52 replies to this topic

[yuzer]

http://www.lifescript.com/channels/beauty/...r_mild_acne.asp

"People suffering from mild cases of acne can benefit significantly from small doses of Accutane and other tretinoin-based acne treatments, a new study finds. Conducted by researchers at Israel's Soroka University, the study found that low-dose Accutane was also an effective means of reducing the side effects of inflammation and dryness that have been associated with Accutane in past research. For the purposes of the study, "low-dose" was defined as 20 milligrams of Accutane daily over the course of six months. At that dosage, researchers found that a remarkable 95% of patients experienced either complete remission of their acne or significant improvement at minimum."

I've got mild yet extremely persistant acne, so I'm definately considering this

[BH-Solution]

This sounds all good, but the problem is trying to convince your derm to prescribe it to you, when all you have mild acne. Derms don't really read into these studies.

[plink]

Lower doses are getting more common now. I'm on 5mg a day myself (I have a kick ass derm), only been on just over a week though.

[silverlake]

Maybe all of us with mild acne should print a copy of the particular scientific article and go to our derms and impress them with our knowledge! lol

[BH-Solution]

Maybe all of us with mild acne should print a copy of the particular scientific article and go to our derms and impress them with our knowledge! lol

That seems like the only way to convince them to do it. My derm is complete dumbass when it comes to treating acne. He's one of those trea acne with antibiotics people.

[Jenstar]

It's amazing the amount of times I have printed things off the internet and shown doctors only for them to say, "oh yeah, that could work". I find most of them have no idea.

[Yvette2]

Hi -

I've been on low dose Accutane. I had mild acne but also have mild Rosacea (pink cheeks and flush easily).

I started at the very end of April and am ending treatment soon. My acne was mild - but persistent. Interesting, I didn't have acne as a teen but got it as an adult. I was on 10mg a day in May, and then 20mg per day months 2-6, and months 6-present I alternate 20mg one day and 30 mg the next. Overall, I'm very pleased. My skin cleared very quick and got ultra smooth. My Derm. is awesome (most Derm's won't prescribe for mild acne) but I did try other treatments and antibiotics with little success. Anyway, I took a longer course to better ensure the results. Side effects weren't too bad either.

Good luck all. Accutane rocks.

Yvette

[willow569]

Maybe all of us with mild acne should print a copy of the particular scientific article and go to our derms and impress them with our knowledge! lol

That seems like the only way to convince them to do it. My derm is complete dumbass when it comes to treating acne. He's one of those trea acne with antibiotics people.

If you do want to impress your derm by bringing in acne related research, make sure to go the extra step and get the orignial research article or abstract from a medical site if possible. For example, the link above is from a beauty website and gives very little information about the study so its hard to tell how the study was done, how many people participated in the study (some do very small clinical trials of less than 15 people, which may limit their validity and generalizability), how a "successful treatment" was determined, etc. For example, some clinical trials define success by a 50% reduction in acne lesions - but in the real world you might not consider this a success (so if you started with 30 pimples and afterwards still had 15 pimples, would you consider the treatment successful?).

So, when you can - find the original study. It really shows you did your homework and it gives you and the doctor a better idea of what was actually done in the study.

[plink]

Maybe all of us with mild acne should print a copy of the particular scientific article and go to our derms and impress them with our knowledge! lol

I talked to my derm about people coming to see her with 'internet knowledge'. She's *really* sound and her response to it was 'it's okay, but it's a bit all over the place' hahaha. The thing is: derms know a lot more about skin in general than we do. The other thing is: they see a much larger, much more real picture. They deal with a lot of patients, over a long time, on a one to one basis. Invaluable knowledge which only they have.

The chance of impressing a derm with sporadic reports found on the internet is pretty slim. But I still think they should be shown them. If it wasn't for the net I wouldn't have found out about very low dose accutane. (She had already treated patients with 10mg a day for Rosacea though)

[soujerz]

I don't have health insurance wondering how much 20 mg of accutance for 30 days costs? How much for generic version?

[Ronix]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and am stoked that I found this place!

I am 26 and have very oily skin and large pores. I have blackheads all over my face but mostly in t zone(especially nose) and cheeks right next to nose. I also get pimples here and there and a few cysts a year but those I can clear with BP. Oh, and my face is not as smooth as I would like, it can be a little bumpy at times but they will sometimes go away and never turn into anything. I tried Retin-a micro, differin, all types of OTCs, and for the last year Vilantae, which is a B-5 vitamin complex used to reduce oil, which actually works pretty well, they say it is the strongest way of reducing skin oil next to accutane. If you haven't tried it I would recommend it. It has given me an unbelievably strong immune system as well. Go to vilantae.com for details.

