Isotretinoin (Accutane) Reviews

Hi there,

I have been suffering from acne since I was 14 years old. By the time I was 19 years- each pore on my face looked really inflamed. Funny thing was that I had no acne on my back, but I had acne on my arms and chest.

Like many people, I have tried everything on the shelf: clean 'n' clear, Dalacin T, Nutrimetics, Elizabeth Arden etc etc the lists goes on....

I even went to my GP and asked for some treatments. He prescribed me Mino-cycline tabs which didnt work at all.
Finally, I went to see a dermatologist and he prescribed me Roaccutane when I was 19years old.

The product worked well. However, everytime I finish my course- with a month or two my skin starts to get oily again and then gradually I can see the acne reappearing starting from my forehead, nose,chin then attacks my cheeks.

I am 25 years old and I find myself that I have been on the product on/off for the last 6 years. It upsets me to think that I have been on it for so long and only works for me while I am on it. I hope its not addictive!!

Dont think its safe for females who are in a relationship or are plannign to have kids. I guess its just one of those things that u come to measure whether its worth taking it all your life or not.

For all the people out there that have taken this product but acne is not cured permanently- I feel for you. I know exactly how you feel! I was the most insecure person because of my acne and finally come to learn that there are some things in life you just cannot have- for me its clear skin :(

Takecare and Good Luck.

Peace

Accutane was amazing. The experience was easy and side effecs were minimal. The only side effect I experienced a lot was INCREASED SELF-ESTEEM!!!!Gave me my life back, would do it again in a heartbeat! Clearest I've been in 10 years!!!!!! Miracle Drug of choice!

The best thing that ever happened to me, I had bad acne from 15-19 and tried a lot of things to get rid of it but nothing really worked. Then I got Accutane (Roaccutan) and sure it got worse the first weeks but then after that the acne started to dissapear. I finished stopped taking it almost two years ago and people don't believe me when I say I had bad acne. It worked wonders for me. Sure I get small zits sometimes but that's nothing. The only side effects I had was dry skin and really dry lips, I felt a little depressed but my ex had just dumped me and I think the Accutane might have increased the pain there. Overall it's something I would recommend to anyone with acne. My life has really changed and my confidence has boosted incredibly, people say I've beautiful skin and I certainly get more looks from girls today!

I used ro-accutane about 3 years ago, on and off. I think it worked at the time and the feeling of having clear skin and the comments recieved, over-rode the side effects. I suffered depression and was on medication for anxiety attacks. i was moody, a really horrible person to be around and suffered sore joints, headaches, dry skin and eyes, and found it really hard to stay away from the beach which is across the road. Now my skin is breaking out quite serverely again and i wonder if it was worth it. But when you look in the mirror, none of that seems to matter. The only problem i would have with taking it again is that i am nearly 25 yrs old and heve been with my partner for 4 years. If i was to fall pregenant in the next couple of years which could be likely, could i go through with an abortion. personally i dont think so, but the only other option is to take the chance of having a baby with birth defects. I thinks it works wonders, but i dont think, especially for females that its worth some of the life changing side effects that everyone has seemed to have forgotton.

I tried it all. I'm convinced everything over the counter is a bunch of BS, to be honest. And am just furious about having to go through a zillion perscription drugs and creams too. Accutane was extraordinarily uncomfortable. When your VAGINA drys out, you know it's a harsh drug, you know what I'm saying?
My side effects were: crackelips, peeling skin (VERY BAD, but only lasted the last month of treatment), and a dry vagina (cured with lube).
I took the drug four years ago, and while 5-10% of my acne has returned---I'm okay with that. It's not nearly as painful as my original acne, and I'm far from coated in zits. I still feel confident, and am no longer embarassed about wearing swimsuits, etc. that expose my back and chest.
Overall: I'm extraordinarily happy with having taken it.

