Acne.org Products
Hello,
First of all I apologize if this is posted in the wrong area but as it is to do with accutane I thought it might be correct.
Secondly, I had been trying for many years to see a dermotologist and finally a doctor listened to me and referred me to one. I was through the roof after getting a letter a few months later with an appointment.
I was nervous for the visit, unsure what would happen or how visits usually went and the man called me in. As I went in he said that I was here about acne and he said have I took the pills my dr prescribed last time - I explained no because I have trouble swallowing pills and hadn't taken them because he then prescribed me cream.
He told me point blank, no creams will help with acne and I would have to take pills as the only way to get rid of it. I asked him to look at my back as that was what I was there for - though I do have acne on my face it is very tame and mostly just a lot of scarring.
I showed him my back and he immediately gave a shocked face and said it was very bad and told me he would prescribe me to take accutane.
I was a little confused honestly at this because I heard that it was a last resort thing to take? He didn't talk to me about any kind of family history, what items I have used for acne before or other options other than jumping straight to accutane.
I don't know if this is because my acne is so bad so he immediately prescribed accutane or if I should go and seek another dermatologists opinion? Because it was so hard to see him - fifteen years I have suffered with bad acne- I'm worried how hard it will be to see a second. The only thing I could think was to then ask on here everyones opinion.
Do you think I should try and get another opinion or just go on with the accutane?
This is where more worries come through.
I have only done normal acne solutions before and two types of creams from the DR's. One was 15% a skinoren cream - azelaic acid - which worked well on my face but then seemed to stop working so I upgraded to 20% which I am still using on my face now. It keeps the acne at bay, I don't get it too badly, just a couple of spots but mostly scarring.
Other than that I have not used anything else on my acne and only one thing on my back, which sadly I have forgotten the name of but it didn't do too much.
I am mostly wary of the Accutane because I admittedly don't have the best diet and I worry this means I might get symptoms a little easier on it than people with a better diet - I have very sensitive taste buds and tend not to like a lot of food and can pick up on small tastes many people don't even notice.
I'm sorry I've rambled on as I'm not sure quite what to say but a quick summary over all is, do you think this is too quick to try accutane and should I get another dermatogists opinion first?
I will attach photos of my scarring/acne on my shoulders. I have it all over my back (mostly middle and upwards though I do have some stray scarring and spots dotted around the lower too, but it is the middle and shoulders that get it worse.
The photos will be of my shoulders as I can't get photos of myself very well.
This is a perfect example of how ignorant a lot of dermatologists are about acne. All he was taught was what medicines to prescribe for what type of acne. So he sees the most fucked up cases of acne and goes "well this is easy. obviously I should give you accutane! Your acne is just that bad!"
I swear, either these dermatologists don't know a thing about acne, or all they care about is making money off you so they prescribe you things that can harm you instead of telling you how to heal yourself. Yes I know this isn't all dermatologists! But if I know more before I graduate high school about acne than someone trained and paid to give people harmful medications, than there's clearly a serious problem here.
As far as advice goes, I say go natural and figure out what's causing your acne. See if there's any digestion issues, food sensitivities, fungus, or any underlying conditions causing it. If you want to do accutane, look at all the risks first. And then decide if you'd like to take that risk. Good luck!
My acne is mostly around my chin area the most with occasional ones around my face around the nose, on my cheeks.
It's the back acne which is really bad though and the pictures I will hopefully post now.
These are straight out of the bath from earlier
This one had just popped itself hence the bit of liquid on it. This one constantly stays and is so painful I often can't sleep on my side but I also have a similar one on the other side and it causes me a lot of problems when trying to sleep.
Doesnt sound like you feel comfy with accutane idea
I dont know how didfficult it would be to see another derm..but i would suggest doing so
OR contacting current derm and ask for different options to try BEFORE taking the tane plunge
I just finished a 6 mnth course and i twas NO walk in the park
Def felt longer and more tiring than I expected
For some it is a LIFE SAVER and they dont regret threr decision to take tane
FOR ME right NOW I cant say one way or the other
I stil continue to break out often though not the nasty larger ones and my skin is now def much more sensitive
GL any qauetsions
LMK
kim
Doesnt sound like you feel comfy with accutane idea
I dont know how didfficult it would be to see another derm..but i would suggest doing so
OR contacting current derm and ask for different options to try BEFORE taking the tane plunge
I just finished a 6 mnth course and i twas NO walk in the park
Def felt longer and more tiring than I expected
For some it is a LIFE SAVER and they dont regret threr decision to take tane
FOR ME right NOW I cant say one way or the other
I stil continue to break out often though not the nasty larger ones and my skin is now def much more sensitive
GL any qauetsions
LMK
kim
Thank you.
I'm rather put off by all of the side effects. As much as I hate my acne and scarring and always cover up because of it, I am far more worried about damaging my body internally... Plus it says you need blood tests often and I have a really bad phobia of needles.
