I would like to know how many of you guys (and gals) on the acne.org forum have had success fixing their body acne with accutane.
Here is a short history of my body acne (primarily back acne and shoulder acne, also chest acne).
1) Had mild body acne for most of my life... had a big flare up on my face so i took oral antibiotics for 4.5 months. One year later, body acne exploded. Now i have moderate bacne, shoulder acne, and chest acne.
2) I tried using acne.org regimen on my shoulder/back. Irritated my body like CRAZY. Now i only wash with water
So i am planning on trying accutane for my body acne... but i am not sure which DOSAGE and for how long i should be taking it. My dermatologist is allowing me to take accutane any time i choose to.
Thanks guys.
It cleared up a lot of acne for me on my chest/back, and I was taking a very high dose for several months before stopping due to all the side effects. I didn't have similar success with face/neck acne.
Low-dose or high-dose are two different methods to accutane. I did high because I didn't know there was another option, and my derm just prescribed it to me so I blindly took it. Low-dose has been very successful with others past, but the formulation of accutane has changed. You may or may not be receptive to low-dose therapy, for both individual reasons and the new formulation.
Hope that helps some. How accutane exactly works is, mind you, still a little fuzzy. It's a more "try it and see what happens" type deal.
It cleared up my chest, shoulders and upper back completely, but for the center of my back not so much. I just have to consistently use Differin for that and it's fine.
How long did it take to see any benefits?
I'm on day 27 @ 20mg now and while the minor acne on my face has totally gone the nasty cystic stuff (the reason I'm on accutane in the first place) on my back / body is worse than ever. So far I have dry & sore lips, dry skin on my face shoulders & back.... and oh dry anal area too. TMI I'm sure but unless people talk about embarrassing side effects others won't know what to expect when it is there turn on this stuff...
It cleared up my chest, shoulders and upper back completely, but for the center of my back not so much. I just have to consistently use Differin for that and it's fine.
How long did it take to see any benefits?
I'm on day 27 @ 20mg now and while the minor acne on my face has totally gone the nasty cystic stuff (the reason I'm on accutane in the first place) on my back / body is worse than ever.So far I have dry & sore lips, dry skin on my face shoulders & back.... and oh dry anal area too. TMI I'm sure but unless people talk about embarrassing side effects others won't know what to expect when it is there turn on this stuff...
It started to kick in by the 4th month. Don't pick/pop anything while you're on Accutane because your skin is as sensitive and thin as it could be so scarring is inevitable.
I would like to know how many of you guys (and gals) on the acne.org forum have had success fixing their body acne with accutane.
Here is a short history of my body acne (primarily back acne and shoulder acne, also chest acne).
1) Had mild body acne for most of my life... had a big flare up on my face so i took oral antibiotics for 4.5 months. One year later, body acne exploded. Now i have moderate bacne, shoulder acne, and chest acne.
2) I tried using acne.org regimen on my shoulder/back. Irritated my body like CRAZY. Now i only wash with water
So i am planning on trying accutane for my body acne... but i am not sure which DOSAGE and for how long i should be taking it. My dermatologist is allowing me to take accutane any time i choose to.
Thanks guys.
In my teenage years I had mild to moderate bacne and on rare occasions on my chest. My bacne became worse as the years went by.. I am now 24 and it was getting out of control. Im most upset about the scarring! Either way its so painful and as a girl it honestly flat out sucks!! I was on 20 mg/day accutane for a month (stopped my treatment for 2 weeks due to side effects) and now I have been on 20 mg/ every other day for 20 days... My shoulders are completely clear! My chest/left shoulder never broke out, my right shoulder got like 3 newbies, but my mid back lower back did go thru an IB. lt's slowly starting to heal and I'm actually really happy about it! Before starting accutane my bacne was out of control, my face not so much. Thru the course of my accutane journey it seemed to be the opposite! My body acne has really responded well to accutane! 
