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Isotretinoin (Accutane) Reviews
Total results: 2,059 Viewing page: 6 of 206
Cam from Scotland
November 30, 2011
| Pros | 100% clear, smooth, non-oily skin No spots at all! |
|---|---|
| Cons | Dry lips A few outbreaks of eczema on hands |
| Bottom line | Background: I'm a 23 year-old male and had mild/moderate acne for about 3 years. I tried pretty much everything before Accutane, including topicals, antibiotics, and changing diet. The only thing that worked somewhat were the Tetracyclines, but I quickly grew immune to them. I had flirted with the idea of Accutane for a while but the final straw for me was when I had a big break out and my face was bleeding after shaving... I felt so unattractive and miserable that I had no choice but to cancel my date and stay home that day. That's when I decided enough was enough, and I went to the derm. I took a low dosage of 20mg a month for 3 months. Nothing much happened for these months. My skin was no longer oily but I was still breaking out. Then on month 4 I went up to 30mg and my skin started to really clear up. After 6 months I was totally clear. All in all, it worked wonderfully and the side effects were very mild! My advice would be to take a low-dosage over 6-8 months if you want to avoid the worst side-effects. And stick with it. It takes months to see results. Overall - going on Accutane was one of the best decisions I've ever made. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $70.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Louise from England
November 30, 2011
| Pros | Removed All spots and now a year and a half later I'm still clear and 1 spot is now a big deal!! Cannot recommend it enough |
|---|---|
| Cons | A few side effects - very dry lips + skin - mild ecsema - some muscle pain But how does this weigh up against perfect skin? |
| Bottom line | I was really concerned to start Accutane after reading all the side effects but my dermatologist assured me it would be ok. My skin was horrible not only on my face but my chest, back and arms. I was on 60mg a day for 6 months and the results were and still are fantastic. I did not have a breakout (thank goodness) but my face peeled like i had really bad sunburn. with some heavy duty moisturiser this was fixed quick and I noticed a difference within a week, there just werent any new spots!!! Sadly the effect didnt stay that quick the whole time and it did take the whole six months to slowly go bit by bit. Now my back and arms are literally perfect and my face has a little bit of scarring (but only i notice it :P). I know some people have a bad time but I would do it again 1000x over for the results I have now. Good luck and I hope it goes as well for you too :) xxx |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $400.00 |
| Acne severity | severe |
jeff from Nebraska, usa
November 29, 2011
| Pros | clear skin oil is gone feel like I have my life back |
|---|---|
| Cons | they are all worth it if the acne stays away... ears ringing (gone now) SEVERE neck pain (gone now) severe face redness and flushing (gone now) depression (gone now) general joint pain (gone) |
| Bottom line | I hate accutane...and I love accutane. I am soooo glad to be finished. It was terrible!!. But sooo worth it in the end. At proper higher doses Accutane kills acne. I am 35 yrs old. I don't think it would have gone away for a long time without Accutane. I was isolating myself b/c of acne. I am post accutane 4 days and haven't washed my face with soap in a month!!! My face is totally clear...flawless!! I was on a high dosage; 160mg--2.0mg/kg. I could not afford to take a 2nd course, so I wanted to ensure 1 course was effective. I wanted to make sure my acne would not come back and also had issues absorbing the medicine. I am really hopeful that it will not return. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $10.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Alicat from Toronto
November 25, 2011
| Pros | A true miracle of modern medicine. |
|---|---|
| Cons | Although very effective for the vast majority of people, I had to cease treatment after taking my 15th pill due to a relatively rare side-effect. |
| Bottom line | I want to be clear that I'm not trying to scare anyone into not trying accutane; I think it can be a miracle cure and I know many people whose lives have been changed for the better from taking it. However, I would caution anyone trying it to be very diligent and to listen to their body for the duration of their course, and to read the literature that comes with the pills. I experienced bad stomach upset during my second week of taking accutane (40mg/day) and on the 15th day noticed a very small amount of rectal bleeding, which I would not have noticed if I wasn't looking out for it. I ceased the pill immediately and told my doctor who confirmed that this drug is not suitable for me. I have no history of colitis, crohn's or IBD and none that I know of in my family either. I should be ok because I did not take it for very long. Please be diligent, listen to your body, and best of luck! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $5.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Branden from Vancouver
November 21, 2011
| Pros | Don't have to wash face every 2 hours Gets rid of acne |
|---|---|
| Cons | Have to moisturize all the time Very dry lips Monthly blood tests |
| Bottom line | I have had bad acne for 3 years. After trying all other products and fighting with my doctor to finally write me the prescription I started accutane. Started at 40mg a day for 1 month. Then 60mg a day for another month. Then 80mg a day. It took about 3 months to see any results. The initial break out came in the second month and lasted about 30 days. it was BAD! I've now been on accutane for about 6 months and am 98% clear, however I do have a lot of scaring which will have to be dealt with. I have decided to stay on the medication for 1 more month even though my doctor has told me to get off of it. "He is probably the worst doctor I have had" I don't believe anything he says. Bottom line I would recommend this product hands down. I had minimal side effects aside from dryness and its nice to look into a mirror and not be horrified with the person looking back. I will never get those 3 years of my life back but at least I can be confident going forward. If you have really oily skin go an accutane its the only thing that works. Don't let the doctor waste your time with creams and all the other crap none of it works believe me. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $150.00 |
| Acne severity | severe |
