Hi everyone- I, like all of you, suffered from acne (notice the past tense). I went to my Derm, he put me on 2 different antibiotics and neither worked so the last option was Accutane. I'm just going to get straight to the point with the good and the bad (won't mention dry skin and lips that's to be expected)

Good

I don't suffer from acne any more and as a result my self esteem is at an all time high. I get the occasional normal bumps here and there but nothing like before. I suffered from the 'under the skin' acne that would stay around for weeks sometimes a month. Since it's been so long, I don't recall the dosage but it was pretty high and I was on it for about 6 months.

Bad

Hair loss was pretty bad for me luckily I started with thick hair. Towards the end of the treatment, my hair would fall out when I brushed and washed.Told my derm and he acted like this was normal. To this day my hair is substantially thinner than before to the point when I visit my dad he says "Are you balding?! (no one in my family is bald). I'm not balding as my dad says, but my hair has thinned.

As a result. I have been on Biotin and it has helped the thinning out tremendously. I took a high dosage of Bitoin, Nature's Plus Ultra Hair Supplement for 2 months and now I am taking Andrew Lessman's Healthy Hair Skin and Nails vitamins daily. My hair will never get back to normal but thanks to these supplements it does look healthy.

I recently got my first physical in a while last month and found out my Cholesterol is above normal along with the Bilirubin levels in my blood. I also suffer from mild stomach issues and a moderate case of Acid Reflux that I account to my Accutane usage. Can this be proven at this point? No, but I know my body.

Conclusion

Accutane did what it said it would do and got rid of my acne, but the side effects are real. Before taking Accutane, if the doctor would have asked me do I want acne or thin hair? I probably would have chosen thin hair so it's all about your personal pros and cons. I truly feel deep down, that I shortened my life a few years by taking this powerful drug, but at least while I am on this Earth, I won't feel like Quasimodo walking the streets.

If any of you all have questions feel free to message me or reply.