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Hello hello!
Well it has been a while since I haunted the org but I wanted to come back and share my experience....
About a year ago i started - most predictably - to break out pretty badly again.
For almost a decade I had struggled with acne and had been on endless antibiotics, used every otc product going, as well all the prescription creams, gels etc numerous times. And still the return of my acne was as certain as death and taxes.
I got offered accutane at 17 and I wish to GOD I had done it then - instead of being so scared of the side effects. I listened too much to the horror stories of others instead of using my own judgement and doing what I wanted. The next 7 years of torture could have been avoided...but I prefer to not dwell on that so much!
Anyways when it got bad again about a year ago I had had the last straw. I finally decided to risk it and take accutane.
I finished it about 3 months ago and have been clear since. It wasn't easy though - the sideys were hell. Painful and embarassing is an understatement. LOTS of vaseline and moisturiser, and dry peeling scaly skin and hair loss. My face and lips were so painful at times I couldn't laugh or smile or kiss my fiance. Literally I could NOT smile! And my skin was always red and flushed post box red under fl.lighting - not good in an office! I still go red easily now even just being warm or after washing - but I am EXTREMELY pale anyways!! Buuuut...7 months of that mini hell was worth it i feel to be break out hell free now! I can't emphasise enough how acne ruined my adolescence and shaped me into the insecure and low self esteemed being I am today. I just wish I'd done it all those years ago and things would be so different for me today.
But back to not dwelling.
I will say though, that there have been negative consequences....unfortunately I was stupid and over exercised my joints during my treatment. This has left me in pain which is very extreme some days. My neck, spine, lower back, knees, elbows, ankles, wrists......sometimes I can't sleep because they ache so bad. I can't walk for miles like I used to, I can't use my treadmill instead I use a trampoline (cos I can't not exercise at all - I like to punish myself I guess!) A lot of this is my fault though, so I try not to moan too much to my partner although I'm sure he wouldn't agree lol. I take a lot of pain killers and I take glucosamine and msm (when i remember) and hopefully I won't feel like an OAP forever!!!
Overall I wish I had listened to my heart and braved through the drug back then instead of wasting all this time and life. I feel so incredibly good about myself - finally! I just got a fringe which I was always too scared to do before cos of my skin and I have never felt so good about myself and my skin (It is NOT perfect!) but I finally feel beautiful and confident again and good enough for anyone!
Sorry for rambling but I hope this helps those who are on the fence like I was for all those years!
xx
P.S I should really address the mood changes - yes I experienced low mood and depression but I am prone to that anyway. There are the well known links to suicide with this drug and this is one of the reasons I declined it - because my dad had committed suicide a few months before I got offered it. I was so depressed because of my skin anyway that I worried about what I 'might' do on this drug after what dad had just done. Well, the reality is that had I taken it I would have experienced a happier mood once my acne cleared and before any serious scarring, I just didn't think of it like this until now. This doesn't go for everyone - I'm just saying this is how I feel about myself personally. My mood lifted at the end of the treatment cos my acne had cleared. I have admittedly have felt suicidal before but this drug never pushed any of these thoughts to the forefront.
Thanks for reading this essay! lol
Feel free to pm me if you want to ask anything at all. x
Oh my you are extremely beautiful you didnt even need the accutane to feel good about yourself...
Accutane got rid of my moderate long-term acne. I used to have these big, painful, antibiotic and cosmetic-resistant cysts that made me feel like I was worth nothing. I got on Accutane, and with the exception of extremely dry lips I cured my acne painlessly.
I am so thankful I went on this drug. Nothing else had worked until Accutane.
Moderate/Occasionally cystic acne sufferer...too many years!
On Accutane for 4 months, 40mg per day.
Side Effects: Skin Dryness/Peeling
My experience with Accutane was very positive overall. It made my acne slightly worse at first, but not significantly worse, in my experience. Then my skin cleared up! The dry skin was definately present, and I had to be very consistent with moisturizing. The dryness was the worst around my mouth, and often I would put vaseline on the area before bed. With dryness comes skin peeling, which can just be awkward in public. To manage this, I would make regular trips to the bathroom to just check up, and rub away any peeling skin in the middle of the day so it wouldn't flake off when I was talking to someone, or something! This was not really that inconvenient, just a precaution to manage the dryness.
