H
hmj211
Guest
returned. I need some advice.
I'm 23 and I've been struggling with cystic acne since about age 14. Every day I take a multivitamin with zinc and iron in it every day, 50 mg of sertraline (Zoloft generic), iron gel capsules for anemia, and drink alot of coffee. I've gone back on isotretinoin after about two years on it. I spent six or seven months without it, and the cystic acne came back, just as bad as it was so many years ago...walnut-sized cysts, clusters of zits of varying size, white nodules that seem filled only with fluid and never go away, and now, acne marks that won't heal. It's awful.
I've only been on 30 mg for a week or so and already the soreness and stiffness in my legs is constant. My muscles are tense and I am more tired than usual, which is saying something. This is what happened near the end of the most recent cycle....I initially thought it was worse b/c of the then-undaignosed and untreated anemia. I'm treating it now, but I'm in pain.
I've been taking ibuprofen to deal with it...the relief (if there is any) only lasts a few hours. Dying of ibuprofen-related liver damage (or worse, living a long time with liver damage) is something I'd like to avoid. Hell, I've probably damaged my liver enough with the isotretinoin, but at least I got a moderately clearer face out of it.
Does anyone have any advice? I suppose I'll have to talk to my doctor; she knows I've dealt with the side effects (fatigue, bone spurs, lower back pain) before. I can't believe the cystic acne came back after two cycles on isotretinoin. I feel helpless.
Does anyone have any tips to deal with the pain, at least while I'm re-adjusting (and hopefully this is temporary, but I seriously wonder)? Someone on this board mentioned Advil is better than anything else when dealing with the fatigue related to Accutane--why would that be? Is it b/c it's acetaminophen?
I tried aldactone (50 mg per day for two weeks, then 100 mg per day for one week) and even when I was on it, the cysts came back in full force.
Isotretinoin is the only thing that has ever really worked consistently (I'm including topical creams like Retin-A under the list of "so so" treatments, too), but it's making daily functioning very painful. I don't know what to do.
I'm 23 and I've been struggling with cystic acne since about age 14. Every day I take a multivitamin with zinc and iron in it every day, 50 mg of sertraline (Zoloft generic), iron gel capsules for anemia, and drink alot of coffee. I've gone back on isotretinoin after about two years on it. I spent six or seven months without it, and the cystic acne came back, just as bad as it was so many years ago...walnut-sized cysts, clusters of zits of varying size, white nodules that seem filled only with fluid and never go away, and now, acne marks that won't heal. It's awful.
I've only been on 30 mg for a week or so and already the soreness and stiffness in my legs is constant. My muscles are tense and I am more tired than usual, which is saying something. This is what happened near the end of the most recent cycle....I initially thought it was worse b/c of the then-undaignosed and untreated anemia. I'm treating it now, but I'm in pain.
I've been taking ibuprofen to deal with it...the relief (if there is any) only lasts a few hours. Dying of ibuprofen-related liver damage (or worse, living a long time with liver damage) is something I'd like to avoid. Hell, I've probably damaged my liver enough with the isotretinoin, but at least I got a moderately clearer face out of it.
Does anyone have any advice? I suppose I'll have to talk to my doctor; she knows I've dealt with the side effects (fatigue, bone spurs, lower back pain) before. I can't believe the cystic acne came back after two cycles on isotretinoin. I feel helpless.
Does anyone have any tips to deal with the pain, at least while I'm re-adjusting (and hopefully this is temporary, but I seriously wonder)? Someone on this board mentioned Advil is better than anything else when dealing with the fatigue related to Accutane--why would that be? Is it b/c it's acetaminophen?
I tried aldactone (50 mg per day for two weeks, then 100 mg per day for one week) and even when I was on it, the cysts came back in full force.
Isotretinoin is the only thing that has ever really worked consistently (I'm including topical creams like Retin-A under the list of "so so" treatments, too), but it's making daily functioning very painful. I don't know what to do.