Sigh... I wonder if anyone is in the same boat as me. Suffering from years of horrible acne but too chicken to take Accutane in fear of the side effects. I did take around a months course of accutane when I was sixteen and developed severe headaches from the drug and nausea so I quit early. I'm too fraid to go back on the drug now as an adult due to the new public disclosure of the many,many,many side effects - what a know now about accutane scares me more than ever.
What has stopped you (personally)?
Yeah I'm too fearful of possible side effects. And I know there are people who go through accutane without having severe or lasting side effects but I still think it's risky... Maybe one day I will end up taking it but I don't think it will be soon. I really want to know I've exhausted ALL other options before taking it... but sometimes I think I should just go take accutane because it would be easier (to get rid of acne that way - even though I could end up with side effects worse than having acne to begin with)
But that's just me...
I asked about it years ago. The derm told me that for someone with my history of mental illness (diagnosed severe depression/anxiety disorder at 12 years old, had suicide attempts, self harmer etc) Accutane is definitely not a good idea.
That, plus the fact that you hear so many horror stories about it not working and acne coming back with a vengeance again later. Even if I had access to it, I still wouldn't take it. I wouldn't risk my health on a "maybe."
This is so hard. I have been agonising with this for such a long time.
For me it's my IBS, I worry it could mutate into something worse although I have heard people have taken accutane with even worse things like Crohn's disease.
I would like to give accutane a try perhaps because my acne has disfigured me in just 8 months and that breaks my heart everyday.
I've just heard so many horror stories. Most of the side effects are just really scary to think about it. Like just the mild stuff people say about how like subtly uncomfortable a course can be...like you sometimes wake up with your eyelids sticking to your eyeballs, the lips turn into torn red ribbons that have to be constantly moisturized, and you flake like you've been walking through the desert for a week. THAT is just the smalltime stuff. The more serious, long-term stuff to consider is even worse. A few documentaries I've watched have specifically pointed out problems in males that use it that can last long after treatment is done (sexual dysfunction, loss of desire)...so nah, I'll find other ways of treating my acne efficiently before I sacrifice my libido for life.
I still get results from other treatment options out there...maybe not the BEST results, but I feel there are still better options out there for me as opposed to a last resort drug like accutane.
It's the mental side-effect that I'm worried about the most. I can't have anything interfere with my study and work. Once I have the next step in life then I'll take it. I'd rather die at 30 from some kind of horrible intestinal disease then have acne for the rest of my life.
Well if your acne is scarring and nothing else works than accutane is the only option as damage from scarring is permanent.
You love to remind us that scarring is permanent, lol. 
But the thing is, what about the cases where the Accutane doesn't help either?
I honestly thing BP is a way better choice than Accutane for most people. If it could help my deep cystic acne as much as it is, I'd think it could help anyone at least somewhat. There are some mild side effects, sure. But at least it's topical and not changing the interior of your body.
The thing that always stops me in my tracks when I consider it is the (possible) nightmarish side effects. I know I could possibly go through a course of it and be completely fine and have crystal clear skin, but on the other hand I could have horrific side effects that I would regret for the rest of my entire life. Another thing that deeply concerns me about it is when people mention how side effects can still occur years after a completed course - so even if I did a course and was fine the thought of something going wrong in the future would play on my mind constantly, I wouldn't cope well with that anxiety. The whole 'unknown mechanism' of accutane is all a bit sketchy to me and with such a broad range of possible side effects I've often thought of taking it like being a betrayal to myself and a risky gamble to my health and knowing my terrible luck something would go wrong
Keyword here is possibly. The uncertainty of it all really puts me off.
Having said that though I am glad that accutane is an option. For people who are suicidal due to their acne it can be a real miracle. This is why for me accutane is the absolute last resort - for when I've tried absolutely everything else but also for when I'm older. I still believe I will grow out of my acne like my father did when he was 19/20 and I'm not far away from that age at all. If I don't grow out of it then I'll try all my other options but if they did not work then ultimately - accutane.
Edit for grammar & spellingz.
Also forgot to mention that accutane is derived from chemotherapy which is quite frightening.
