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I have suffered from acne for about 7 years now, and today I have been prescribed Accutane. I've tried lymecycline and topical creams before, the cream didn't really work and lymecycline has shown some improvement but did not get rid of the problem completely. I would say that my acne remained at a similar level since I've stopped taking it, and although I would love for it to disappear completely, I can tolerate how my face looks now. At the moment my acne is quite moderate- papular as well as some whiteheads, and it's the strongest around the cheek area and some on the forehead and jaw, I do have some scarring from when my acne was at its worse (around 4 years ago).
But I'm not sure if Accutane is appropriate for me, I do not feel like my acne is severe enough for it, especially that it comes with so many side effects. I often experience strong mood swings and I am currently taking part in therapy due to the anxiety and panic attacks I've had in the recent past. I tried to explain this to my dermatologist, as I'm worried that taking Accutane may make this worse, but he ignored me and basically accused me of making a big deal out of nothing and self-diagnosing myself with 'depression' which I definitely did not do. I felt really forced into agreeing to take Accutane without having the option to try or even learn about other forms of treatments.
What other options do I have? I've heard about other antibiotics and contraceptive pills that have been highly effective for other people, is that something I should try first or should I just go with Accutane? Also are then any effective treatments that do not require taking pills?
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Jesus, the replies...
Taking Accutane is a personal choice and you are already taking the right steps to ensure that you are looking at this from all angles. No one can tell you whether you should or shouldn't. For some on this forum (myself included), it was not the right decision, as we live with persistent permanent side effects, however for the majority of people 20 million+ it was an okay decision. I only say O.K. because there are no studies that follow people 5-10+ years post treatment to see what health issues they run into down the road. You cannot argue with the data and the facts that the majority of people who undergo this "treatment" tolerate it just fine. It's a small percentage of people that are affected adversely.
Now, lets take some things into account. You have a history of anxiety and stuff, no big deal, but it probably means you should avoid accutane and other heavy pharmaceuticals. Your acne is also mild to moderate so that's another sign to avoid a heavy drug like this.
For me personally, having that urge to get rid of my acneat 20, was a bad decision. I wish I would of waited until I was 30 to see if my acne naturally faded away. The way society is set up now, you shouldn't have to worry about serious dating until 28-34 years old, and your 20's should be spent studying and landing that dream job. Being acne free is overrated and frankly if someone doesn't want to be your friend because of your acne, they probably aren't worth the time being friends with anyways.
10 hours ago, macleod said:Jesus, the replies...
Taking Accutane is a personal choice and you are already taking the right steps to ensure that you are looking at this from all angles. No one can tell you whether you should or shouldn't. For some on this forum (myself included), it was not the right decision, as we live with persistent permanent side effects, however for the majority of people 20 million+ it was an okay decision. I only say O.K. because there are no studies that follow people 5-10+ years post treatment to see what health issues they run into down the road. You cannot argue with the data and the facts that the majority of people who undergo this "treatment" tolerate it just fine. It's a small percentage of people that are affected adversely.
Now, lets take some things into account. You have a history of anxiety and stuff, no big deal, but it probably means you should avoid accutane and other heavy pharmaceuticals. Your acne is also mild to moderate so that's another sign to avoid a heavy drug like this.
For me personally, having that urge to get rid of my acne at 20, was a bad decision. I wish I would of waited until I was 30 to see if my acne naturally faded away. The way society is set up now, you shouldn't have to worry about serious dating until 28-34 years old, and your 20's should be spent studying and landing that dream job. Being acne free is overrated and frankly if someone doesn't want to be your friend because of your acne, they probably aren't worth the time being friends with anyways.
Thank you so much for your reply, that's something I really needed to hear. I made an appointment with another dermatologist to see what they say 
I'm staying off accutane for now
11 hours ago, ldarial said:Thank you so much for your reply, that's something I really needed to hear. I made an appointment with another dermatologist to see what they say
Great choice.
Your acne is no where near bad enough to consider going on accutane.
Depression and anxiety are closely related so advice by the regulators dictates that you should not be prescribed accutane.
This is really quite alarming - where are you from?
Please can you report this to the regulators because your derm is acting really irresponsibly.
Please PM me so we can discuss it further.