And that's basically the only side effect I had to deal with. After I stopped Accutane my moderate acne eventually came back (Accutane is not a cure, after all) but I no longer get cysts. For people with bad cystic acne, this can really help you and change your skin. For people with just moderate acne, it will help while you're on it, but you will probably see a lot of that come back once you're off it again. Just discuss it with your doctor and see what their suggestions are.
Overall, my experience was definately positive. I mean, a little dryness and peeling can happen anyway...not to downplay the effects of Accutane--that's the dryest and the peely-est I've ever been, but it's small price to pay, and its easily managed with simple changes to your routine.
For anyone who is experiencing other bad side effects besides dryness, I would think you should decrease your dosage. I know a lot of doctors like to increase people's dosages gradually to try and nuke the acne away, but the fact is that for most people, Accutane will not be a cure, and some newer studies have shown that larger dosages don't actually help more. Also, some people, after taking an initial major course, decrease to taking just a few pills per week, and this has also be shown to possibly be effective as a maintenance possibility. Basically what I'm trying to say is that a higher dosage might have more cons than pros, and you shouldn't feel bad if you have to take a lower dose to get rid of some side effects, because it might work just as well.
Yo
I havnt been on here for a long time, but I've just got 2 new spots and that reminded me to come on here and tell you about my experince.
I'm 22 male and live in the UK. I had really bad acne so I went on accutane on the 31st of January 2009.
I went to the dermatologist at Kings college hospital, they were ok but it was kinda annoying that I saw a differnt doctor each time I went, I didnt feel like they could judge my progress properly by reading somebody elses notes. I also often had to chase up my appointments as they just didnt send them to me.
I started out on a low dose aswel as some sort of steroid drug that was meant to prevent the IB (I think this worked as I didnt have any massive flareups).
After a month I came off the steriods and they upped my dose of accutane. I had all the usual side effects of accutane, dry lips, hot flushes and aching back. I also used to take a cod liver oil tablet with my accutane to slow the release into the bloodstream.
I took my last pill on the 16th of September. So my whole course was 8 months.
I've now been off the pills for 6months and my skins still pretty good. Yeh I still get the odd spot, but who doesnt? The only differnce is that when I get one I worry that its all coming up again, but it hasnt so far. Right now, I've got 3 spots on my face and I'm very happy with that compared to before!
To maintain my skin I use Cetaphil and moisturize with Simple moisturizer.
Thats about it, I hope this helps some of you, I know how bad it can be to have really bad acne, but it gets better!
I dont really visit this site often, but you can PM me on facebook if you wanna ask any questions. My names Oli Kingston, I'm in the Brighton network.
I'm a 20 year old male, that had moderate acne. I went on accutane in Sept. It made me break out horribly until about month 4. I've been completely for two months and now I've been off it for two weeks and I'm starting to notice very small whiteheads. It's worrying me so much, I just pray it doesn't get worse. If it doesn't get worse I'd say I had a positive experience. Just don't want to break out again. Negative effects - eczema, chapped lips, headaches, depressed.
I am so happy to writing on this forum right now. Seven months ago I was reading through all of these stories hoping i'd get to write one in the future. Hoping I wouldn't have to write a post in the negative experience forum. Hooray!
So I am a 15 year old girl who has struggled with acne since maybe seventh grade. It seemed I was the only person at my middle school who had to deal with acne at the time, which really sucked. So I get to high school and my skin doesn't look that bad. It was actually perfectly clear for most of first semester. Then second semester, my whole forehead was covered with little bumps, and I was getting whiteheads on other parts of my face too. Then summer came and I started getting huge cysts on my cheeks and on the sides of my chin. And my skin was super oily. To be honest, I would pick at them just cuz i'm really OCD-ish, and was stupid. So my friend's mom told my mom about a dermatologist her son had gone to. And how her son went on this miracle drug Accutane.
So after eight weeks of waiting. (my derm forgot to register me in i-pledge until after i already waited four weeks) i got to start accutane in september!
