I am getting scaring on my face and it is UNBEARBLE! Orange peel effect. Does anyone know what i can do to stop this.

I am 3 months into roaccutane....it is worth continiung or should i quit?????

I can live with spots but not with scars.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh........frustration after frustration.

PLZZZ HELP

I took Accutane for 10 days and expirienced about six months of depression after I took the drug. Every day that I took Accutane my emotions were completely out of wack. I would go upstairs to the kitchen table for breakfast sit down and start bawling for no reason. This happend about three times a day for the duration of time that I was on Accutane. It took six months for my emotions to return to normal. During this time i went to the hospital because the depression got so bad I became suicidal. Many people think that the people that get these side effects are depressed before they take the drug that was NOT the case for me i was more emotional then what is regular but defintely not depressed. I defintely do not reccommend taking this drug.

During Accutane (Called Isotane in New Zealand)

Initially put on 3x 10mg day

- Massive breakout and extreme inflammation surrounding acne over first 3 months

Month Four

- Acne starting to clear but massive severe flushing begins so dosage dropped significantly to 1x 10mg day which helped immediately

Month Five

- Dosage dropped to 3x 10mg week as beginning to get flushing again

Month twelve and for next 2 years (no flushing at all)

- Extra low-dose course of 1x 10mg per week

Finished Christmas/Summer Jan 2010- ONLY THEN DID I EXPERIENCE POST ACCUTANE SIDE EFFECTS.

Now 3 months post stopping treatment I have been diagnosed with:

- Rosacea (Constant mid-face redness and flushing- cannot even eat warm or hot food anymore). I've tried Rosex gel (didn't work), Minocycline (made flushing even worse, severe reaction), Roxythromycin (macrolide antibiotic- didn't really do anything), and have now just been put on Doxycyline (day 4 so a while to see if anti-inflammatory properties help)

- Seborrheic Dermatitis on skin of nose (On 1x daily Sporanox antifungal capsules at the moment and use metroconizole cream). This arose when oil started comming back in this face area.

Also have:

- Constant dry body skin everywhere except nose where I have the Seb Dermatitis.

- Fragile, thin and very sensitive facial skin

- Constant cold hands and feet

- Difficulty breathing sometimes e.g. even with just making up the bed the other day- had to have a rest.

- No energy

- Odd random suicidal thoughts, but these have lessened over last month. Of course I know this is one other drug side-effect and the cause of these thoughts.

- Extreme photosensitivity (hibernated this Summer really)

- Temperature sensitivity

Acne is gone but the flushing and redness side-effect is unbearable at times and now I have to face the facts that i'll likely have to deal with the Accutane induced-Rosacea for the rest of my life. I wish i'd stopped when the first signs of flushing appeared but I had no idea this would ever happen and Derms don't believe these issues are related. Having read so many other's post accutane experiences Accutane clearly is the culprit of my skin issues.

UPDATE OCT 2010: After being tested for connective tissue disease and some tests comming back abnormal, have been on Plaquenil medication since July. Am being monitored by the Rheumatologist team at my local hospital over the next 6 months for either SLE or DILE Lupus. Thankfully Plaquenil seems to be having a good effect so far on some of my symptoms; it is my hope things will continue to get better for me over time as this drug accumulates in my system and helps decrease level of inflammation in my body.

Most prescription drugs are viewed as a toxin by the body, although sometimes there is not much alternative as far as herbal or natural remedys are concerned , i had acne as a teenager for many years. The over the counter cremes didn't really do much and i was becoming more and more frustrated about it, somehow i came upon the prescription wonder drug accutane and decided to try it .i was given the 20mg dose, wow , what a huge huge difference in my face this drug made , after a few weeks , i also got the usually extreme dry lips and dry face but the change in my face was amazing.. After a few weeks i had started to have that nagging stomach ache which was quite minor and decide to stop taking the drug lucky for me i stopped and my acne has never returned like it was before. the weird and really interesting thing about this story is that its been many many years and i still get that naggin stomach pain that i now just attribute to poor eating habbits and gas, but when i think back i now remember that was the reason i stopped taking accutane because of that naggin ache in my stomach, the moral of my story is be very carefull of the drugs u take alot of the copmpanys hide the truth from the public and everyone is in on the gig when it comes to these drugs being approved there is no independant oversight. your life is in your hands dont believe the doctors, or the FDA. read the book-- natural cures they dont want u to know about-- by the guy called tradau, youll learn alot about the drug companys and their deceptions.