Amy from United Kingdom
November 20, 2011
| Pros | completely cleared extreme cystic acne. Renewed the skin- no scars left from previous acne. |
|---|---|
| Cons | Extremely dry lips |
| Bottom line | I was lucky only to experience one bad symptom from this, the extreme dry lips. But for me it has been a miracle, completely transformed my skin from horrific cystic acne the size of maltesers under the skin, to clear skin. I would definitely recommend this! I was on this for around 8 months. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Sean D. van de Riet from St. Louis, Missouri
November 20, 2011
| Pros | Cleared Acne Got rid of face oil |
|---|---|
| Cons | Joint Pain in Knees Stomach Aches Adds more digestive risks to my Hirschsprungs Dries skin Dries lips Causes Dandruff |
| Bottom line | It cleared my acne. The side effects that I had weren't that bad. I am used to stomach aches due to being born with Hirschsprung's disease. The dry skin went away with the humid St. Louis summer. The dry lips could be fixed by Aquaphor. I got used to the joint pain. I just couldn't run the mile at my school. However, my ensurance company decided to only pay for five months when my dermatologist recommended six... Thus, my acne returned. Not as bad as it was, but it's back... I took 80mg a day. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $5.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Great results from Illinois
November 18, 2011
| Pros | Clear skin Dryer skin (definitely a pro if you're an oily mess) Smoother face/back/chest |
|---|---|
| Cons | Dry lips Dry eyes (can't wear contacts for too long) Dry nose (especially a con when you're fighting a cold) |
| Bottom line | I was extremely nervous to start Accutane. After reading reviews (which happened to be mostly negative), I decided most people probably don't get on here to express how happy they are when Accutane is working for them...so I decided I needed to. With all of the monthly precautions, its easy to say, Accutane can be very dangerous. For females, you are REQUIRED to be on a form of birth control. You will be required to take monthly pregnancy tests as well as Cholesterol/Liver tests every other month. If you're not prepared for the monthly lab work...don't consider this. When I first started I was the nervous "initial break-out"...thankfully, that never happened. BUT that is most likely different for everyone. Within a week my current imperfections were cleared...and my skin began to dry out. Unfortunately, the worst part about this would be the incredibly dry lips. I have bought so much chap stick it is unreal. You won't catch me without my chap stick...even when I work out. I have found that Burt's Bees (Medicated) and Aquaphor Lip Repair work wonders! I've been on Accutane for 3 months now and either I'm getting used to the chapped lips or they're not as bad as they once were. I'm so incredibly happy I started this medication. It was a long process to get started (since my doctor had me try almost everything else before Accutane). I have to answer questions through the iPledge system on a monthly basis in order to pick up my prescription...but they are pretty much common sense questions, so no big deal. Again, everyone is different...but this medication has worked wonders for my skin. No make-up, no cover-up and no being self conscious about imperfections...it's been great! My medication costs $10/month with insurance. Although, I have seen on my prescription that my insurance saved me roughly $800 for each refill I have received. Without insurance, this would be an extremely expensive 4-6 months! Great results t |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $5.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Anonymous from Laguna Beach
November 17, 2011
| Pros | NONE!!! |
|---|---|
| Cons | Chapped Lips Acne getting WORSE Kidney Failure Organ Disfunction Weight Loss Headache Neck Pain Photosensitivity Dry, cracked skin Hair loss Back pain Exhaustion |
| Bottom line | Last November I started Accutane to clear up my moderate acne. I began the treatment early November, taking it twice daily. The first three weeks, my skin cleared up significantly. However, my lips were chapped, my skin bled from being so dry, I was exhausted, and my organs ached. I slept with a humidifier at night so I could breathe. Then Dec. came. I had the most painful headache in the world. It felt like my brain was bleeding and pushing on my skull. I went to the E.R. before a neurologist admitted me into the hospital and said I was in severe condition. After that, my memory is blank. Then I remember waking up in the ICU. After that I remember being transported to another city with a huge medical center and spending three weeks there. I lost a significant amount of weight, my skin was more broken out than ever, my kidney's eventually failed, my organs weren't properly working, I was in excruciating pain, and I might not have made it had it not been for the incredible medical staff. The details of what fully happened to me during my extremely long stay in hospitals would take a few hours to write so I'll leave it at this.. DO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE if you want to stay HEALTHY. |
| Recommended | No |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Mike from Helsinki, Finland
November 16, 2011
| Pros | - Builds new face - Repairs scars - Eats acne(cysts/pimples/whiteheads/blackheads) - Dry skin(good for me) - Steroid for your skin |
|---|---|
| Cons | nothing bothered me more then my ugly face witch disappeared in 7-8 days! but i had muscle cramps, memory loss, headacahe, organ pains, vision loss, stomach pain, hair loss. |
| Bottom line | i've been on 20mg accutane for about week and my face has totally new layer of skin. I dont have cysts, red marks or blemishes anymore... i cant believe it!! i can wake up in the morning with dry skin.. no more oil! This works like a wonders for me! And people who claim the side effects - At this point i didnt give a poop what chemical or poison i would take to get my skin to look normal. I didnt even knew how i looked with clear skin. This is like a steroid for my skin.. in one week... i was effing crater-face. TAKE IT! if you do not want to take accutane then your acne isnt serious to bother you. But im gonna keep taking accutane for sometime, nobody want this thing to come back. Oh yea, ive done eery possible diet, antibiotics and masks there are available. i just wash my face 2x a day with special soap, sebufed. God bless you all!:) |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $100.00 |
| Acne severity | severe |
Total results: 2,059 Viewing page: 6 of 206
