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Yes Or No To Second Course Of Roaccutane? (Pics Added)

MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/01/2013 11:40 am

 

Hello. I live in Australia and am 26 years old.

 

I first started getting acne when I was 11. By 14 I had severe cystic acne that was essentially ruining my life. One morning I woke up and was so horrified by my skin I wrote my mum a note before school and left it on the table; it said, "If I don't find help soon, I will kill myself".

Over the next 2 years I tried a variety of options. Every skin facial mask possible, change of diet, vibra-tabs, anitbiotics, cleansers, toners, bleach, toothpaste, herbal medicines, Chinese medicine, everything.

 

In 2003, at 16 I was told that there was a miracle tablet out there - (Ro)accutane. I was given 20mg tablets, taken twice daily for 6 months. After six months, my acne was fully gone but due to my fear of reoccurring acne I was told to continue to 9 months. At 8 months I asked permission to seize Roaccutane due to multiple nose bleeds per day and severe vision problems in the day and night.

 

My skin stayed 99% clear from 2003 til 2010. In 2010 I started breaking out more frequently, especially on my chin and cheeks. Slowly over time it became worse and worse. I rehashed my old facial masks, creams and managed to tone down my breakouts temporarily. Now it's 3 years later and I am re-scarring and finding myself getting 1 or 2 cystic breakouts per month. My acne marks don't disappear anymore either. I will get a zit, it will eventually go away after 2 - 6 weeks and the red mark will linger for months. I have marks that are over 6 months old. I am now using Proactiv in combination with the topical cream known as Epiduo and am taking 50mg of Doryx in the morning and night.

 

I saw a dermatologist yesterday and he suggested doing another course of Roaccutane. I am skeptical of doing it because I am mostly worried about how hard it will be on my liver (liver issues are known within my family although I seem to be ok for now) and also hair loss I experienced major hair thinning back in 2003 while taking Roaccutane and it never went back to normal. My hair is slowly thinning still. Although I am nowhere near bald I do miss my old hair as I am a girl and get self conscious about this stuff.

 

Would anyone here say I am better off without a second course of Roaccutane even though my acne is progressively getting worse. Am I going to lose more hair? Will I be doing damage to myself?

 

I am also in the process of finding out if I have a parathyroid issue as I have EXTREMELY high calcium levels and am also getting tested for Coeliac disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome due to severe weight loss and permanent bloating.

 

Thanks guys.

Added pics of my current acne situation. As you can see, skin appears dry and "tight", yet acne is persistent. Old scarring is visible and I continue to suffer of extremely sore/chapped lips 10 years on from Roaccutane. It's not easy posting these pics. I never leave the house without makeup and always delete photos which show my awful, awful skin.

BKsSjXn.jpg

L1a2Yry.jpg

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MemberMember
14
(@auguriesofinnocence)

Posted : 05/01/2013 12:27 pm

hi, here is my advice to you: out of all the things youve mentioned trying other than accutane you havent mentioned birth control pills. I had acne for 20 years (from age 12) which was mild until last year, it became cystic and I went on accutane for 1 month. It was horrible I had the nosebleeds and eye problems and it actually made me suicidal (if you read certain posts on here you will read about all the people who took accutane now living with severe side effects, just count yourself lucky if you didnt get them and dont chance it again because this time you may not come out unscathed). I went off and shortly thereafter I took yaz birth control for a hormone imbalance. WIthin 4 months my skin--literally--was clear. Now 9 months later Im still clear, I dont even wear make-up.

I understand why people are desperate enought to try accutane but your body was telling you "stop, youre killing me!" Accutane is a) very toxic b) likely to leave you with side effects and c) unlikely to work in the longrun...you tried it and your acne came back because acne is almost always hormonal. The only way to treat hormones is either with certain herbs or with birth control. People out there will say birth control is a drug too but compared to accutane its nothing. Go see your gyno and try yaz or something similar and give it 6 months. Ill bet you improve and you wont have to feel awful anymore.

Let us know how it goes :-)

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MemberMember
20
(@xxyy)

Posted : 05/01/2013 12:31 pm

have you thought about birth control since youre female? there are quite a few different ones you can take, not sure if youre tried any of them?

(as soon as i posted this the above comment appeared, damn it shy.gif )

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MemberMember
5
(@vituperative)

Posted : 05/01/2013 12:51 pm

hi, here is my advice to you: out of all the things youve mentioned trying other than accutane you havent mentioned birth control pills. I had acne for 20 years (from age 12) which was mild until last year, it became cystic and I went on accutane for 1 month. It was horrible I had the nosebleeds and eye problems and it actually made me suicidal (if you read certain posts on here you will read about all the people who took accutane now living with severe side effects, just count yourself lucky if you didnt get them and dont chance it again because this time you may not come out unscathed). I went off and shortly thereafter I took yaz birth control for a hormone imbalance. WIthin 4 months my skin--literally--was clear. Now 9 months later Im still clear, I dont even wear make-up.