My current derm I am really put off by honestly, the way he spoke and immediately shunned anything other than accutane or pills didn't give me the best impression of him.
I would be happy to try other alternative medications before accutane.
I have actually been reading the thread where you were trying the accutane with a few other users, so its nice to see you reply on here.
As my acne is only moderate (though very scarred) on my face and quite bad(the worst on my shoulders around my bra straps and on my spine) and very scarred on my back, I think the scarring is the thing I need seen to first and then some kind of treatment for my acne as though I get it, it isn't as bad as many people on here.
Here's the level of acne on my face.
Sorry for the weird photo. It was a webcam one ^^;
I dont know if severity matters as far as ultimately it is YOUR decision
and though it works for most I have to say based on MY experience and others its not always the magi bullet...meaning it doesnt clear acne completely for some *though it does tend to town down the severity of breakouts*
As far as side effects..you just dont know how hard they are going to hit you and after stopping tane when they will go away
Im about 5 weeks out and one of my biggest issues on tane was dry eyes/wear contact and that is pretty much better
Tane left me lethargic....which I still find to be a problem
The other PITA is dry painful lips..which are completely back to normal now
It really is just what you feel comfy doing
some people regret taking tane and others regret not taking it sooner out of fear of side effects etc
You could always TRY tane and if the side effects are too brutal...you can stop at any time
BUT might want to find a derm that will work with you as far as other meds and topicals first
I tried to combat my breakouts with antibiotics as well as every rx topical and OTC before being SOOOOO fed up, I felt tane was worth the risk
Im also much odler than most on the boards so having children down the line was never an issue for me
kim
I was scared to go on accutane too. I had pretty mild acne that never really bothered me, until I was 24 or 25. At this point I started to notice the one or two big zits a month were leaving scars. These were just pustules mind u , not cysts or anything crazy. My skin heals so poorly that nearly any zit leaves a permanent scar. Most r very faint, but add them up and my skin texture really sucks. I finally went on accutane AFTER I had several years of scars from these zits. For the rest of my life, I swear to god, I will always wish I could time travel to my 22 year old self and tell him "F the creams and antibiotics and DEMAND accutane".
Accutane is definitely not the cure all that many people think it is. I've been on it 3 plus times and my skin is still crappy. Have you tried topicals? Acne can also be a result of lifestyle so how is your diet. You don't sound like you want to take accutane so don't take it. Your derm sounds very pushy and very ignorant as other posters have stated. Go with your gut and explore your other options. The location of your facial acne leads me to think it may be hormonal so looking into supplements that address that or possibly spiro if you want to take prescription meds
Accutane is definitely not the cure all that many people think it is. I've been on it 3 plus times and my skin is still crappy. Have you tried topicals? Acne can also be a result of lifestyle so how is your diet. You don't sound like you want to take accutane so don't take it. Your derm sounds very pushy and very ignorant as other posters have stated. Go with your gut and explore your other options. The location of your facial acne leads me to think it may be hormonal so looking into supplements that address that or possibly spiro if you want to take prescription meds
Sorry I forgot about this thread as I was busy.
I looked into what you said about hormonal acne and to be honest I think you are right. I mostly get it around my face, worst around the time of my period, usually a week prior or just after.
I've managed to book an appointment with a new derm and I'm hoping this oen will properly talk to me.
As for other topicals. I used to take 15% azeliac acid but now I'm using 20%
This is the one I use
It worked pretty okay at keeping it at bay, it was always still there but I could manage to stop it being as bad or painful but the last 2 months or so I've noticed it doesn't seem to be working anymore, which is causing my face to be far worse than the picture of me up above. I'm super self concious about it now.
A friend also mentioned to me she thought it was hormonal because of the way the acne itself looks and when I spoke to my mother about the idea she said she used to suffer from it and ended up on the pill which helped reduce/get rid of it.
You will always be able to find another Dermatologist who will give you other options. If you don't want to take Accutane don't feel pressured to take it. However, the studies show your best bet at actually getting your acne cured long term and not just having to continually try to manage it with topical creams is to use Accutane and even though there are side effects (like most drugs) the long term psychological benefit of potentially not having to worry about your skin anymore is huge.
Derms wont talk to you about alternative medicines for acne, I guess they have their checklist of creams, antibiotics, birth control and Accutane. He does seem to have jumped straight in there. I know my derm started me on birth control and differin which has clear up my skin for now, but he did say if it doesn't work then he wouldn't hesitate to prescribe Accutane, which I appreciate, no point prolonging the agony when I had tried everything else. Have you tired anti biotics, creams or birth control in the past as a combination of these might be an option before accutane? There is no harm in trying the alternative route either but I doubt the derm with be any help with that side of things. Good luck on your journey.