For those eight weeks i had been prescribed epiduo, some antibiotics, and tazorac, and clindagel.
My accutane experience went really well. I had no IB (hooray), but my skin did get really dry. My hands were the worst. They got bright red and cracked, and it was horrible. I had some minor joint pain. My back hurt a little for the first couple months, and my knee.
The worst side effect by far though was dry eyes. They got SO RED. I looked like I cried constantly, or was doing drugs. They hurt so bad. I used to be scared to use eye drops, but accutane forced me to get over that fear because they hurt so bad.
Another side effect was some slight depression. I don't know for sure if this was accutane or not though. I am a high school student who gets straight A's and has a lot of stress. But for many days in a row i would just break down crying in my room. But like I said, i don't know if this was accutane or not.
My skin was clear after about 5-6 weeks. With exception to one new pimple at christmas time. I did get a giant cyst on my back though when I only had one week left of treatment, which kind of worried me.
here's my dosage info (and i am 125 lb)
month 1: 40mg
month 2: 60mg
month 3: 60mg
month 4: 60mg
month 5: 60 mg
So now i've been off of accutane for 5 weeks and have had no acne so far. My eyes are just about normal again, and I have no joint pain. My skin is still kind of dry, but lotion works fine.
I am worried my skin will get worse again though, just because i'm so young and that my skin was so oily to begin with.
Accutane overall worked great for me!!
I have dealt with cystic acne on and off for most of my life. I had tried everything from creams, antibiotics, spiro (which worked well but read about cancer causing properties so stopped), and birth control (Yaz worked well but has bad side effects too). At age 32 I decided that I would like to have a baby at some point in the future and there was no way I would be able to take any of these acne treatments while pregnant. My dermatologist suggested Accutane and I told her that I would think about it. As a R.N., I have a fairly good grasp of medications and side effects so the thought of taking Accutane scared me to death. I went back and forth for about a month and read way to much on the internet. Eventually my dermatologist convinced me to give it a try and I am so glad that I did. I started with 20mg/2 x day for 2 months and then went to 30mg/2 x day for 4 months (I am 120 lbs). I only had one pimple pop up the first month and then by the 3rd month my skin was as clear as it was when I was a small child. The only side effects that I had were dry lips, slighlty dry skin, and an occasional bloody nose. These side effects were very minor. I can't say that Accutane will be this easy for everyone but for me it was the best thing that I ever did for my skin. I wish that I had done it years ago!!!!!
Products that I used during treatment:
Aquaphor (carry it with you)
Aveno body lotion
Purpose face wash
Purpose face lotion with 30SPF
Aveno SPF 70 if going into sun
Hat if in sun
Saline Spray for nose
Dove sensitive skin body wash
Warning: I used a perfumed body lotion that I had used with no problem before Accutane and it caused my hands to break out with little bumps. Be careful with perfumes because your skin is extra sensitive. Also use hand soaps without perfumes.
I was on 27~ mg a day for 6 months, my acne was severe, lot of cysts.
Side effects was annoying, those dry lips, and still dry now, red face, muscle, joints pain, and stopped growth, havent gained any weight or height in those 6 months -.-
I am about 70% clear and acne still healing.
Was it worth? Hell yes
I had always had acne and some cystic acne during my monthly cycle. But right after I turned 26 (Nov 2007) my face broke out insanely...also I would like to say that I also have roscea diagnosed when I was 16. Well anyway went to the Derm and right off she mentioned Accutane which I will say scared the crap out of me. I had already done the research and knew all the side effects. So needless to say I refused. Well I went on for over a year on Doxycycline it helped a tiny bit. Finally went back to the derm..and she of course went back to suggesting Accutane in the nicest way she asked me why I would want to live with my skin the way it was. And I realized that this why MY only chance at ever having clear skin. So fears set aside I did it. And boy was I amazed!! Skin clearer within 2 wks..dry as ever yes , but clear! Yes I know there is the side effects and yes I did have a lot of them... joint aches-the excessive dryness-my husband even said I was more irritable...but on that who knows 
! Anyway I have been off Accutane for almost 6 mo. now and while my face is still red (due to the roscea..though definetly not as bad and very eassily covered with little make up) I no longer have to worry about ever waking up and looking in the mirror and feeling the way I did! And I know it is different for everyone. I am happy I did it. Wish I would of done it right when it was offered to me instead of waiting a whole year!