I have done accutane twice now for mild acne because other methods didn't have any effect on me. I have tried any antibiotic know including tetracyclin, minocyclin, doxycyclin, and bactrim. I have tried other topicals including differin, retin a micro, tazorac, and benzac ac wash (benzoyl peroxide). For only my mild to moderate acne (no cysts just like 10 pimples), nothing has made a difference at all. The only thing that made any improvement was actually Pro-active, but only improved it a little bit basically by not making my face bright red with the other topicals. When I did accutane, I had no pimples, like not even a blemish. I had 100% perfect skin without having to even wash my face. It was the best feeling imaginable to go out in the world and not even think about acne. My confidence was so high knowing that I had zero pimples or anything. I had perfect skin and actaully thought my acne days were over. I was dead wrong. About 6 months after stopping, the dream was over. I now have the acne that I battled before the first and second treatment. I fear doing a third round will permently do damage to me (even though I have yet to experience any side effects besides chapped lips). I don't know what to do. I have retried the other topicals such as differin, retin a micro, and benzoyl peroxide, but they simply don't work. The fact is my skin produces way to much oil which causes pimples and the only drug on the market that reduces oil production is accutane. I just wish there was another drug that did the same thing, but was safer.

i am currently 27 years old and have not had a single spot since i finished my course of roaccutane 12 years ago! luckily, over here i was prescribed it on the NHS after lengthy discussion with my derm, so it wasn't expensive. previously i had been on every pill and cream avaliable at that time and had terrible skin. I was extremely shy and very lacking in self confidence. during the treatment i suffered very dry lips and mild mood swings, but nothing more. i realise i am probably one of the lucky ones! The results were astounding. i went from shy and retiring to confident and positive in my outlook, then went on to university and from then on to have a very rewarding life and career. i really think it's worth the potential side effects - it's amazing how different your life can be! best of luck to you all.

hello everibody, sorry if my english not good enough. i just eager to share my 1 weeks experience using roaccutance, prescribe by my dermatologist, since i try everything but none of it work to cured my acne. well, so far i can say it work well on me since no new acne flare up, just the old one and it gradually cured. i do have side effect like dry mouth and lips but i can handle it so far. no depression, muscle joint or whatsoever, thank god for that.i hope this would be the best for me. i really desperate to make it work. i bored enough to think about acne on my face anymore

This truly is a miracle drug. I've been cursed with acne since I was 12 and I'm now 40.I have tried everything and after much convincing by my dr., I tried accutane.

I should back up a bit. I first took accutane about 9 years ago, and my face cleared up right away. I had large painful cysts. I never had severe side effects except for really dry skin and lips, it was so worth it. I never felt depressed, or felt that the drug altered my mood.

After accutane, I didnt need any topical drugs. I started getting some acne again about 3-4 years after the accutane, and did a second course. Again, it cleared me for about 3 years.

So about a month ago I started breaking out again, but its whiteheads, as opposed to cysts. Keeping my fingers crossed that they wont come back.

I highly recommend accutane, it truly changed my life and hate to think of the suffering I would have endured without it. If acne is affecting your life a great deal, you owe it to yourself to consider it.

I tried it all..the lotions on the shelves..then prescribed lotions then tablets..all..nothin budged the redness/moderate acne on my forehead, jaw, chin, back, chest
then after about a year of hiding under my hood and becoming a different person i went to the dermatoligist..who after some convincing gave me a coarse of accutane...i took the low dose and the next morning there was a clear patch of no redness or spots..i was thrilled...now after the mnth treatment (today) i still have bacne but nowhere near as bad..my face has 1 healing spot and with the help of some sudocreme my lips are feeling less dry and the smal amount of remaining scarring and old spots are almost invisible...i can live with having 1 spot on my face here and there..no problem..just hope im one of the lucky ones and keep the cleared skin after treatment..

suggestions
i found on the treatment alcohol inhibited the effectivness of the drug..so kept off it.
i drank 8 pints of water a day which seemed to help
i ate chocolate and smoked..but didnt seem to get more breakouts
i used only warm water to cleanse my skins pores..bathing my face in the bath 1nce a day seemed to keep my pores unblocked and help my skin..rather than irritating the acne with soaps or cleansers full of chemicals..about 2 hours after my bath id have very dry flakey looking skin (a bonus for me and a relief from oily skin)so i used a nonoily acne friendly mousturiser on my skin AVOIDING ANY BREAKOUTS..
i put sudocreme on each spot and my lips which helped healing time
avoided sweaty places..IE opened bedroom windows for ventilation

anyway id suggest using accutane if no other treatments had any effect...but read the side effects carefully..and remeber its a 6 mnth treatment so dont expect perf skin in 3 days..give it about 4-5 mnhs till you are looking clear

GL all