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My Skin Is Finally Clear. You Only Need A Low Dose Of Accutane!

 
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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/10/2014 9:56 pm

Hello, I used to visit this board alot when I was breaking out and desperate.

I'm a medical esthetician & medical assistant for a very prestegious dermatologist who is AMAZING at getting people's skin clear. I follow his program and for the first time in my whole life I have clear skin and really understand how & why this works. I thought I'd come back on here and share what I now know. Hope this helps someone. :) I'm going to talk about a few different things.

ACCUTANE: This a MUST and is the only oral medication anyone should waste their time with (as long as your healthy). BUT with that said.... you only need a low dose. 20mg of accutane is plenty to do the job. When you take it in this low of a dose you will save your body the side effects. All the side effects you read about are from people taking high doses. If your healthy and your cholesterol & liver tests are good then 20mg of accutane will do the trick. Some people may have to take a longer course or repeat courses if acne comes back. Some people with minor acne may only need to take it every other day. We have many patients who take 1 pill a week for life just to keep the oil at bay. At this dose it's nothing more than a megadose vitamin A suppliment. I cringe when I see people taking high doses. It works in a low dose!! Trust me! I see it every day in our patients.

ANTIBIOTICS: These DO NOT WORK and will Wreck your natural bacteria in your gut. Trust me... I did it too! I took antibiotis for years! and guess what??? I still had acne!! Here's why.... Everyone has bacteria on their faces. So why do some people get acne and others dont? Well because the bacteria is mixing with the oil and getting trapped under the skin. So the problem is the Oil! Not the bacteria. You have to get rid of the Oil! (accutane is the answer for this)

EXFOLIATE EVERY DAY: You must exfoliate becuase people with Acne have a disorder with how their skin naturally exfoliates. This is why some people can have oily skin but not get acne. Becuase their skin is exfoliating properly. Someone with acne has an issue with the way their skin cells shed so the oil is getting trapped. So you have to Scrub every day! But make sure your using a gentle scrub with tiny crystals. Nothing jagged that will tear your skin... like St Ives appricot scrub! YIKES! Don't use that! lol

RETINOID: You gotta use trentinoin. 1% is best. I know it makes you red, dry & peely but this is ok! You have to get your cells turning over quickly to help the shedding process. Cuz remember...... your cells aren't shedding properly. So you gotta help them out. Also... trentinoin will keep you young forever! ;) If you can't tolerate every day that's ok. Just do what you can. Even a few nights a week is better than nothing. You will build a tolerance. And once your get your skin clear you can drop down to a retinol.

MOISTURIZER: DO NOT USE A MOISTURIZER! It's absolute CRAP that people say that you have to put oil or moisture on your skin or your skin will produce more oil. This is FALSE! Moisturizer makes your cells go to sleep. Your body has a natural hydrator called your barrier function. It's a mixture of lipids & water. If you have been using moisturizer then your skin is dependant on it. Like a drug. And in the beginning you will withdraw. But trust me.... once you kick the habit then your skin will thank you. All moisturizer does is trap dead cells on your face. And remember what I said above??? I said that you have an issue with your cells shedding! So don't make that issue worse by trapping them on there eve more.

NOTE: If you are SO DRY from your Trentinoin and you just have to use a moisturizer to "Comfort" you thru the tough part.... then that is fine. Just use it when you feel you really need it.

BENZOL PEROXIDE: Is great for a spot treatment on "pustual" type pimples. An infection can't live in the presense of benzol peroxide. So if you have pimples that have puss in them then you can spot treat with benzol peroxide. But it's pointless to rub benzol peroxide all over your face over blackheads. All that will do is dry your skin out more.

SALICYLIC ACID: Is your friend. Get a wash or even oil control pads with salicylic acid in them.

GLYCOLIC ACID: Is great if the texture of your skin is bad from scars. This will help.

HYDROQUINONE: This will help fade the spots quicker. But NOTE: Don't use hydroquinone higher than 4% and never for longer than 5 months at a time. Your body gets used to it and builds a tolerance. Use it to fade your spots and then get off.

And you can use all these products while on the accutane because if you take a super low dose then your skin won't get so sensitive like a higher dose.

I hope some of this info helps someone. I've learned so much working with this Dr. My skin has changed dramaticly and is so clear now. I know how awful it is to suffer with acne. I'm in my 30's and spent my whole life suffering. I finally figured it out! Hope you all can too.

