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Post accutane log
Hi all,
I took multiple doses of accutane for months at a time back as a teenager and am now in my early 30s.
I did so because the acne came back. However, after the last dose my eyes have been permanently dry and I also developed a boil-like condition on my butt. Luckily the boils went away after a couple of years, but unfortunately the eyes come and go based on the season and how dry it is, it seems.
I was also on / off again some vitamin A supplementation and cod liver oil trying to get healthier in my 20s, thinking perhaps i was deficient in vitamin A....
Before starting this, I was suffering from sebaceous cysts (which had to be cut out, requiring multiple emergency surgeries as they grew very quickly) and joint issues (mostly my knees) the 8 months prior. As well as the intermittent dry eyes and some lowish energy (but this has been happening so long I don't remember a time i had good energy).
I'm day 9 on a low vitamin A diet. It looks something like:
- breakfast: oats + banana + honey
- lunch: meat + rice + collagen
- dinner: meat + rice + collagen
- a drink at some point: apple juice + collagen
The collagen is for the joints. I will also take some activated charcoal here and there.
So far my energy has picked up as well as mental clarity, my knees are feeling improved. I've had no new cysts but they were forming more like every 3 months.
My eyes have flared up majorly. It has gotten colder in Australia so i wonder if having hot showers has caused it. My skin also feels super dry. It is almost like i'm on accutane again. I'm stopping the hot showers to see if that was the issue, or if indeed my vitamin A is being released from my liver and it actually is accutane.
Wish me luck!
day 14 (officially 2 weeks woo!)
feeling great generally today. some thoughts:
- my eyes have been struggling terribly until the last two days, despite avoiding hot showers. feeling great since starting to use blue light blocking glasses. i figure i will continue to wear them. if it truly is vitamin A detoxing from my eyes like i suspect, and not true dryness, then if i wear the glasses the vit A will detox through other pathways like the bile eventually and i wont have to go through the eye pain. i suspect there is some interaction between the vit A in the eyes and the blue light coming from the screen (i sit at a computer for my day job)
- my skin continues to feel dry but doesn't bother me. my scalp was feeling super dry and uncomfortable and i was having lots of shedding, today i think i've sorted that by using a coconut oil conditioner - this is the one i'm using. it seems like mostly coconut oil and shea butter, but it does have some other stuff. i don't seem to need to use shampoo anymore, or maybe once a week max.
- i've just been using the thorn b-complex as a supplement rather than straight nicotinic acid. i may try it again at some point but i figure the b-complex is more balanced and i didn't have a great response when i tried nicotinic acid 5 days ago. although, that could just be detox.
- i've had better digestion again, a big bowl of cooked oats in the morning and not having the activated charcoal seems to help this
- i'll try not having apple juice for this week and see how i respond, i've been told all that sugar isn't amazing for the liver.
- i watched a podcast with Garrett Smith where he talked about beef / red meat in general making detox happen faster due to its high zinc content, and that having less red meat (or reducing total meat) could help if feeling too uncomfortable. i had beef only pretty much for the last few days and it was causing some issues, i've had issues in the past with zinc supplementation too. so i'm going back to a beef / chicken hybrid diet now. beef only is too plain for me also, i like a bit of mix in terms of taste and sustainability of the diet.
I've added beans to the diet, and with oats, beans, rice and meat its nearly 100% RDI for everything. The main exception are the fat solubles (lets say theyre purposefully low) and calcium.
Is anyone concerned or supplementing their calcium I wonder?
Quote from Mark3 on May 29, 2024, 1:57 amI've added beans to the diet, and with oats, beans, rice and meat its nearly 100% RDI for everything. The main exception are the fat solubles (lets say theyre purposefully low) and calcium.
Is anyone concerned or supplementing their calcium I wonder?
I quit using eggshell calcium several months ago and didn't notice any increase in muscle cramps so I don't worry about trying to meet a certain amount anymore. That is good to know that oats, beans, rice and meat can provide almost everything a person needs.