I am a 19 year old male and am about to start on accutane. After trying to combat it holistically and naturally, I have yielded to dermatologist advice since my acne is severe. I really want to avoid the side effects and do this as succesfuly as possible. Is there any advice that you can offer a fellow initiate? It would be greatly appreciated. (=
Hi Joe,
I'm into my second month on accutane, and the improvement to my skin is frickin amazing! I presume you know the drugs soak up excess oil in your body, therefore dryness occurs. My biggest problem is dry lips, they get really chapped and sore. I use blistex and after a few hours my lips get soft again 
) but at the start i was thinking ''damn, is it worth it''.. please stick it out, its so worth it! I wish you all the best with your accutane journey!
xxx
Good for you! I wish I would have taken the derms advice and started at 19 too! Now im 24 on accutane ( I told myself It would get better and it never did). Drink lots of water. Accutane really dehydrates you and the more water you drink the less symptoms you will have. Buy a good hydrating cream and about 5 chapsticks. If you go more than 2 hrs without chapstick you will regret it. Try and take it easy during your course. Try to limit heavy drinking and long nights. Good luck.
Good for you! I wish I would have taken the derms advice and started at 19 too! Now im 24 on accutane ( I told myself It would get better and it never did). Drink lots of water. Accutane really dehydrates you and the more water you drink the less symptoms you will have. Buy a good hydrating cream and about 5 chapsticks. If you go more than 2 hrs without chapstick you will regret it. Try and take it easy during your course. Try to limit heavy drinking and long nights. Good luck.
The dry lips are really bad but otherwise I've no bad side effects. How long are u on accutane faded? And what mg? I'm due to have my dosage upped next week from 30mg so I'm wondering will i have more dryness etc...
The dry lips are really bad but otherwise I've no bad side effects. How long are u on accutane faded? And what mg? I'm due to have my dosage upped next week from 30mg so I'm wondering will i have more dryness etc...
I'm a little over 90 days in. I've been on 40mg the whole way through ( I weight 115-120lbs). I will be doing a full 6 month course. It depends on how much they bump you up. I have heard, a lot of people experience a breakout with every dose increase so that's something to be prepared for. But, If you haven't experienced any side effects aside from dryness I would imagine you would just see an increase in that. Good luck!
I decided to start a blog to keep track of my progress. Thanks for your advice. How much water are we talking about? (:
Try to get as close to 2 liters a day that you can... When I first started accutane I was so thirsty I was drinking water constantly. Now that it is so cold I have definitely not been drinking enough.... and I have seen an increase in my side effects (i.e. headache, sore joins, fatigue, etc).
And again I was just like you, very hesitant to take this drug. I tried every holistic and natural option out there. ALL OF THEM. SPENT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS and at best was only able to go a few months with ok skin ( never perfect). I wanted to let you know that so far, I have no regrets taking this drug. I know starting accutane can be scary, so I just wanted to let you know that.
I think starting a log is a great idea. I have one too. Take pictures that way you can keep track of your progress. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Ok so its good to know that it'll more than likely be more dryness as opposed to god knows what, wont be over the moon if i break out with every increase but if it helps in the long run...
Doing a 6 month course too, finish up in may and for once I'm not wishing time away.
I'm not completely clear yet but I'm really enjoying the results so far and I've even had positive compliments! Deciding on accutane has really been beneficial
The dry lips are really bad but otherwise I've no bad side effects. How long are u on accutane faded? And what mg? I'm due to have my dosage upped next week from 30mg so I'm wondering will i have more dryness etc...
Have you tried CortiBalm on your lips? Mine cracked and bled a little at first, but that stopped once I started CortiBalm. Now my lips look better than they did before treatment!
The dry lips are really bad but otherwise I've no bad side effects. How long are u on accutane faded? And what mg? I'm due to have my dosage upped next week from 30mg so I'm wondering will i have more dryness etc...
Have you tried CortiBalm on your lips? Mine cracked and bled a little at first, but that stopped once I started CortiBalm. Now my lips look better than they did before treatment!
Hey soundofhope, I've never seen it in the chemist before, ill google it and see if its available in ireland, thank u 
The dry lips are really bad but otherwise I've no bad side effects. How long are u on accutane faded? And what mg? I'm due to have my dosage upped next week from 30mg so I'm wondering will i have more dryness etc...
Have you tried CortiBalm on your lips? Mine cracked and bled a little at first, but that stopped once I started CortiBalm. Now my lips look better than they did before treatment!
Hey soundofhope, I've never seen it in the chemist before, ill google it and see if its available in ireland, thank u
It's called Dr. Dan's here in the states. It works really well!
I am a 19 year old male and am about to start on accutane. After trying to combat it holistically and naturally, I have yielded to dermatologist advice since my acne is severe. I really want to avoid the side effects and do this as succesfuly as possible. Is there any advice that you can offer a fellow initiate? It would be greatly appreciated. (=
Good luck man, let us know how it goes. I too am still considering Accutane but am very scared about potentially permanent side-effects. I'm also worried about the side-effects that some have reported appearing after being on the drug for a few months - things like mood alteration, decreased function in one or more areas of the brain, and sexual dysfunction. I currently have dry eyes and am afraid that Accutane would really irritate them. I think it's also very scary how some report to have random and sudden permanent dryness years after being on Accutane.
Still, I may not have a choice as I know that I definitely don't want to live like this for the rest of my life. I'd like to look into light therapy and possibly any other alternative treatments in the meantime..
For now I'm going to try experimenting with probiotics and fiber and really just pray that that works.
For lips, the best thing to do in my opinion is have something to put on them right before bed and something for daytime use. For nighttime, you can apply generous amounts to your lips so they stay somewhat moisturized during the next day. I use Cortizone 10 ointment at night, which keeps my lips from feeling dry for the most part, though some people will also recommend Aquaphor for this. As far as what to use during the day, I find Blistex to work best, though I have also used Carmex and sometimes Aquaphor. So I would get Cortizone 10 ointment to put on your lips before you go to bed and then use Blistex during the day (at least that is what I have found works best for me.
For your skin, I have recently discovered Jergens lotion with shea butter to work great. It is the best moisturizer I have tried to date. I have also found succes with Cetaphil moisturizer, though it didn't work quite as well. I would also recommend a moisturizing cleanser to wash your face in the shower, and have used both Cerave and Cetaphil cleansers and haven't noticed a difference. Good luck
Thanks all for your great advice. I really think I will do well. I'm also using stievamycin and that has pretty much gotten rid of my acne in one week! I know there will be bumps along the way, but at least there is a light at the end of this tunnel. I also tried probiotics. Dont know if they did any good. Light therapy might work, but the effects might be temporary. Also you sound like a healthy guy like me. It seems like if you would go on accutane you would avoid the major side effects, since yur body could take it better. I think that discipline, diligence and trusting in God will get me through.