Musicgal, 989898L, Scotchy and 3 people liked
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(@avada-kedavra-acne)

Posted : 04/10/2014 11:00 pm

I took accutane (started it last june) and ended end of october. I struggle with rosacea basically. I actually take Doxy right now or oracea however you want to call it. Its dose is below bacteria killing- around 40mg- its only for inflammation which really does help loads. And i use fiancee only on 3 rosacea areas on my face. I treat my skin like its a piece of silk- and i wouldn't dare let any moisturizer touch my face- ever! The only causes more troubles. A month ago i decided i put some under my nose... ended up with a bad case of folliculitis. This post doesn't apply to all people. Like for instances i still break out a little bit, but I'm not allowed to exfoliate, use retinoids, can't use BP, allergic to sal acid.

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/11/2014 9:34 am

I took accutane (started it last june) and ended end of october. I struggle with rosacea basically. I actually take Doxy right now or oracea however you want to call it. Its dose is below bacteria killing- around 40mg- its only for inflammation which really does help loads. And i use fiancee only on 3 rosacea areas on my face. I treat my skin like its a piece of silk- and i wouldn't dare let any moisturizer touch my face- ever! The only causes more troubles. A month ago i decided i put some under my nose... ended up with a bad case of folliculitis. This post doesn't apply to all people. Like for instances i still break out a little bit, but I'm not allowed to exfoliate, use retinoids, can't use BP, allergic to sal acid.

We treat alot of Rosacea too and the treatment is exactly the same. Low dose accutane for a few months depening on how severe the rosacea.

Rosacea is a disease of oil as well. Oil is the enemy. Bacteria is NOT the problem. Oil causes inflamation which causes all the nasty side effects of rosacea. So a tiny dose of accutane will supress the oil. Rosacea is chronic disease for life. So throughout life another course of low dose accutane may be needed. OR like I mentioned above you could always take one pill a week to keep the oil at bay. We have SO many patients who do this.

I have rosacea too but my main issue for going on accutane was acne. They go hand in hand becuase they are both caused by oil. But now my rosacea is totally under controol as well.

Rosacea & oil in general will Ruin the texture of your skin over time. It's so important to get it under control early. I see SO many patients who wait til they are in their 50's to come to the Dr and they just ruined their skin. It could have all been prevented. If the texture issues bother you later in life then we do a Co2 Fraxel and that is soooo invasive. I'd rather never have to go that route if I can prevent it with a tiny dose of accutane. My texture is GREATLY improved in just 3 months on accutane and from my retinoid also. (oh and btw I only use my trentinoin 1-2 x a week). I hate peeling. lol

Why can't you use a retinoid or exfoliate?

The Dr I work for is Aggressive in his treatments. But he is world famous and gets major results. We have patients that come from all over the world to see him. So I definitely know what I'm talking about. We cure people! We aren't in the biz of spinning people in circles wasting their time & ours. Antibiotics are a waste of time and are terrible for your body. They will never cure you. Ever.

We do encounter some patients that are not a canditate for Accutane. Like if someone has Hep C or Super high Cholesterol for example. OR some patients are just terrified of accutane due to it's reuptation and refuse to take it. In those patients we still DO NOT give antibiotics. We treat them with aggressive topicals, peels, laser type procedures, PDT ect. That's all we can do for some people. But like I said.... the rosacea is chronic and will never go away. You just gotta control it! Oil Control is the answer. :)

 

 

Oh and I just want to add that I'm not on here trying to promote the Dr I work for. I won't mention his name on this board. I truely whole heartedly just am trying to help. Even if I help one person it would be worth it. I have suffered my whole life with Acne. It's an awful disease and really damaged my self esteem. I'm just trying to help. :)

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(@avada-kedavra-acne)

Posted : 04/11/2014 11:40 am

 

I took accutane (started it last june) and ended end of october. I struggle with rosacea basically. I actually take Doxy right now or oracea however you want to call it. Its dose is below bacteria killing- around 40mg- its only for inflammation which really does help loads. And i use fiancee only on 3 rosacea areas on my face. I treat my skin like its a piece of silk- and i wouldn't dare let any moisturizer touch my face- ever! The only causes more troubles. A month ago i decided i put some under my nose... ended up with a bad case of folliculitis. This post doesn't apply to all people. Like for instances i still break out a little bit, but I'm not allowed to exfoliate, use retinoids, can't use BP, allergic to sal acid.