I'm sure most of you will be creeped out or childish but on a serious note.. I am on my 50th day or so on a 60mg/day and recently started getting pains at the tip of my penis (opening) few weeks back.

The tip looks bloody/red and it hurts when I walk and it hits/touches my boxers/pants. Also when I urinate, it seems to block the flow for a second then it opens up when it cannot handle the force.

Into 4 weeks I noticed that at the tip of my penis at the urethral opening the skin had gone red and it seemed broken. As a result the opening often gets sort of sealed (because the broken skin sticks together). This causes problems when urinating because the urin has to break the sealed opening which is occasionally is painful and which sometimes has caused it to bleed a bit. Recently I noticed that when urinating, the tip of the penis around the urethral opening is raised a bit, as if the pressure of the urin flowing was too great. I believe this is a side-effect of Accutane, because its side-effects include dry mucous etc. and nothing suggests that I have an infection (it's about 4 weeks since I noticed the problem) in the urethra (no bleeding other than from the urehtral opening, no discharge or pain while urinating apart from when the sealed opening is forced open.)

Please let me know if you know what this or have experienced this is as I am very concerned. I can provide you any information if you need. I am not sure if I am in the right forum as well but please do help or PM me privately if you wish to. Thanks for any help.

I'm sure most of you will be creeped out or childish but on a serious note.. I am on my 50th day or so on a 60mg/day and recently started getting pains at the tip of my penis (opening) few weeks back. The tip looks bloody/red and it hurts when I walk and it hits/touches my boxers/pants. Also when I urinate, it seems to block the flow for a second then it opens up when it cannot handle the force.

Into 4 weeks I noticed that at the tip of my penis at the urethral opening the skin had gone red and it seemed broken. As a result the opening often gets sort of sealed (because the broken skin sticks together). This causes problems when urinating because the urin has to break the sealed opening which is occasionally is painful and which sometimes has caused it to bleed a bit. Recently I noticed that when urinating, the tip of the penis around the urethral opening is raised a bit, as if the pressure of the urin flowing was too great. I believe this is a side-effect of Accutane, because its side-effects include dry mucous etc. and nothing suggests that I have an infection (it's about 4 weeks since I noticed the problem) in the urethra (no bleeding other than from the urehtral opening, no discharge or pain while urinating apart from when the sealed opening is forced open.)

Please let me know if you know what this or have experienced this is as I am very concerned. I can provide you any information if you need. I am not sure if I am in the right forum as well but please do help or PM me privately if you wish to. Thanks for any help.

Most prescription drugs are viewed as a toxin by the body, although sometimes there is not much alternative as far as herbal or natural remedys are concerned , i had acne as a teenager for many years. The over the counter cremes didn't really do much and i was becoming more and more frustrated about it, somehow i came upon the prescription wonder drug accutane and decided to try it .i was given the 20mg dose, wow , what a huge huge difference in my face this drug made , after a few weeks , i also got the usually extreme dry lips and dry face but the change in my face was amazing.. After a few weeks i had started to have that nagging stomach ache which was quite minor and decide to stop taking the drug lucky for me i stopped and my acne has never returned like it was before. the weird and really interesting thing about this story is that its been many many years and i still get that naggin stomach pain that i now just attribute to poor eating habbits and gas, but when i think back i now remember that was the reason i stopped taking accutane because of that naggin ache in my stomach, the moral of my story is be very carefull of the drugs u take alot of the copmpanys hide the truth from the public and everyone is in on the gig when it comes to these drugs being approved there is no independant oversight. your life is in your hands dont believe the doctors, or the FDA. read the book-- natural cures they dont want u to know about-- by the guy called tradau, youll learn alot about the drug companys and their deceptions.