I had always had acne and some cystic acne during my monthly cycle. But right after I turned 26 (Nov 2007) my face broke out insanely...also I would like to say that I also have roscea diagnosed when I was 16. Well anyway went to the Derm and right off she mentioned Accutane which I will say scared the crap out of me. I had already done the research and knew all the side effects. So needless to say I refused. Well I went on for over a year on Doxycycline it helped a tiny bit. Finally went back to the derm..and she of course went back to suggesting Accutane in the nicest way she asked me why I would want to live with my skin the way it was. And I realized that this why MY only chance at ever having clear skin. So fears set aside I did it. And boy was I amazed!! Skin clearer within 2 wks..dry as ever yes , but clear! Yes I know there is the side effects and yes I did have a lot of them... joint aches-the excessive dryness-my husband even said I was more irritable...but on that who knows
I've been trying to decided whether I should post under Positive Experiences, or if I should post under Negative Experiences. Positive won that one, I guess.
So, let's start with the basics:
Age: 20
Sex: Female
Acne: Severe (inflammatory- forehead, cheeks, jawline)
Accutane Start: mid-June, 2009
Accutane End: December, 2009
Dosage: 40 mg (June-Sept); 60mg (Oct-Dec)
Side Effects: Dry skin, eyes and lips; excessive perspiration (embarrassing!!); anaemia; hypopigmentation
My acne always got me down. Insensitive people didn't help make it any better. I talked to my GP, and she referred me to a dermatologist. After trying nearly everything under the sun (topicals, retinoids, the world of antibiotics etc.), she prescribed (Ro)Accutane.
I had no severe problems, really. After two months my face was siginificantly less oily, then it was just dry! Flaky and dry! As in, huge patches of skin were flaking off of my face! Kinda gross, I know.
By October, my improvement had reached a standstill, so my dermatologist upped my dosage. By December, my skin was SO smooth! I loved it! It lasted until February of this year, then things started going downhill. I noticed my face was getting oilier. I tried to ignore it. Then a couple bumps popped up, nothing to be alarmed about, right? Use some BP and move on! Right.
Between February 2010 and now, my face became just as oily as it had been pre-Accutane, and new bumps are appearing daily (seems like hourly, though). My dermatologist has put on a BP in the A.M. and Differin in the P.M. routine (again). I hope it works, because I certainly am starting to feel as though I'm back at square one.
All in all though, I'd still recommend Accutane. I know everyone's system reacts differently, but I suffered relatively mild side effects, and my skin did clear up, almost perfectly so!
My god - roaccutane is such a fantastic drug.... It has saved my whole life.
I was a bright reddy spotty loser at school - with no girlfriend and most people just avoided me. Life is so much better acne lesss - its unbelievable. the cool boys in my school are including in their gangs and telling me to ditch the outcast friends i used top have tio hang around with. Girls are looking at me with amazment at the transformation....
I have girlfriends, boyfriends all sorts of frriends now - this drug is totally a god sent. My mother keeps bull;shitting about how she thinks shud come off it becos im about to sit my gcses in like 2 weeks and she claims that its made me unmotivated and that im doing no work - what crap - she doeswnt understand the most important things with exams is to relax (thats how i passed my orals) and i need this drug........
I advocate it completely andf i love hoffmann laroche.
Hi Folks,
Like you guys, i had an acne prone skin since last 2009. I played soccer very much during my university life and nothing had distracted me. I was quite popular guy in my uni with sporty body too. I had one or two pimples every few months and i didnt care abt it. I even didnt know what is acne unitll a big disaster came and shoved my life. After first semester , i got tiny whiteheads on my face esp on my cheek. I didnt care and just let it be. Then i worked part time untill late nights, eat unhealthy, late night sleep , sex , etc....... After one month, i noticed that i had tiny bumps under my skin whenever i felt it and not comfortable at all. So i tried to squeeze out. Then i just went to internet and looked for some remedies. I used tea tree oil, lemon, baking soda, u name it pls. What was the result ? Totally freaked out and my face became so ugly. I felt very down and desperated to look for cure. It was a big mistake guys.
