Hi Everyone

I wanna start off my saying that I had my first breakout when I was 13 yearsold and I can still remember the day that happened because I was so embarassed and it was the first time I had ever experienced something like that.

Basically my acne persisted through my teenage years - even with the help of my derm and trying all sorts of topical treatments. I was at my wits end and she prescribed me Accutane(40mg for 6 months in 2004). During those 6 months the only side effects I experienced was dry skin which I enjoyed anyway. I did not do anything else to look after my skin , late nights, bad habits and unhealthy eating. My skin was clear for years after that.

Fast forward to 2010 some acne had crept back most likely because of a very stressful event for me and I managed my acne effectively via antibiotics (doxy). When the Doxy stopped working I had ongoing hormonal acne which I tried to control with BCP.

After 1.5 years the BCP stopped working.

Since I had already tried everything my derm agreed to put me back on a lower dose of Accutane again (20mg for 6months). However 3 months in I developed Tinnitus. I could not sleep or eat and my body was in a constant state of fight, shock and anxiety.

One sunday morning I woke up, felt great and had a relaxing day - until night came and I could hear the ringing. I was in a world of pain and torment. Imagine hearing a continuous high pitched beep 24/7. My last Accutane pill was that Sunday night because I know taking such harsh medicine has serious consequences, and I took myself to the Emergency room. I had an audio gram and done and the results were that I had some hearing loss on one ear which was prob also causing the T.

Because my T was attributed to sensory hearing loss doctors put me on oral steroids right away (you have a window of 3 days for it to be effective)to treat the T/ Hearing Loss. Now 3 days later I am writing this and the T is less servere and I believe im on the road to recovery.

I guess the moral of my story is, if you develop any visual or loss hearing/ ringing in ears - stop Accutane or whatever else you think is causing it and act quickly to give yourself a good chance at full recovery.

I am now exploring a more holistic approach to clear skin. T has literally brought me to my knees. I thought i had problems with Acne. But I only had servere T for 3 days and I had suicidal thoughts already because I just couldnt bear the beeping sounds in my head anymore.

Good luck everyone & be alert when on this drug.