Month Three On Roaccutane (NHS Experience)

It feels like FOREVER since I wrote my last Roaccutane post, and whilst it’s only been a matter of weeks, I feel like I’m having a whole other rollercoaster of an experience now. 

I mentioned last time we had a skin-related catch up that I was having problems trying to get my next prescription. Well, in the end, I had just over a week off the tablets and in that time actually developed a few new spots? Apparently, that isn’t normally a thing because the drug is still in your body for weeks after you take it, but I definitely had new spots during that week. Medical mystery? Who knows.

The dermatologist upped my dose to 60mg a day for three months (I was on 40mg previously) and explained that that should be all of the treatment I require. During that conversation, I also managed to exempt myself from the pregnancy prevention programme because of Corona. In case you hadn’t heard, having sex is illegal right now, so I don’t think I need to be travelling to the hospital, in a pandemic, to be having pregnancy tests that I categorically don’t need to be having. So, if anyone is in a similar situation, it’s definitely worth discussing it with your doctor - obviously, if you do end up having sex, stay safe my dudes.

Speaking of Corona, I’ve seen a lot of people say that their treatment has been cancelled or postponed due to the virus, so I just want to take a moment to count my lucky stars. This gal still has the drugs. Life is good. 

Since upping my dose I (and everyone around me) has noticed a massive shift in my mood, and not for the better, yikes. Obviously, I can’t put it all down to Roaccutane, I imagine some of it is to do with being stuck in my house and not working for 3 months, but yeah. It’s fair to say they weren’t kidding when they say it impacts your mood and irritability! Thankfully I haven’t had any of the depressive symptoms, I’m just way snappier than usual and a slightly less friendly Becca. 

Besides my mood, the other biggest side effect from this month has been my crusty nose. The inside of my nose is so dry that it bleeds and scabs, and I can’t tell you how annoying it feels. It’s almost as if I can’t fully stretch my face out, and no amount of blowing my nose is helping. I did see one girl was using a syringe full of vaseline to help her nose out, so that might have to be my next mission. 

As for my skin, it’s faaaar thinner and the most fragile it’s ever been. If I even just lightly scratch myself on the edge of a drawer, my skin bleeds and scabs over. I picked Murphy up the other day and he accidentally scratched me on the chin... Shall we place bets on how long that mark is going to last on my poor face? 

Besides the fragility, my skin actually hasn’t been painfully dry at all this last month. I think I’m really getting into the swing of my new Roaccutane Skincare Routine and it seems to be working out for me at the moment! I’m still washing my hair faaar less often too which is a massive bonus. 

Spot-wise, I have actually been getting a few new spots, so perhaps this is the ‘purge’ people often talk about? Who knows, maybe it’s all the sugar I’ve been stuffing my face with or the touching my face that I shouldn’t have been doing. 

The final two things I wanted to mention in this month's catch up are my permanent hunger and permanent tiredness. Again, some of this might be lockdown boredom related but over the last few weeks I have been soooo hungry and really tired when I get into bed at 10.30. These are by no means the worst side effects to be experiencing, but I’m certainly beginning to notice it more and more.

So, there we have it. My experience being on Roaccutane for a third month. Overall, the pros still massively outweigh the cons and I CANNOT wait to see how it all looks at the end of my course.

 Before Treatment / After 1 Month / After 2 Months / After 3 Months