Hello All! Okay I need some serious honesty and advice. I had severe, severe acne fall of 2013 and finally started Accutane that December. My skin cleared almost immediately and was flawless until this last December 2014. Ugh. Then my acne returned which was absolutely devastating. I only got 4 months after a full course of Accutane. I never had any bad side effects, no issues with blood work or eye sight, it was truly easy. I now have had a mild persistent breakout since early December. I am using a benzoyl peroxide wash twice daily with a great moisturizer. I also saw a dermatologist two weeks ago and she put me on a short two month course of cephalexin. My skin looks better but is STILL breaking out. Should I consider a second course of Accutane? Right now I have 4 active, large pimples and at least one major clogged pore that is not going to be any fun. Ugh I guess I'm just frustrated that it's back at all. Any thoughts?
Im 27 years old by the way... and have dealt with acne since high school. 
YES!!!
About 50% of Accutane users clear up forever, 10% don't get a remission at all, and 40% get a short remission and benefit from a 2nd round or find that their acne responds to other medication.
Hurry, before you scar!!!
If you didn't have any problems with it, go again and you will most likely , be clear forever this time!
Good luck!
Dana
I guess another question I would have would be how to get a dermatologist to prescribe me Accutane since my acne is mild at this point? Unfortunately since I've moved it can't be the same Derm I saw previously so they will have no idea how awful my acne was before. Do you think that any derm would actually prescribe it?
I'm not sure where the poster got her statistics from but the fact of the matter is that no one knows for sure if your acne will return or not after a 2nd round. I have been on 4 courses and my acne has come back every single time. Women especially have a likelihood for relapse since we go through many hormonal fluctuations. What else have you tried besides accutane? In my opinion, a second round may be worth it if you have exhausted:
diet changes/lifestyle changes
supplementation
retinoids and an antimicrobial.
Also, it is important to give the above a significant amount of time to work before declaring it a fail (3-6 months)
I got the statistics from my dermatologist but that was a while ago, but Ive also seen similar stats in these boards and I was just speaking off-hand about what my dermatologist told me. Anyway, that's never the point of statitstics; to determine what an individual's chances are.
I only posted them to let you know that it's very common to require additional rounds of Accutane.
Anyway, to answer your second question, I was kinda in the same boat as you, and in a different city, my face LOOKS clear until you get up close and see all the clogged pores on my nose that needed extractions the day after getting them extracted!
Plus I had gotten so oily that I was blotting every hour!
Now, I'm 46, post menopausal and cant figure out why this is happening after 15 years of post-Accutane great skin.
I called around and asked the office staff, how liberal the dermatologist was with Accutane, telling them I was in no mood to get rejected.
All the offices were really helpful and some told me don't bother and some said yes, the doctor did have lots of people on it and that I probably wouldn't have a problem.
So I went in, armed with info and ready to plead my case. I showed him my nose, told him about the oilyness and how I thought next would probably be a cyst or two and that Accutane solved all my problems before and I probably needed another round and I needed to hurry because I didn't want to SCAR anymore.
I used the key words: chronic and persistent acne that scars
He said he was fine with that and we went on to speak about dosage.
I was ready to tell him that I couldn't bear to think about going back to topicals or antibiotics because I hate the smell of topicals and antbiotics wouldn't solve the oil problem or the excess sebum production. The ONLY thing known to solve that is Accutane.
So like I've said before on this topic: if they won't give you Accutane, get a 2nd opinion. I was turned down for years and years in my teens and 20s. I finally went to a dermatologist crying that I couldn't take it anymore.
He went on a rant about how his colleagues were so cruel to not treat acne patients seriously and didn't treat us with dignity and how your face is everything and how we have this great medication and why won't the dermatologists use it.....I felt so vindicated!!
So, the point is, some docs see it as a last resort and others think it should be given as soon as it's determined that you have stubborn acne that isn't responding to other meds.
You want to find one of those. And you will. ...just call around. And then if you get turned down, seek another opinion.
Good Luck!
Dana
Thanks for all your input! My skin seems to be clearing.....a bit. My thought process is to see how it goes as I've only been on the medication for a little over a week. I am not going to let my skin get much worse though. I JUST got rid of all my scars and don't want more..... I feel like I'm on a good spot and will give the meds a little more time but after 3 months if it's still breaking out Tane it is. I'm on a Super healthy diet, lean proteins, lots of vegetables and some fruits. I don't eat any dairy (a tablespoon of half and half with coffee 4 or 5 times a week) I also take a hefty vitamin D3 and multivitamin everyday. I drink tons of water get lots of fresh air.... I also really struggle with winter acne and usually never break out from April to November so that could also be a factor. I just wanted to hear from others that it's okay to consider Accutane again without feeling guilty or bad ... so truly thank you for your comments 