History
I'm new here, but not new to acne. I'm 29, have had terrible skin since I was around 12. Tried many many prescription and over the counter drugs and topicals over the years. Back in 2006/2007 my acne was as it's worst and my derm suggested Accutane. It was a miracle drug. I had really dry skin which was the worst side effect. My skin stayed clear for a couple years and slowly I started breaking out again, but not nearly as bad. Some cysts, mostly regular pimples. Most of the issue now is my jaw line and neck, which is where I get the cysts.

Looking back I'm not so sure the Accutane didn't cause other long term issues (stomach and mental), but I can't say for sure. I always had some stomach issues growing up, and I still do. Seems more frequent but it could be in my head. As far as mental health, I've dealt with depression since around 2008/2009, but again, might not be related but it's in the back of my mind.

Currently
At this point in my life, I've tried a few other topicals since being on Accutane the first time. Some seemed to work but to be honest I'm not that great with sticking with long term treatments for anything, and I get lazy. I visited my derm this week and she said I would be a good candidate for a second round of Accutane. I've also had a Mirena IUD for 5 years, which I plan on switching to a non-hormonal IUD this fall. She asked if I'd like to wait to see if my skin improves after about 3 months of non-hormonal BC. After some discussion we decided to proceed now, since summer is better for dry skin than winter.

I have to go for blood work in the next few days, after that I hope to be starting round 2 shortly after. I'll make an effort to post updates, maybe photos too. This journal is more for me I suppose to keep track of how I feel. I may look back to my previous journal, maybe I'll share that too.

Hangups
I've been doing more reading on other people's experience, I'm more worried about long term effects this time around (my acne is not at the point of desperation like it was the first time). My job requires me to talk to many "important" people and represent my company, and the acne makes me think people don't take me seriously. I look really young, I get asked all the time how long I've worked for me company, and I always get the reaction "oh wow you look way younger". Yeah, I look like a pimply face teenager. Get over it.

But I can't seem to get over it. It scares me that I might risk my overall health for a superficial issue, but it affects me in many more ways than just how I look. My husband is upset that I would take that risk, but all I can say is he can't understand how it feels. That's what I tell myself anyway. He'd prefer I look into more natural options.