As I open this page, I am not sure where it will go. But to begin it in a properly dull manner, (and since I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here anyway) I suppose I should introduce myself.
My name is mdlestat (pronounced m-d-lestat), and I'm 27 years old. I'm a driver by trade, working for two different companies that you've heard of and probably see every day on the road. I'm single, and have been for awhile. Maybe it's because I don't really go out much. (To put it more bluntly: I have the social life of a 78 year-old librarian.) Yes-- I have two cats.
I am a pseudo health-nut, working out pretty regularly. I don't eat junk food, fast food, sweet food, or fried food. Nothing with more ingredients than I have fingers and toes, really. I'm pretty fit, overall. Average-looking, though kinda skinny. Smoked for 10 years, but quit a few years back. Quit drinking alcohol and soda completely, too. (Can you tell how fun I am at parties yet?)
I absolutely love music, and consider it one of my life's true passions. I have a wide range of favorites, including: Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Nirvana (and all other 'Seattle grunge'-- AIC, PJ, SG, etc...), Sarah McLachlan, Massive Attack, Led Zep, the Stones, (most all of that classic rock stuff, really)...a lot of earlier 90's country, (up until around '96, when it all started sucking lots)...electronica, (specifically ambient and trance), and classical...leaving out hundreds of other, just as wonderful, bands. I think you get my point.
I am an *extremely* amateur guitar player owner. I also aspire to play keys someday. And become a millionaire. And hit 180 lbs. of pure manly muscle. And fall in love with a drop-dead gorgeous girl with a perfect personality who is predisposed to forgiving flaws in her mate...but I digress...
Truth be told, I decided to start this blog as a way to tell others about my positive experience with the drug Accutane. See, I lived with severe acne from the time I was 14 years old, and finally took Accutane (same as Amnesteem and Sotret) this past summer for five months as the last resort 'nuclear option' of acne treatment.
So far, it has worked. After a decade of horriffic skin, only the scars remain-- and that's a 1000% improvement. In doing research, leading up to, during, and after the treatment, I discovered a few really helpful sites that were layed out as journals, documenting the experiences of the people taking the drug, it's side-effects, and their general thoughts on the whole thing. They all proved invaluable to me during what was an admittedly difficult five months. I'll link to them when I re-find them all.
But here's what I thought I'd do-- I never did find a place where there was a visual, week-by-week display of how their skin looked during the whole ordeal. There is one particular site, that had a few poor-quality lo-res pics of the girl's cheek here and there--but you never really got to see the stuff work.
Writing about it is one thing, but witnessing it working in pictures is another. So, the day I began my treatment, I swallowed my modesty and took clear, close-up pics of my upper body in sections--face, neck, chest, back-- and would continue to do so at exactly 1-week intervals throughout my Accutane regimen.
The resulting visual log of my progress is, while admittedly disgusting, something that I honestly hope and believe will help educate people that are trying to learn about the drug, and those who might be considering its use. I go through those pics today and see, week-by-week, how the drug took my skin from bad, to horrible, to nightmarish, to steadily better, better, and clear right before my eyes. When I figure out how to post them all, I will.
There are enough sites screaming about the danger of women becoming pregnant while on the drug that I will not dwell on that here. Much. And the other side-effects are possibly serious as well. I was lucky and had very few of significance.
But, as my introductory post has now long-past lived up to it's dullness guarantee, I will end it now.
I think I'll have a look around this place and see what the hell I'm supposed to do here.
Until next time...
hey, just seeing this now - not sure if you still come on here... but that is AMAZING. you look great! your skin is a MILLION times better and is flawless now!! hope your still clear!!
Posted by: allyson | June 26, 2009 at 01:00 AM
Thank you for providing this resource. My son is 16, has suffered from cystic acne for 2 years and has tried all sorts of creams, antibiotics, cleansers with no effect. He has been on accutane for about 6 weeks now.
I am so thrilled to have found this site and will show your pictures to him to reassure him to not give up hope! He can recover from this!
Thanks so much again for your efforts. I'm so glad you have had such amazing results. May God bless you.
Posted by: Ginny | May 23, 2009 at 01:31 AM
you're so brave!. I have dealin' with acne since I was 11 years old, now I'm 25. I started accutane treatment three months ago. Congratulations and enjoy your new and beauty face.
Posted by: Harold Valero | May 15, 2009 at 07:25 PM
I read this site back when I first started acne treatment in November '05. It helped me out a lot because I was very skeptical about this drug. I never had any luck with ANYTHING a dermatologist ever gave me. I tried every cream, antibiotic, and face wash you could imagine. I used them religiously and took back the empty bottles to my dermatologist as proof of my efforts. So when I finally took that final step, I needed comfort. And although my skin took much longer than yours to clear up (13 months) in the end, it was a miracle. I couldn't be happier. No longer does oil drip from my face, no longer do acne clusters form a mountain range. No longer do cysts the size of quarters invade my forhead and chin. Thank you!
Posted by: Ryan | June 17, 2008 at 06:50 PM
I am only seeing this in 2008. I am now 24 and I have had acne for 10 years! I was so sick of seeing all the little 16 year olds getting put on Accutane and I was made to suffer. Thank you so much for allowing me the freedome to know that I am not alone!
Posted by: Alexis | April 24, 2008 at 03:59 PM
Hey!
As I can see from the dates on previous comments not enough people are giving you credit for an unbelievable job you are doing by making this site. I'm 16 and I've been dealing with acne since I was 11 (gosh I was such an early bloomer). It was awkward at first, nothing serious, but it never seemed to stop. The sad part is that cystic acne ran in my family, but only on my father's side. My mom has perfect skin and sometimes I wondered if I ever had a sibling, would he/she get the good genes?
So now I'm about to start Accutane and judging from all the positive feedback I've researched, and most especially this site, I'm incredibly excited.
Once again, thank you so much!
Posted by: Maria | February 26, 2008 at 12:15 AM
Hey thank you for finally posting what i really wanted to see (pictures) Some hard core proof that this crazy drug is actually going to pay off. I am so tired of dumping money into stuff that doesn't permenantly clear up my skin. You really helped tremedously and i am sure that i am not the only one out there who needed to see this medication in action. I am convinced now that it will work wonders. Well thanks again and your skin looks incredible.
Posted by: Amanda | May 28, 2006 at 12:17 AM
Hey there,
I just wanted to say good job on your site. I just started Amnesteem a week ago. I went through a course of Accutane four years ago with good but temporary results. So, here I go again. I'm female and almost 26. Sucks to still have acne way past puberty huh? I always joke that I got all the bad stuff from puberty and none of the good stuff: the stuff that's makes us females more attractive, I mean. Anyway, not a lot of time to write right now. But, I'm sure a lot of people will benefit from your site. It's cool.
Darcy
Posted by: Darcy | January 19, 2005 at 10:47 PM