How is this a "negative accutane experience" ? I don't like to question people's motives but the above post doesn't make much sense to me.

As far as I can discern, this user experienced very positive long-term effects (the change in his facial acne was "amazing", and it "never returned like it was before") so why is there an anti-accutane slant to this post? He only lists one negative side-effect, and then remarks that he no longer thinks that issue was a result of accutane at all!

This entire account comes across as being a long-winded plug for some guy's book. "natural cures they dont want u to know about" ? Oh please. Does anyone really believe that pharmaceutical companies and governments across the whole world conspire against acne sufferers and withhold cheap natural miracle cures in order to keep selling their chems (which, I might add, cost millions of dollars to research and develop) to us?

I'm not going to argue that accutane is right for everyone, or that it should be treated as a quick easy fix for all acne problems. It is a strong drug and the decision to begin a course of it should never be taken lightly, but spreading thoughtless paranoia really harms people's progress in fighting illness.

Taking accutane was legitimately the worst decision in my life. It's 2 1/2-3 years later and I still have bone/joint weakness and feel lethargic a lot of the time. At this point I'm worried that will never change, considering I'm 20 that is not a good prospect.

 

Before taking accutane acne was a problem but other than that my social life was very healthy and I was a lot more outgoing and enjoyed life a lot more. Anybody who knew me would say I became very reclusive at that time. It isn't an emotional thing, I just feel physically weak and exhausted a lot of the time, regardless of amount of exercise or lack thereof in my lifestyle. My body wants to rest. I expected side effects while taking it but to still feel like this years later

 

If anyone knows of ways to help counteract the effects of accutane, it would be very much appreciated.

I take BAXYL (google it) it is a liquid form of hyaluronic acid , it is the only thing that has helped me with my back pain (also works great for joint pain) , and dry eyes , the liquid form works much better than the hyaluronic pills or tablets , your body produces haluronic acid but when you take accutane the body produces much less , so this counteracts this , it has really helped me a lot so much in fact that I don't use pain killers any more (which never really worked anyways) this truely is a SNAKE OIL that works (=

Took accutane at 20 mg for a month then 40mg for a month. The start of the third month, I suddenly developed an accute case of tinnitus out of nowhere. Stopped the medication immediately.

I also had slight headaches and strong lethargy.

My facial acne was gone, but my back still had spots.

A month later, I developed worsening symptoms. The tinnitus stayed, but I had (and still to an extent have) episodes at night where my head, hearing, and vision ring, and pulsate.

I attribute the symptoms to something like Meniere's disease.

My vision started to worsen, and my intercranial pressure increased by a worrying amount. I now have vision problems that resembles optic neuritis, and neurlogical problems that line up with intercranial hypertension or Meniere's disease.

I've visited a couple doctors who basically told me I'm screwed, and not to take aspirin (jee thanks).

Wait it out, or come back when it gets really bad. :/

I've since visited a doctor of oriental/herbal medicine who has been me on a detoxification regimen, and suggested a change in lifestyle to improve my condition. I've had my first gains since visiting her, and I'm looking forward to reporting back on my condition, in a couple months.

Finally I'd like to say, I, like a lot of people jumped on the accutane bandwagon way too easily. I had done it before, and had had no problems. This time was not the case. I IMPLORE people to reconsider taking accutane. You are NOT invincible, and the risks are not worth it. I'm 24 years old, and feel like I seriously have jeapordized my entire quality of life, even when I didn't have to.

I thought I would be fine. Things only happen to other people.

The problem is our society is not perfect. We have pharmaceutical companies who do not care what happens to you. There is too much vested interest in treating acne, not curing it. Don't give in to the only supposed miracle 'cure'. It is not, it is a poison, and it stays in your system for a very long time. You may know this already... but be wary for yourself... not me. Don't fuck up your life. Try try try, anything else.

i took accutane around 2 years ago and still have negative side effects, which i presume are going to be permenant. some of the side effects i still suffer from are impotence, muscle and joint aches, dry eyes, dry scalp, hair loss, oh and it gave me rocasea. to make it worse, it didn't even work to get rid of my acne. fuck accutane.

