thanks for this.

I wonder if the betamethasone valerate cream, and oral methylprednisolone also gave significant effects?

Here is a review of low dose therapy for acne

acne.pdf

acne.pdf

Im a little confused. So the low dose regimen can vary from 20 mg a day to every other day to once a week?

The terms are not strictly defined and their definition has changed over time as the administration practices of accutane have evolved.

Standard dose for many years was 1 mg/kg and this was followed by the vast majority of doctors. This has changed in recent years to around .5 mg/kg. Previously .5 mg/kg would have been considered low dose, but because so many doctors are preferring this dose nowadays, it's kind of become the de facto standard dose.

Still, as far as studies define it, anything equal to or less than .5 mg/kg is low dose therapy.

What I personally promote and what some researchers have studies is an ultra-low dose course of accutane (around 10 mg per day) to get rid of persistent, mild adult acne and large pores. Look at when I joined for an indication of how long I've been dealing with this. I am currently on day 25 of 10 mg per day.

thanks for the response. What about for those with moderate acne, and seborrheic dermatitis? 20 mg a day?

BTW, I noticed you live in Germany. I have some questions regarding this:

1) I think the 0.5mg /kg is the de-facto dosage only in europe. Doctors in America still use 1mg/kg.

2) Do you see a lot of people with acne or rosacea/skin problems in germany? It is quite rampant in america

thanks!

Low dose seems to work for seborrheic dermatitis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16285647

20 mg per day would be overkill I think as 10 mg or even lower drastically reduces sebaceous gland size and sebum output. There's no need for a higher dose.

I actually currently live in America and moved here in March 2012. Yes doctors still use the 1 mg/kg, but based on the posts around here, it seems to be less common.

Acne rates are about the same in America and Germany among the white population from my personal experience. It seems like a lot of women especially have some form of mild acne even into adulthood. Rosacea is more common in Germany, but that's because people are lighter skinned on average.

what about 20 mg per day for moderate body acne?

Do you moisturize even on low dose accutane?

Again 10 mg should be sufficient and sides and IB will be worse with 20. Both will work however. If you just have mild or moderate acne, 10 mg should be fine. Even if you plan on 20, I would definitely do the first couple of months on 10 to minimize IB.

I moisturize both morning and night. I am using tazorac .1% gel too to get rid of photoaging and improve skin texture, but it's also drying so I need moisture. It doesn't help that I started using accutane in the dead of winter (January 14).

which moisturizer do you use, if you do not mind me asking?

I think there is a huge difference between mild and moderate acne. Mild is like 2-3 inflamed pimples and clogged pores

My moderate acne on back consists of 10-15 inflamed pimples, some that are big

I use Cetaphil Moisturizing cream at night and Olay Complete Sensitive during the morning as it has SPF 15. I have zero pimples and a few clogged pores. I am using accutane primarily to have healthier looking skin.

The study I posted showed that there was improvement at 10 mg almost to the same degree as at 20.

Do you have any accutane? Did you order it online?

I did not order online, I receieved it from a dermatologist.

I am currently taking 20 mg 4x a week. Is this the same as taking 10 mg every day?

Should be roughly the same since isotretinoin has an elimination half-life of 21 hours. Still, it would probably be somewhat preferably to be on 10 mg a day since your lips will probably dry out more with the 20 mg punch rather than a consistent 10 mg a day. At least this is what I found when I was taking 20 mg rather than 10.

Leereworte, how did you obtain 10mg accutane pills? I want to get it via pharmacy, but no pharmacies have 10mg accutane pills... they only carry 20 mg pills

I wanted to take 10mg a day, but since that is not an option (unless i purchase it via online, which I do not believe to be a good idea), 20 mg is the only way to go.

My lips will probably dry out more, but would taking 20mg 3-4 x a week yield similar side effects as taking 10mg a day?

I typically do this: monday 20mg pill. Wednesday 20mg pill, friday 20mg saturday 20mg pill. Then rinse and repeat.

So thast 80mg per week divided by 7= 11 mg per day. Or should I be taking only 3 20mg pills per week ?

I can get 5 mg pills too. There's no risk buying online if you know where to go. I will make a thread one day showing the pills I've purchased online.

4 x 20 vs 10x7 shouldn't really matter. I wouldn't waste time worrying about it. It's primarily about cumulative dosage with accutane.