Hi everyone. I was a familiar story - acne since my teens, tried every combo of topicals and pills with no luck. A year and a half ago I finally took the plunge and got on Accutane. It's now been a year since I ended my course. My skin has been awesome since then. I started a log on here but procrastination got the best of me. You can probably track it down if you want.

Since I didn't dutifully chronicle my time on 'tane, I'll leave a few thoughts here in bullet format. Maybe you'll read something that will help make up your mind. Maybe not.

• My insurance was being a huge pain in the ass and shot me down completely the first time I tried to get on it. The second time I was relentless. I called my insurance company and had my doc write a letter. They finally approved and I paid $10/mo for 6 months out of pocket.

• While in the "oh my god is my body going to fall apart/liver stop working" phase of my decision, I waited until I got a moment alone in the room with my doc's assistant. I asked her how big of a deal is this going to be. She told me that I'll be surprised how little it affects my life. I believe her words were, "Keep tubes of Aquaphor in every nook and cranny, then you blink and 6 months later you're done"

• I do a lot of outdoor things on the weekends (ski, climb, run) and was worried about #1. sun exposure and #2. my body aching. I just applied sunscreen religiously and that took care of #1. As for the body aches, I didn't have any problems. I even got into better running shape while on 'tane than ever before.

• My live-in girlfriend didn't even know I was on Accutane. I told her my derm gave me some pills that would reduce my acne, and that was about it.

• After I was off the 'tane, I had to figure out the right regiment again. What works for me is washing my face twice daily with cetaphil gentle cleanser, then applying cetaphil lotion (or eucerin with sunscreen in the summer). If I miss a morning or night washing my face I don't suffer breakouts.

• My hair did not fall out. I'm a 31 year old guy, so I'm at risk for that anyway.

• In the last year I've met several people who have gone on accutane. I haven't heard one bad experience yet. Some of them have incredible skin and I was blown away to hear they'd had problems with acne.

I guess that's all I can think of for now. Hopefully this helps somebody out there. Like my derm told me, it is what you make of it.