Acne.org Products
Hey there everyone. I will have the opportunity to start an accutane treatment in a few days, but I'm not entirely sure if I want to do it yet. I've been reading a lot of people's posts on here to try and comfort myself and see what people are going through. I figured posting on here and trying to make some pals would make me feel a little better haha.
So my quick back story is that I've been suffering from acne since I was about 13 or 14, and I'm almost 21 now. In the beginning it was pretty terrible, a lot of deeper ones and virtually no tiny whiteheads. I began seeing a dermatologist when I was 14 or so and started my journey on a bunch of various pills and creams etc etc etc. Over time the severity of my acne lessened greatly, but alas it still sticks around. I've suffered some minor scarring over the years on my face, chest, shoulders, and back, just because my skin naturally sucks and scars from the tiniest cut. My acne currently is moderate. My last meds I was on were Differin, clindamycin, and Doryx 200mg, which all combined did not get rid of my acne. It would get better and worse with every medication I was on, but in the end nothing would get rid of it. I've been free of any prescription for about 2 months.
I went to a new dermatologist last week and told her my history with it and she saw all the prescriptions I had went through over the years. I told her I was just tired of fighting this battle and wanted to look into Accutane. My previous derm sort of acted like it was taboo due to all the speculation around it and such. She said looking at everything I had taken that accutane is probably what she would recommend due to nothing ridding of it completely over the years, including some strong antiobitics like Doryx. So she talked with me about it and the iPledge stuff and all the speculated potential side effects, mainly the depression and psychosis part of it. She said she doesn't believe it causes depression in people, and that most people who take it are in this 16-late 20s age group, which is an age range that suffers from depression more than other ages.
So she gave me this iPledge book about isotretinoin and told me to read it over and think about it for a week. She's going to call me on Thursday and ask me if I'm still interested in starting to take it, and if I am she is going to send me a prescription so I can start the treatment.
I guess that wasn't really a quick story, but anyways, my main concerns with starting this are really just the side effects of depression and losing energy and motivation and all that. Judging by this forum, it doesn't seem like anyone is really having trouble with this. My derm also said that drinking alcohol isn't a good idea just because you don't want to hit the liver any harder than the meds already are, which isn't a huge deal, but being in college and all...people drink, and when you can't drink with your friends because of some drugs for a couple months, it's sort of a downer. But I just wanted to get some opinions on this. My acne hasn't made me want to kill myself and hate myself, but over the years, I've just always been self conscious about it all, and it has taken little jabs at my self confidence and motivation, and it has built up over time, and I just want to be done with it. It's possible that my acne might go away entirely in the next couple years, but I'm not sure if I want to wait that long to find out.
TLDR: I have the potential to start accutane in a couple days. My acne isn't super severe but just moderate, but I'm tired of dealing with it after trying so many medications and want the fight to be over. Looking for opinions on the experiences and side effects.
Thanks guys,
Dylan
Welcome Dylan! I am pretty sure we all know how you feel and what you have been going through with all the different kinds of antibiotics, creams, cleansers etc. Personally I have had acne since my 15th and now I'm almost 20. I have tried almost anything I could find or that the docter prescribed me. Just like for you, nothing helped...However, a few months ago (9) I was at the point I didn't want to fight anymore against my acne. I was completely tired of it. It made me feel so incredibly worthless and tired of life that I went to the dermatologist and asked for Accutane. Luckily, she agreed with me that Accutane may be the only thing left for me, so I got it prescribed. Now, just like you, I was a little bit afraid of the side-effects like depression and losing motivation. However, despite of the fact that I was kinda depressed before I started Accutane, it actually gave me an enormous boost of motivation and confidence. Especially when I saw my first progression. So for me, Instead of depression, it gave me the opposite. Ofcourse, not everybody will react the same to this course, but I really think you should at least try it. Just try to stay positive and don't focus too much on your skin. For instance, you can do some fun things with family and friends to keep your thoughts away from your acne while on Accutane. Another thing that really helped me going through my course, was kind of pampering myself. In other words: don't be hard on yourself! In no time, your skin will look great:)
Hi Dylan -
I think you are doing the right thing in really thinking about it, and I think the more research you do the better (although it is really hard to tell the difference between genuine reporting of adverse reactions and fear mongering sometimes, so don't go too overboard in your research). Brain fog and fatigue are side effects of accutane (I experienced them to a certain extent), and maybe experiencing this can trigger depression in some people, although if you are not prone to depression or mental dysfunction I really wouldn't be too concerned. That being said, accutane is no picnic, the very real side effects of lip and skin dryness are no fun. You'll need to take very good care of your skin while on it, and moisturizing will be very very important.
Now, with the drinking thing, the best thing to do on your course is avoid it completely, because if the doctors notice any weirdness in your liver counts they will probably take you off of it (and you don't want that!). That being said, I don't think having a drink (like one or two beers tops) on a Saturday night with friends will kill you, as long as you eat healthfully and be careful not to go over board (like, one or twice a week is ok, everyday is probably not).
Also, having to avoid drinking in excess doesn't have to be a downer, I am sure your friends will definitely appreciate the access to a reliable designated driver! 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate the kind words. In preparation for the dry skin, I purchased some Lubriderm for extra dry skin. [Removed] I have been using the regular and the one for skin damage/repair for about a year or so now and have found it to be pretty successful. I was wondering if you had any knowledge of how the Lubriderm would perform against something like Cetaphil. My dermatologist recommended Cetaphil.