So I have started on my low dose accutane regime. I have started on 10mg/day but hope to reduce this after a couple of months to 10mg every second day and then possibly even reduced further till I am at a stage where you are at Yunchang. I have had THREE courses of high dose accutane and even though they work wonders every time, the acne always returns (although not as severe) and so low dosing accutane for a longer period of time may be the way to go for me. I wish there was more research on low dose accutane programs but I suppose there is more important diseases and illnesses that scientific researchers are interested in.

glad to see another low doser on board! i hope things work out for you.

Update:

I just took a 10 mg pill after a 12 day break. My skin feels much more moisturized and not irritated so I took the plunge back in. Will continue to monitor for now.

update:

healed! for the past few days I have been humidifying my room like crazy, wearing a mask, and slathering on ungodly amounts of cetaphil cream. and guess what? no more irritation and blemishes from dryness! Everything is healing and looking like nothing happened. Thank God. I learned a very important lesson in this low dose experiment: no oil is good, but it is better than being too dry!!! dryness as well as oiliness can cause acne. so it's all about balance. gonna use cetaphil cream forever now.

Update:

Back to normal. Still slathering on heavy cream everyday. Gotta stay moist. ^^ Still on the tane. No oil = bad! So be careful if you take Tane!

Your skin looks perfect Yunchang! Been on my low dose accutane (10mg/day) for about a week and a half now, and I already feel my lips chapping and slightly dryer skin so its defiantly working! Broke out with a few spots on my neck (one particularly big on my jaw) but its early days so hopefully they will clear soon. This could be part of the initial breakout. Will try and keep updates!

lol yeah even on low dose u will get chapped lips. so u know it is working find a nice balance for yourself and maintain a good level of clarity with the tane. best scenario is if u can get it lower and it still works! imo, i should have done low dosing even after I did my 5 month full course, so I could maintain what i had and keep my sebaceous glands in check. GOOD LUCK PUMPER!

Awesome! Glad to hear you're back in balance.

update:

yup skin back to normal but im not taking the tane as frequently. funny how that works. going to monitor oil levels and pop pills based on that for now. later folks!

Hi yunchang!

I'm 20 years old and I have had a trouble with acne for several years. Last year, I tried the ultra low dose Zoacnel (isotretinoin 20mg). My dose was 1 capsule per 3 days and my skin get better after about 2 months. After 6 months, I decreased the dose to 10mg per 4 days and maintained that dose in 3 months and then stopped to use isotretinoin but acne back after 4 months stop. Now I have a plan to have second long-term low dose isotretinoin as long as possible. Can you give me your dose? For example the dose in first month? second month? And did you use another drug during using accutane? Thank you so much.

P/s: My English isn't well, wish for your sympathy

hi! Vietnamese? No problem! I used 10 mg once a week. I used to do a little bit more but I found out I did not need too. However, because of the cold weather and dry air, I am taking 10mg once every 2 weeks!

I am not sure about how much mg I took the first month, but I can give you my average weekly dose: 10 mg every 6 to 7 days. No, I did not use ANY other drug. I didn't even take vitamins. Only accutane.

Hope this helps~ keep me updated ^^

I am glad that low dosing worked for you, because what you did in the past is exactly what I did =)

During using isotretinoin in ultra low dose, my skin was very clean and smooth , my friends were very amazing, they always asked me How I could do that. I can confidence in my skin in that time but after stop taking isotretinoin, it became worst. I guess I didn't use enoungh cumulative dose, which is about 120 mg/kg, and this cause the acne back. So this time I decide to use isotretinoin as long as possible, about 2 years in plan. Hope low dosing would minimize the side effects on my body. Oh, and I want to ask you a question: The ultra low dosing you using now is prescribed by your doctor or not? And did your doctor agree this?

yup my blood work was fine last month and I send emails to my doc, keeping him updated. he knows about this thread ;P

update:

no more flakes, breakouts, dryness, and still no oiliness. I thought that the heavy cream that I just glob on my face at night would clog my pores...but it does not. i had to do it to get my it's moisture back.

people who low dose like me should be very careful not to get flaky and dry, as this could irritate the skin and cause breakouts. it's about balance, even when u are fighting oily skin.