Anyway, I am thinking of starting Accutane on a small dose. I know it will shrink your oil glands but when they "grow" back do they go back to the way they were originally or do they grow back more "normal" so to speak? Do you guys recommend this for someone with my condition who has tried everything else? thanks for the help...I am so sick of this crap!

[AI3forever]

Hey everyone, I'm new here and am stoked that I found this place!

I am 26 and have very oily skin and large pores. I have blackheads all over my face but mostly in t zone(especially nose) and cheeks right next to nose. I also get pimples here and there and a few cysts a year but those I can clear with BP. Oh, and my face is not as smooth as I would like, it can be a little bumpy at times but they will sometimes go away and never turn into anything. I tried Retin-a micro, differin, all types of OTCs, and for the last year Vilantae, which is a B-5 vitamin complex used to reduce oil, which actually works pretty well, they say it is the strongest way of reducing skin oil next to accutane. If you haven't tried it I would recommend it. It has given me an unbelievably strong immune system as well. Go to vilantae.com for details.

Anyway, I am thinking of starting Accutane on a small dose. I know it will shrink your oil glands but when they "grow" back do they go back to the way they were originally or do they grow back more "normal" so to speak? Do you guys recommend this for someone with my condition who has tried everything else? thanks for the help...I am so sick of this crap!

I totally recommend it, i had a pretty bad bout of acne and started taking isotretinoin in low doses ( 10mg a day ). Ive been on it for a few weeks and now i dont even have a single pimple. Side effects(for me), are dry lips but they arent a problem considering how acne-free my skin is now.

My derm told me that if you continue using the drug for a six months period, some people do develop a resistance from acne.

My only regret is not discovering this drug earlier. Im left with scars from cystic acne to cope now...

[kmae]

This sounds all good, but the problem is trying to convince your derm to prescribe it to you, when all you have mild acne. Derms don't really read into these studies.

What is considered to be mild and moderate acne? I think I am moderate, but I wouldn't know.

[andersoj]

I'm just finishing a course at 30MG and can attest to its effectiveness and think its a great idea.. I did have to insist this low of a dose, but luckily I have a very open PA.

[willow569]

Several posts have been deleted from this thread due to the discussion by a few board members of buying accutane online without a prescription. Discussing use of prescription medications without a prescription and providing links to sites where these drugs can be purchased is against board rules (not to mention very risky - especially with a drug like accutane). Please do not take this, or any prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription. See the pinned thread at the top of the page for the acne.org policy on this issue.

To those of you who suggest to others that they buy these medications without an RX from questionable internet sources - realize that you are often giving this advice to minors, who may be less aware of the risks involved.

[timmytim]

i have been on 20mg for six months

for 5 months my skin broke out still

now i get maybe 2 spots a week so im not clear, but my skin is better than before

i've also been exercising more and eating healthy which may be related

i'm hoping to take accutane a few more months still


tim

[benwolves]

Im on day 49 of 20mg daily and still getting a few zits, actually the acne is exactly the same as pre tane. Just my skin and lips are abit dryer. Im really hoping by week 8 my skin will clear all together, week 8 seems to be that magical point for alot of people on tane and I hope Im one of them.

[pedroal3xandre]

I am with 25mg per day (and this dose not correspond the average dose witch is at least 0.5mg per kg). No side effects here, but i am only on day 6...

[LionQueen]

After 10 mg/day for 60 days, my pores were completely clear .... now I'm down to 40 mg/week and they are staying clear, for the most part (the pores on my nose will still get a tiny bit congested from time to time).

I have had no pimples at all since starting Accutane, just comedones pushing out of the pores in my T zone. But I had been using Green Cream for two years beforehand.

I've had no side effects to speak of .... a little bit of peeling and dryness, but considering that it's winter here, no more than usual.

[LionQueen]

Just a follow-up to my last post .... I have been on a maintenance-level dose of 20 mg/week for several months now, since June actually. Still perfectly clear. No side effects, no problems.

A little bit of this drug goes a long way.

I realize that I didn't have severe acne or inflammation, but I still have to wonder .... are a lot of derms prescribing a higher dose than people really need?

I wish there were more studies in this area.