Why didn't I do this sooner...
thanks for the responses guys (and gals). How bad was your guys acne prior to starting the accutane? Did you guys take any oral antibiotics for your acne before starting accutane as well?
I would say mine was moderate but persistent; the dermatologist's letter describes it as ""moderate acne with multiple papules, pustules and deep nodules on back. Comedones on face and pustules in axillae & groins" - sounds lovely doesn't it. I had tried lots of different antibiotics and topicals.... on an d off antibiotics for the best part of 10 years really, with the longest sustained period being over a year of lymecycline. Never saw much improvement.
Now done a month of accutane at 20mg and while the skin on my back is definitely drying out, the acne is worse than ever... lots of really deep painful nodules (it hurts to lay flat on my back...) and a gross amount of bleeding from the ruptured ones too.......
Hope I start to see some improvement soon........ don't get to see the derm for another few weeks yet but I'm guessing he will increase the dose when I do see him.
People talk about the risks of Accutane but never seem to mention the risks of long term antibiotic use as well.... those things are not good on the stomach/gut over a long time and have other effects. Plus as soon as you stop antibiotics the problem comes back. At least with Accutane there is hope of remission or cure....
thanks for the responses guys (and gals). How bad was your guys acne prior to starting the accutane? Did you guys take any oral antibiotics for your acne before starting accutane as well?
I would say mine was moderate but persistent; the dermatologist's letter describes it as ""moderate acne with multiple papules, pustules and deep nodules on back. Comedones on face and pustules in axillae & groins" - sounds lovely doesn't it. I had tried lots of different antibiotics and topicals.... on an d off antibiotics for the best part of 10 years really, with the longest sustained period being over a year of lymecycline. Never saw much improvement.
Now done a month of accutane at 20mg and while the skin on my back is definitely drying out, the acne is worse than ever... lots of really deep painful nodules (it hurts to lay flat on my back...) and a gross amount of bleeding from the ruptured ones too.......
Hope I start to see some improvement soon........ don't get to see the derm for another few weeks yet but I'm guessing he will increase the dose when I do see him.
People talk about the risks of Accutane but never seem to mention the risks of long term antibiotic use as well.... those things are not good on the stomach/gut over a long time and have other effects. Plus as soon as you stop antibiotics the problem comes back. At least with Accutane there is hope of remission or cure....
how bad was your acne after taking antibiotic courses? Or did it always remain the same?
how bad was your acne after taking antibiotic courses? Or did it always remain the same?
Pretty bad, seemed to come and go of its own accord. I'm not sure that any of the antibiotics I tried (lymecycline, tetracycline, erythromycin, minocycline, oxytetracycline) ever made much difference at all... if I'm being generous then I might say they kept the problem at bay slightly - like the acne was always bubbling away with a few large nodules rather than a total breakout. And of course whenever I took a short break from them I had a massive rebound breakout after a couple of weeks....
I wish I had of pushed for a referral to a dermatologist years ago as it was pretty obvious the antibiotics and creams weren't going to fix anything. I dread to think what years of antibiotic use has done to my digestive system and body in general.
If I'm calculating correctly I'm on day 52 @ 20mg now. No real improvements on back / body acne as of yet, my face is clear apart from some blackheads (which I believe were caused by applying moisturiser), but I'm still breaking out on the back / body. Seeing my Dr in around 3 weeks so hopefully he will go up in dose and I will start to see some improvements.
Side effects are dry skin and cracked lips, gained a few lbs too but that is most like down to the fact I'm eating like a pig.............! No horror stories as yet (fingers crossed I wont get any of the nasty side effects). Won't know what is going on with my blood work until after the appointment obviously.
I'm very tall and heavy so I reckon I will be going up to at least 60mg? before the course is through.
Also, I confess I have got a bit sloppy about my face routine since starting accutane. - My skin has been soo dry I don' t get that oil slick appearance like before.