Hi. I went to my dermatologist last weekend and we had a conversation about Isotretinoin/Accutane. He said that I should consider it because my acne just keeps coming back.
First of all, back in 2013, I had a mild acne and got cleared from using Clindamycin Solution and Tretinoin he prescribed me. Then, last October my acne came back, still mild but the idiot I was used a mask with a sulfur (which you shouldn't use while using Tretinoin) as a spot treatment, I didn't know what I was thinking. I had like big whiteheads with pus on both of my cheeks. It was December 2013, I went back to my dermatologist and he gave me Benzoyl Peroxide 10%. I used it for a couple of months but I still get breakouts even if BP was supposed to kill the bacteria living in your face, right?
Now, I would say I have a mild to moderate acne, maybe in between. I don't know but I'm sure it ain't severe. I have lots of redmarks/PIH on both of my cheeks and a little on the middle of my eyebrows. I wanted to say to him "Great! Let's start taking Accutane/Isotretinoin." but I couldn't yet, I want to know more about it first, research, because I know it's a serious medication with a lot of side effects, initial breakout and stuff. I'm just scared, what if it makes everything worse?
Should I take Accutane/Iso? I have a friend who took it because he had a mild acne, and his acne never came back, he didn't get the crazy side effects, just the dryness of skin and lips and he said that I should do it. I can't make up my mind yet... and to think it's also very pricey.
I have a few questions, I hope you guys could help me...
1. I never had cystic acne before, will it give me those if I take accutane?
2. About the scarring, I read somewhere that they got boxcar scars and rolling scars after they completed their course of accutane because of the initial breakout, will I get those too? 
3. I have a mild-moderate acne, how many months on the meds till i see results?
4. Does it improve acne scars?
5. Does it fades PIH/redmarks left from breakouts? See, the redmarks are very visible because I have a fair skin.
6. Will I get some of those crazy side effects of the meds?
Thanks for helping. Any advice would be appreciated. 
Sorry I would write a long reply but i need to my english coursework. Hae you tried the paleo diet or lowering carb/legume to 100g a day. Also accutaine is high dose Vitamin a with side effects try eating vitamin a high foods e.g sweet potato. Take magnesium and vitamin d3 supplements make sure they hae no added extras or order online. Eat zinc rich foods meat , pumpkin seeds.
What is you acne related to? Food does cause acne.
Is it high gi/ high carb. Citrus fruits? Nighshade vegetables? High iodine? Gluten intolerance? Lactose intolerance? Before going on accutane do a blood test for allergies. Go without these foods for a month and see if it clears you acne.
Dairy - added hormones and cow hormones worsen acne , lower your carb intake.
Also accutane does not work for everyday. I am so sorry if i like dampen your mood but its not good for the liver.
You can look at my blog as well. Also when you eat foods notice changes. Kiwis triggered acne for me check up a list of oral allergy symptms. For me it was itchy tongue, burning lips and throat. I f you experience this with citrus then dont eat them.
If your acne is not severe then it can be controlled by diet
Hi. I went to my dermatologist last weekend and we had a conversation about Isotretinoin/Accutane. He said that I should consider it because my acne just keeps coming back.
First of all, back in 2013, I had a mild acne and got cleared from using Clindamycin Solution and Tretinoin he prescribed me. Then, last October my acne came back, still mild but the idiot I was used a mask with a sulfur (which you shouldn't use while using Tretinoin) as a spot treatment, I didn't know what I was thinking. I had like big whiteheads with pus on both of my cheeks. It was December 2013, I went back to my dermatologist and he gave me Benzoyl Peroxide 10%. I used it for a couple of months but I still get breakouts even if BP was supposed to kill the bacteria living in your face, right?
Now, I would say I have a mild to moderate acne, maybe in between. I don't know but I'm sure it ain't severe. I have lots of redmarks/PIH on both of my cheeks and a little on the middle of my eyebrows. I wanted to say to him "Great! Let's start taking Accutane/Isotretinoin." but I couldn't yet, I want to know more about it first, research, because I know it's a serious medication with a lot of side effects, initial breakout and stuff. I'm just scared, what if it makes everything worse?