We treat alot of Rosacea too and the treatment is exactly the same. Low dose accutane for a few months depening on how severe the rosacea.

Rosacea is a disease of oil as well. Oil is the enemy. Bacteria is NOT the problem. Oil causes inflamation which causes all the nasty side effects of rosacea. So a tiny dose of accutane will supress the oil. Rosacea is chronic disease for life. So throughout life another course of low dose accutane may be needed. OR like I mentioned above you could always take one pill a week to keep the oil at bay. We have SO many patients who do this.

I have rosacea too but my main issue for going on accutane was acne. They go hand in hand becuase they are both caused by oil. But now my rosacea is totally under controol as well.

Rosacea & oil in general will Ruin the texture of your skin over time. It's so important to get it under control early. I see SO many patients who wait til they are in their 50's to come to the Dr and they just ruined their skin. It could have all been prevented. If the texture issues bother you later in life then we do a Co2 Fraxel and that is soooo invasive. I'd rather never have to go that route if I can prevent it with a tiny dose of accutane. My texture is GREATLY improved in just 3 months on accutane and from my retinoid also. (oh and btw I only use my trentinoin 1-2 x a week). I hate peeling. lol

Why can't you use a retinoid or exfoliate?

The Dr I work for is Aggressive in his treatments. But he is world famous and gets major results. We have patients that come from all over the world to see him. So I definitely know what I'm talking about. We cure people! We aren't in the biz of spinning people in circles wasting their time & ours. Antibiotics are a waste of time and are terrible for your body. They will never cure you. Ever.

We do encounter some patients that are not a canditate for Accutane. Like if someone has Hep C or Super high Cholesterol for example. OR some patients are just terrified of accutane due to it's reuptation and refuse to take it. In those patients we still DO NOT give antibiotics. We treat them with aggressive topicals, peels, laser type procedures, PDT ect. That's all we can do for some people. But like I said.... the rosacea is chronic and will never go away. You just gotta control it! Oil Control is the answer.

 

 

Oh and I just want to add that I'm not on here trying to promote the Dr I work for. I won't mention his name on this board. I truely whole heartedly just am trying to help. Even if I help one person it would be worth it. I have suffered my whole life with Acne. It's an awful disease and really damaged my self esteem. I'm just trying to help.

My dr says I'm the most sensitive patient he has *ever* had. Im not even kidding- I use cereve hyd cleanser (love it!) but if i use more than 1 finger to ever so lightly cleanse my face it will turn blood red, and feel hot. So at night i wash my face with the cleanser, and in the morning i just use water- and on a occasion just take a pea size of cleanser to just use around my nose. Thats another reason why i don't even get started with makeup (i.e. foundation) because its not putting it on that is the problem... its taking the shit off- i can't use any kind of friction on my face. So instead of covering my face, i take care of it so in the end makeup isn't needed. :)

Accutane did wonders- but didn't solve my whole problem- which was what i knew. I had a very mild acne problem- so treating it with my rosacea/sensitive skin was just such an issue for 5 years, that when i was of age to make my own medical decisions i opted to take accutane.

Im about 5 weeks I'm going to V-beam treatment because i have some spider veins under my eyes (not really noticeable... except for me hah) but I've had the treatment done before. Also isn't it sad to say *spider veins when I'm only 20?

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/11/2014 9:19 pm

Avada Kedavra,

What dose of accutane did you take? You may need a longer course. Becuase oil will make you skin weak and sensitive. Since it causes inflamation. And if your only 20 then the problem is just going to keep getting worse and worse. The inflamation is what causes the broken capplilaries (spider veins). Your face gets inflamed from the oil and the tiny capillaries burst. I have a face full of them. But I'm 37 and it's happened over time. V-beam is good. Or IPL is good too. :)

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(@avada-kedavra-acne)

Posted : 04/12/2014 6:35 pm

Avada Kedavra,

What dose of accutane did you take? You may need a longer course. Becuase oil will make you skin weak and sensitive. Since it causes inflamation. And if your only 20 then the problem is just going to keep getting worse and worse. The inflamation is what causes the broken capplilaries (spider veins). Your face gets inflamed from the oil and the tiny capillaries burst. I have a face full of them. But I'm 37 and it's happened over time. V-beam is good. Or IPL is good too.

