Hi everyone!
So I'm totally new to this... I just picked up my first pack of Accutane, and I'm super nervous to start it!
A little background info: I'm a 20 year old girl. I've had mild acne since I was about 13. Since then, I've had periods where I've had a face full of pimples, but also periods where I've had totally clear skin. I guess you could say my acne was pretty normal growing up, what with puberty and everything. Up until a year ago , I was never really concerned about my acne. Around this time last year (January 2014), I got diagnosed with severe panic disorder and generalized anxiety. It was also around that time that I started noticing acne on my back - where I had never seen so much as a pimple before in my life. My doctor told me it was probably from the constant stress and anxiety I was feeling. Fast forward to September 2014 - the bacne only seemed to get worse, and all of a sudden, I started developing painful, inflamed pimples on my face. As I mentioned, I have generalized anxiety disorder so I'm constantly feeling super stressed out an anxious - some days/weeks are better than others, but I have my moments. I have not, however, seen a break in my skin since September - just constant red, inflamed, painful pimples. I visited a skin repair clinic a few weeks ago, and the specialist told me that Accutane would be my best bet. I have used things like the Diane 35 (or is it 40?) birth control pill to manage acne, as well as various cleansing regimes, but nothing has helped me this time around. The specialist mentioned that he noticed some scarring, and again Accutane would be the best choice especially considering the acne is not limited to my face, but is also on my back/shoulders.
My problem: Obviously, consulting Dr. Google was the very first thing I did the second I got home from my consultation. For every success story I've read, 2 horrifying ones followed. I also mentioned it to my friends, and one of them went on a rant about how her aunt used Accutane years ago, and recently gave birth to a child with charge (which, apparently, most cases are linked to Accutane use). Her aunt stopped using Accutane years ago but her child's birth defects were supposedly linked to the drug. I've also read some pretty terrifying stories about depression, which really worries me considering my constant anxiety and bouts of depression.
At 20 years old, roughly 125lbs, my specialist put me on 10mg of Accutane for the first 30 days. To anyone that has used Accutane at any point, do you have any words of advice? I plan to focus on getting all of my supplements in (vitamind D, calcium etc.) to try to combat the typical side effects such as joint/muscle pain. 10mg is, from what I've read, a pretty small dose - so my reluctance to take this first pill, is it just my anxiety, or should I really be worried?
As my Derm put it, "Accutane is a miracle drug that we now have that can actually CURE acne, with mostly mild side effects that are well tolerated by the huge majority of people. Aside from dry lips, there's not much to it. The only thing is the effects on a fetus if you get pregnant. "
That put my mind at ease. It's been around since the early 80s. There's plenty of data and research to look at to see that what he said was true.
About online accounts: patients who get cured by Accutane (90% of people) get bored with posting and never come back, but the few who had a bad reaction or didn't get a cure are still talking about it and it sounds like a majority, but it's a small percentage.
Just start! You won't notice anything right away and try not to measure progress every day. Just relax and know it's working.
It usually gets worse before it gets better. But you have to start to get to the end!