Isotretinoin (Accutane) Reviews

I have suffered with acne for five years, and I just got off Accutane a week ago.

First off, after a horrible expirence with Retin-A Micro and years of nothing working, I was ready for anything to fix my face. Accutane, within the first month, had shrunk my large and painful acne. It did not have that "it'll get worse before it gets better" deal either. I still have breakouts, even after five months on the drug. HOWEVER, breakouts have been so tiny and minimal, that they are irrelavent compared to my acne before. It has been a major confidence boost. I still have scarring from five years of acne though.

My side effects:
- Back soreness when I laid down at night, although I do heavy duty hyper-extending of it in gymnastics for three hours a day.
- Dry skin, although not nearly as bad as on Retin-A, and was easily dealt with using Avene moisturizer.
- Chapped lips; with application of chapstick, not really even worth mentioning.

Despite all the negative associations with Accutane, I would try not to put it off. If I had taken this years ago, I doubt I would have been so self-conscious, and I definately would have had less scars. This drug has allowed me to become happier than I have ever been, despite the claims of other people having depression.

terrible side effects!!!~ cleared acne completely while on it, then came off it and within a 5 months acne as bad as it was before, - except now im suffering from the side effects of the medication aswell. not worth it!!!~

I took Accutane for cystic acne for only 2 months but after developing heart palpitations my doctor told me to stop, even though the drug company claimed they hadn't had any reports of this at that point. The acne was completely gone, but I have suffered from palpitations ever since. I was/am a non-smoker, basically a non-drinker, have never been more than 5 pounds over my ideal weight (except during pregnancy), have exercised regularly all my life, and I'm blessed with great blood pressure, low cholesterol, and naturally thin. I was a great candidate. The bottom line, I loved the fact that my acne went away, however it came back (8 years later) after having a child and I would not take it again. My heart and health are too important to me. I did find that if I drank gatorade or a lot of water while on the Accutane that the palpitations lessened slightly, so maybe that helps if you still want to take it. It also was extremely expensive at the time and not covered by my insurance ($350/month).

Well, I started my second course of Accutane therapy - 20mg only 5 days ago, and already I can see results. By results I mean my acne got worse a bit, looked like eczema was starting to develop on my face.. but cleanse like you normally would and apply some cetaphil. I should be fine. I hope 2nd does the charm!

I took Accutane for 18 weeks. I was supposed to take it for 20 weeks but I started to get palpitations and my endocrinologist told me that I should stop it immediately and not to worry because 2 weeks would never affect the long-term benefit. Well, I agree with him because that makes sense, but my acne has returned 3 months after being off Accutane. It's bad this time I had persistent moderate/cystic on my T-Zone only and now it moved to my cheeks but not my T-zone (except my nose) which I don't get and one of my cheeks is being scarred BADLY! I'm so upset! My dermatologist suggests going back on Accutane but I don't want to! He claims it would be a "once and for all" but I just don't want to go through all those annoying side effects of Accutane for it to just come back again! It's so pointless!

I got really bad acne as a 12/13 year old - from hitting puberty early. I went from being a really outgoing child to being a very insecure shy teenager.

Roaccutane was a miracle drug. It cleared my skin up completely....after a few months I didn't even have 1 zit left...my skin was PERFECT!! Something I hadn't experienced for over a year. I had big mood swings, slight depression, found myself getting irritable and jealous easily...dry skin, and chapped lips. It was soooooo worth it though. It restored my self esteem and confidence and I became much happier and felt good about myself again.

6 months after going off it - my acne came back again but only with a few spots - no where near as bad as it had been. So I went back on for a longer amount of time...and then my skin was really clear for about a year. Then it came back again. Then I was able to keep it under control with over the counter products and going on the pill.

Now - at nearly 19 - my acne has come back again. So I am back on roaccutane (now called isotane). I've been back on for just over 2 weeks. Skin has got slightly worse...getting tiny mood swings already...and dry lips...but looking forward to the once clear skin again! From my experience - if your acne is making you feel really insecure and depressed and you don't have the confidence to look people in the eye anymore - then it is DEFINATELY worth it. But if your acne is no big deal to you...then I'd reconsider...try something else before hand.

accutane is false hope. The side effects are terrible and your body never adjusts to them as with some topicals. Accutane will give you wonderful skin for the time you are on it and then the skin will resort back to its old ways leaving you just as hopeless as before now having tried one more treatment.

I am very satisfied with my results. I have no active pimples right now...just some red marks. I am glad I took Accutane. I just wish I could have done it earlier!!

Why would anyone not use accutane?!It works great,has absolutely no side effects,and you can get for free(I don't get it,what do you mean by $458 for 60 capsules?!)whenever you want,even if you have just a few pimples like myself and most of the people I know were using it,and I would recommend it to anyone!!!

I never had perfect skin, but when I was 26 I broke out worse then I ever had before; all over my cheeks and especially along my jaw line. Unfortunately there wasn't much that I could do for it besides topical remidies due to the fact that I was pregnant. The further along I got in the pregnancy the worse the acne became. Huge, painful cysts that seem to never go away. So when my daughter was four months old I decided to go on Accutane. I am now almost two weeks into my fourth month and there is a huge difference. I am still getting a few random zits around that time of month, but they come out and dry up within a day or two. My course is supposed t last 5 months, but I've asked that I be kept on it a month longer; just to make sure. The only thing that sucks is because I wasn't able to treat it sooner, I have scarring on both my cheeks so my self esteem is still in the gutter. Not to mention, the dry eyes, cracked peeling lips and super dry skin. After my course is over I plan on doing a few blue peels to help with the scarring. Hopefully that will work. Either way, if you're a healthy person who can tough out a short amout of time in the grand scheme of things, then Accutane will be great. Some tips...drinks lots of water, workout, keep aquaphor handy and just keep your eye on the finish line. It will be worth it