Hello Acne.org! It has been years since I have posted on here and I never thought I would, but I wanted to share with you guys about my experiences with the medication that quite literally rose me from the ashes!

 

For years Accutane terrified me, going to extreme alternative measures to avoid it, always hearing negative feedback. I once heard a remark on this forum about the pros and cons of Accutane, specifically Accutane's lack of success stories on this forum. What this member pointed out is that you only read about the negative Accutane stories, because everyone with a positive story is acne free and has ditched this forum indefinitely. It is true, it is a miracle drug, and I wanted to come back to share my positive experience!

 

I have suffered from cystic acne since I was 15 years old, progressing well into my young adulthood. At the age of 20, my acne had become so severe, that employers wouldn't hire me. My acne was so horrendous, that I once had to sit down with my old boss in a meeting, concerning a "drug problem" they thought I had; I left my company in embarrassment the very next day. My acne made me severely depressed, suicidal, and anxious; it has literally been the worst thing I have experienced in my near 22 years of life.

 

I knew about Accutane from the very beginning, hearing the severe consequences of it: Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Irratable Bowel Syndrome, etc... Even after knowing these side effects, I became so suicidal and unhappy with life that I no longer cared about any of them, because how could the life I had been living with acne be any worse.

 

In the Summer of 2013, I began my treatment.

 

Immediately, my skin became a desert, my lips cracked and bled, my eyes turned red, my scalp burned, my body ached. I felt like I was taking chemo-therapy in a pill. I was scared, nervous, doubtful, but knew I was at a point of no return and had to endure my treatment.

 

My skin shockingly cleared up in 2 weeks of taking the medication, completely. Although I did have a few breakout periods, my skin stayed smooth as a baby. For once in my entire teenage/young adulthood, I was able to look myself in the mirror without completely breaking down.

 

Dryness was my new enemy and although not as bad, still remains a problem to this day. What I found worked great was: drinking a gallon of water a day, eating my antioxidants, using a humidifier (I live in Colorado, very dry), using Vaniply for my lips and other dry patches (literally the only thing I used that even remotely moisturized), keeping sunscreen around anytime i even thought about going outside, always using a moisturizer routinely throughout the day, and learning how to re-engage with life.

 

I made it through my 6 months and felt like a new man! I was able to experience the world i had been hiding from for years! I had a new stretch of confidence i had only dreamed of. I got a job in the city, made a plethora of new friends, and reopened a healthy relationship with my family.

 

Today, I have a few side effects. My skin is moderately dry, my lips and eyes especially, my skin has become really sensitive, i experienced a year of having irritable bowel syndrome (seems to have subsided), my night vision has decreased, and some of my freckles came back.

 

I also experience mental side effects, which I cannot contribute to the drug. I suffer from anxiety, episodes of depression, and suicidal thoughts. Fortunately these are as severe as when i had cystic acne, but are still present. I 100% believe Accutane was NOT responsible for these, for I had these thoughts long before my treatment. I believe many people accredit their depression and other mental conditions to their acne, expecting a worry-free world when they are free of it's clutches, but the truth is there are still problems in this world, with and without your acne, and it will be there ready to challenge you when you face it. I don't believe Accutane creates these issues, it just exposes the ones you have been hiding from with acne.

 

I don't regret my decision, it is the best thing I have ever done in my life! This is my success story among of sea of negativity! If you were like me, spending thousands of dollars at the dermatologist and trying every remedy known to man, then Accutane should be a considerable option. It changed my life and I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. I wish you all the best of luck with your journey and I hope I was able to be of some help to you! Thank you for all of your support Acne.org.

Thank you for sharing! I also had great success with Accutane. Like any drug, there are pros and cons, but I wish more people would do an evidence based review of the literature and make the decision based on that, not purely on anecdotes and fear mongering. I was so terrified before trying it, actively refusing it at all costs because of other people's unverifiable stories. I only wish I had thought about it more seriously and made the decision sooner - maybe I would have saved some money and time in the process. Oh well - glad it worked out for you!

Similar story here.

"Fear mongering", lol. That's rich. Evidence based research you say? There are hundreds of scientific studies online of isotretinoin's side effects on mice and humans. You really think a pharmaceutical company volunteers to put warnings on their product?

Please, don't equate firsthand knowledge with "unverifiable stories". That's just rude.

That's like me climbing Everest and telling people its dangerous and should consider practicing smaller mountains first, you listening to success stories saying it's easy, eventually summiting the mountain for yourself and also telling other people it was a breeze and to jump right in to it.