40 milligrams is a very high dose for a strong drug like this. I would recommend women 10-20 milligram 1 time a day and men 30 milligram 1 time a day.

A year ago when i was on accutane i thought it was the best idea ever. my doctor threw it at me like a miracle drug. he claimed every model, actor, actress in hollywood did it and i should too. i didnt even have severe acne. but i did it and didnt do enough research.

a year later i have terrible joint pain in my knees and shoulders.

a year later i still have oil production

a yaer later i have IBS

a year later i have severe stomach pains, gastritis, irritation of the esophogus, dry brittle hair, dry eyes, still dry lips though not as bad.

i still get break outs

was it worth what it did to my body a eyar later, not at all.

You're doctor was right about all the actors in hollywood doing it. http://www.examiner.com/x-60679-Internet-T...-Accutane-trial

ya, here's what happened to an actor in hollywood that took it.

http://www.examiner.com/x-60679-Internet-T...-Accutane-trial

Please keep in mind that this thread is for sharing personal negative Accutane experiences, not for discussions or linking. Read the first post for details.

I feel sorry for anyone that has had to go through Accutane, Ive been there and completely understand.

To sum up my experience of Accutane.

Ages 20 I went onto it for 9 months, started on 60 then upto 80 hafl way through. I had really bad acne, like really bad but I still enjoyed my life and it honestly didnt effect me living my life.

Anyway 9 months later my acne is 100% gone, I have scars but sure they were to be expected given the amount of acne I had that kep on bursting and bleeding. I dont blame the accutane for my scars because how I see it is the Accutane just sped up clearing the acne from my body and without it the scars would of developed over a longer time anyway.

It might sound like Accutane worked for me but trust me it didnt.

During my treatment I became a complete recluse from socialising.

I suffered from major suicidal thoughts.

I was completely and utterly depressed with every aspect of my life

I suffered from panic attacks

I suffered from enermous paranioa.

Its now 7 years since I was on Roaccutane and I still suffer from each on of the above, thankfully to a lesser extent due to councelling but still very much to a level which effects my daily life.

If I could turn back time and switch my old life were I had terrible acne but the old me back then I would choose it anyday than my life right now were I have no acne (well the odd pimple) but yet my mental health is devistated.

I would never EVER EVER of went on Roaccutane had I have known my mental health would be effected like this. Roaccutane ruined my life for such a long time and has taken a large peice of my personality which I just can never get back. I never feel happy about anything and still am paranoid about nearly everything that happens to me in my daily life. All the councelling in the world will not replace the damage Roaccutane can do.

It absolutely disgusts me to hear that people have been prescirbed Roaccutane for 2 or 3 pimples. Some dermatologists dont deserve to have a job.

Oh by the way I now also suffer from poor night vision.

I also developed psoriasis a year later after finishing my treatment. This might be completely seperate to Roaccutane as no link to it and psoriasis.

I just wish Roaccutane was banned from the marketplace given the amount of alternative treatments now available that were not out there 5 or 10 years ago.

Roaccutane should not be the answer unless every other treatment has been tried and you have severe cystic ance, even then there is an argument that your life with severe cystic acne is al ot better than without if you suffer the mental health side effects.

Oh by the way I now also suffer from poor night vision.

I also developed psoriasis a year later after finishing my treatment. This might be completely seperate to Roaccutane as no link to it and psoriasis.

I just wish Roaccutane was banned from the marketplace given the amount of alternative treatments now available that were not out there 5 or 10 years ago.

Roaccutane should not be the answer unless every other treatment has been tried and you have severe cystic ance, even then there is an argument that your life with severe cystic acne is al ot better than without if you suffer the mental health side effects.

