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I had to stop taking the drug because I got sick with mono, which causes liver inflammation. When I stopped, I had taken 2 and a half months worth of 80/mg/day, or ultiamtely 85grams/kg. The recomennded minimum dosage by the end of treatment is 120g/kg according to most sources. Once I stopped I never started again.
On the drug, the only effects I noticed were the initial flare up (which made things roughly 40% worse) irritatingly dry lips and nostrils, and during only the first week I had a strange pulsing headache and my nose peeled a little and my face flushed a bit under the eyes. The entire time during my treatment I lifted heavy weights 3 times a week plus another day or two of boxing. No joint pain or extra tiredness.
My acne got much worse during the first month, remained bad for most of the second, then gradually started healing. The last month I was blemish-free. To this day i'm clear, with the occasional zit popping up and disappearing almost as quick as it came. The only lasting side effects are that my lips are drier than when I started, my nostrils dry up, and my face seems to get red when I exercise vigorously. To be honest, none of these things particularly bother me and are much better than having acne, and my gut tells me they will improve over time.
All in all, I'm very happy with the results. If I got acne again, I would go on the drug again. For those who are deciding, I highly recommend this drug if you meet these parameters:
1) You've had acne for a long time (I had mine since 8th grade all the way thru my junior year of college when I took accutane).
2) Your acne is inflammatory and at least occasionally severe.
3) Maybe wait until you're done growing - I suspect the drug has the potential to interfere with growing bones - although my brother took the drug as well when he was 15, and it didnt stunt his growth or cause problems that I know of. Better safe than sorry though, and waiting will give you time to fully explore and test your other options. I tried literally every path except accutane until I took the plunge.
4) You have done your research! Which I suspect would be the case if you're reading this
Don't let the scary side effects keep you from enjoying your life. I'm so much happier since I've cleared up. I don't profess to know everything, but I believe that a lot of the horrible side effects you hear about aren't true, or are extremely rare (like all medications...even things like tylenol can have scary effects in compromised individuals. Irritable bowel syndrome? Maybe people should consider that most accutane users have gone on lengthy antibiotic courses piror to accutane. Maybe this is related? HMMMMmm?
If you do decide to try it out, remember, you can always quit. Go into it prepared! Buy aquaphor, bottled water to stash in your car and work areas, a humidifier, and cetaphil. I also reccomend keeping on a 2.5% benzoyl peroxide on your problem areas over the entire course of your treatment, unless you get too dry, which wasnt a problem with me and helped temper the initial breakout. Try to do your course in the spring or fall, when there's less sun but also more humidity than winter. Good luck!
