Im a guy but hormonal treatments are the best in my opinion since that is what causes acne to begin with. Some people like me take Accutane and the acne returns because our hormones are still out of wack.

My roommate went on a 6 month Accutane treatment (even though I think it was unnecessary because she had mild acne but who am I to say...) and now she's perfectly clear! Whilst she is very happy now, I will say that those 6 months were extremely difficult for her. She also suffers from depression so Accutane amplified it for her. She hardly ever went out, even to classes, and that really hurt her grades at school and everything. I don't think she mentioned anything about hair loss, weight fluctuations, or eye problems, but then again maybe she was just never in the mood to really talk about these things to me? But I mean she did push through all of it and she's happy with the way her skin looks - her acne hasn't come back in the last few months so it probably fixed it for her!

I just started Diane 35 and I'm in my week 2 so I can't really give you my two cents about that. But I did just switch over from Alesse which was horrible for me. I do feel the side effects of Diane 35 already (increased appetite, fatigue, mood swings) but it's nothing I can't handle. And, fingers crossed, I haven't experienced any crazy initial break out. If anything, it's cleared away some of my pre-existing stubborn ones... I have heard that with Diane, however, you only get clear/stay clear while you're on it, and that once you stop taking it, the acne will come back.

I think it really depends on what you think your acne is, whether it's hormonal or something else. I feel like Accutane is a better long-term solution to acne than Diane is. Have you tried spironolactone? I believe that's also used to treat hormonal acne...not sure what the side effects are but I've seen many acne.org users mention it!

Good luck

thanks everyone for the advice. i will try diane 35, hopefully i will be fine if it does ever come back ill think about accutane. Yeah i heard alesse makes it worse. Not to long ago i tried yaz and i was on it for 2 weeks. it didnt make me that moody,etc like diane did but too soon to tell. i stopped taking it because me and my mom saw on the news what happened with 23 canadian women died from blood clots taken yasmin & yaz. They have an ingredient that no other bcs have and that makes you have 3x higher chances for blood clots. A girl died 1 year later, another 1 month . On the news a woman said if you are on it stop it asap. i know its different for everyone. its so risky. then there were alot of cases for injury. One other woman had open heart surgery almost died but survived. My acne is hormonal. I have never tried spironolactone. Is that pills?.

goodluck to you all!

Not to scare you but Diane 35 is also linked to blood-clot related deaths in Canada, and it's banned in France because they decided the risks outweigh the benefits. I believe it's because it's a high-estrogen pill, like Yaz/Yasmin, which increases the risks of blood clots (don't quote me on this though!). Has your dermatologist not talked to you about Diane's risk factors?

I'm not sure what spironolactone is, I think it's a pill? You could probably find out more in spiro threads, or ask your derm/doc about it next time you visit them.

I'm on spiro and yes it is a pill. I know in some countries it's not prescribed for acne. You may need to bring documentation with you to show how effective it is for hormonal acne. I use it and love it I'm clear.

hmm interesting for spiro. i should read about it. every medication is risky. im going to take blood test every 2 months while on diane 35 to make sure im safe.

The long term risks don't show up until years later. I used to be on diane 35, also tried a few others like yaz and kariva (estrogenic & progesterone ones), along with androcur (androgen blocker). Over 5 years later, I started getting numbness on my arms, hands and legs. Not sure yet if it's related to the birth control I was on, but there are risks involved for sure. That's why diane was banned in some European countries.

I have no experience with spiro, but if you do decide to go that route don't go for high doses because obviously that increases the risks.

I think both medication have a lot of risk but every one is different. I have been taking diane35 for 5 years, I don't notice any adverse side effects, but it doesn't mean Diane35 doesn't involve risk because as Wishclean says it`s banned in Usa and in some European countrys ( France, last month).

But the reason I have answered this post is because I wanted to tell you my experience with Roacutane. I don't want to scare you because as I said before medication doesn't have the same effect in every one. But I recommed you not to take Roacutan in your case if you say you have depression. My experience with Roaccutane was terrified. I also had deppresion as you did. When I was taking Roacutan my depression was the worst I had ever experienced, I had also difficult in concentration, confusion, terrible night mares, social phobia, and I thought I was going to finish my days in a mental hospital. I never thought this symptoms were caused by Roacutane, because I had been taking it for 5 years ( at that time I had a manteinance dosage I just have to take Roacutane three days a week). Actually, after 6 years (actually I am not taking Roaccutane, I am taking diane35) I am fine. My recomendations is if you decide to take roacutan, please don't do it for a long term, and if it doesn't work for you, leave it, it's not worthy.

im glad you are safe and better now from accutane. Right now its been 2 weeks since im on diane 35, im feeling ok now we will see how i feel after 1 - 2 packs. 1-2 months. My dermatologist said that diane wont clear the red acne marks that i have, but i hope they do. my face is starting to clear up a little. They told me it looks so much better. i avoid waxing the face because it rips my skin, im sensitive and makes me break out more. So far, i do not having many mood swings, or loss of appetite/ loss of sleep. inless it comes later on in few months. Yes depression is bad .