Today I saw a commercial for a class action lawsuit for Accutane. That got my attention quickly. I took Accutane twice, once at about 15 then again at 20. Apparently thousands of people have gastrointestinal problems from taking it. I have been suffering from what I have self-diagnosed as gastritis ever since I took my second dose at 20 and I am now almost 37. 17 years of pain. With my first dose I suffered from depression. At the time I did not realize either of these things could be attributed to Accutane. I also suffer from extremely dry and tight feeling facial skin. Nobody tells you your skin will be very dry for the rest of your life. I'm only 36 and I look older because I am getting wrinkles soon from very dry skin. It worked well getting rid of the acne each time I used it. It wasn't totally gone, but much improved and I was very happy about it. Now I realized what a price I have paid for it. I have experienced other problems too, and now wonder if they could also be attributed to Accutane.

took cumulative 180 mg/kg (40 40 80 80 80) at age of 22, did not have any major side effects while on it. within months of finishing the course my joints started to crack, my heart rhytm became abnormal and ...

what is really killing me now are my joints. i went 22 to 90 in matter of months and is getting worse, affecting every single joint in my body...

and for those saying "well you should have watch out for side effects" , my joints problems kicked in after i went off accutane. i am guessing if you have very healthy joints with thick cartilage and no previous injuries, it takes a while longer before its effects on joints become apparent and hence once you notice it, it is already too late

Accutane & Erectile Dysfunction- This drug is poison! Moms- Don't let your sons take this!

I'm writing on behalf of my 19 year old son. He started taking Isotretinoin (Accutane)in April of 2007. He was on it for at least 2 years.

A year ago he confided in me that he was impotent. (How difficult that must have been for him to tell me...) He had a normal healthy sex life before this medication. We are in the process of having things checked out.

The first urologist basically did a prostate check and told him it was in his head. He has always maintained that is was not in his head that something wasn't "right". He's gone through a horrific year wondering what's wrong with him. 2 months ago I couldn't sleep and started doing research on the computer. It is the Accutane! He isn't the only one. I have bookmarked blogs and have discovered that there are many young men out there like my son. This is such an unreported side effect because it's such a sensitive issue. This is life changing...this is something young men should not have to deal with.... My son is a great looking young man and recently asked me...Who would marry me mom?...Broke my heart....Since my discovery 2 months ago we have another Urology appointment in Oct and I plan on having my son tested for everything. I only pray that this will not be permanent. I would appreciate any help or suggestions for us to deal with this. MOMs! Don't put your sons on accutane!

Thanks for your time...from a very worried Mom. [Removed]

I agree, don't put your kids on accutane for 2 full years

zermatt said:

Accutane & Erectile Dysfunction- This drug is poison! Moms- Don't let your sons take this!

I'm writing on behalf of my 19 year old son. He started taking Isotretinoin (Accutane)in April of 2007. He was on it for at least 2 years.

A year ago he confided in me that he was impotent. (How difficult that must have been for him to tell me...) He had a normal healthy sex life before this medication. We are in the process of having things checked out.

The first urologist basically did a prostate check and told him it was in his head. He has always maintained that is was not in his head that something wasn't "right". He's gone through a horrific year wondering what's wrong with him. 2 months ago I couldn't sleep and started doing research on the computer. It is the Accutane! He isn't the only one. I have bookmarked blogs and have discovered that there are many young men out there like my son. This is such an unreported side effect because it's such a sensitive issue. This is life changing...this is something young men should not have to deal with.... My son is a great looking young man and recently asked me...Who would marry me mom?...Broke my heart....Since my discovery 2 months ago we have another Urology appointment in Oct and I plan on having my son tested for everything. I only pray that this will not be permanent. I would appreciate any help or suggestions for us to deal with this. MOMs! Don't put your sons on accutane!

Thanks for your time...from a very worried Mom. [Removed]

Here's my story. I took a course of the drug 3 years ago. The doctor put me on a 40mg dose, then upped it to 80mg, then finally 120mg for the last few months. I took it for a total of 6 months. I suffered moderate side effects while on the drug like dry skin and lips, sun sensitivity, and nausea. Also, I experienced side effects which I did not realize were side effects at the time: stuff like headaches, trouble concentrating, fatigue, nasal problems. I was going to school at the time and I chalked it up to stress and not enough sleep.

