After finding all other perscription products had no effect on my acne, i went on a 6 month course of roaccutane last may, finishing in october. Despite struggling with really bad dry skin and cracked lips i was really pleased with the results and by the end of the course i had near spotless skin. The dermotologist told me the drug would keep working for another 2 months or so and by november/december my skin was spot-free and i was only left with slight scarring, for the first time in years i didnt worry about my skin and it felt great. However, over the last 3 weeks i noticed slight breakouts. At first i wasnt really worried but as of now my acne has started to come back more severly, with cysts reappearing on my cheeks, chin and around my mouth. I no longer have the mild acne on my back and chest but it is still getting worse on my face. Is it normal to have some sort of relapse period a couple of months after finishing the roaccutane course? Or does this mean that the drug hasnt worked and my acne is coming back again? Any help would be appreciated as i'm devastated that my spots have returned and it has really dented my confidence. Any advice on what i should do next?
Some people do, unfortunately, relapse after their first course.
Is it as bad as it was before? It may be that topical treatments may well work better now, so it may be worth trying that route.
You may well have to go on another course of Accutane to fully blast your acne into high heaven though. Best to go see your derm and talk it all through.
2 minutes ago, ben100604 said:Some people do, unfortunately, relapse after their first course.
Is it as bad as it was before? It may be that topical treatments may well work better now, so it may be worth trying that route.
You may well have to go on another course of Accutane to fully blast your acne into high heaven though. Best to go see your derm and talk it all through.
It's not as bad as it was just before i went on roaccutane (which was its worse) but its only just reappeared in the last 3 weeks and has been getting steadily worse so i dont know if it will reach that level again. I was hoping maybe it was just a random breakout but unfortunately it looks like its set to stay again.
Okay, thank you for the help
Argh I'm so sorry, this is my nightmare!! You might have to go on a second course unfortunately - IMO, if it's going cystic/you believe it is getting much worse, I'd just go on a second course as soon as possible to kill it and avoid hyperpigmentation. Still, that's extremely annoying and unfortunate.