Should I take Accutane/Iso? I have a friend who took it because he had a mild acne, and his acne never came back, he didn't get the crazy side effects, just the dryness of skin and lips and he said that I should do it. I can't make up my mind yet... and to think it's also very pricey.
I have a few questions, I hope you guys could help me...
1. I never had cystic acne before, will it give me those if I take accutane?
2. About the scarring, I read somewhere that they got boxcar scars and rolling scars after they completed their course of accutane because of the initial breakout, will I get those too?
3. I have a mild-moderate acne, how many months on the meds till i see results?
4. Does it improve acne scars?
5. Does it fades PIH/redmarks left from breakouts? See, the redmarks are very visible because I have a fair skin.
6. Will I get some of those crazy side effects of the meds?
Thanks for helping. Any advice would be appreciated.
1. I never had cystic acne before, will it give me those if I take accutane?
It might, but not necessarily. It may increase the severity of your acne initially, but if you have not had cysts before (cysts are the big deep ones that never come to a head), you probably won't get them. Also, keep in mind that an initial break-out certainly isn't guaranteed. You may be one of the lucky who doesn't experience one. If you do, however, It is rarely worse than the worst break-out you've ever had, and there are things you can do while taking accutane to mitigate it, if necessary.
2. About the scarring, I read somewhere that they got boxcar scars and rolling scars after they completed their course of accutane because of the initial breakout, will I get those too?
Probably not. If you are not prone to those kind of scars already, you probably won't have to worry about it. However, accutane can weaken the skin, therefore it is absolutely imperative that you not pick, even to drain the white-heads, to avoid any scarring.
3. I have a mild-moderate acne, how many months on the meds till i see results?
Most people see improvement in the first 3-4 months. The length of time you should take it depends on your weight and dosage in order to reduce the chance of relapse. 4-6 months seems to be the average amount of time it takes to reach clarity.
4. Does it improve acne scars?
Not really (at least, no evidence to say so), although some people report that it does. In my case, when my skin became initially very dry in the second month (it seemed to balance out more in the 3rd) my old scars became more pronounced. Once my skin acclimated to the reduction in oil, they seem to be less noticeable.
5. Does it fades PIH/redmarks left from breakouts? See, the redmarks are very visible because I have a fair skin.
No, it wont. It may actually make them take longer to heal, just because everything takes longer to heal. Time, patience and sunscreen are the only things that will fade your PIH.
6. Will I get some of those crazy side effects of the meds?
This is kind of a vague question, so I don't think you will get a very good answer. If you mean "Will I get side-effects" the answer is yes. Everyone who takes isotretinoin will experience dry lips, dry skin, and dry eyes. The severity of these side-effects ranges from person to person and can be barely noticeable to some people vs. debilitating to others. Prevention is key to reducing severity it would seem. Keeping lip-balm, eye-drops and moisturizer on hand has helped me. If by 'crazy' side-effects you mean more of the rare issues like eye, bowel, joint or psychological problems, unfortunately, there is no way to know. These side-effects, however, tend to be rare, dose-dependent, and temporary (meaning, when you stop the medication, they will go away). This is why it is important you are always honest and upfront with you dermatologist. Strictly speaking, I would characterize my side-effects on the drug as annoying at the worst.
Hi. I went to my dermatologist last weekend and we had a conversation about Isotretinoin/Accutane. He said that I should consider it because my acne just keeps coming back.
First of all, back in 2013, I had a mild acne and got cleared from using Clindamycin Solution and Tretinoin he prescribed me. Then, last October my acne came back, still mild but the idiot I was used a mask with a sulfur (which you shouldn't use while using Tretinoin) as a spot treatment, I didn't know what I was thinking. I had like big whiteheads with pus on both of my cheeks. It was December 2013, I went back to my dermatologist and he gave me Benzoyl Peroxide 10%. I used it for a couple of months but I still get breakouts even if BP was supposed to kill the bacteria living in your face, right?