i was on errrrr 60 mg for almost 8 months. the point was to clear my moderate acne, so i can treat my rosacea (which both my parents have too) My skin is nott not not not oily at all. oil is not my issue. i actually have dry skin. Its the big bad ol sun, and food triggers. i ran cross country and track for 7 years straight. Sometimes practice was twice a day for 3 hours. And after i stopped (which was less than a year ago) my face isn't overall red really, I've just developed spider veins like my father (who also works out in the sun and has rosacea). Also i can't eat a lot of foods. If i eat, for example, oatmeal, my face will turn blood shot, if i eat something warm, onions, bananas, oranges (any citrus), apples, my face will turn really red. And when i eat a bad diet and don't protect myself, i get weird bumps that are surrounded by spider veins (very light- almost unnoticeable)

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(@acneproblem11)

Posted : 04/13/2014 12:46 am

First off I'd like to thank you for posting this, really opened my eyes to SO MANY things I was doing wrong. You practically saved me hundreds of dollars, and a useless effort at what I thought was helping my face. I have a question though... I already have gone through various bad treatments and I'm left with redness and scarring along my cheeks and neck, what should I do to combat this? Thank you once again, you truly opened my eyes.

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(@katials)

Posted : 04/17/2014 10:23 am

Just out of curiosity, what city is the MD you work for located? I am in Los Angeles and am really struggling with my dermatologiest. After about 8 month on Accutane my skin was perfectly clear and now my acne is coming back 11 months post-Accutane. My doctor seems to want to try Spironolactane but I'm very skeptical. Thank you!!

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/17/2014 9:25 pm

First off I'd like to thank you for posting this, really opened my eyes to SO MANY things I was doing wrong. You practically saved me hundreds of dollars, and a useless effort at what I thought was helping my face. I have a question though... I already have gone through various bad treatments and I'm left with redness and scarring along my cheeks and neck, what should I do to combat this? Thank you once again, you truly opened my eyes.

Awh I'm so glad to read this. I truly only wish to help someone. Even just one person would be worth it to me. glad to help!

How deep is your scarring??

There are a couple things you can do and in a certain order.

You can use Hydroquinone to bleach out the pigment (for 5 months tops) & Tretninoin to excelerate it and make new healthy cells and make your skin strong.

You can use Glycolic Acid to help texture.

If your scarring is really bad... like pitted... then really the only thing that will fix that is CO2 fraxel. Which is a leveling procedure. BUT... be very careful who you go to for this. You must prep the skin first with 1% Trentinoin for 6 wks to make the skin healthy & strong. Most Dr's skip this very important step. And what happens is the laser penetrates at different depths and also the skin is weak so it doesn't heal properly. I have seen so many bad fraxels & peels becuase Dr's don't prep the skin.

But I'd only go the Fraxel route if your scars are really bad becuase it's expensive and also it's 10 days of downtime. If you dont think it's that bad then you can do some TCA peels. But again... prep the skin first with Trentinoin. Always prep for 6 weeks... take 4 days off then do the peel. Let your skin peel for a week... then start your trentinoin again.

And this is probably obvious... But you would never want to do a Fraxel while your on accutane. What we do is Prep people for 6 weeks on retin A, then do the fraxel, then immediatly after the fraxel start accutane and one week later back on retin A. This is an a amazing treatment protocol!

If you do accutane first... you must wait 6 months after being off accutane to do the fraxel. Becuase your skin won't heal properly due to accutane.

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(@acneproblem11)

Posted : 04/17/2014 11:26 pm

 

First off I'd like to thank you for posting this, really opened my eyes to SO MANY things I was doing wrong. You practically saved me hundreds of dollars, and a useless effort at what I thought was helping my face. I have a question though... I already have gone through various bad treatments and I'm left with redness and scarring along my cheeks and neck, what should I do to combat this? Thank you once again, you truly opened my eyes.

Awh I'm so glad to read this. I truly only wish to help someone. Even just one person would be worth it to me. glad to help!

How deep is your scarring??

There are a couple things you can do and in a certain order.