Anyway, the drug cleared my skin pretty well (at least for a while). However, in the first few years after taking the medication, I noticed a few weird problems emerging:

-trouble concentrating

-memory problems

-fatigue everyday

-constant ringing in the ears

-sensitivity to light

-hair loss

-digestive problems

-severe sinus problems (sinusitis)

-daily headaches

-muscle weakness and tremors

-back and neck pain

-numbness in the face and extremities

-anemia

-stiffness in muscles and joints

-dry mucous membranes (Sjogren's syndrome) dry nose, dry mouth, dry eyes

-depression and thoughts of suicide

Now, I suffer daily from these problems. These problems came on gradually over the course of 3 years and I had no reason to believe that they were related to the Accutane. I was tipped off to the possibility of the Accutane connection by a Rheumatologist whom I visited.

Recently, a number of these problems have suddenly become worse. I am a student at a top university in the US and I have had to take a leave of absence because of the severity of my symptoms. Honestly, right now I am in a state of extreme depression regarding the damage this drug has done to my body.

Most people do not understand that Accutane is a chemotherapy drug. The goal of any chemotherapy is to kill cancerous cells in the body. But chemo works by poisoning the body and hoping to kill the cancer in the process. Simply put, Accutane is poison. Specifically, Accutane works by limiting the amount of times rapidly proliferating cells (usually cancer) in the body can divide. Oil cells in the skin are in such a category, and so Accutane shuts them down, reducing acne. However, many other cells in the body also are rapidly proliferating, and so Accutane often kills those cells also. This can cause many, many problems in the body.

Taking Accutane is like making a deal with the devil. Yes, it might clear your acne now, but what kind of debilitating side effects will you have in the future? I cried tears of joy when I got the prescription from my doctor, but now I cry tears of agony daily at the problems I have due to this terrible drug.

TLDR: Accutane is a poisonous chemotherapy drug. Taking Accutane now can cause severe side effects even years later. Do not take this horrible drug unless you want to throw your life away.

EDIT: I got my medical records and corrected some information.

Hang in there Nate...We're at the beginning of realizing what this drug can do. It has been hard but we take one day at a time. Put one foot in front of the other and work the problem. After you work the problem...try and find something peaceful to do. Go to the beach, enjoy your dog...etc...and not sure about your faith but praying never hurts!

I certainly regret Accutane. I've had many side effects following it: Eye infections, Migraines, IBD, horrible memory, abnormal left rib growth.

I did a course of 80mg a day for 6 months and following the treatment, my health went down hill. I can't focus on anything except side effects headaches, IBD, and breathing problems possibly due to my rib deformity. I'm always having panic attacks, college has been hard due to me being unable to focus on anything. My bones are being affected more each day. My back hurts in the morning and my left rib bone extrudes out more and more. It's also abnormally thick compared to my left which may be why it's affecting my lung capacity. Accutane is my biggest regret...acne is nothing compared to my life after isotretinoin and I just wish I knew that before. I hesitated to take the medicine and almost didn't. I should have just let it go...clear skin isn't such a big deal anymore. I wish I could fix my bones and stomach...but it's too late.

Well the way i see it girls that have taken accutane are basically ruined for life

hollowed-out shells with only a small semblance of still being human walking around blindly

with their clear skin but soulless faces. zombies.

Accutane basically destroys the DNA, the woman's eggs are forever spoiled and the womb becomes

nothing more than a vessel for deformed stillborn babies.

I would never put my seed into these ruined vessels, i would rather fuk an alien. Not that they even

have any lubrication left on their vaginas to even facilitate such an act.

yours truly

- bio_nerd

I copied this from a topic I made this morning.

First, I am a 25 year old male and in (or at least was) good health. I have dealt with acne since around the age of 15 or 16. I tried so many different things over the years: topicals, antibiotics, diet changes, vitamins, doing nothing, etc and I couldn't find anything that worked very well. It was always sort of at bad end moderate, but then at one point last year it just inexplicably became many times worse and started scarring (which really depressed me) which is why I used accutane.

I did a 4 month course of 20/20/30/20 and it has been almost 6 months since I have finished. I will say this, it did work to get rid of my acne. My skin is now >95% clear and I occasionally get a small blemish which pretty much goes away on its own. I have 2 or 3 small scars from during the course, but they're small and seem to be improving on their own.

