im 27 year old girl and my acne is mild to moderate at times - hormonal i think, but I am really tired of having bad skin at my age. My dermatologist has given me a prescription for very low dose of Roaccutane (10mg) to take but i am really reluctant to do this after lots of research , since there seem to be so many side effects some apparently which can stay with you forever. in any case my acne is thankfully not as bad as a lot of people's but it does really get me down at my age to always have several blemishes and blackheads and often painful deep pimples which don't go away. I am thinking of just sticking with the isotrexin he has given me before thinking about this 'horror drug' roaccutane as I have read so much nasty stuff about it and my logic is that unless my acne is really so severe that nothing else will work it seems like a drastic and dangerous step to take. what about glycolic acid? what is the strongest strength topical treatment out there? I forgot to say that I suffer with depression which is also why the dose he prescribed me is so low but Im still worried about having permanent side effects which many people get. please any advise would be so appreciated. thank you very much in advance to anyone who would be kind enough to talk to me ..
Rule #1: Don't ask online forums for advice that could greatly affect your life, ask your dermatologist or at least your own family members.
My opinion: You've probably read a lot of horror stories simply because people who have suffered from severe side effects are a very vocal minority. Accutane does come with risks, just like other medications, but if you decide that the 95% chance of curing acne forever is greater than the <1% chance of severe side effets, then go for it.
I would like to point out:
Many people whose acne were cured by Roaccutane/Accutane won't be bothered posting back.
Many people tend to over-exaggerate their acne situation as well as exaggerate side-effects from Roaccutane.
I wish I was able to try Roaccutane when I was at your age. (My life was hell due to my evil mother.) Now, almost 40, I only started my very first course of superlow dosage earlier this year.
I am no expert, but is your depression caused by or related to acne?
So @stillacne is correct, most people who are helped (I'm not saying cured) by accutane don't bother to post again because they don't need the support they needed before. I am one of them.
I am a 43 Asian male who who has had acne since high school. Not horrible acne like a lot of other people, but still pimples almost all the time. As I got older, I had always hoped it would go away. The problem was I have always had oily skin. The kind where you could dab your face with a brown paper towel and see your face on the towel. At least 3 times a day.
At 40 I went to a dermatologist who put me on isotrentin. That worked for a year but then it came back. Again, not bad acne, just one or two big ones at a time. The older I got, the longer it took for them to go away and for the scarring to disappear. Not fun when you are presenting to colleagues at work. So my Derm put me on anit-biotics which worked for another year, then they came back.
We finally decided on accutane. Did 6 months of low to mid dosage. No initial breakout, skin became very dry especially on face and shoulders and arms, and my lips became very chapped. All of it was manageable. No depression, no aching joints, no headaches, etc.
It's been a year and a half and I haven't had a big pimple since accutane. One very small one here and there and I mean very small. My skin is not oily at all which I think was my issue (pores getting clogged all the time). My Derm said accutane would shrink my sebaceous glands by 60-80% but then they would grow back a little but not to where they were before. I have to put on a small amount of lotion on my face each day, especially during winter.
Accutane has done wonders for me but according to other people on the sight, not for them. I guess you always end up reading about people who haven't had success because they still need the support which is what these forums are for. But just think about all the people that have had success that don't post on here anymore.
I won't say it will help you or not, you just have to decide if it's worth the risk. It was worth it for me.