Now, I would say I have a mild to moderate acne, maybe in between. I don't know but I'm sure it ain't severe. I have lots of redmarks/PIH on both of my cheeks and a little on the middle of my eyebrows. I wanted to say to him "Great! Let's start taking Accutane/Isotretinoin." but I couldn't yet, I want to know more about it first, research, because I know it's a serious medication with a lot of side effects, initial breakout and stuff. I'm just scared, what if it makes everything worse?
Should I take Accutane/Iso? I have a friend who took it because he had a mild acne, and his acne never came back, he didn't get the crazy side effects, just the dryness of skin and lips and he said that I should do it. I can't make up my mind yet... and to think it's also very pricey.
I have a few questions, I hope you guys could help me...
1. I never had cystic acne before, will it give me those if I take accutane?
2. About the scarring, I read somewhere that they got boxcar scars and rolling scars after they completed their course of accutane because of the initial breakout, will I get those too?
3. I have a mild-moderate acne, how many months on the meds till i see results?
4. Does it improve acne scars?
5. Does it fades PIH/redmarks left from breakouts? See, the redmarks are very visible because I have a fair skin.
6. Will I get some of those crazy side effects of the meds?
Thanks for helping. Any advice would be appreciated.
1. I never had cystic acne before, will it give me those if I take accutane?
It might, but not necessarily. It may increase the severity of your acne initially, but if you have not had cysts before (cysts are the big deep ones that never come to a head), you probably won't get them. Also, keep in mind that an initial break-out certainly isn't guaranteed. You may be one of the lucky who doesn't experience one. If you do, however, It is rarely worse than the worst break-out you've ever had, and there are things you can do while taking accutane to mitigate it, if necessary.
2. About the scarring, I read somewhere that they got boxcar scars and rolling scars after they completed their course of accutane because of the initial breakout, will I get those too?
Probably not. If you are not prone to those kind of scars already, you probably won't have to worry about it. However, accutane can weaken the skin, therefore it is absolutely imperative that you not pick, even to drain the white-heads, to avoid any scarring.
3. I have a mild-moderate acne, how many months on the meds till i see results?
Most people see improvement in the first 3-4 months. The length of time you should take it depends on your weight and dosage in order to reduce the chance of relapse. 4-6 months seems to be the average amount of time it takes to reach clarity.
4. Does it improve acne scars?
Not really (at least, no evidence to say so), although some people report that it does. In my case, when my skin became initially very dry in the second month (it seemed to balance out more in the 3rd) my old scars became more pronounced. Once my skin acclimated to the reduction in oil, they seem to be less noticeable.
5. Does it fades PIH/redmarks left from breakouts? See, the redmarks are very visible because I have a fair skin.
No, it wont. It may actually make them take longer to heal, just because everything takes longer to heal. Time, patience and sunscreen are the only things that will fade your PIH.
6. Will I get some of those crazy side effects of the meds?
This is kind of a vague question, so I don't think you will get a very good answer. If you mean "Will I get side-effects" the answer is yes. Everyone who takes isotretinoin will experience dry lips, dry skin, and dry eyes. The severity of these side-effects ranges from person to person and can be barely noticeable to some people vs. debilitating to others. Prevention is key to reducing severity it would seem. Keeping lip-balm, eye-drops and moisturizer on hand has helped me. If by 'crazy' side-effects you mean more of the rare issues like eye, bowel, joint or psychological problems, unfortunately, there is no way to know. These side-effects, however, tend to be rare, dose-dependent, and temporary (meaning, when you stop the medication, they will go away). This is why it is important you are always honest and upfront with you dermatologist. Strictly speaking, I would characterize my side-effects on the drug as annoying at the worst.
Wow, I was just reading your Accutane Log yesterday, haha. Thank you so much for answering my Qs. 🙂
Anyway, my dermatologist gave me Doxycycline that I should take for a week. He said that if it became worse, I should come back and we will talk about Isotretinoin. It's been 3 days and my face hasn't got any breakouts yet, i'm using Clindamycin Lotion and Tretinoin cream along with the Doxy. I don't know it it's the antibiotic or the multivitamin with zinc i'm taking, but I hope it stays like this so I won't have to decide about Accutane.
Good luck to your journey to clear skin by the way. 🙂