I was on accutane in 2003 and I am still recovering. I came across Stef on youtube where he said in one of his videos that he is still hanging around at the org, so I had to check it out and give my two cents.
A short recap of my situation:
My symptoms pretty much coincide with yours, whereas some have improved over time, I will tell you what helped later. I have tried and experimentet a lot.
Doctors in most cases were not able to help or contribure in any way, I will spare you the details... would be a different story. Unlike to your case my acne came back pretty fast after getting off of the drug and it became far worse actually. My skin lost its ability to rejuvenate altogether for a quite long period of time and I am talking about the whole upper body where the skin had simply dried up. I did not suffer from depression or anything the like, but my state of health was rapidly decreasing after getting of the drug. To this day my eyesight decreases steadily, I had to start wearing glasses shortly after getting of accutane. Besides the common sideeffects I suffered severe cartilage damage in my knees, which cut my career as a basketball player short. My knees have not and probably will never fully recover, exercises involving running are a no go for me.
As I mentioned, the drug did not cure me! Quite the opposite, as my health declined, my acne grew and at the same time I became extremely sensitive to stress and got tired and fatigued ever more quickly. My situation became so bad that in 2006 I realised that should I not be able to turn myself around I would soon be for a lack of a better word be "disabled". Some months after getting off the drug I also started passing gas, like all day nonstop, it was embarrassing and lasted until around 2006. This is when I went gluten free. In 2006/2007 I made the turnaround with juice fasting and liver flushes mainly, see tips below.
A friend of mine who initialy recommended the doc to me who put me on the drug went on two cycles of the drug and was never cured either. Instead this once very smart guy became extremely fatigued and started to suffer from paranoia. He had to quit his studies and has become unemployable. He recently tried suicide, because of an altercation he had with his dad about him not being able to start a real life and get a job. After the injuries he suffered from the suicide attempt he will probably never be the same again.
Now, coming to the positive part of the post: Focusing on the past does not help, we got to look forward and make the best of it.
Mentally I handle the repercussions from the drug by focusing on the positive experiences I have had because of the struggle. That is mainly, the things that I have learned, the route my life has taken because of it. I am not religious, but things happen for a reason, what does not kill you makes you stronger, this is what I try to live by.
Tips: Below some things which have really worked wonders for me.
1. Taking zinc-picolinate 50 mg per day, half an hour before bedtime, increases sex drive and sperm count, reduces inflammation
2. Taking magnesium and potassium citrate, be careful with potassium you got to know what you are doing otherwise you may suffer cardiac arrest
3. Drinking 2 to 3 freshly squeezed lemons in the morning on empty stomach
4. Gluten free diet, you will only experience the benefits if you go 100%, cheating every 2 or 3 weeks will do you no good.
5. No industrial sugar
6. Brazil nuts, I take those for selenium, they are better than any selenium supplement, eat about 50g per day
7. Sauna, the fitness club I go to has a sauna, try to go there 2 times a week for two to three sessions each 15 minutes + cool down
8. Liverflushing in combination with hydro colon theraphy: This is the most potent tip on the list, but unfortunately it is nothing you can simply incorporate in your daily routine like a lifestile change. The only times I have been completely normal again - no dry eyes, more energy, normal digestion, no dandruff, calmed my mind - was after 2-3 sessions of liverflushing in a row, each about 2 weeks apart. Unfortunately after about 3 month things start slowly going back to "normal" again. What happens is that the magnesium sulfate, which is also prescribed to people with a magnesium deficiency, stimulates all your organs, this is at least one reason it works. The green stones you flush out are certainly no liver stones, they are produced by the olive oil in combination with bile secreted from the gall bladders.
9. Rowing, it stimulates all your organs underneath you abs and helps digestion. It is like giving yourself a good massage.
10. juice/smoothy fasting, almost forgot it, don't starve yourself!!
11. fresh organic liquid colostrum, it works and helps a lot, but too expensive for me, at least here in Germany
12. red beets, avocado, papaya, raw foods
13. all the things you take commonly for a holistic treatment of IBS or the like, for example enzymes or detoxifiers help, cost a lot of money...
14. If you want to go a step further than gluten free, try to eliminate starchy foods (special carbohydrate diet), instead eat a diet high in protein, fats and fruits and veggies. It is called ketogenic diet, good for building muscle
Edited by Believe, 16 April 2012 - 03:58 PM.