Hi all, I am new to this board but have been lurking reading posts for a while. Im after some advice really!

I am 29 year old male, been suffering with moderate acne since my early teens, although B.P pretty much kept it under control for some years. Altough in the last 18 months i have been suffering with cysts around my jawline,neck, back and chest. This really gets me down after suffering with it for so many years and then to get worse at my age.

I currently have 5 or 6 quite large cysts under my chin and neck which WILL NOT go away!

My derm has offered me roaccutane and i just cant decide weather to start the course or not. To be honest the IB scares the s**t out of me! Reasons for this are, i have to face alot of people everyday at work also i have a new girlfriend, so want to look my best for her (although she encourages me to start it) Also i am meeting her parents (they live quite far away) in 6 weeks time, and i really want to be able to look them in the eye if you know what i mean!

So i gues im just interested to hear stories from people that have taken roaccutane, especially about the initial breakout.

Thanks guys!

In 6 weeks your IB would have probably stopped (no guarantee, though) but you've got to add the time that passes between blood tests , iPledge & stuff (if you're american)

Idk what I would do in your place to tell you the truth, it's kinda up to you.

I guess I could say I was in the same situation as you were, scared and i thought i could deal with it. I'm 18 and I decided to go on a generic brand of accutane because it was effective in my two older brothers. My acne wasn't bad and i was content with it, but i thought why not, whats the worst that could happen. I had to deal with people with work, school, and my girlfriend and her family.

When i started taking it, within weeks i started noticing results. I stopped breaking out, and within 4 months it was completely gone. My dermatologist made me do a 6 month dosage. I don't really remember when i started getting the dry skin, but really it wasn't a big deal. After taking a shower put lotion on your face and arms and you should be fine for the rest of the day. Also, make sure to stay hydrated and drink lots of water. I also strongly recommend getting Dr. Dan's Cortibalm because this chapstick/balm is absolutely beastly and a lifesaver. Just ask your pharmacy about ordering it.

Ocassionally people would point out that my lips were dry and my face was red because of the dryness and putting on lotion, but most of the time i told them i was on the medicine. Now that I am done with it i really wondered why i was so scared. It went so quickly and now i havent dealt with acne since. It really pays off in the long run.

If you are looking for a quick fix, it may work in that 6 week period but by then you will probably have the dry skin, lips, etc. If you are ok with that then i suggest you go on it. It wont even be noticeable if you follow those steps i listed above. I dont recommend taking it before the winter or during because it tends to be dryer, assuming you are in a cold climate like the northern states where it snows. As a result the dryness will be exaggerated. Still, it really is worth it and it really is a lot easier than putting on creams, facewash, and antiobiotics that don't work.

My girlfriend is now jealous of my awesome skin.

Hope this helps a lot! If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them.

Yeahp, no use me writing a big paragraph mate.

I knew about accutane about two years ago, seemed too scary though, since, however, my acne has gotten many times worse, and I just cant deal with it any more.

Picked up my prescription and new products today, and I am ecstatic to start +) Specially since I get 8 weeks off round xmas, wont have 2 see anyone whilst on a good 1/3 of it.

Thanks for your comments guys, helped alot. I have to decided to go ahead and go on it, as sir stevie says its going to be worth it in the long run, especially after having to put up with this bad skin for nearly 15 years. I had the prescription already, so i went to the chemist today and picked up the tablets, so i guess tomorrow is the big day. I am quite nervous, but just try to focus on the end result.

I was suprised what sir stevie wrote about not taking in the winter months as I live in Switzerland, where we get alot of snow in the winter and alot of sunshine in the summer, my derm said i would be better to take in the winter months as the sun would burn me so easily in the summer. I am a bit worried about this now as i do a fair bit of snowboarding throughout the winter months.

Some other question, how often should i moisturise? and should i start from day 1? Also will normal shampoo be too drying?

I am starting on 30mg per day BTW, 10 with breakfast and 20 with evening meal. Will probably be doubled after first month.

Thanks once again for all your help.

Dude, if there is one thing i regret while I was on accutane (besides picking, but thats an entirely different story) is not using the chapstick from day 1. You will not notice your lips dry until the first 6 days or so, but trust me, if you do what i am telling you, you wont have problems with the dry lips.

AND DONT PICK, lol the skin is like way more sensitive and i got really ugly marks because of it (with time they were completely gone, but still i regret picking).

Good luck!

ok thanks for that, i think i will just apply like crazy from the start then, like every couple hours!

I got a tub of lotion and moisterized my face and arms in the morning after every day i showered. Make sure to always have chapstick and lotion in your pocket because some days you need to apply it throughout the day. I dont want to say you need to start doing it right away, but it would be good to get in the habit. Also it seems like you are on a low dosage and it probably wont be that severe. So just apply when needed. As far as the shampoo goes, i didnt have a problem unless you have a dry scalp to begin with, just don't use deodorant soap.

If you dermatologist recommends the winter than most definitely listen to him/her. I'm sure he or she pretty much told you all of this but it never hurts to hear it again. The reason i took it outside of the winter is because i usually had pretty bad eczema during the winter since it was so dry and it would only exaggerate the drying, but i can understand the whole sun deal.

I'm on a low dose course (20 mg) and started out with moderate acne. I was regularly getting pustules, papules, and large painful cysts on my chin, and my face and scalp were almost always covered in oil just hours after washing. I was also pretty afraid of the IB and I DID have one - but it really wasn't that big of a deal and the end results were worth it. I can't say how long you'll be breaking out initially, but my 2 IBs lasted from 2-4 weeks.

If you're extremely worried about scarring you should reconsider, but what's 1-3 months of IB hell compared to how your skin will clear? Explain to your girlfriend what's going on - if she has a heart, she'll understand (especially that it's temporary). Personally I hid from everyone until my breakouts settled, but that's just me, heh.

Thanks for your comment duchamp, it really helps to hear of other peoples experiences with this drug.

Right quick update! On day 5 now, today was the first day i have noticed any differences at all. Basically when i woke up this morning i had 5 large white heads on my chin. Im not really sure if this is the accutane or the fact that i havent been using BP for a week now. Usually when i stop the BP i get a few more than usual, but never had them all just in the one place like that before.

Havent noticed dry lips yet but i have been putting LOADS of vaseline on (since day 1) or sometimes something the derm gave me called accute lip balm (esp. for accutane users) so im assuming thats why.

Also my forehead starting feeling like i had bad sunburn on it today, but it isnt dry yet. I have also been lagging the mosturiser on since day 1. My whole face is very red, again looks like severe sunburn. Not sure if thats normal? I did spend around half an hour outdoors yesterday with no sun cream but it was really cloudy??? Should i be putting on high factor SPF all the time even on days where im only outside to say walk to my car?

After i got out the shower this evening i noticed where my nose meets my face was quite dry and a few small flakes of dead skin. I have been mosturising like hell though, im wondering what is going to happen when my dose is upped. Time will tell i guess.

The face definitely takes time to get adjusted to accutane and I think everyone's case is different. My face got really itchy from like day 7-10 or so and it felt like a sunburn itch I guess. As far as dry lips, mine probably started drying out noticeably around day 7 as well.

Hey mate.
Forget chapstick now, unless you want bleeding lips.

Pick yourself up some Chopsaver and some Blistex Medicated Moisturizer.
Use them whenever you find best (Chopsaver better for home for me because it makes your lips shinier) but yeah, they work much better than petroleum based chapstick.