I'm male and have struggled with acne since I was 22 (hit me rather late). At 26 I decided to go to the derm to get it sorted. She first said my acne wasn't really bad and gave me antibiotics and Skinoren. That only helped slightly and I got a few painful zits after, so that's when I asked for Accutane. I was 75 kgs back then and had 40mg per day for 8 months. The acne disappeared only at the very end of the course, but only 3 weeks later I got a big painful bump on my chest and also a few weeks later some minor breakouts on my face. I got it somewhat under control with BP, but I was never acne free.

About 1,5 years later I went back to the derm and told her about the situation. She said that the acne was less severe now and after taking the first course, I would only need a much smaller dose this time. So I was on 20mg/day for a few months. I still had pimples then so I called the derm and she prescribed me a month more. The same thing happened next month and I got again one more month worth of pills. Then the acne subsided... for 1,5 months, and then it came back again. There is no body acne, it's all on my face. It's still not severe, but very depressing especially at this age. So I decided I don't want Accutane again because of the dry skin and lips, so I turned to over-the-counter products again (BP). Almost immediately the acne calmed down, but still not completely. I still had occasional very big and painful pimples.

This summer, after about 1 year from the previous course I called my derm again and told her about the situation. And AGAIN I'm on 20mg/day for a few months. The pimples stopped almost immediately this time after beginning the course, but now after 4 months a few zits appeared out of nowhere. I'm beginning to think this will never be over with the small dosage I'm getting. Is it really so that after eating one normal dosage course, you should be able to survive with small "maintenance" courses, as my derm calls it? I'd really like to get rid of acne permanently and I feel like I have to call her yet again, and obviously I'm just going to get another 20mg for another month and it's back to square one. Maybe the first course doesn't help my anymore as my body weight has increased to 86 kilos?