Dang
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
dang! That's a lot of money
I paid only $5 for my Accutane. I didn't realize I had good insurance cause it saved it me $650 a month. I honestly thought everyone paid the same..
Which insurance did you have? 
Would be nice if someone on the forum with similar experience on getting insurance for Accutane to help out 
I have no insurance and am in college, sighs...
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
Really? it's that much in America. In Canada the drug costs around $15 dollars.
We don't have public health insurance in USA, yet. 
The healthcare system in here is terrible; something that's really a necessity like hospitalizing overnight could cost more than a 1000 without insurance, ONLY for the bed.
it's either go broke, or go die. 
Because my uncle took it for his severe acne and has had health problem after health problem because of it, he still suffers today. I'm not really sure what he has to be honest. It was something where he needs to take massive amounts of sodium because his body doesn't absorb it properly. Not to mention his back problems.
When I saw the videos of people who were taking it, and they reported their back aches, saying that's normal. If a drug for acne is giving you back aches... uhhh. that's not good.
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
Really? it's that much in America. In Canada the drug costs around $15 dollars.
We don't have public health insurance in USA, yet.
The healthcare system in here is terrible; something that's really a necessity like hospitalizing overnight could cost more than a 1000 without insurance, ONLY for the bed.
it's either go broke, or go die.
The health care system in the U.S terrifies me. Why do people put up with such a heartless greedy system? virtually every other western country has socialized medicine, the U.S is the only that lags behind the times it seems.
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
Really? it's that much in America. In Canada the drug costs around $15 dollars.
We don't have public health insurance in USA, yet.
The healthcare system in here is terrible; something that's really a necessity like hospitalizing overnight could cost more than a 1000 without insurance, ONLY for the bed.
it's either go broke, or go die.
The health care system in the U.S terrifies me. Why do people put up with such a heartless greedy system? virtually every other western country has socialized medicine, the U.S is the only that lags behind the times it seems.
We love money 
Can't ever get enough of it, haha!
You know the USA government paid TONS to help banks and companies to not go bankrupt, know what they did with those funding? First thing they did was to throw a extravagance party to blow those money away, while millions of people here are still in poverty.
Some people here can't even afford to get a job and lose their Medical ( Medical is a healthcare for people who's really low income in USA )
Because their cost of their doctor visits etc will end up costing TONS more for them if they have a job, it's not that they want to leech off the government, it's that this society doesn't allow them to live a normal life.
It's sad to look into it more.
All I can say is just stay healthy in the USA, or you end up being broke and still be sick.
i took acctuane for a few days before i looked up the side effects etc...scared me a lot because my parents have a horrible health history. decided to stop taking it after a week. 3 weeks later, my skin was the clearest i've seen in years....2 weeks after that (today), i have now what you would call a 'pizza face'. my acne was mostly mild-moderate, seeing my face like this makes me quite depressed. birthday is also in a weeks' time. i dont know what to think - regret taking accutane or regret not continuing.
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
Really? it's that much in America. In Canada the drug costs around $15 dollars.
We don't have public health insurance in USA, yet.
The healthcare system in here is terrible; something that's really a necessity like hospitalizing overnight could cost more than a 1000 without insurance, ONLY for the bed.
it's either go broke, or go die.
The health care system in the U.S terrifies me. Why do people put up with such a heartless greedy system? virtually every other western country has socialized medicine, the U.S is the only that lags behind the times it seems.
We don't put up with it. We have no choice.
The cost. Not everyone can just shell out at least 2000 dollars over 6 months x_x
Really? it's that much in America. In Canada the drug costs around $15 dollars.
We don't have public health insurance in USA, yet.
The healthcare system in here is terrible; something that's really a necessity like hospitalizing overnight could cost more than a 1000 without insurance, ONLY for the bed.
it's either go broke, or go die.
The health care system in the U.S terrifies me. Why do people put up with such a heartless greedy system? virtually every other western country has socialized medicine, the U.S is the only that lags behind the times it seems.
We don't put up with it. We have no choice.
Sigh... I guess that's America then. It seems like a nightmare I can't even begin to fathom. So if a person with no health insurance or poor health insurance was suddenly diagnosed with Cancer they'd probably just die, right?