Isotretinoin (Accutane) Reviews

I've used Roaccutane once before and am now on my second course to treat cystic type acne on my cheeks. The first course didnt do much until my derm upped my dose to 80mg (my max) in the last month... and then I cleared up 90%! Im now in month 2 of my second course and thing are in the 'getting worse' stage before it gets better!
If your thinking of using Roac or have just started heres a few tips:
Take Roac with fatty foods or, at the very least, a glass of full fat milk: fatty foods drastically improve the absorption of Roac.
Dont pick your spots on Roac: your skin become v fragile and youll probably end up taking off a layer of skin or really damaging yourself.
In most cases, your skin will initially get worse, maybe for up to a couple of months like mine did... But hang in there! When it does turn around, it does it fast!

I started my first stint of Accutane during my senior year of high school. It lasted six months and concluded during the first two weeks of my freshman year of college. It had worked perfectly, just like it was supposed to do. I literally had no acne...

However, approximately 3 months later during winter break, I started to have a small breakout on my forehead, with very tiny pimples, something I never really got before. It progressed towards the Spring and became the worst acne Ive ever had. Huge pimples on my forehead and around my mouth, and also right outside the glands on my neck, places that I had never worried about it before.

I started my accutane again. This period I was on it for was less and eneded around August from when I started in the middle of Spring. It worked again, and a year later I am still happy with the results. I do have the occasional breakout and I cannot put cologne on my neck as I feel that is one of the main reasons as to why I breakout there, but overall my skin is much improved.

I still have a mild prescription acne cream that I apply once at night, but my acne is a million times better due to my use of Accutane. I'd recommend this drug and I stand by it 100%.

I son is now 16, he was on Accutane for 7 months from Sept to April of last year. He had very low self esteem because of his acne. Our insurance covered the cost of Accutane adequately. One daily 40 mg capsule of Accutane cleared up his Nodular acne in less than three months. All blood tests were negative. His only side effect was the usual dry cracked lips but he always kept a tube of Aquaphor ointmnet handy to remedy this. Doctor said he wanted him to stay on Accutane for minimum of 6 months as it might come back if he went off to soon. He used it for one more month just to be safe At the end of 7 months he went off (that was April 20 05) Several pimples began reappearing during July. With School starting again on August 22 he wanted to see the Dermatologist again. He suggested he go back on Accutane one capsule every other day. This time he had severe side effects. Over the course of a week, with only 4 doses of Accutane in his system, his personality began to change. He had developed the classic signs of depression, which he has never had before. He told us that thoughts of suicide began to enter his head. He also lost his appetite completely, has already lost 7 pounds in a body that has no fat in it, he is sleeping all the time and has no interest in doing things he used to like to do. We live very close to the beach and he is always in the water surfing or bodyboarding. I did not call his dermatologist I had enough sense to stop the pill immediately. He took his 4 th and last pill last Tuesday. He was still having mental changes By Friday. I started the ball rolling that day , as I had seen enough. I first called the Crisis center help line at the local hospital. They gave me names and #'s of people to contact. I have already gotten him into see a clinical psychologist for therapy. He will also be seeing a psychiatrist next week and a Neurologist also. Am I over reacting? NO! Suicidal thoughts are very freightening If I was not terrible concerned with his sudden and abrubt change in behavior and personality I would not be willing to put out the $150/ hour charge it is costing to get him help. I will not have my only child be another tragic teenage suicide brought on by the use of this powerful drug Accutane.

Accutane sucks.

Barely cleared up my acne, infact made it worse the first 5 months on it. A LOT worse.

I started getting severely cracked lips, dry flaky skin, BAD joint and muscle pain, and bad stomach pain. my hair is also falling out and thinning, and I'm tired all the time.

Soooo not worth it, everyone.

I was very lucky and didn't have to pay for my treatment.I have just finished a 6 month course on roaccutane and it will get worse before it gets better. I had terrible spots and it was scarring and my skin. But now my skin is clear and i no longer feel the need to wear make-up. yes their are side effects, dry lips, mood swings my hair also got dry. but i feel the effects are over rated as soon as i saw improvment i was happier and more confident and this drug is amazing having spent 4 years trying everything on the market.This is the best drug out there. And now i am hoping for my skin to stay like this.

In Canada, without insurance it would have cost me $120 for 1 month supply of Accutane, thankfully my insurance covered 80% :) Although my doc didn't feel my acne was bad enough to prescribe Accutane, I insisted I try.. so he started me off with 20mg of Accutane for the first two months. After the first few weeks I noticed my skin was producing less oil... great sign so far, well it came to the point that my skin was producing so little oil that my face became DRY! I used to bug my sis and take the sleve of my shirt and rub it across my forehead and all you would see is dead skin. LOL. Gross.. I know. The blood tests are annoying, I had them done every 2 weeks for the first two months I believe.. then once a month. My course of therapy was only 4 months.. my skin improved, but a year later I've noticed that it has come back again. Back on Tazorac and Minocycline for the next few months.. if nothing comes of it.. I'm going to ask my doc for a 2nd course of Accutane before my insurance expires December 31st. Its now August LoL.

i think accutane is awesome so go for it and dunt worry
but i think it must be described frist from ur doctor!

I took Accutnae as a senior in high school at age 17. I started in January and finished in June with perfeclty clear skin. The first three months were really rough with the side effects but the last two were a breeze. Now one year after the treatment ended I am beginning to see signs that the acne is returning and want to go on Accutane again before it gets really bad. All other products have never worked for me and the minocyclin I am currently taking isn't working either. Does anyone have a clue for what I should do?

hi,
i had like the worst skin ever, since the age of 14. so embarrasing. i used anitbotics in high school which cleared my skin up for a year, but then my acne came back badly, as i started university (2004). i started roaccutane March 2005, it worked pretty well, (i still have one or two pimples here or there), i have the cracked lips etc. i also had very sore bones, a bit of depression but i didnt mind. i was very excited that THIS MIGHT WORK, yayyyy.. toward my 6th month, i'm llike WOOT finally my nightmare skin is over. and i was SO HAPPY but alas. two weeks ago i started getting sharp abdominal pain. i called my doctor and she said to stop immediately. i am certain to have an abdominal disease, be it Inflammatory Bowel Disease,

Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis ,Colitis, Colon Cancer, Abdominal Cancer
Regional Ileitis , Bowel Obstruction, Pancreatitis, Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis, Pancolitis, Sigmoiditis Liver Disease, Hepatitis, Hepatotoxicity Lupus
Which THE FRIGGEN hell ever, it hurts, and it is serious. i've stopped dead set in the miidle of my treatment, (even though i have a party on sat, and i might to be a pizza face!) its THAT scary!!!! i never thought i would be one of "those" ppl who get damaged by it.

by almeans try if if you want to, but please stop if you get the SLIGHTEST inclling of serious side effect!

been battling acne straight out for 5 years, year by year it got worse. Tried over counter..bloody waste of money. Doctor then prescribed me on minomycin. Fantastic for about a year but after that my body got used to it and my acne got worse. Differen made absoultly no difference. Went on the pill, that sucked and then went on retin a cream which was mildly effective. I have now been prescribed on roaccutane and wouldnt go back. already my skin is clear and the pimples are almost nothing. side effects you are bound to get but id prefer not to have permanent scars and "pits" in my face.