RANT:
So I'm going to be honest. I've suffered with acne since middle school and now in my senior year in college. During high school I used a ton of skin care products that had no effect whatsoever, in fact it made it worse. Maybe I wasn't using them right or consitently but the problem kept getting worse and worse. I used to get these awful nose zits and omg thanks god I haven't had one in years after I decided to cut out all those products and just began washing my face with water and some days with soap. My skin improved exponentially but unfortunately it hasn't cured and I have left over scarring. My acne has been persistent for quite some time now and I've stuck to that routine of just washing with water and it's led me to the point where I'm comfortable with myself and I don't have problems attracting partners but at the same time my scarring has been getting worse. So I went to the derm, I told her that I've been using a lot of products that haven't worked, she gave me antibiotics and I didn't take them because I didn't think they would be effective. So I went for a follow up and she told me she noticed an improvement in my skin, but she commented on my scarring and told me I had 2 options. To continue with antibiotics or to get on accutane to prevent further damage, and she was leaning on the latter pretty heavily because my scarring was getting worse.
So now my accutane is at the pharmacy and I'm debating on picking it up and going with it. On one side, my skin's complexion has slowly been getting better for awhile now, more recently in the past few months it's been looking great. I have no zits on my forehead, just some on my cheek and some deep cysts a long my jaw line. Even my blackheads are going away, I've noticed that after I used a biore strip, they haven't really comeback aside from some whiteness in the pores. My bacne is pretty gnarly though but my sister suffered from it too and got rid of it with regular BP. Plus I'm about to graduate in May and I really don't want a terrible IB to ruin my confidence these last few months. So I'm thinking of just going with the regular treatment of antibiotics plus more topicals and hope for the best.
On the other hand I take the accutane and get rid of the problem once and for all. Suffer through a possible IB, horrific physical and mental side effects, but see a sure fire cure. I just feel bad going straight to accutane considering I didn't really try all the other options, but I think the derm was really leaning on it already to prevent scarring.
Opinions?
Only you can decide what is best for you. For me it would depend on how bad it is and how much it is affecting you. The fact that you are debating it tells me it probably isnt that bad. Accutane is the best treatment out there though. But remember it isnt a for sure cure either. Trust me Ive been on 2 courses of it.
I recently got told by my derm to go on accutane as well. I am in a similar situation as you, I went to see my GP, he threw a bunch of creams and antibiotics at me and they didnt work. Went to see the derm took one look at my skin and said stop taking all those and get a blood test and come back and see me... I feel as though I didnt get a chance to give the regimen a good go and the derm was kinda sudden with the decision but then again the derm would only based the decision on what would prevent scarring?
Im worried about the side effects too! Spoken to alot of people and have gotten mixed reviews. At the end of the day everyone is different and who knows you might only have the 'dry lips' side effect.
I would say its up to you, accutane normally takes effect after 3 or so months so by May you should see a huge improvement.
Accutane has changed my life and I am only a month into my course of 40 mg a day.
My skin is no longer super oily, my hair never gets oily so I don't need to take daily showers, I don't have to worry about touching my face and getting a breakout, etc...
I have no side effects except a little bit of dry skin on my face that is super manageable (I don't have dry lips whatsoever), a little lower back pain if I workout too much, and that is all! I don't believe in the mental side effects that people say are caused by accutane. Acne is so much more mentally scarring than anything out there and accutane cures that.
Seriously. You have the chance. I would definitely take it so you don't have to worry about your acne any longer. I never got an initial breakout and I have only one zit left on my skin at the moment and it has only been a month!
with accutane you can't treat your pitted scars at all once you mention accutane where ever you go you're denied for at least 6 months after your finish your course and accutane is very dangerous and has serious side effects.
I'm not planning to treat my scars for a long time, maybe when I'm 25 or something. I'm still in college, I really don't have that kind of money lol. All I want to do is get rid of the acne.
Accutane is definitely not a sure fire cure, and it should only be a last resort. My skin heals WORSE now after accutane. What else have you tried? Any topicals?
I know your skin heals worse after it but my doctor assured me that after about 6 months it returns to normal. I've tried proactiv, murad, bunch of topicals from the pharmacy, so much stuff and that just made my skin worse. I think Accutane has an extremely high success rate in reducing the amount of acne, I'm aware some relapse but I'm just praying for the best honestly.
Accutane doesn't really work I'm sorry to say. Your acne will likely return after your finished your course sooner or later. Just accept your acne as a part of yourself.
I'm sorry that it never worked for you, but millions of people have used the drug successfully including people I know in real life. I accept that there's a chance of relapse, but at this point I'd do anything for any improvement.
Why did you ask for opinions if you're just going to dismiss everyone giving them?
I don't think they're dismissing all opinions; just the baseless fear-mongering ones like bubbles'. Accutane does work for many, many people. On these boards you just hear from the ones that don't as the cured ones aren't posting anymore. Additionally, a great many accutane users don't even know these forums exist.
EDIT: My derm is an NHS derm in a hospital. She does nothing but handle the thousands of patients that have been referred from the GP for accutane treatment and she sees a great many of them cured completely. Outside of the usual dry skin/hair/eyes/etc and flushed face problems during the course, she rarely sees nasty side effects in her patients. She makes no money from me as she's NHS, so I don't see why she'd lie.
Why did you ask for opinions if you're just going to dismiss everyone giving them?
I don't think they're dismissing all opinions; just the baseless fear-mongering ones like bubbles'. Accutane does work for many, many people. On these boards you just hear from the ones that don't as the cured ones aren't posting anymore. Additionally, a great many accutane users don't even know these forums exist.
