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Hi everyone,
I'm a 26 year old guy just finishing up what was supposed to be my seventh and final month on Accutane. After a rocky first two months, it had been nothing but steady improvement. Until last week, I hadn't gotten anything but the smallest of pimples in over three months and the side effects were manageable enough that my derm and I decided to do an extra seventh month to reduce the chances of a second course. I'm 145 pounds and have been on 60 mg all the way through.
Then, last week out of nowhere I broke out with a number of pimples on the left side of my face (the right side of my face has almost always been worse). None are as bad as the larger pimples I'd get pre-Accutane and they've mostly shriveled up within a day or two. Still, it's been really frustrating to suddenly be breaking out again after being completely clear for an extended period of time. And because my skin is so sensitive they are leaving quite noticeable marks.
I'll discuss with my derm at our next appointment but I just wanted to hear if anyone had experienced something similar and how things turned out? Browsing the forum, you see examples of people who broke out until late in the treatment as well as those who had a brief breakout shortly after stopping. However, I'm struggling to find others who broke out while still taking the pills after being completely clear for a number of months. My plan would be to try and stay on accutane for one more month and hope things get sorted out, but I'd love to hear other recommendations from people who were in a similar situation. Thanks!
i am going through the same thing as of now. i was at the movies last night and by the time the movie was done i had 3 new pimples on my face, two of them are not as deep and big as the ones i used to get pre-tane but i have one on my nose that is big and red.
I didnt get an initial break out. it was smooth sailing for me up until now. i just finished month 4 of a 6month treatment. since I was having random facial flushing i was put off accutane for a month then will continue the next two months after. before i went off it i was already having small whiteheads on my chin and the lip area.
I hope everything turns out well for both of us. just wanted to let you know you're not alone. 
Same happening here for me. Not very large pimples just very small, slightly red bumps. I had complete clearance for month 2 through 4 and then halfway through month 5 I started getting maybe one new one a day. Month 5 was supposed to be my last but my derm added a month. During month 6 I've been pretty clear until yesterday I got 2 new ones and today I got about 2 more except one of them actually had a whitehead today. I've read that some people go through this at the end of their course and when they get off the breakouts go away completely. Let's just hope that's what happens for us!
Thanks, yes let's keep our fingers crossed! I actually think most of what I'm getting sounds pretty similar to what you have. Little red spots without a real head to them. I had my derm appointment on Friday and we decided to go with one more month and hope it clears by then. Will keep you updated and would like to know how things work out for both of you as well.
Thought I'd provide a quick update on how things are going. I met with my dermatologist in mid-June and decided to do an extra month at a slightly lower dose of 40mg. For about two weeks I didn't get any more breakouts but now I've started getting some smaller pimples and flatish red marks on my face. Definitely not as bad as in early June but still a little discouraging. I have a meeting with my derm scheduled for this coming Monday which will mark 8 months on Accutane. We'll see what she has to say. Hopes things are going well for everyone else.
Update. I ended up going back to 60mg after seeing my derm in mid-July. I then broke out a fair amount until the end of July and then started seeing a good deal of improvement with very minimal acne. My derm decided to do at least another month at 40mg when I saw her in mid-August. Since then have things have been pretty good. I continue to get small spots that dry up within a few hours to a day but nothing big at all. That being said, it's still annoying to be getting any kind of acne at all after being on this drug for about 10 months and having been getting no spots March-May. We'll see what my derm says when I see her in about 10 days. My hope is to maybe do one more month at a lower dose of 20mg and then come off.
Hi Qualia, any news on how this all finished? Im a 22 year old male whos going through the exact same thing right now in my 7th month and slightly worried.
Hi Qualia, any news on how this all finished? Im a 22 year old male whos going through the exact same thing right now in my 7th month and slightly worried.