I suffered from severe cystic acne on my face, chest, back and shoulders since the age of 17 I am 21 now. After seeing my GP and being prescribed a few different antibiotics (which only made my acne worse after I stopped taking them) I finally had enough and saw a different doctor who gave me a referral to see a dermatologist straight after looking at my skin. To cut a long story short, I was prescribed Oratane (Accutane) after he evaluated my skin, saying it was the only way I could successfully get rid of the cystic acne I had. I was told to take 20mg a day for 2-3 months then I was told to take 40mg for the rest of the 3-4 months. After all my blood tests were fine I was able to keep on taking them. The only side effects I really noticed were dry skin and severely chapped lips, which is easily countered with moisturiser and a good lip balm. I also felt tired a lot when I first started taking them and generally under the weather. But during the last months the only noticeable side effects are dry lips and skin, which aren't a big deal. Anyways, this drug has literally saved my confidence and self-esteem. Before Accutane I barely left the house and isolated myself from my friends, I ended up becoming severely depressed and was put on drugs for that too. The last few months of my life though, I have never been happier. Since my skins cleared up I've got a new job and re-connected with all my friends, I have so much more confidence and I can enjoy going out without worrying about my skin the whole time. For some reason I can't upload the picture I took of my face before I started taking Accutane where it was really bad, so the picture I do have my skin was starting to get better, so it doesn't really show how bad my skin was from how good it is now!