ive been reading the personal accutane logs and all accutane seem to do for most is make them break out and give them side effects.there are only a few that actually have improvement.i mean, whats the point of taking something thats gonnna make you worse and put your health in jeopardy?or do you need more than just 1 accutane treatment for it to be effective?

lol is roaccutane effective? which planet are you from exactly?, it clears about 90% of peoples acne for the rest of their lives

well, how come the personal logs dont reflect that?did you take it?did it work for you?if so, then i would jump in the accutane boat too.

Accutane works but it takes months to start working most of the time. Eventually it WILL clear your skin, but in the meantime you do go through breakouts and side effects (how many depends on the person. I've only got dry lips now and I'm on 80mg). This is the purge. It also works because within the first 3 weeks my body stopped making so much oil, when I get up in the morning there's nothing there, like I just washed it (and moisturized).

I haven't taken accutane myself but I hope to within the next couple of days. When you are reading the personal logs you have to be aware that someone is not probably going to come back to the forum if they have had success. Some of the incredibly generous ones who share their experiences with us will maybe but most of the people, once rid of this burden will simply move on with life and forget about this place. Its like you having a really stressful and horrible situation finally end, you're not likely to go and write about it and relive it everyday. But thank you to those who do, as obviously it is important for us newbies to know if its really all worth it.

accutane is the most effective acne treatment hands down.. Acne.org product rating guide proves that with hundreds of perfect ratings.

does accutane work at all..
it is extremely effective. most people who use it are cleared either permanently or for a long time.
you can try all the natural "cures" and other treatments you want but if those fail accutane will almost always work even for the most severe acne.

There's really only one way to find out. Give it a try if you have cystic acne.

It's cheap if you have insurance. It's kind of a pain to get started because of all the paperwork and testing they do.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. I can tell you I am sorry I waited this long.

Platinum

yes. Most of the people are cured for life. and usually the rest reduce the severity of their acne greatly. Accutane is the ultimate test of patience. Takes 4-6 months for some to see results. but the results are usually amazing

lol@thread

I used accutane about 12 years ago when i was in highschool. It definately worked. I remember going for the monthly blood tests. I dont remember how long i was on it for, but it worked wonderfully. After that i didnt have to be as anal with my skin, washing, ointments etc. I still get them at 28 but not as many.





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Pop That Zit

If I had the funds and it would be allowed to take accutane forever I would do it. I mean as long as I have acne. It cleared my face and body acne instantly.

Hi, I'm from the UK and I've been on two courses of Accutane (we call it Roaccutane over here) since I started getting cystic acne when I turned 13 (I'm now 27 and I'm still afflicted!). It certainly did the job for me temporarily, the effects lasted for the whole course, but when I stopped, the cysts just returned. My old friend Tom had terrible acne when he was in his teens and was put on accutane but his acne never came back. I think you just have to try it. Everyone's different and what might not work for some people might be right for you. Just remember the following things: keep a lip balm with you all the time, (your skin literally falls off and dry lips are really grim), limit how much alcohol you have as I went a bit mental a few times when out on the beers and if you show any signs of feeling depressed or unhappy, go back to your doctor. It's worth it if it works and if you don't try it, you'll never know.

It's always best to look at actual controlled scientific studies about a med's effectiveness rather than anecdotal stories about its effectiveness - good or bad. Studies overwhelmingly show improvement and often "cure" by isotretinoin (accutane).

Since you're paying attention to individual stories, here's mine: I've taken it twice, now on the third time. The first and second times I took 1/2 the recommended cumulative dosage (supposed to total 125+mg/kg, I took about 60 mg/kg total both times). Each time it totally cleared me within a month and kept me clear for 5 or more years. That was followed by 2-3 years of control by normal methods (antibiotic and topicals) and finally I resorted to another course of accutane. So, 10 years between courses. That's not bad at all.

Now I'm on my third course and plan to take twice as much as I did before and see if it works better.

One thing about my case is that I took my first course at age 31 or so (second at 41, third now in mid-50s) . When the studies show complete "cure" it's often with younger patients and I think what happens is that the med hols off their acne for many years and by the time it "wears off", they have outgrown the condition. I think the studies show that an older adult who takes it is less likely to be permanently cured because they are probably prone to life-long acne. On the other hand, to me, getting 2-10 years out of a course is well worth it and hugely better than alternative treatments.

In terms of side effects: all of my courses had a pretty significant iniitial break out, but I personally think that is partially caused by the accutane, partially by the fact you've stopped the other threatment that had partially held the condition at bay. In my case, the initial breakout lasted 2-3 weeks and then I was totally clear for the duration. I also had dry eyes and dry lips but nothing else.

Statistically, the serious side effects are very, very, very unlikely. Liver problems are VERY rare and easy to spot early with blood work. Blood lipid problems are less rare, but again easy to spot and easy to treat with reduced dosage and/or a cholesterol lowering medication - which is entirely OK to take with accutane.