I understand why people are desperate enought to try accutane but your body was telling you "stop, youre killing me!" Accutane is a) very toxic b) likely to leave you with side effects and c) unlikely to work in the longrun...you tried it and your acne came back because acne is almost always hormonal. The only way to treat hormones is either with certain herbs or with birth control. People out there will say birth control is a drug too but compared to accutane its nothing. Go see your gyno and try yaz or something similar and give it 6 months. Ill bet you improve and you wont have to feel awful anymore.

Let us know how it goes whistling.gif)

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the whole birth control thing. I did take Diane 35-ED from the age of 13 til 23 but needed to stop. At 23, one day I got my period and then it just never stopped. I bled almost every single day for over 14 months and then decided I had enough of it. I switched to other brands but they made me break out SEVERELY or they made me gain a lot of weight (up to 12kgs). I am finally getting a regular period and am not willing to try the pill again :(

have you thought about birth control since youre female? there are quite a few different ones you can take, not sure if youre tried any of them?

(as soon as i posted this the above comment appeared, damn it shy.gif )

I replied to the other person but thought I'd reply to you, too :) I have tried BC but after taking it for 10 years, one day I got my period and it basically never stopped. I bled almost every single day for over 14 months and even tried different brands and nothing helped. Decided to call it quits. It's 2 years on and am only starting to be "regular" on my own again. BC is not something I want to experience for a while - or maybe ever again.

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MemberMember
14
(@auguriesofinnocence)

Posted : 05/01/2013 7:24 pm

great minds think alike...

have you thought about birth control since youre female? there are quite a few different ones you can take, not sure if youre tried any of them?

(as soon as i posted this the above comment appeared, damn it shy.gif )

ahh that sucks! well I plan on taking the pill as long as I can...unless I bleed to death or have stroke symptoms. I want to be a man in my next life...

well forget hormones, maybe just try spearmint? It wont do anything bad to you. Its nice in the summer anyway.

hi, here is my advice to you: out of all the things youve mentioned trying other than accutane you havent mentioned birth control pills. I had acne for 20 years (from age 12) which was mild until last year, it became cystic and I went on accutane for 1 month. It was horrible I had the nosebleeds and eye problems and it actually made me suicidal (if you read certain posts on here you will read about all the people who took accutane now living with severe side effects, just count yourself lucky if you didnt get them and dont chance it again because this time you may not come out unscathed). I went off and shortly thereafter I took yaz birth control for a hormone imbalance. WIthin 4 months my skin--literally--was clear. Now 9 months later Im still clear, I dont even wear make-up.

I understand why people are desperate enought to try accutane but your body was telling you "stop, youre killing me!" Accutane is a) very toxic b) likely to leave you with side effects and c) unlikely to work in the longrun...you tried it and your acne came back because acne is almost always hormonal. The only way to treat hormones is either with certain herbs or with birth control. People out there will say birth control is a drug too but compared to accutane its nothing. Go see your gyno and try yaz or something similar and give it 6 months. Ill bet you improve and you wont have to feel awful anymore.

Let us know how it goes whistling.gif)

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the whole birth control thing. I did take Diane 35-ED from the age of 13 til 23 but needed to stop. At 23, one day I got my period and then it just never stopped. I bled almost every single day for over 14 months and then decided I had enough of it. I switched to other brands but they made me break out SEVERELY or they made me gain a lot of weight (up to 12kgs). I am finally getting a regular period and am not willing to try the pill again sad.png

>have you thought about birth control since youre female? there are quite a few different ones you can take, not sure if youre tried any of them?

(as soon as i posted this the above comment appeared, damn it shy.gif )

I replied to the other person but thought I'd reply to you, too smile.png I have tried BC but after taking it for 10 years, one day I got my period and it basically never stopped. I bled almost every single day for over 14 months and even tried different brands and nothing helped. Decided to call it quits. It's 2 years on and am only starting to be "regular" on my own again. BC is not something I want to experience for a while - or maybe ever again.

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MemberMember
2481
(@wishclean)

Posted : 05/03/2013 6:50 pm

It is obvious that your body does not respond well to synthetic drugs like (ro)accutane and BC, so why put your body through that again? I think people on here irresponsibly recommend the most common "solutions" that are also the most toxic ones for some people. If I were you, I would stay away from things that caused worrisome side effects - why would you risk nose bleeds, hair loss, impaired vision and other possible side effects again, since you know your body couldn't tolerate roaccutane the first time around? And obviously, the acne has returned so it's not even a long term solution.

