anyone? I could really use some feedback or advice in general.

I'm 46 and this is my 3rd round of Accutane. I got 15 years of remission with my first course. I am in Colorado now, and called around the dermatologist offices in my area to ask the receptionists if the dermatologist offered or would consider low-dose Accutane courses aka the European method.

All the receptionists were very helpful and some told me don't bother but some said yes.

I didn't have horrible cystic acne this time, but I told him that I used to. My main concern was the sudden oilyness and excessive sebum production that clogged the pores on my nose the day after an extraction!

He had a look and agreed that Accutane was probably what I needed again.

Then I brought up the low dose option. Im past menopause at 46 and my tubes are tied so there wouldn't be that situation to worry about. There was no good reason why I shouldn't try it, he said, and he said it would be a much more "luxurious treatment"

So far so good.

As long as you have insurance, and want to do all the bloodwork, there's no reason why you can't try this.

The older we get, the more easily we scar so you'd better hurry!

I only do bloodwork every 3 months due to the lower toxicity of the 10mg.

I hope this helps---also, I've found in general, that younger docs are less frightened of Accutane but my dermatologist now is about 50 and he knew all about the European method.

I was prepared to argue my case, but he said I could decide however I wanted to do it and it was great!

Do call around and ask the office staff: they know if the doc is difficult. ....just kinda feel them out and be honest, tell them you don't want to be turned away, or have to beg anyone. They will tell you.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Dana

Hi

My goal was to try low dose accutane

I found a derm who finally agreed to low dose accutane however when I started my treatment i found out she wanted me to start on 40mg and work my way up to 80mg (im 130 pounds)

I guess it was my bad for not clarifying what the heck LOW DOSE was specifically

Now I am fighting with the office as I have worked my way up to 60mg and am comfy and not exp many side effects...however they insist on pushing me to 80mg...telling me if I dont go to 8-mg it wont work

They look at me like im nuts for asking about low dose and reaching cumulative dose over a longer period of time

So like legomom says CALL around and be VERY specific as far as what you are looking for and exactly what typr of low dose regimen u want

Good luck!!!

Kim

Hey! thanks for the response Ladies, I did find a doctor and he told me that I could try 10mg a day. So I will try this for a while and see how it goes. Being a male I could take my blood test this monday and start taking the pill on tuesday they say. I'm currently still on Acticlate (Doxycycline Antibiotic) and Eipduo.

My skin has gotten better and Im left with alot of red marks/scars, But I still want to try low dose Accutane to reduce oil/future breakouts. Ive never been on Accutane before so Im not sure if this makes a difference. Alot users on low dose seem to have used accutane on a full course prior.

Legomom - how is your experience on 10mg a day. IB, side effects, when did you a notice difference?

Kimber607-how is your experience going??

much appreciated!

Thats awesome!!!!

I started on 20mg for the first 2 weeks..I had NO IB and it dried up my oil (probably by the end of the 2 week)..my skin looked awesome!

I dont know if it was timing or the fact that increased my dose to 40mg but that is when I had my IB.

I have to say overall, even though I am on 60mg my side effects are minimal

Typical dry eyes (but still have no issues wearing contacts), dry skin and lips

Only other issue that recently started bugging my is some knee pain.

Good luck

any other questions lmk

I would imagine 10mg is a very very low dose for your body weight

It might even take some time to notice oil reduction

BUT i couldnt imagine you would have any serious side effects on such a low dose..but of course crazier things have happened.

GL

Kim

Within a week or so I started feeling much less oily. At about 3 weeks, I was needing lip product at night. I use eos, vanilla mint.

I haven't had what you might call a breakout, but strangely, all around my eyebrows, i have open sores that peel but don't heal.

I asked the derm about it and he said Accutane will bring up all kinds if stuff.

I dont know if this is scar tissue from acne or what.

The other thing that's different this time is lots and lots of micro peeling.

I do a scrub 2 times a week or less and then my skin looks AMAZING!

I use the Vitamin C peel 2-steps by Philosophy. A bit pricy, but a little goes a long way and I LOVED it even before I started this course.

Watch the video about it at QVC. Guys use it too.

Oh, after about 3 weeks, the xcess sebum production shut down so the pores on my nose quit filling up and needing to be extracted.

My nose actually looks SMALLER since each pore isnt swollen. Amazing.

Do some research on the European method of Accutane dosing. Even on this board. That's where you find literature to back up your request and you may get a derm willing to experiment with it, if he hasn't ever done so.

Good luck!

On Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 6:46 AM, rarryrison83 said:

Hey guys. Hope all is well. I'm a male in his early 30's and I just experienced the worst breakout of my life for the last two months +. I have extremely oily skin as well. Ive been on Proactiv for about 2 months now and on antibiotics for about a month and two weeks. At this point I can say that my acne has diminished about 60-70%. I have had success with proactiv in the past. This is a first for me with antibiotics. I have a feeling most of my clearing is due to the proactiv and a healthy life style and diet.

 

I broke out all over my forehead, temples and around my mouth area. I had alot of closed comodone acne around my mouth area and Unfortunately I knew they all were going to come out to the surface in the form of white heads and inflamed acne before they went away. That is exactly what happened and I'm about 70 % clear of them.

 

Im now left with alot of red marks and some shallow scars and it sucks! But I try and be thankful at least the acne is clearing. Accutane of course was always a last resort for me. However upon doing research and knowing someone who is on Low dose Accutane (about two pills a week and it cleared her face completely) this seems more like a viable option for me. Her derm told her she has had people on low dose accutane for years without any problems. I also knows many celebrities stay on low dose accutane to control oil and acne as well. There is supposed to be minimal side effects and much more manageable in your daily life.

 

My current Derm does not offer low dose accutane. She told me they would put me on about 100mg a day for 5-7 months. Now I completely understand the logic with these high doses. This is a very crude approach and the mentality is lets knock it out within half a year and completely kill the oil glands. If I were in a different point in my life this would maybe make sense. However I cant take out half a year of my life iiving with side effects and a possible crazy IB. I know IB doesnt happen to everyone but I can say that mostly every case of accutane I see they experience the IB. I really cant handle another one of those at this point in my life and in my career. I cant imagine my face getting any worse than it already has. Plus I read many Derms who are generally against high doses say that you can experience more acne then you would have ever gotten in a lifetime just being on these high dose then if you were not on accutane, this is a risk you take.

 

I also don't want completely kill my oil glands. Ive had acne in the past and I feel like the oil on my face has at least preserved my skin from really bad scarring. So again for me to go on a full course of accutane I think would be a detriment to my skin overall. I know full dose accutane is supposed to be a temporary cure but I feel the risks and and side effects out weigh the end results for me at this point in my life.

 

Now doing a lot of research online and on this site I can see low dose is becoming more and more prevalent. Again my acne is subsiding without accutane so i feel this low dose accutane would help me control my oil/acne and I would be interested in doing this in the long term under the supervision of a derm. I don't need a cure right now in my life, i just need the acne to go away ASAP without having to take half a year + out of my life and completely turning the biology of my skin upside down.

 

I just had to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening:)

 

Can anyone recommend anyone in LA area who is willing to work with patients who want to be on very low doses?

 

I would love to hear about any personal experience on low to ultra low doses as well. Thank you!

Hey there. Alot of people go on these low dose 20mg per week but never report their experiences. I have known ppl on 2omg per week for over 5 yrs with no side effects so far. But never got to contact thm recently to find out if they hv any long term effects. Being a doctor for people with moderate mild stubborn acne due to sebum low dosing is alot better as the oil comes back aneways. Plz shars your experience