everythingthatshimmers

Good luck to you! I am 30 years old, started Accutane at the end of February after dealing with acne for ten years. Had the worst breakout of my life last summer lasting into the fall with no end in sight and it was time to try something else. I was fortunate that I didn't experience an initial breakout but try to look at it positively: it means your body is responding to the medication and getting all that junk out of your pores so your skin can heal. Things should look very different in a matter of a few weeks/months. Also, we are always the most critical of ourselves. Others are not scrutinizing us nearly as closely. =)

Wow, your skin looks great! Congratulations to you, I'm glad you found something that works! I am thirty years old and can relate to the frustration of adult acne. Best of luck to you!

Hang in there and know you are in a good place to talk about your feelings and frustrations because we can all relate. My only advice is to continue using the products and medications your dermatologist recommended. Sometimes it can take a long time for things to start working and sometimes the medications can make things worse before they get better. But things will get better. In my experience, if a treatment isn't working after three months then it may be time to make a change but your dermatologist will direct you. When my acne is at it's worst, I find I do better if I avoid mirrors and just pretend I don't have acne, just try to act as if I have clear skin and am super confident even if I just want to crawl in bed and stay there. Keep in mind I am thirty years old and work with the public, I have had many years to practice this =) Try to ignore the bullies, I know it's hard. Won't you be on summer vacation soon? Hopefully that will help. They need to be careful about teasing you, it could happen to them too. I didn't have acne until I was 20. When my friends and/or co-workers ask about my skin I just say something like, "Yeah, for some reason I'm really breaking out right now. I'm working on it, I'm seeing a dermatologist." That tends to shut them up but your situation is different of course. Anyway, best of luck to you. Just remember this is a bump in the road and it will get better!

I've taken around four courses of antibiotics over the past ten years, including minocycline at least twice in college. I had good results, cleared my skin and kept me clear for a while after I stopped taking it (maybe a year?). You will read all kinds of opinions on here regarding the use of antibiotics for acne but I think they can be very effective, particularly for teens and early twenties when you're in that window of time when you may outgrow your acne. It may keep it at bay until then if you're in that lucky group =). I would avoid taking any antibiotics for an extended period of time and stop taking them if you have stomach upset, body aches or fever. Taking them with food can decrease the risk of stomach upset but sometimes your dermatologist will want you to take them on an empty stomach if you can tolerate it. Anyway, good luck to you whatever you decide. =)

I think it varies for everyone.

My experience: I have moderate facial acne, severe body acne. Was on birth control pills until no longer effective, had reaction to tetracycline. First two weeks on Accutane, face cleared and looked great. Third week, significant drying but face still looked good although makeup started looking a little pasty. This week I've started breaking out but my face looks different everyday. Some days my face is more red/splotchy, some days I'm more dry/peeling, some days it looks like it's healing. It can even look different at different times of the day. I'm hoping this part passes soon and I go back to being nearly clear =) I have seen a slight improvement in the body acne.

Good luck to you!

The other posters make good points about Accutane being a drug of last resort. With that said, I think everyone has a different experience and it would be helpful for you to read the logs:

http://www.acne.org/...-accutane-logs/

It seems that some people clear up almost immediately and some people have break outs nearly their entire course. I've read about people who didn't clear up until after they were finished with their treatment. So, it really is different for everyone. Hopefully you will have an easy course with minimal side effects. As for me, I am almost at the end of my first month but have been able to wear makeup everyday. Some days it looks better than others though because some days my skin looks red, dry, etc. It will be really important that you moisturize your skin really well and drink plenty of water. Good luck to you!