In my opinion, your acne doesn't look bad. There is hyperpigmentation/ discoloration and red marks, not severe acne, so roaccutane is too extreme in this case and might make your dryness and discoloration worse. Find out if you have celiac, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, or anything else you suspect and then treat the ROOT of the problem. If, for instance, you have celiac's disease, then eliminating gluten from your diet will make a significant difference in your skin. Doctors are often too quick to prescribe extreme treatments that simply mask the problem, rather than try to get to the bottom of what is causing the issue in the first place. This is why acne keeps returning, because the treatment doesn't target the cause of the issue in the first place. You just have to be patient and persistent with whichever treatment you choose. Bare in mind that some doctors don't have your best interest at heart, they just want to make money. Sad but true, I experienced this first hand and have decided to pursue more natural and less severe treatments to avoid long term side effects.

Good luck!

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MemberMember
3
(@mahweeoh)

Posted : 05/03/2013 8:11 pm

Have you tried testing for endocrine disorders like pituitary or adrenal problems?

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MemberMember
568
(@leelowe1)

Posted : 05/04/2013 6:25 pm

Have you thought of SPIRO - it's an oral med and you may not want to mess with that but is has been successful for several people on this board. I hear you on the whole BC. It was a nightmare for me too (not to the extent that you had it). I guess everyone responds differently to different things. Regarding accutane, if you are still suffering from side effects, i would recommend not going on a 2nd course but the decision is up to you.

Good Luck. We're all in this together

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MemberMember
26
(@camaroz28)

Posted : 05/04/2013 11:06 pm

@Vituperative

I appreciate that you shouldnt have to be dealing with this maddening bedlam at this point of your life; and that, as people in general, with afflictions that forcibly require of us, grappling and forethought, beyond agreed upon standards of reasonableness; we hope that there invariably will come a time in our suffering, that some great equalizer, will temper the injustices to a tolerable level; or better still, admonish all that which is has irked us, unsympathetically for so long; but, as the experienced, slightly verbose and bitter realists amongst us can attest: it does not necessarily work that way.

The aforesaid is particularly on point, given that you seem to be teetering vis-a-vis your overall health. In concernment with Wishclean, your pharmaceutical usage history is not favorably indicatory, should you take the plunge, again. It is also worrisome, that you claim to be dealing with the telltale signs of Accutane usage: persisting dryness, hair loss and digestion issues, etc. I wish I could be a conscience clearer. If I were to put this into modern day allegory terms, I would put it thus: You are Walter White trying to deal with Tuco.

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MemberMember
2
(@card27)

Posted : 05/06/2013 5:20 pm

I went through it twice and it seemed it work better after the second course. And no offense to anyone on here, I would do what you think would be beneficial for you. Some people preach diet and hollistic methods claiming that's the real way to treat acne when they themselves are still breaking out after following there own advice. I eat whatever I want, sometimes don't wash my face and my face is healing and normal now. I don't stress out anymore because of restricting my diet or personal hygiene. Good luck!

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MemberMember
28
(@michi31)

Posted : 05/06/2013 6:02 pm

Typically for adult women - with acne on the chin and cheeks - Spiro is the way to go.

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MemberMember
14
(@graciemeow)

Posted : 09/15/2013 7:12 am

Hello there,

I came across your post whilst googling people's reactions to second courses of Roaccutane.

First of all, I'm sorry your are sufferring with acne again after what sounds like an intense course of accutane. It's a horrific drug that although does do its job and does it will - comes with side effects. Most of these subside after stopping the treatment but some take longer or stay.

I have been on two courses of roaccutane. I too felt like it was the only way to treat my acne (which I suffered along my jawline, chin and lower cheeks). My first course was in 2010 when I was 19 - my acne wasn't severe but i had tried EVERYTHING and I was on it for 2 and a half months before I stopped because my skin had cleared, my lips were terrible and I felt like my hair was thinning. In 2012 I went on it again for four and a half months - my hair fell out something awful. It used to be long and healthy and I had to cut it to my shoulders to help it recover - it never did, it was dry at the ends and split and just generally awful so now I've cut it to a bob to get rid of all the old 'roaccutane' hair. although it sorted my skin out i still do get break outs. The first time I got one I panicked - it feels like you've come down a long and hard road only to hit a brick wall at the end. I went back to my gp and she noticed my acne seemed to be hormonal and referred me to an endocrinologist, who after multiple tests found out I have PCOS (polycystic ovaries). Now i am trying metformin, which will treat my hormones primarily and hopefully my acne secondarily as acne is a cause of PCOS.

Now - I'm not saying you might have that but maybe going to an endocrinolist would help if you've tried everything else? Taking a hormonal route? Are there any patterns with your skin, such as flaring out around the same time every month or anything?

Grace

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