Then my sister brought me to private facial and she said she could cure it. What she did was squeezed out every single pimples. 
So pain , So hurt and sometime tears came down. So after i did about 6 sessions , my face became clam but so many red marks and scars. Luckily, she was professional and my scars were not too deep. Then my uni reopened for second semester and my frds asked me what the hell was happened during the holidays. Then i noticed a word called " Break Out " Sigh.... Then those days were hell high way for me. I rejected all invitations from parties as well as from my frds. But i still playing soccer with my friends. Then after 4 mnths , my acne problems were still not okay for me and i went to the dermatologisit for cure. He prescirbed me doxycycline and blamed me for picking acne with scars and reminded me not to do it again. So i took for 3 mnths but still not 100 % cure.
( P.S my ance was not so bad but moderate )
Cut from long story to short , my doctor finally described me " ACCUTANE " for 6 mths.
40 - 1 month ( Terrible break outs , No more oil , Lip dry, hair fall , joint pain )
60 - 1 month ( little break out, red face, No more oil, Lip Dry , Hair fall )
60 - 1 month ( No more break out, scars , No more oil, Lip dry , Hair fall )
60 - 1 month ( Perfect , No more oil , Lip Dry , Hair fall )
40 - 2 mths ( perfect, scars faded a bit , Lip dry , hair fall )
I use cetaphil for my cleanser and loreal for moisturizer )
After i had done my missions on accutane , i felt so lucky and gained my confidence back . But still have scars but not too visible. Dry lip gone after 1 week and hair got back to normal state. Accutane saved my life.
So i was off for 2 months already but after one month the little oil came back so i scared my acne will follow up later. But I found something which can control oil very well. That is Milk Of Magnesia. I keep my diet , my hygiene very much and try to avoid fast food as much as i can. So i hope i can stay clear for months to years.
Btw, i am going to be 21 and i suffered acne for 1 year plus.
Feel free to pm me if you have any idea from me.
God Bless U.
Since i was 14 years old i've had moderate acne but as i got older my acne got so much worst. My former dermatologist prescribed me medication for my acne but nothing worked! Currently i am taking Claravis 30 mg a day and i have to say i am shocked! At first, i had an initial breakout and i wanted to give up but i stood strong! Now my face is clearing up tremendously even though I had a couple headaches here and there. Eventually I got through it and now i am at the beginning of my second month and can't wait to see the results at the end. =D I'm just really scared of my acne coming back once i'm done with this, Did that happen to anyone?
At 19 I had a round of 'tane. 60mg/day for 4 months.
Side effects were really dry lips and eyes, and bad cheeks.
However, by the end of month 2 my skin was compelety clear, and stayed that way for about 4 or 5 months. 2 years later I am starting round 2 of 'tane just to clear up what has come back. The drug does what its supposed to very well imo and I have (atm) no regrets of taking it.
Accutane was great for me, another four days and I'm done, so in a nutshell:
Mild Acne, Male, 17 years old.
Month 1 - 20mg
Month 2 - 40mg
Month 3 - 60mg
Month 4 - 60mg
Month 5 - 60mg
Month 6 - 60mg
Side Effects: Dry skin/lips, occasional joint pains, overall tiredness. Some days I got really pissy and wanted to yell at everybody, b*tchy overall mood. Thats about it when it comes to side effects.
Overall Experience was great. ALL my acne is now gone, and I couldn't be happier with my decision to go on Accutane. I would be still dealing with acne if I had not. To anybody thats worrying about side effects, I can tell you I only had minor ones, and the end result greatly outweighed them.
At 25 years old I had tried prescription treatments for acne for 10 years, including minocycline, tetracycline, erythromycin, topical erythromycin, benzaclin, retin-a, aczone, bactrim, and birth control pills. Finally I went to a dermatologist (all other treatments were prescribed by my GP) and he put me on 60 mg of accutane for 6 months (I weighed between 140 and 150 lbs. during this time).
Side effects: dry skin, dry lips, joint pain.
