish their parents would stop campaigning for Roaccutane to be banned. It's none of their business, this drug in my personal opinion does more good than bad. Banning this drug would mean that thousands of young adults who could take the drug and only have minor side effects like me, can't have the desired, insecure and self conscious free life they could. 

If you are a sufferer of acne, choosing the the best course of action is ultimately up to you and your body. There are many different treatments for this awful skin condition and if it has been long term, I would suggest speaking to your GP. I was told at 16, that I would grow out of it, I didn't and had to suffer years of waiting for the miracle day I would wake up with clear skin. As a result of that, I have a few prominent areas of scarring and terrible memories of being insecure and ashamed. 

It feels quite sad and superficial to say that a skin condition has held me back in the past. Should I have embraced my flaws instead of feeling sorry for myself? It's hard to say, maybe I could have been a little less negative and focused on all the positive aspects in my life. Nevertheless, my acne is gone and I have to thank Roaccutane and my dermatologist from the bottom of my heart.

Sensitive skin products (Roaccutane)

When I was taking Roaccutane, I experienced the usual side effects of extremely sensitive dry skin; So, I thought I would blog about the products that I used and were to become my saviours. These products would also be great for hyper sensitive skin types too.

Lets start with Carmex. This medicated lip balm was my hero, it didn't get rid of the dryness or the cracks or the bleeding... but it did take away the pain and a hella lot better than other lip products on the market. Post Roaccutane side effects, it makes my lips plump, shiny and no cracks. (p.s. when I was on the medication, it was five whole months of extreme dry lip hell!)

And to moisturisers. I was prescribed a lot of eczema type creams to relieve the dryness, not only for my face but the rest of the body too, things like dermal and other super yucky lard creams. The only one that benefited me, was Doublebase. It's a gel cream type consistency and although sat on the skin, when used overnight, in the morning my skin would absorb it and would feel more comfortable. I remember it occasionally stung but not as bad as the other creams I was given. I recommended my dad who has eczema to give it ago, he too said this cream was a lot better than the other prescriptions. Although I was prescribed this product, you can also buy it over the counter in pharmacies. Neutrogena deep comfort balm was the body moisturiser I used on my skin during the day because it absorbed well. Doublebase was too gloopy to use under clothes, so I opted for this one instead. It soaked in quite well however because it's scented it did have a slight burning feel initially.

The creams that were prescribed to me, were also recommended as face and body washes - yuck! For me, I used Avene cream soap, this soap was great, gentle, no stinging, creamy and moisturising. It's not cheap about £6 for a small bar, which goes very quickly!

I used Garnier sensitive toner to cleanse my face in the morning, as I usually don't shower or use water to wash my face then. This had no stinging! Pro points! and it continues to give relief to my skin when it's dry, I love this stuff. I didn't however, use the moisturiser during my course of Roaccutane but it's a product I recently discovered and it always sits on my shelf. I travel to Durham/Newcastle quite frequently, where the wind whips your face and I find this product soothes my skin, no stinging unlike L'oreal Hydrafesh.

During my course of Roaccutane, I tried many other products, Jergens (stings), Aveeno (Too sticky), Bio oil (did nothing) that wasn't right for me.  Oh and also, the medication dried out my skin so much, I didn't really need to wash my hair unless it started to smell. I didn't have any problems with my usual shampoo and conditioner (L'oreal Elvive) but I did have a bottle of sensitive Head and Shoulders to hand, in case when things got really bad. Another point ABSOLUTELY NO HAIR COLOURING.

Acne. How to get rid.

I know there is loads of information on the internet about acne. They vary from tips from 'gurus' on youtube to pages dedicated to the cure. I absolutely love youtube videos from girls who like to pass on new products and review products companies have given them to try before releases in stores.

Today, however, I was plain mad after watching about a third into a video, dedicating to 'curing' acne. I was an acne sufferer and after suffering from this horrific experience (4 years long to be exact) I cannot and did not want to watch a video where a youtuber was emphasising with other girls, how bad acne is, considering what she called acne was a few spots. The worst thing is, girls who are watching these videos can be as young as eleven or twelve years old; if someone is telling them a miracle treatment is Neutrogena 2 in 1 mask, they will believe it. If they had real acne, products like these will not work, instead a young girl who goes on believing a miracle £5 drugstore product is going to solve it, will keep using it and inevitably end up with acne scaring when the ordeal is over.

I know a lot of people won't read an anonymous blog from someone like me. But, I'm going to tell you my story for those who will. Throughout my teenage years, I did get spots and pimples, I could have had maybe five, six spots at a time on a bad week. This bothered me as a thirteen year old, knocked my confidence of course but it was only when I hit sixth form the real problem started. My face exploded overnight, it was across my cheeks, chin, hairline, nose, everywhere. Spots as big as peas under my skin, serious blackheads and whiteheads. I ignored the problem thinking it will go away, naively telling myself it was only temporary. I started using products like Clean and Clear, you name it I have probably tried it. Only after a year, I went to the doctors and was diagnosed with acne. I was given low strength antibiotics, creams with benzoyl peroxide... None of these treatments worked. I was finally referred to a dermatologist after a year of trying G.P allowed prescriptions. I think that year must have consisted of three different types of pills and 2 different types of creams. Again, the dermatologist diagnosed me with acne and gave me some antibiotics which were to control the acne (via blocking hormones) until I hopefully grew out of it. He was thinking a years treatment until I was 18 will do the trick. Hallelujah! the pills worked! I was free of acne when I started university. First year was a breeze, waking up, no base makeup, no smelly anti spot products, I was confident and thought life was going good. Then in my second year, the spots started creeping back, again, like the first outbreak massive painful spots covered my face. So, of course I immediately went back to the doctors. This time at my new campus surgery. I told the doctor, I was using an antibiotic prescribed by my old dermatologist and it worked fantastic, now no longer on the pills, the acne was coming back. The reply was, he did not have permission to prescribe these drugs, you have to be a specialist in the field. So, I was given low strength antibiotics, like the very first ones I used. I didn't have much hope and was right, these pills did not work. It was only after a year and a half, I was referred to a dermatologist. This amazing woman put me on a drug called Roaccutane straight away after receiving all my various test results. Roaccutane, is a steroid prescribed by dermatologists after all treatments have failed. The drug being so strong has a lot of side effects. I took Roaccutane for 5 months. The acne is now 'cured' but I have been left with a fair amount of scarring on my right cheek and around my hairline. This wasn't due to me squeezing spots, although that probably did not help, my skin was getting so fragile after healing it self over and over again, scarring was inevitable.

After that long story, the point is, acne is not one of the worst things to suffer from, its not even an illness as such. I understand and emphasise with any of you who suffer from spots. However, if you have acne, you must not listen to youtubers telling you Clearasil is best, head to your G.P and get advice from an expert in medicine not in using a airbook mac. Your doctor can confirm whether you are suffering from acne or just have some teenage spots. Its never a waste of time for them or you, that is is why they are called general practitioners. If your acne does not improve after two trials of antibiotics prescribed by them, insist you should be referred to a dermatologist. Real acne can ruin peoples teenage or even adult years don't let it stop you.