Im due to start on accutane next week. I have fairly bad acne on my face which is causing me red scarring. I also have really oily face, neck and chest. Im nearly 17, and have already been on 2 sets of tablets and zineryt which didn't do me any favours. I hope accutane will help my acne go, although reading all these comments, Im now concerned about all the possible side effects such as hair increase and ageing of skin! Any suggestions of how to minimise the side effects while on the pills????

hi, i'm 15yrs old and i have pretty bad acne and some nasty scars aswell. i've tried 2 different perscription drugs from the dermatologest that did jacksh*t, i've tried eating lots of fruits n vegetables and drinking 10 bottles of water a day, nuthing again...i'm currently on pro active 3-step acne remover, it kind of controls it but still is getting worse and i take vitamin tablets and zinc tablets every night to help the healing process, yet it still keeps coming, i've had enough of this sh*t, i wonna go on accutane and i dont care about the side effects. i know 2 friends who went on accutane and they had really really bad acne, 1-2 years later (today) their skins looks better than mine! with not a pimple on their face and hav gotten time for their scars to heal, i think this is the ideal solution. if i do go on it i will just have to use an oil free moisturizer and chapstick everyday (as i do already) and the moisturizer i am using now has salicylic acid which is SUPPOSED to be an acne fighting thing aswell, but.....still does nuthing. my skin is very oily and everytime i wash my face, 1 hour later my skin is really oily again, so i think its just the amount of oil production i have that is the major cause of it, health wize i should be 100%. so i'm gonna try accutane

I have had severe acne for 5 years. Each year it got a little bit worse. I used many prescription acne mediacations, both topical and oral. I have been on Acutane for 23 days now, and the results are amazing! My skin started to clear up within 3 days. The acne is still bad but overall, my face is clearing up a lot.

a few things about accutane:
1. its the absolute best treatment for acne there is, by far. it will clear up ur acne while ur on it and for some people, forever. my acne did come back after a few years, but nowhere as bad as it was before accutane.

2. there are side effects, possibly some bad ones. i didnt experience any joint pains or depression, just dry skin and dry lips. for me, the results of accutane were definately worth the side effects.

in conclusion, i think for all those with bad acne, which other products couldnt cure, accutane is really worth the risk.

I loved what it did for me!! I have been off Accutane for about 11 years. When I first took the drug it was very new, and the only reason my derm. gave it to me was because I had already tried everything(and I mean EVERYTHING)and I was only 15! I still have acne, but very mild compared to what it was, I think this drug is the best thing out there! I want people to understand that if you are prone to acne then you will still have flare ups due to hormones ect. but overall I believe in this drug so much I would have no trouble giving it to my children if they needed it.

Accutane definately worked.. for awhile. It has been about a year now that I am done with it, and I have moderate acne. It's nothing to get too fussy about, but nonetheless, I have acne again. I also have noticed other body changes that I have after taking accutane. My face is looking less symmetrical. My back is becoming deformed with kyphosis. I get fat pockets in odd places and no fat in some places. It is very odd. Maybe it is just my body's natrual growing and evening out, or maybe it is accutane that messed me up for life. I guess I'll figure it out eventually. I guess proceed with caution.

Listen, Accutane like all other drugs out there doesn't cure acne, it only makes it go away for the period of time your on it! As soon as your off of it, the acne can and may return in the following 8 monthes (I know this because im currently on my 4th course of accutane). I've been taking it since i was 15, im now 20, and ill probably be on it for a little while longer in the hopes that my hormone levels will begin to balance out. Unfortunately, the sad truth is, nothing is going to fix your acne but time and maybe not even then (as with min). However, accutane does allow you to get through those awkward years and form an individual idenity, one which will hopefully see you through later years of acne. It is for this reason that i think this drug (with all of its side effects) is worthwhile for those few that need it baddly enough. Be- warned; it has many side-effects (as you can see from these other testimonies), so if your going to go on it, make sure that the pro's outweight the con's. For me they did, and i dont regret going on it, but i know people who do.

I was only a moderate acne case. It worked WHILE I was taking it , and up to 3 to 6 months after I stopped taking the Accutane. THEN my acne problems and extremely oily skin RETURNED FULL FORCE, once I had stopped the Accutane pills. I would NOT RECOMMEND as it did not cure me, but left me with a permanent negative side effect. I have to use eye drops several times a day each and every day of my life now because my eyes are chronically dry and don't make enough tears: a problem I never had before I took the Accutane, which, once again, did not even successfully help my acne condition long term. Both of my dermatologists told me the Accutane would have me "set for life", and I wouldn't have to do anything particular to my face after I stopped the Accutane (unless I wanted to) because my skin would then be like "normal skin"---What do I say to that? Um, NO. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! Expect to definitely have to use topicals to "maintain" your clearness, once off of the 'tane, or else you will have returning breakouts. Many will actually have to take several "courses" (several month treatment periods) of Accutane for the skin clearing results they want. I know women that have taken 4 to 7 "courses" as the Accutane OBVIOUSLY hadn't cured them permanently/ sufficiently. I wish I had not decided to take the Accutane as it was extremely $$$, tedious (getting blood work done, taking a birth control pill), and ineffective for what I wanted. The potentially horrible and permanent side effects are NOT worth the risk for a drug that may not either HELP or CURE your chronic acne at all!!! If you are considering this, maybe you will be one of the 80% or so that this gives close to permanent results for...IMO, Accutane is incorrectly marketed as a cure.

I have been off accutane for 1 1/2 years now and acne has come back. The first six months after accutane was heaven. Then acne slowly started to come back, developing as cysts. Now I am looking for another treatment for my acne. I will not go on accutane again because it really messed up my whole body. I lost sense of smell because while I was on accutane it really severely dried up my nose to the point of losing sense of smell. It never came back and now it is always stuffed because it is irritated all the time. I even went to see an ENT and got cat scan and they told me there is no way to cure it. Then the accutane really dried up my eyes. I wear contacts and I need those really expensive artificial tears made in france to keep my eyes wet enough to even blink. Accutane makes skin go old really fast too. I have tried everything to make my skin look youthful again but no hope. While I was taking accutane, hair started to grow all over my body. I thought it would get better after going off the pills, but hell no. They've only gotten worse, and I have to shave places you would never imagine. I wish I never took accutane. I am left with acne and irreversible side effects. (I'm just glad my insurance paied 100% for my medication. I never had to pay anything.)

Booyakasha!