You can use Hydroquinone to bleach out the pigment (for 5 months tops) & Tretninoin to excelerate it and make new healthy cells and make your skin strong.

You can use Glycolic Acid to help texture.

If your scarring is really bad... like pitted... then really the only thing that will fix that is CO2 fraxel. Which is a leveling procedure. BUT... be very careful who you go to for this. You must prep the skin first with 1% Trentinoin for 6 wks to make the skin healthy & strong. Most Dr's skip this very important step. And what happens is the laser penetrates at different depths and also the skin is weak so it doesn't heal properly. I have seen so many bad fraxels & peels becuase Dr's don't prep the skin.

But I'd only go the Fraxel route if your scars are really bad becuase it's expensive and also it's 10 days of downtime. If you dont think it's that bad then you can do some TCA peels. But again... prep the skin first with Trentinoin. Always prep for 6 weeks... take 4 days off then do the peel. Let your skin peel for a week... then start your trentinoin again.

And this is probably obvious... But you would never want to do a Fraxel while your on accutane. What we do is Prep people for 6 weeks on retin A, then do the fraxel, then immediatly after the fraxel start accutane and one week later back on retin A. This is an a amazing treatment protocol!

If you do accutane first... you must wait 6 months after being off accutane to do the fraxel. Becuase your skin won't heal properly due to accutane.

the level of expertise in the information you give is top notch, you go into detail 100% on everything. I waited for the reply for a couple days and I have book marked this thread because of the valuable information you've provided thank you!! I would say some scarring is deeper than other (icepick scarring I think it's called) and I am mostly worried on the hyperpigmentation I guess for now.. small steps with a big goal. I'm going to try to obtain the current necessary things and start on my way ASAP to solve my acne problems. THANK YOU once again like you really helped me tons with how detailed you explain every step.

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(@rollercoaster)

Posted : 04/18/2014 2:29 am

Why is the moisturizer bad? I mean I know you said why but is it still ok to use it? Like once a night

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(@bobowang)

Posted : 04/18/2014 4:21 am

Can this low dosa Accutane be taken for long term use? with no serious side effects ?

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/18/2014 9:10 am

Why is the moisturizer bad? I mean I know you said why but is it still ok to use it? Like once a night

Moiturizer doesn't do anything for your skin other than "comfort" you. So if you feel soooo dry and irritated from your topicals... and your skin is cracking... then YES use a moisturizer to make yourself feel better. But make sure it's oil free of course.

Moisturizer is bad for two reasons...

1. For people with the Disease of Acne it's espicially bad because it's just trapping dead cells on your face clogging more pores... causeing more acne. You must think EXFOLIATE when you have acne. I exfoliate with a scrub & use glycolic acid & also use a fruit enzyme treatment to eat off the dead cells. Rather than a moisturizer which just traps the dead flakey skin on my face making my skin look dull. I want those dead cells OFF! Yuck!! Don't you?!?! LOL :)

2. For antiaging purposes... Moisturzer doesn't do anything to help with aging other than "temporarily" make people feel better. But it's not serving any function. Actually it's doing the opposite... it's makes skin weak and makes skin go to sleep. Your skin natually hydrtates itself. So when you put moisture your "Natural Barrier Funtion" thinks "oh I have all this moisture I need so I can just sit back and not doing anything". SO ovetime your skin becomes weak and lazy. This is when all the nasty signs of aging pop up and people complain of "senstivie skin & dry skin". When in reality they just have "Senstitiized Skin". There is a huge difference in some with "true sensitive skin" vs "sensitized skin". Senstive skin is rare and people are born this way. Sensitized skin is a condition... not a skin type. Most likely they did this to themselves.

It is 100% possible to reverse "sensitized" skin. But it's not easy and you have to suffer a little to get there. Using Retinoids will make you skin strong. Think of a Baby.... babys don't need moisture. Right? Their skin is plump & juicy & HYDRATED! Why?? Becuase baby's skin has "Rapid Cell Turnover". And their Natural "Barrier Funtion" is operating properly.

Retinoids cause Rapid Cell Turnover.... this is why when you first start using it your skin goes crazy and can't keep up. Red, Dry, Peely, Irrtiated. But eventually your skin will become used to it. I don't think it's necessary to use a Trentinoin (Retin A) long term. It's great for Acne of course. But if you do a 5 month course of Accutane & Topical Trentinoin... get your skin Clear & Strong... then you can drop down to a Retinol which is much gentler for your skin. This is Maintenance phase. And if your acne ever creeps back 10 years down the road... then you can repeat this plan.

