30 replies to this topic

[cmusco618]

Hey everyone,

I'd like to hear the stories of people who've been on accutane once, twice, or even three times and, in the long run, hasn't worked for them. Also, if there's something you are doing to tame the acne, what are you doing?

I'm asking this because I've been on two courses of accutane. In the short run following both courses, I would remain clear for a few months, then slowly, but surely, slip right back into my breakouts until I'm right back where I was to start with.

I'm currently on an unconventional acne drug (dapsone) and don't feel it's working whatsoever. I was supposed to have a derm appointment tomorrow, but apparently the doc isn't going to be in. Now I have to wait another month before seeing him again. So it'll have been 2 months since the last time I saw him by next month. Ridiculous if you ask me.

I'm desparate and need some advice. My acne has never looked worse. I'm 22 and a long time acne sufferer of 8 years now. I know there has got to be someone out there like me, and I'd really like to know how he/she was able to tame/clear up the acne. Even if I could reduce my current condition by half I would be thrilled.

I'm really trying to do this whole no sugar, no dairy, low carb diet. (Lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, some meat, and water).

Thanks

[cmusco618]

So I guess I'm the only one?

[CalmCoolShot]

What was your dosage?

[AllAboutTheTane]

There are endless things that you can try. Accutane for most is the best treatment but for some it doesn't really do much. Antibiotics, hormonal treatments, laser treatments etc.

[Narleta21]

Unfortunately, not every solution responds the same way. I''ve had success on Diane-35 for clearing up my cystic acne and then switched to ortho tricyclen after my skin was clear. The ortho didn't keep me nearly as clear but it was manageable. I had other side effects from it so i've come off it and am now searching for another solution. .... I tried antiobiotics, particularly tricyclen? And they only worked while i was on them. The acne came back worse and now i'm resistant to those antibiotics.. Tried most products on the market, tried benzoyl peroxide treatments which only severely dried out my skin and seemed to worsen the acne from irritation. Haven't tried accutane....yet.

[cmusco618]

There are endless things that you can try. Accutane for most is the best treatment but for some it doesn't really do much. Antibiotics, hormonal treatments, laser treatments etc.

I've been on, what it seems, every oral antibiotic and topical cream....and, most of them, twice. I was doing fine the end of spring/beginning of summer (2006) when I was put on doxycycline 20mg once a day, Duac in the morning, and Tazorac at night. Then things just started getting bad again at the end of summer. Continued use of the meds proved to not work anymore. So I stopped that treatment, moved across the country, found another doc, and he put me on Dapsone. Which is certainly not working. I feel like I'm taking a sugar pill, quite frankly.

I've been taking oral meds 7 years out of the 8 years I've had acne, almost nonstop. I think I need to give my body a break. All these meds can't possibly be good strung one after another.

What's this hormonal treatment? I'm surprised a derm hasn't discussed this with me. I really do think it has something to do with hormones. In fact, I would say my body overproduces DHT which is also causing my hairloss. Any thoughts? Lasers and all those exotic treatments are way too expensive for me. No way I can be in grad school and pay for that stuff.

[Wyrmtastic]

I have been on Accutane once, and it didn't work. And I haven't found anything that will clear me up. I was on birth control pills for a while which did help, but even then, I still had bad skin. Now since the birth control pills became too expensive, I just use bp to keep my acne from getting too out of control. Sorry, not much help, I know.

[Loud Toyz]

It cleared me up for awhile, but then acne came back a few years later, I just try and and fight it with BP, it sucks to deal with this stuff everyday when you once thought it was over for good!

[Sunnygirl]

I've been on accutane multiple times - didn't work...acne came back
birth control pills (ortho tri-cyclen, ortho-cept, alesse) - didn't do anything
Blu-U with levulan - terrible experience!
Antibiotics - only minocyclin worked.....for a while
Topicals - (numerous retinoids) - irritated my skin
Spironolactone - had to stop beccause of bad side effects

I'm now trying diet and natural treatments like flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil, probiotics etc. to control my moderate acne. I still use bp. Life with acne sucks!

[cjb]

I'm really trying to do this whole no sugar, no dairy, low carb diet. (Lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, some meat, and water).

Thanks

How long have you been trying the diet? Do it strictly at first to assess if it truly will work for you. It does work for some people, myself included (and I can even eat dairy, just no sugar or grains). You can eat eggs and meat - allowing yourself good nutrient-rich fatty foods like oils, nuts, eggs, etc will make it easier to stick to the diet. Let us know how it goes. Good luck to you.

[mdp703]

Narleta21 - I'm in the same boat as you. My acne was completely cleared with Diane 35, but after I quit using it b/c of other side effects, my acne came back worse than it ever was before. Now I'm trying to manage with topicals and I'm having no success. My next step is accutane.

Sunnygirl - how long have you been on evening primrose oil (EPO) and do you have any side effects? I had a very unhappy stomach when I started taking it and had to stop b/c of it.

[cmusco618]

How long have you been trying the diet? Do it strictly at first to assess if it truly will work for you. It does work for some people, myself included (and I can even eat dairy, just no sugar or grains). You can eat eggs and meat - allowing yourself good nutrient-rich fatty foods like oils, nuts, eggs, etc will make it easier to stick to the diet. Let us know how it goes. Good luck to you.

