Acne.org Products
I am a 170 pound male, so I calculated that the lowest recommended cumulative dose for me is around 9300. My dermatologist has only prescribed me 5 months of accutane because I am away at college now and it would be a pain to have to make the long drive home to get another month. At the end of this 5th month I'll be at a cumulative dose of 8400. Right now I'm about 4 months and 1 week into my treatment and my skin is doing really well, so maybe if I just finish this month I'll be ok.
Is this enough to keep me clear or is it really necessary to reach the recommended cumulative dose?
On a side note, my friend here at school never finished his accutane course but still has the pills and told me I can take some of his for a couple weeks just to reach my recommended cumulative dose. Unfortunately, they are expired. Would it be safe to take them or should I just stop after my 5 months?
To minimise the chance of relapse post-Accutane, studies have consistently shown that patients need to take 120-150mg/kg of Accutane during their course:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3509883/pdf/jcad_5_11_17.pdf
http://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/90646
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835909/pdf/de0103_0162.pdf
If you stop at 5 months, you would have only have taken 109mg/kg.
Relapse is most common in younger patients, in women with hormonally driven acne, and when goal cumulative dosing is not achieved.