The only goal of the people posting about the side effects of this drug is to make people aware that they aren't going into a sure thing. That there are things that could be out of their control. That there are odds, much like a casino. Much like climbing Everest. And it's in some experienced humble opinions that this drug affects a slightly higher percentage of people negatively (10-12%) than proposed by the companies and their data.

Also, what's with all these 'depressed' 'suicidial' people with acne. C'mon, Grow up. There are kids born with actual physical deformities and abnormalities and you want to cry because your face is messed up.

"Fear mongering", lol. That's rich. Evidence based research you say? There are hundreds of scientific studies online of isotretinoin's side effects on mice and humans. You really think a pharmaceutical company volunteers to put warnings on their product?

 

Please, don't equate firsthand knowledge with "unverifiable stories". That's just rude.

 

That's like me climbing Everest and telling people its dangerous and should consider practicing smaller mountains first, you listening to success stories saying it's easy, eventually summiting the mountain for yourself and also telling other people it was a breeze and to jump right in to it.

 

The only goal of the people posting about the side effects of this drug is to make people aware that they aren't going into a sure thing. That there are things that could be out of their control. That there are odds, much like a casino. Much like climbing Everest. And it's in some experienced humble opinions that this drug affects a slightly higher percentage of people negatively (10-12%) than proposed by the companies and their data.

 

 

Also, what's with all these 'depressed' 'suicidial' people with acne. Grow up. And also stay away from Accutane you psychos. There are kids born with actual deformities and abnormalities and you want to cry because your face is fucked up.

Hi! You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I need to ask you to tone down your language as it is very close to violating our community rules regarding inappropriate language and bullying.

Also, I would like to address your concerns directly because I think it might be helpful to others who come across this thread. Accutane was no cakewalk for me (and I don't think anyone said it was easy), and I don't wish to minimize other's experiences, negative or positive. However, just as it is important for people to share their negative experiences and concerns, It is just as important that people who have had good experiences share theirs.

I say fear mongering and unverifiable stories, because it was these biased stories of here-say from friends, family and the internet (somewhat) that scared me away from even considering accutane as an option. Most of these individuals had never taken accutane, and only heard stories from others who heard stories from others that turned out to be a dead ringer of something read on a blog from the internet (not referencing this site). This is not to say these stories aren't true (for someone), they just shouldn't have been the only thing I based my decision not to take accutane on, obviously.

Having access to subscription medical journals through my employment, I looked at these evidence-based studies you mention (not just the abstracts) in reputed dermatological journals. *BTW, anyone with a medical school in their hometown has access to these journals. Almost all medical school libraries are open to the public for research.* These objective studies, many of which were conducted after isotretinoin had gone generic and placed under Ipledge (at which point pharmaceutical companies had little incentive to fund them), explained the short-term and long-term side effects and the risk, who will benefit the most from the drug given their acne presentation, what methods/dosing/course reduce risk of relapse, alternative therapies, alternative dosing, contraindications, interactions, system effects, etc. I based my ultimate decision on THAT research, as should most people if they can.

Success stories are rarely posted on this website for various reasons, but OP above has one, as do I. Also, please do not minimize, this forum is a place for our community of acne sufferers (regardless of severity) to discuss what works and what doesn't.

Thank you

 

"Fear mongering", lol. That's rich. Evidence based research you say? There are hundreds of scientific studies online of isotretinoin's side effects on mice and humans. You really think a pharmaceutical company volunteers to put warnings on their product?

 

Please, don't equate firsthand knowledge with "unverifiable stories". That's just rude.

 

That's like me climbing Everest and telling people its dangerous and should consider practicing smaller mountains first, you listening to success stories saying it's easy, eventually summiting the mountain for yourself and also telling other people it was a breeze and to jump right in to it.

 

The only goal of the people posting about the side effects of this drug is to make people aware that they aren't going into a sure thing. That there are things that could be out of their control. That there are odds, much like a casino. Much like climbing Everest. And it's in some experienced humble opinions that this drug affects a slightly higher percentage of people negatively (10-12%) than proposed by the companies and their data.

 

 

Also, what's with all these 'depressed' 'suicidial' people with acne. Grow up. And also stay away from Accutane you psychos. There are kids born with actual deformities and abnormalities and you want to cry because your face is fucked up.

 

Hi! You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I need to ask you to tone down your language as it is very close to violating our community rules regarding inappropriate language and bullying.

Yea, I was teetering that line a bit.