My course was practically a textbook case... I was prescribed a moderate amount of accutane for my weight, my face got worse the first month and then slowly improved over the next 5 months. I got the normal side effects and after a month of ending accutane all the side effects had gone away.
Before starting accutane I was frightened by the things I read. I was sure every bad side effect would happen to me. But I was also at a point where I didn't care anymore, I would rather have had joint pain the rest of my life than deal with acne. Luckily it didn't come to that, my face cleared up beautifully and the joint pain went away.
I always promised myself I would come back and leave a positive post in this folder if accutane worked for me, then I kept not wanting to do it because I was afraid the acne would come back. So far it has been 6 months since I stopped taking accutane and my skin is so clear I have to pinch myself every morning to make sure I'm not dreaming.
I know my acne may come back, and if it does I will try my hardest to get a doctor to prescribe accutane again. It is the only thing that has ever really worked for me. Good luck to everyone!
When I was 34 I made the decision to take accutane. I had suffered with acne since in my teens and it was controlled for most of my twenties through birth control. After getting married I decided to stop the BC so that I could have children (I have 2 kids). After being off the BC my skin returned to it's old ways, extremely oily, break outs, painful cysts etc.....very embarrassing for a woman in mid 30's working in a professional environment. My signature tells you the dosage I took and the products I've used while on the meds. My regimine was a low dose one which I was carefully monitored by my doctor. In a nutshell, it was the best decision I ever made. I now have the confidence to look at people in the face without worrying what they thought of my skin, there's no more pain of the cysts that would develop and dealing with cortisone injections, no more makeup and no more spending money on acne products. It's been almost 3 years since my course ended and my skin isn't perfect, I do still get little pimples here and there but it's nothing compared to the cysts I was dealing with. It has made me a happier and more confident person.
Age: 21
Sex: F
Dosage: 20mg for 6months
Acne: Moderate
Years of acne - from 14years old to before accutane
The only thing I regret was waiting until my 20's to take accutane because i was too scared too after hearing the "horror" stories. Accutane gave me my life back, I don't know how to express how grateful and serious i am when i say that. I used to be obsessed with my skin and afraid to do things/see people because of my breakouts. I've been on many many kinds of antibiotics long term (which totally ruined my health/immune system) and topical drugs for acne - all the medications were just a temporary cure.
Even though accutane did give me insomnia while on it I'm not complaining because I remember when I had acne, I said to myself... "I would trade anything to have nice skin" because living in shame and fear was depressing and painful. Insomnia < Nice Skin...
I would stay on accutane forever if i could just to maintain oil free skin but I can't. Try accutane if you want to start your life. Don't be afraid of those horror stories and wait around because you'll just end up scarring your skin and wasting time.
Wow! You never would think of all the people who go through the same thing I did.. I have had severe acne since i was 14 years old and I am now 20. Growing up with a severe anxiety disorder going on a medication that had " severe side effects was not an option." So for the past 5 years I had weekly facials, used every topical cleanser out there, and used the best make up money can buy. Sometimes it's just not enough. I finally told myself no matter how scared I was so go on accutane it had to be better than living the way I was. Scared, alone, and unwilling to leave my house unless I was wrapped up in a hoodie and sunglasses so people couldnt recognize me, I was devastated. I felt like I had lost so much of my childhood and I was not going to waste anymore of my time. So I went to this amazing dermatologist and explained to him how I was feeling. He assured me that I would feel a lot better once my face cleared up and that after 5 months I wont ever have to worry about acne again. I am on my last month of accutane and my only regret is not going on it sooner.
My side effects:
Dry lips
Rash on forearms
Face pealing a little bit
People going on it:
Even if your lips are not dry yet just keep applying aguaphor to your lips and moisturizor all over your body before bed
take a shower every other day.. not everyday so you dont wash away your natural oils in skin and hair
drink LOTS of water.. it speeds up the healing process of your skin by keeping it hydrated
and just stay positive no that this is it.. its going to work and you are going to feel and look beautiful in just a short time
Dosages
first month
40mg a day
second month
40mg a day
third/fourth month
40mg in am 40 mg pm
5/6 month 60mg am 30 mg pm