EDIT: My derm is an NHS derm in a hospital. She does nothing but handle the thousands of patients that have been referred from the GP for accutane treatment and she sees a great many of them cured completely. Outside of the usual dry skin/hair/eyes/etc and flushed face problems during the course, she rarely sees nasty side effects in her patients. She makes no money from me as she's NHS, so I don't see why she'd lie.
I agree that accutane does work for many people, but recently they have found that the success rate from one course of accutane is much lower than it was believed to be. Also, accutane should be a last resort treatment because of the side effects. It sounds like the OP has not even tried any prescription topicals. There's retin-a, differin, epiduo, finacea, aczone, tazorac, and many more. I tried all of those before even considering accutane, and I would suggest the OP do the same.
Why did you ask for opinions if you're just going to dismiss everyone giving them?
I don't think they're dismissing all opinions; just the baseless fear-mongering ones like bubbles'. Accutane does work for many, many people. On these boards you just hear from the ones that don't as the cured ones aren't posting anymore. Additionally, a great many accutane users don't even know these forums exist.
EDIT: My derm is an NHS derm in a hospital. She does nothing but handle the thousands of patients that have been referred from the GP for accutane treatment and she sees a great many of them cured completely. Outside of the usual dry skin/hair/eyes/etc and flushed face problems during the course, she rarely sees nasty side effects in her patients. She makes no money from me as she's NHS, so I don't see why she'd lie.
I agree that accutane does work for many people, but recently they have found that the success rate from one course of accutane is much lower than it was believed to be. Also, accutane should be a last resort treatment because of the side effects. It sounds like the OP has not even tried any prescription topicals. There's retin-a, differin, epiduo, finacea, aczone, tazorac, and many more. I tried all of those before even considering accutane, and I would suggest the OP do the same.
That's fair enough and I agree with trying other options first. I've had acne for six years and have tried everything, hence why I'm on accutane right now. I wasn't really saying the OP should go straight on accutane, just trying to justify why he might be dismissing posts like bubbles'.
Why did you ask for opinions if you're just going to dismiss everyone giving them?
I don't think they're dismissing all opinions; just the baseless fear-mongering ones like bubbles'. Accutane does work for many, many people. On these boards you just hear from the ones that don't as the cured ones aren't posting anymore. Additionally, a great many accutane users don't even know these forums exist.
EDIT: My derm is an NHS derm in a hospital. She does nothing but handle the thousands of patients that have been referred from the GP for accutane treatment and she sees a great many of them cured completely. Outside of the usual dry skin/hair/eyes/etc and flushed face problems during the course, she rarely sees nasty side effects in her patients. She makes no money from me as she's NHS, so I don't see why she'd lie.
I agree that accutane does work for many people, but recently they have found that the success rate from one course of accutane is much lower than it was believed to be. Also, accutane should be a last resort treatment because of the side effects. It sounds like the OP has not even tried any prescription topicals. There's retin-a, differin, epiduo, finacea, aczone, tazorac, and many more. I tried all of those before even considering accutane, and I would suggest the OP do the same.
I mean I've used topicals albeit, non prescription, when I first start getting acne and none of them worked. My derm gave me the option of using topicals/antibiotics or accutane and she was pretty much leaning on the latter when she bluntly stated that I was going to need different topicals for different parts of my body and that it would not be as effective as accutane, plus she emphasized that my acne was cystic so I I needed accutane to prevent scarring.
Thanks for yalls opinions though I really appreciate it, I'm going to stick with the accutane. I took my first pill today. I'm going to keep myself very healthy during these next few months. If I notice anything out of the ordinary physically/mentally I'll definitely let me doctor know asap
OK I changed my mind. After reading all the horrific things about the medicine I decided I'm going to another derm for a second opinion to see if I should continue with the accutane or try another antibiotic, I'm going to be honest with them. Do you guys have a recommendation for another antibio? As I wait for the appointment I'll continue to take the accutane though.
Is your acne hormonal??? Have you looked at the holistic forum??? Have you tried light therapy. Accutane is a last resort and for severe cystic acne and is way over prescribed at least here in the U.S. and many have their acne return, either after their course, a couple years down the road etc... Accutane is NOT a 100% guarantee!
As for antibiotics they can be harsh on the digestive system if you decided to go that route make sure you take a good probiotic and maybe with a topical you could clear up and then get treatment for the scars!
Good Luck
Philopower, I wouldn't suggest taking an antibiotic. Instead I'd ask your derm about topicals like retinoids, benozyl peroxide, or sodium sulfacetamide. You can read through the reviews here to see if any of them sound promising to you. Also, what kind of stuff are you putting on your face? It's possible your face wash or shaving cream could be breaking you out. Try entering them in cosdna to see if they have comedogenic ingredients in them. I also agree with oli girl about the diet changes. Making changes in my diet cleared me up after accutane failed. A good place to start is trying to eliminate dairy for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference.
Philopower, I wouldn't suggest taking an antibiotic. Instead I'd ask your derm about topicals like retinoids, benozyl peroxide, or sodium sulfacetamide. You can read through the reviews here to see if any of them sound promising to you. Also, what kind of stuff are you putting on your face? It's possible your face wash or shaving cream could be breaking you out. Try entering them in cosdna to see if they have comedogenic ingredients in them. I also agree with oli girl about the diet changes. Making changes in my diet cleared me up after accutane failed. A good place to start is trying to eliminate dairy for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference.
I've used bp in the past! no results, plus a bunch of other over the counter topicals, and I don't consume dairy either so it's definitely not that either.
Look up everything you put on your face here. http://cosdna.com/eng/
Even if BP doesn't work you've still got retinoids, azelaic acid, aczone, and sodium sulfacetamide to try.
If you don't think dairy is the problem you could try making all of your meals lower in glycemic load (less sugar and refined carbs).