Hey Hun! Glad to hear you are clearing up a bit, that is a great sign!! Those red marks your are talking about is Hyperpigmentaion. A good way to fade that is AHA from acne.org mine are fading away quickly. 80% in a month and a half!

oh thats great, glad AHA is helping you. I will read more about it. So i guess diane wont clear red marks, just active acne.

Nothing clears up those marks besides time or laser treatments. Or topical treatments

I took Diane 35 for 2 years. I didn't experience any bad side effects, but it didn't worked for the acne on my face, it just worked for my back acne. But then i had to stop it (the doctor said i was taking it for too long, but different doctors have different opinions about that), and my back acne came back. My face acne it's the same.

If it worked for you once, it means this pill is the one for you, because it balances your hormones. For me it seems that my acne is cause by another type of hormonal imbalance.

As for Accutane, it will only work for a short period of time. It's not worth it because once you stop it, the hormonal imbalance it's still there, and the acne will come back. The thing with hormonal treatments is that you have to keep the treatment...

Good luck

thanks everyone. Im done 1 month so far on diane 35. i do not notice any results yet, i guess it takes more time. i actually brokeout abit more especially around my period. I hope it works and clears my skin. Then i need to get rid of the red/brown spots.

thanks everyone. Im done 1 month so far on diane 35. i do not notice any results yet, i guess it takes more time. i actually brokeout abit more especially around my period. I hope it works and clears my skin. Then i need to get rid of the red/brown spots.

Don't give up, I only noticed improvement after 4 months taking Diane35. Right now I'm finishing my 6th pack and can tell that it really helped both my facial and back acne. I'm also taking androgen blocker Androcur, which may play a big role here.

Diane35 won't get rid of your hyperpigmentation for sure, you definitely need some kind of AHA.

thank you for encouraging me not to give up. I just started my 2nd pack of diane today. Hope it will clear up soon. I need to get rid of my active acne first then i will do AHA medium glycolic peel. I guess thats why the dermatologists recommend treatment for 6 mths so it can stop coming back. I found online for 60 something dollars you can get your own peels and do them by yourself ( in series). I went to school for esthetics and have my diploma. They showed us chemical peels so i would know how to do them . But for deep medical peels i cannot do them. Thats for dermatologists. I think estheticians are only allowed to do superficial peels. I wonder if they can do medium peels? was willing to try it on my own. I know it can be dangerous to do it by yourself if its very strong peel and your not liscensed or educated on it. I do not really want to spend hundreds of dollars proffessionally if i would be able to do it on my own.

Be very careful it only takes seconds to burn your face! Lots of people do them at home though with good results and it is much cheaper and I am sure with your background that you will have a better understanding than the normal person.

i am thinking to post pics of my acne & the scars to see what you guys think. Then hopefully when it clears ill put pics . ill also would like to show you guys the website where im thinking to buy the chemical peels from. Let me know what you guys think? and which one should i get?. Im thinking ill do a medium strength peel so i get better results. Im not allowed to do the deep peels. I have more scars on forehead.

[Removed] then you go under chemical peels. Theres many im not sure which one i should get. I was thinking glycolic peel (medium strength).

Thanks

i have no doubt that diane clears up acne. my cousin had horrendous acne, even on her brows. Now, 7 months later, you look at her and you would never believe she had a pimple. She has 1-2 scars on her cheeks. I think doctors take you off diane after 35 months and switch you over to a diff pill because diane is high risk. diane is actually prescribed for acne, so just be patient and give it time.

i took it when i was 16 but it was horrible for me, i lost a lot of hair, gained weight, got leg pains and migraines, basically was shit, and my mom experienced the same. but my cousins take it and its great for them. if your hormones are the problem, obviously its better to control your hormones than take accutane because your not fixing any hormonal problem with accutane. my doc even said to me "look, if your coming to me for breakouts of 1 or two cysts or pimples before your period, i can't help you. this is something only hormones can fix". accutane works for all types of acne, it might clear you but if your hormones are imbalanced you have a high chance of it coming back, at least i read about that. red marks fade with time, but long term side effects that could be caused by accutane won't.

I just ordered the glycolic peel 30% today so hopefully it will help with brown spots/hyperpigmentation. It is my 3rd month now that im using diane 35 and i am more moody, cry often than usual, depressed, little bit if anxiety. Sometimes i do have insomnia and cant fall asleep fast . my skin does look more clear.