There ya go.

I was just reading about the "Treeman" from Indonesia who was born with a weak immune system and when he got HPV, the warts developed all over his body and how a doctor in the United States wants to treat him using high concentrations of vitamin A and I wondered if the treatment would be Accutane because if I'm right - that is what Accutane is - just a nearly poisonous dose of Vitamin A.

I looked up how Accutane worked and found this website and this message board.

I was about 15 or 16 when I took Accutane and I am 30 now. My acne completely cleared within months after the treatment and never returned. In fact, I developed a reputation for having excellent skin.

I had bad acne vulgaris and moderate cystic acne that had consumed my back, face and neck when I was about 15 even after many dermatological treaments. It was also starting to scar. My dermatologist did not take the prescribing of Accutane lightly. He warned me about the horrible potential side effects and all the things that were sure to happen in the short term. And it was a difficult couple months. I went more than two months not being able to take a normal shower or bring water to my face. I had to use special pharmaceutical soaps that needed no water to cleanse. I produced ZERO moisture all over my whole body for months. In fact, these side effects were worse after the therapy ended for about 60 days. I remember smiling and my lips would just bleed. The therapy also made me susceptible to cold sores and when I got one it spread across the length of both of my lips and and I had to use a medicated prescription petroleum jelly only for it--my lips were huge cold sores. I had regular blood tests to check my liver and the tests did detect some liver damage. Apparently after 90 days from starting the therapy, my skin became 100% clear and I don't believe I suffered any other side effects.

Before Accutane, I tried everything and never responded to anything, not even prednisone for inflammation. I do not like medicine at all, but I wanted to share my story with everyone here because it did work for me. I suffered a lot from acne before it was gone. And so please believe that I sympathize deeply with anyone who suffers from it. And I make sure to educate everyone about acne when it comes up. When someone tells me I have nice skin and they ask me how, I always first say that I once had severe acne and I go from there.

Take good care of yourself during this difficult time - there's a lot of help out there for this even if you don't have money or insurance.

I am a white male.

I started taking Isotretinoin (Accutane) in October, 2008. First week, my acne suddenly stopped. I was damn happy and felt a sense of relief. I suffer from cystic acne, mainly nodules. When I started taking Accutane, i started wit 20 MG and continued for 2 Months on same 20 MG a day. My derma said never have Accutane alone. So she gave me an antioxidant Derantox to have it 1ce a day to keep the side affects to the minimal. My Acne got worse and i got hell lotta breakouts in the month of November. My derma showed it to me in a scientific magnifying glass and i could see those white heads waiting to breakout. She gave me Cleargel Gel (Clindamycin Phosphate) and Aloe Gel and asked me to apply it twice a day 1:1 mixed. When i started applying it, my skin got darker and felt as if it was burnt and to rub salts on the wounds, i started getting severe breakouts. My derma said "Do not Panic". She said "Breakouts are good". It means your skin is lively and is responding to the treatment since Accutane and Cleargel removes all the impurities. My breakouts are still very active and I am on 40 MG of accutane this month. This is my third month and the worse stage of my skin. My derma recently saw the skin in magnifying glass and she couldn't spot the white heads and said its all cleared. But i do get nodules. She said have patience and Accutane will kill it from within. I am just hoping what she said does happen. Patience is a virtue we know but we have to go through severe trauma for long. It is tough.
I am praying Accutane works on me. My lips r freakin dry

i went on accutane in 2004. My acne completely cleared up. At the end of 2005/beginning of 2006, the acne came back.

I haven't had insurance since 2006 and finally got some the beginning of december and of course, the first thing i did was go to a derm. He told me that accutane is not known to cure everyone, that he has had patients who have had to take accutane three, four times. He said in the beginning when the drug came out, the ones who were were "completely cured" were younger and most likely prone to just have the bad acne as a "phase" and were bound to have it go away with the accutane. But there are those who will have chronic bad acne no matter what--i am afraid i may be one of those people and that accutane has a good 18-month effect at best.

In any case, currently he put me on an antibiotic and since my body is different from four years ago, hopefully this will do something. Also, i was informed that the birth control i'm on is totally the wrong kind, which is contributing to the acne i already have. As soon as this month is over, i'm definitely switching birth control and i'm going to get onto accutane in january (february at the latest). As another member posted above, for those who are older than the teen or early 20 age (i turned 35 this year), a reprieve from the angst and depression and ugly skin is good enough for me.

Two courses did nothing for me.

Without Accutane I wouldn't have been able to clear my acne. I had incredibly severe acne, tried literally everything out there and took Accutane as a last resort. If you are considering Accutane your acne must be severe, and I believe even with the side effects (mine were moderate) it is 100% worth it. Good luck.