My story. Hopefuly Roaccutane will provide a Happy Ever After (My Experience of Acne)

Member Name: Chaztastic

Product:	My Experience of Acne
Date:	04/01/09 (710 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The feeling you'll get when they finally go!

Disadvantages: Low self esteem

For me, acne has been the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It started in primary school; way to young for someone to cope with it. Part of a class full of angelic, clear skinned and unaware little children, me (and my face) stuck out like a sore thumb.
I must admit though, even though I've had them since Year 6, at the time, their presence wasn't that upsetting; I don't know why, but I somehow had the confidence to take all my friends' insults in my stride (yes, my friends). However I do remember moaning to my mum about them. All she ever said was that "Well, there's that girl who's got them as well, so you're not the only one." The fact that that girl was the weird outcast of the class didn't help.
So then came secondary school, I don't think my spots stood in the way of me making new friends and what not really. Of course, there were a few other kids with acne, but for every person with a spot or two, there was ten kids with flawless skin. As I went through the years, I became increasingly aware of how bad my acne was, and how unnattractive it was. Unfortunately, other people made this discovery as well. The onslaught of insults and teasing wasn't immense, but every little dig just hurt a little more. I felt isloated and alone; no one was in the same circumstance as I was.
I can't remember what spurred my mum into action, but we ended up at the doctor's one time and I started my first drug. I was on it for ages... perhaps two years. It helped my spots slightly, although nothing dramatic happened. Then someone decided I needed to change medicine as the one I had been using I was 'getting used to', or something. So I changed. But the second one wasn't as effective. My spots got worse. By this time, I was 14; girls seemed interesting but I didn't have the confidence to do anything about them. Then there was a kerfuffle with the doctor. We saw a dermatoligist (skin specialist) and this wonder drug 'Roaccutane' was mentioned. All I found out about it at the time was that it was effective but dried out your skin 'to a crisp.' It was eventually decided that my acne was serious enough for me to take this thing. We got all this information on it, and my parents got worried. An intimidating list of possible side effects including diabetes, liver disease, depression and suicidal thoughts cast them into doubt. I was unfazed and knew that I would do anything to get rid of my spots. It seemed unfair that everyone got perfect skin for free and I had to worry so much about mine. Recent events I can recall are such;
A girl who had never had a spot on her face admitted that she only watched her face once a day with soap.
Two of my friends (a boy and a girl) were moaning to each other about how they both had such 'horrible' spots. Their complaints were groundless. It just upset me so much to hear people who had previously said that my spots 'weren't that bad' would fuss so much over just one spot. So surely I was hideous to them?
To start, I had to not take any medicine for a month before I could to take Roaccutane. I also had a blood test. My spots got slightly worse during this period; just went to show how little the previous drug had done to help. I finally started Roaccutane a week ago today. It says on the leaflet that it is likely that my acne could get worse in the first 7-10 days. School starts the day after next, so this time will pretty much be over by then. Some of the side effects are kicking in. I've had dry lips (I've had worse due to harsh winters) but Vaseline means I don't have to worry. I've had a few small patches of dry skin here and there; this Aqueous Cream from Boots has sorted that. And this morning my nose was bloody, but this wasn't much of a concern. I can't help but be really optimistic for the results. The doctor said that there is a 50% chance that after the treatment is over that I would never have a spot again, 45% that I'd have the odd one or two, and 5% of needing further treatment. I haven't seen any particular improvement in my skin just yet, but it is of course early days.
While reading other reviews on here, I'd just like to say that blood in urine is not a possible side effect of taking Roaccutane. Not sure where that one person got that idea from.
And something else to add. I recently got my first girlfriend; she says that she doesn't care at all about my spots (even though they cover my shoulders and middle to upper back, as well as my chest and neck now) and after asking her friends, she said that none of them would care if a boy had spots or not. Even though the issue is often most troubling to the person experiencing it(everyone is their own worst critic), it might prove reassuring to see that most people at my age (15 to 16) are mature enough to not be seriously bothered about spots. You can't stop them and they know it's not due to being unhygienic.
One more tip. Never talk about acne to a person with it, and especially if you barely have any spots at all. I find it really offensive, even if people mean well.
Good luck everyone, and please try to rise above any jibes at your skin. Remain optimistic no matter how hard it proves. You'll have clear skin some day.

Summary: Shouldn't be long until I have that thing I covet most. Clear skin.