Do you have any acne scar? And do you plan any scar treatment method? I have some acne scars and I plan to try the roller method but collagen in my skin was decreased due to isotretinoin. Do you have any experience about acne scar?

no scars. I am lucky that my skin never got any acne scars or pits like I have seen others get. skin heals quickly (thank god).

Lookin' good!

So interesting that dryness is just as bad as oiliness when it comes to acne. I think we could all learn a good lesson about being nicer to our skin from your experience.

hey bro! been a long time since I last checked ur thread. Nice progress! I been taking acnotin 20mg daily for 4 months now, my last box of 20mg will be taken once weekly till I run out of it. So far so good

hey yunchang i am korean too. and i have exactly the same skin type as you.

are you planning to take isotretinoin forever ? i mean low dose 10mg/WEEK (1x capsule a week)?

i want to start a ultra low dose too, but i am afraid that i will mess up your body in the long run. Did your dermatologist say what the max. years you can take it until it becomes dangerous ??

thanks bro

hey guys,

thanks for posting on this blog, it is really helpful and I'm sure many will get much out of it.

I have been struggling with moderate acne on my face since 18. I am 34 now, so it is fucking 16 years! I have almost tried every thing. Although my acne has been of moderate type, but since two years ago when I get too much stress, my back starts developing very sever acne. I was offered to take accutane when I was 20 by a dermo, but due its side effects I refused to to that and I wish I had done, because I am left now with so many scars on my face. I have very oily skin and have to wash my face 3, 4 times a day to wipe out the oil. A while ago I finally decided to take accutane and get rid of acne. This time, I did not go to a dermo (i do not have an insurance covering specialist at present) and got a GP friend to prescribe accutane for me. I will also take blood test each month to check my lipid and sugar. (what else should be checked?)

I would really appreciate I you can share your experience so as how long and how much I should take accutane? (I am 80 kg)

What is the regular cycle and dosage?

Does this sound like a good plan?

1- 20mg/day for one month

2- 2x20mg/day for one month

3- 2x40mg/day for two months

4- 2X20mg/day for one month

5- 20mg/day for one month

Thanks

Raka

Sorry for being absent for so long! Life is busy!

hey bro! been a long time since I last checked ur thread. Nice progress! I been taking acnotin 20mg daily for 4 months now, my last box of 20mg will be taken once weekly till I run out of it. So far so good

Hey man! What is acnotin? is that like accutane? Hope u are well.

hey yunchang i am korean too. and i have exactly the same skin type as you.

are you planning to take isotretinoin forever ? i mean low dose 10mg/WEEK (1x capsule a week)?

i want to start a ultra low dose too, but i am afraid that i will mess up your body in the long run. Did your dermatologist say what the max. years you can take it until it becomes dangerous ??

thanks bro

Yo bro! Yes, if I have to, I will take it forever. However, I have news to tell you guys.

hey guys,

thanks for posting on this blog, it is really helpful and I'm sure many will get much out of it.

I have been struggling with moderate acne on my face since 18. I am 34 now, so it is fucking 16 years! I have almost tried every thing. Although my acne has been of moderate type, but since two years ago when I get too much stress, my back starts developing very sever acne. I was offered to take accutane when I was 20 by a dermo, but due its side effects I refused to to that and I wish I had done, because I am left now with so many scars on my face. I have very oily skin and have to wash my face 3, 4 times a day to wipe out the oil. A while ago I finally decided to take accutane and get rid of acne. This time, I did not go to a dermo (i do not have an insurance covering specialist at present) and got a GP friend to prescribe accutane for me. I will also take blood test each month to check my lipid and sugar. (what else should be checked?)

I would really appreciate I you can share your experience so as how long and how much I should take accutane? (I am 80 kg)

What is the regular cycle and dosage?

Does this sound like a good plan?

