First week on Accutane

Jonathan has been on the Accutane treatment for a week now. The side-effects of extreme dryness has already begun, in fact it probably started soon after he started taking the tablets. The dryness is on his lips and around his mouth region. The dryness is so severe, that the discomfort is probably borderline pain. Jonathan spent the last few days going through a host of different creams - all recommendations from Gabrielle, especially as Gabby and Brandon both suffer from dry skin as well. Yesterday, he switched to a combination of coconut oil and vitamin E oil and that seems to work a bit better. The only issue is it only provides relief for about 5 minutes.

In Jonathan's defense, he was hesitant to use the cream(s) more frequently, because earlier in the week he was trying out a really expensive and thick cream that Gabby uses, and she wanted to make sure that Jonathan didn't waste it. Now that he is on the vitamin E oil (which, I believe works the best), we were telling him tonight that if he needs to put it on every five minutes, then go ahead and use it every 5 minutes. Maybe if he does that for an hour or so, it will gradually taper down in it's intensity. We're not sure, but trying to win an argument with a teenager can sometimes be difficult :-).

The good news is that we don't have to be constantly behind him, to remind him to take his Accutane tablets. With our (Gabby and Walter) heads all scrambled at the moment, preparing for our big move, we would frequently forget he has these tablets to take :-0.

We have a consult at LPCH (Lucille Packard Children's Hospital) for some blood work and a physical, to see check his levels and see how his body is handling the Accutane. The original plan was to get a two week prescription, which expires next week Wednesday, October 7th, and get a check-up to determine if they need to adjust the dosage, etc... I'm glad he is on the Accutane treatment, and now the major worry is to ensure a good transition of care when we move to Holland at the beginning of November. The good news is that the medical team at LPCH is working on ensure there is a smooth transition, so all I could do is hope for the best and trust in The Lord.