During the actual course, I had only a few typical side effects. I had chapped lips, an occasional minor back pain (which very well may have been from other things) and some hair shedding. Also, the oil in my hair almost completely disappeared (prior it would get pretty oily just overnight).

It was after within the month or two after the course was over though, that the real problems started. Guys, do not risk this risk. I am now experiencing ED and I can assure you it is absolutely because of this drug. While I can still function, erections are not as strong as they used to be, they are difficult to obtain (prior, it was difficult for me not to obtain one if I was within 10 feet of an attractive woman), they go away quickly, and libido is severely diminished. At some point after it started, I experienced a brief recovery period but the problem came back.

Some people will tell you that it's psychological, but it's not. For one, before I took accutane and even when my acne was at my worst and it depressed me, I never had this problem. Second, I have had a complete loss of nocturnal/spontaneous erections, if my problems were psychological then at least these would still be occurring. Third, this started after my course was over and after I stopped thinking about accutane ( I also didn't think/worry about this as a side effect, it just happened).

The only hope I have is that this is temporary. Within the last few weeks my hair started becoming oily again and shedding less, so I am praying that this means my body is slowly returning to normal.

I need to reiterate, side effects may not appear until after your course. Side effects may not appear until after your course. Side effects may not appear until after your course.

I made the mistake of thinking that I could take the drug, and just drop it if the side effects became too bad. But as I said, during the course my side effects were practically non existent (aside from hair shedding, which I don't care about anymore anyway; if you think hair loss is scary, I can tell you it is absolutely meaningless compared to sexual dysfunction). It wasn't until after it was done and I thought I could go on my merry, acne free-way that ED appeared.

Guys (and girls) do not take this drug. Especially if you're still a teenager, your body is still changing and you have a good chance of just outgrowing your acne. I would, in a heartbeat, take my horrible acne back to have the rest of my body back to normal.

If you do take it, statistically speaking it is very unlikely that what happened me will happen to you. But it's not worth the risk. You could be throwing away the best experience life has to offer (not to mention you may get other severe side effects that I don't have) . I thought I could just take the drug and finally get on with a normal life afterward. The problem is that now I don't have much of a life a get on with.

Honestly, too, when you have this problem it makes care much less about the rest of your life. 10 months ago, I thought at this point I would be ecstatic and going out more and enjoying life more with clear skin. Now my skin is petty darn good and I don't even give a ****. Nearly every waking moment I'm hoping that my body will keep going back to the way it was and that I can put this behind me. Trust me, you do not want this.

Some people may post in here and try to say that my problem was not caused by accutane, but from something else. Well, it was and I can say this with 100% certainty. This doesn't happen to many people, but it can happen, and it can happen to you. Do some research and you'll see that my experience is not unique. Or better yet, just leave the accutane posts altogether and put the thought of using this drug out of your mind for good.

I also want to add something, as I left this out and it's just as important as the rest. I feel like I'm also losing my sense of what sex is like and how it made me feel to be with someone that I really cared about; it's something that I can't relate to or remember anymore. My memories don't really even give me an emotional response anymore. The only way I can try to to explain this better is with an analogy; from what I understand, when a person loses his vision, he can still see pictures in his mind/dreams for while, but eventually that goes away and dreams become sounds only.

Well, that's what I feel like, I feel like I'm slowly losing a sense. I no longer get that hard to describe feeling in my stomach when I'm around a girl that like, I simply just don't feel anything. I can look at woman and objectively determine that she's attractive, but it doesn't give me the emotional and physical sensations that it used to. Sort of like how you can just look at a sunset or the stars and just feel that they're beautiful, there's no objective reason why.

About a year ago I was really bummed out for a while about a girl that I wanted but couldn't be with and at that time all I wanted was for that feeling to go away. Now I would give anything to feel that kind of sadness again.

EDIT / UPDATE: It has been over a year since I've finished taking this stuff. My health has improved somewhat, but I'm still nowhere near my old self or to the point where I could even consider a relationship withsomeone. A lot of my acne has also come back. About as bad as it used to be on my forehead, but my cheeks are relatively clear. At this point, I feel like I've permanently traded some of my health for less then year of clear skin. Not worth it.