Well I'm in my first week of my no gluten diet (absolutely no wheat or oats). I had a feeling a week ago that I may have wheat induced acne. I did some research and the onset can be caused by antibiotics (of which I have been on and off for years). I have been doing the no sugar, no dairy, no hydrogenated oils, no msg diet for probably closer to 2.5 or 3 weeks. I haven't seen much improvement yet, but the inflammation on my cheeks has gone done slightly. Also, since my doctor cancelled his appointment with me last friday and the pharmacy has tried numerous times with no luck contacting him to get authorization to refill my Dapsone prescription, I am no longer taking it. I've been off of it since Saturday, so 5 days today. Pretty pissed about that actually.

One question: I have organic fruit juice every morning that has 100% Vit A, 200% Vit C, 70% Selenium, and 100% Vit E. I like having this juice every morning because it gets me the most important acne-improving vitamins all in one go. However, it has 20g of sugar in one serving. Is this too much? I really only have a small glass each morning. Now that I've cut candy and sweets out of my diet, I really don't take in that much sugar through the rest of the day (other than the fruit I eat).

[SebastianC]

I was on Accutane when I was 17. It completely dried my back acne for 6 months but then it came back, thought never at the same level of intensity. In the meanwhile I half gave up, half tried other remedies but my acne is still there. Today - I'm 26 now - I went to see my dermatologist and he said that I should take Accutane again. While taking it, the side effects were pretty severe and I'm questioning whether I should go ahead or not.

As for natural treatments, dairy and nuts worsen my acne a lot, especially nuts. I tried to eliminate gluten from my diet for a while, but after a week my acne became even worse. Another thing that slightly worked was sea-salt baths, but I don't do them anymore. They're a hassle and I'm not sure how good they are for my hair. The only thing that has cleared me was tanning... but we all know that's not a cure.

[SebastianC]

The sugars in fruits and juices is fructose. If you don't want to take that, take a multivitamin a day.

[JBHK]

If you are going to try the diet/holistic approach, you might want to try doing some cleanses (in particular bowel cleanses / liver cleanses and candida cleanses) as well. I tried the diet thing and went through alot of ups and downs with it. After posting in the diet/holistic forum, some suggested that actually doing the cleanses are just as important because it will heal you internally and eventually allow you a greater variety with diet. Whilst there is a lot of conflicting advice in that forum, and frankly some of it is IMHO crap, I think that that line of argument has some credibility to it. I don't know if it works but I think that if you feel you have tried everything else it may be worth a try. Trying asking R.S. - he has views worth listening to.

[cmusco618]

If you are going to try the diet/holistic approach, you might want to try doing some cleanses (in particular bowel cleanses / liver cleanses and candida cleanses) as well. I tried the diet thing and went through alot of ups and downs with it. After posting in the diet/holistic forum, some suggested that actually doing the cleanses are just as important because it will heal you internally and eventually allow you a greater variety with diet. Whilst there is a lot of conflicting advice in that forum, and frankly some of it is IMHO crap, I think that that line of argument has some credibility to it. I don't know if it works but I think that if you feel you have tried everything else it may be worth a try. Trying asking R.S. - he has views worth listening to.

I've done a liver cleanse already. Had moderate success with it. Is there a good site or previous thread I should check out to get info about other cleanses?

[pop politics]

1

[S2000]

How would you do a liver cleanse ??

Anyways, i was on accutane once and 6 months later, my acne crawled back too !! I'm in desperate of getting rid of them .... see if anything helps you out, let me know !!

[cmusco618]

How would you do a liver cleanse ??

Anyways, i was on accutane once and 6 months later, my acne crawled back too !! I'm in desperate of getting rid of them .... see if anything helps you out, let me know !!

It involves a day of fasting and drinking some not-so-great tasting mixtures followed by a day of running incessantly to the bathroom: http://www.healingdaily.com/liver-detoxifi...liver-flush.htm

[FinallySomeImprovement]

There are endless things that you can try. Accutane for most is the best treatment but for some it doesn't really do much. Antibiotics, hormonal treatments, laser treatments etc.

I've been on, what it seems, every oral antibiotic and topical cream....and, most of them, twice. I was doing fine the end of spring/beginning of summer (2006) when I was put on doxycycline 20mg once a day, Duac in the morning, and Tazorac at night. Then things just started getting bad again at the end of summer. Continued use of the meds proved to not work anymore. So I stopped that treatment, moved across the country, found another doc, and he put me on Dapsone. Which is certainly not working. I feel like I'm taking a sugar pill, quite frankly.

I've been taking oral meds 7 years out of the 8 years I've had acne, almost nonstop. I think I need to give my body a break. All these meds can't possibly be good strung one after another.

What's this hormonal treatment? I'm surprised a derm hasn't discussed this with me. I really do think it has something to do with hormones. In fact, I would say my body overproduces DHT which is also causing my hairloss. Any thoughts? Lasers and all those exotic treatments are way too expensive for me. No way I can be in grad school and pay for that stuff.

I am in my early forties and have had acne since around age 19. I've tried everything including two courses of accutane and nothing helped. About a year ago, my dermatologist put me on Spironolactone -- this is an anti-male hormone. You don't say whether you're male or female, but you mentioned you were losing your hair, which is caused by excessive male hormones. When I started this drug, i saw results almost immediately. PRior to taking spironalactone, my face would get so oily it looked wet and I had cystic acne. Within two weeks of taking the drug, my face wasn't oily. Now I only get a small pimple or two around my time of the month, but they disappear in a day or two. This is the ONLY drug i've taken that has helped. You should ask your derm about this medication. Make sure to mention your hair loss, and if your face is excessively oily, and (if female) whether you have excessive facial hair -- these all indicate hormonal imbalances.