I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I bring it up again.
I'm a 41 year-old white man, Northern European descent. Mom's family had really bad acne.
I've had severe cystic acne since I was about 14.
My face is pretty clear now, but my back is still a mess. I have many nodules in my back and my back looks really bad.
I took Accutaine twice in my life. Once when I was a teenager and once when I was in university.
It worked in the short term, but the side effects were pretty bad.
I'm pretty sure it caused me emotional problems and now my liver now is not 100 percent according to the doctors.
And after stopping taking Accutaine, the cystic acne on my back returned.
I really don't want to take Accutaine again just for my back. I'm afraid to take it in case it screws up my emotions again.
My questions are:
1. Over the last 20 years, haven't there been any advances in Acne drug treatment for severe acne?
I mean, Accutaine is over 20 years old. My understanding is they changed the name due to the law suits, but it's still the same drug, no?
2. I'm 41... how much longer can this go on for???
The most simple answer for why there has been no acne advances is because the government doesn't want to actually find a cure... Skin care is a multi billion dollar industry. Most face washes doesn't actually cure the acne. They will slow down the acne but you will have to keep using it. I would bet my last dollar that the government has a cure for cancer, hiv etc but If it went public, they would lose an enormous amount of money. It sounds very grim for me to say all this and I might sound crazy to many but I truly believe this to be true. That's what I believe though. I have found many supplements and products that is great for acne but it's few and far between. Anyways... Some things that helped me greatly is cod liver oil (with vitamin a and d) and garlic capsules which is a natural anti bacterial. Have you ever thought that you might have a food allergy? Hormone imbalance? Do you exercise? Hygiene? What medications are you taking? There's many variables. I hope this helps. Message me if you have any questions. I'd love to help any way I can from my own personal experience of having acne for over a decade. Cheers