1- 20mg/day for one month

2- 2x20mg/day for one month

3- 2x40mg/day for two months

4- 2X20mg/day for one month

5- 20mg/day for one month

Thanks

Raka

Hey Raka, I hope accutane works for you. This your first time on accutane right? If so, I cannot say that low dose is really for you. If I were you, I would suggest you take the full course as directed by your physician. I cannot really direct you because your situation is very different from me since I am a person who has taken accutane before. You have not, so your first course will be a lot higher in dosage.

UPDATE:

Hey guys I have been controlling my accutane pretty well with the low dosage. It really helps keep the oil levels down and the side effects are minimal. But my doc and I have decided to change up this experiment. My doc says I am at the point where I do not need it anymore (maybe 1 every 2 weeks at most, so 10 mg every 14 days). That is only to keep the oil down. For anybreakouts he says that at this point I would be better using tretinoin cream for shedding my skin. This is because the accutane is great for keeping oil levels down, but at this low dosage it does not do much for bringing new skin to the top. So for now I will greatly ease off the accutane and start applying tretinoin.

Hopefully, this works and I get even better skin. The low dosage had long periods of success, but I would still get clogged pores for some reason, even though my oil levels were low. I am hoping this tretinoin treatment will help with unclogging my skin.

Tretinoin is kinda like the cream form of accutane. this is what patients usually use after their accutane course to maintain their skin. First time trying this...hope this works!

 

Sorry for being absent for so long! Life is busy!

hey bro! been a long time since I last checked ur thread. Nice progress! I been taking acnotin 20mg daily for 4 months now, my last box of 20mg will be taken once weekly till I run out of it. So far so good

Hey man! What is acnotin? is that like accutane? Hope u are well.

Yeah its like accutane. I am using topical product to maintain it, sometimes there are minor breakout due to shavings.

Hey Yunchang. So this low dose Accutane is commonplace in Korea? There are typically no adverse effects from the dose? Thanks for all you've shown.

I urge people to be careful with accutane.

I did a low dose course for 4/5 months - 60mgs a week.

It is now nearly 5 months after finishing the course I have joint pain all over my body. It doesnt matter what dose you use - it depends on how your body reacts to it - everyone is different - I was one of the unlucky ones.

Im not sure if Ill ever feel the same again as I did before using accutane - Im waiting on a rheumotologist appointment.

Im not trying to rain on anyones parade here - accutane works, but use with caution and only if really necessary.

Try using Retin A instead. Regretting ever taking accutane now I can tell you.

I urge people to be careful with accutane.

I did a low dose course for 4/5 months - 60mgs a week.

It is now nearly 5 months after finishing the course I have joint pain all over my body. It doesnt matter what dose you use - it depends on how your body reacts to it - everyone is different - I was one of the unlucky ones.

Im not sure if Ill ever feel the same again as I did before using accutane - Im waiting on a rheumotologist appointment.

Im not trying to rain on anyones parade here - accutane works, but use with caution and only if really necessary.

Try using Retin A instead. Regretting ever taking accutane now I can tell you.

Yes, it is important to be careful and should be used under the supervision of a derm.

Luckily, I do not have joint pain or other severe side effects from the Accutane. But I took a very very low dose to control my oil levels.

Currently, I am applying Retin A once a day. I am hoping this will make my skin even clearer. I am going to wean myself off of accutane and see how my skin takes that. I am hoping the oil stays away. If it comes back, I will continue to take the low dose accutane to control my oil levels.

Hi. I just thought I would help a bit, especially since there are few patients writing in about low dose regimens. I have been on low dose (10mg 1-2X wk) for 3 years now, and it has changed my life. I too suffered from itchy, chronically oily and acne laden skin for 25 years (I'm 43 now, and I'm a medical professional.) I had tried two Accutane courses previously as well as all of the creams, pills, etc., but my acne and folliculitis always returned. I have had almost no side effects other than my lips and eyes are occasionally dry, especially if I drink wine. I do have some left hip pain, but I attribute it to having birthed 2 very large babies with a petite frame. Frankly, I would tolerate my hip pain to continue to be acne and folliculitis free.

I would not recommend this treatment for anyone still contemplating child birth at some point, but I was done and tired of the acne and cysts. It has helped my self-esteem and comfort levels, and I will continue with this regimen until menopause. Hope this helps!