so I'm going to cut right to the point. Have mild to slight moderate acne with acne scars/hyperpigmentation on cheeks. First month on accuatne, 40 mg, no ib (intial breakout) no real difference. Beginning of second month, 60 mg, went a little over two weeks with out a pimple! Still no ib! Then got a pimple or 2 after. Let me remind u I have scars so when I get a few pimples I get more mad cause it's all a big mix an sucks!!! So around 2nd week of second month (kinda nasty) I had bloody stool. So I just went back down to taking 40mg on my own advice. An after that never happened again. Anyways so 2nd month went good then in third month (recent) Derm put me on 80mg an Iv stuck with it. So I pretty much jumped from 40 to 80 an in 2nd week bad IB! Wondering how longs this gonna last idk. But this is normal I believe. As u higher your dose u will keep breaking out. Wat do you think? I'm on 80mg so I believe if I keep this dose for the next two months I will be breakout free at the end of month 4 the month 5 will just be puttin "extra juice in the tank" so I will remain breakout free for months to come. The higher your doses the better chance u will stay breakout free after course. So the longer u stay on a permanent dose that's 80 or higher I believe u have good chances of not breaking out anymore. Wat are your guys thoughts?? Please reply 9/14/15

michaeldanberg, thanks for starting this thread buddy! Hope things are going well....

I'm no expert so can only make comments on my own personal experience...I did a standard treatment(think it was 6months) of accutane about 7 years ago after using many different antibiotics before that.....my acne improved greatly afterwards and 7 years on I still only get very mild breakouts (maybe 1 or 2 small spots a week on average sometimes less) but my very oily overactive glands returned after about 12months of the treatment so have been using 10% Benzoyl peroxide (Panoxyl gel) as part of my daily routine and it works great....

I've used Panoxyl gel for most of the last 20 years so wanted to try and break the cycle of putting so many chemicals on my skin, which is why I've just started a "low" dosage of accutane treatment (on day 6).....again I dont have all the answers but there has recently been a few studies that show a "low dosage" over a longer period works just as well as a high dosage over your standard 6 month course and most importantly, the risk of side effects are alot lower(milder).....As I've tried the standard treatment before, my derm agreed a lower dosage(on 20mg a day and I'm male about 88kg) over a longer period might work better for me to reduce my oil levels and shrink my pores....I dont think its about how strong the dosage but more about the overall amount (mg per Kg) you take while on the treatment.....staying on 20mg a day, I might have to stay on accutane for a few extra months than the normal 6month treatment but taking the lower level should be easier on your body.......

Everyone is different so I dont think there is one rule for all and in my cause I use it to control my oil production but I do believe a lower level dosage (if you are happy to take it over a longer period) will work just as well in the long term....

take care mate