NOW.... There are stable ingrediants in some expensive moisturizers that DO make a difference in the skin. But it's better to use those ingrediants on their own, in a serum. Antioxidants are extremely important in fighting off free radicals which attach skin cells.

So yea... Use an oil free moisturizer if you need to calm your skin down. I do from time to time if my skin is dry & peely.

Oh one more thing... This applys for your face, back & chest... You can put moisture on your body because your body doesn't have oil glands. So your body doesn't hydrate the same as your face, back & chest. But still you gotta exfoliate your body too & you can use a glycolic lotion on your body if you want extra smooth skin. (Glytone is an amazing brand) I get it on amazon. Smoothest skin ever!

 

Can this low dosa Accutane be taken for long term use? with no serious side effects ?

I don't think it's necessary to take it long term. I say do a course, and be aggressive with the topicals, then get off accutane & drop to an easier topical regimine for maintenance. Then if ur acne comes back u may need to repeat a course. But I'd say this happens 1 out of 10 people. Most ppl stay clear.

Now.... with that said... we do have lots of celebrity clients. Models, acctresses, newscasters ect..... these people can not risk getting a pimple or having oily skin. So some of our patients will take ONE 20mg accutane once a week, or even once ever two weeks... Long Term. This keeps the Oil away. And is basically like taking a mega dose of Vitamin A once in a while. I think they just pop a pill from time to time if they feel oily. Maybe women do it a week before & during their "time of the month" cuz they don't wanna risk a breakout.

I'm not sure type of treatment this is needed for the average person.

I can't say for fact there is no long term effect of accutane. Of course you MUST be healthy with perfect Labs and no stomach, liver, cholesterol issues before ever taking accutane. But in our practice the Dr I work for has been prescribing it this way forever and no one has had any issues. I know he is very confident that it's safe when prescribed to the right candidate in a super low dose. There is No need to Overdose people on accutane! :)

 

Just out of curiosity, what city is the MD you work for located? I am in Los Angeles and am really struggling with my dermatologiest. After about 8 month on Accutane my skin was perfectly clear and now my acne is coming back 11 months post-Accutane. My doctor seems to want to try Spironolactane but I'm very skeptical. Thank you!!

I'm sorry... I'd rather not say. I'm not on here to promote the Dr I work for. I just wanted to help with what I did to get clear as a normal person. Becuase I spent soooo many years suffering. I spent alot of time on this board looking for answers. So if I can help other people like me it's worth it.

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(@rollercoaster)

Posted : 04/18/2014 7:46 pm

That does sound bad. But what if my dermatologist prescribed me moisturizer to use along with the retin-a gel? Then it's ok?

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/18/2014 10:28 pm

That does sound bad. But what if my dermatologist prescribed me moisturizer to use along with the retin-a gel? Then it's ok?

I think your Dr probably prescribed a moisturizer to use becuase he or she knows that your going to get red, dry, peely & irritated from the Retin A. So the Dr wants you to use a moisturizer to help ease your discomfort and also wants to make sure your using one that won't clog your pores and make your acne worse.

I say use it if you need it! Absolutely! But try to use it only when absolutely necessary. Then your skin in time will get strong and tolerant to the Retin A and won't be irritated anymore. Then you won't need the extra moisture. Your skin will hydrtate itself once it's strong! :)

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(@krissy990)

Posted : 04/19/2014 2:36 pm

This thread is so interesting! I have a question do you think a low dose of Accutane is appropriate hormonal acne? I came off of birth control but was breaking out even when I was on it. I never had acne prior to this..but anywho my face is just insanely oily all the time! I wash my face and within and hour my face is producing oil which is VERY frustrating! Im getting more and more closed comedones all over my face and I am concerned that they will all become inflamed. I know the problem right now is the oil. Do you think requesting Accutane would make sense even though the acne is mild/moderate as of right now? I don't want to go on Spiro and much less birth control to resolve this issue and I am concerned that this will just get worse as it has been for the past few months. Thank you.

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/19/2014 10:00 pm

This thread is so interesting! I have a question do you think a low dose of Accutane is appropriate hormonal acne? I came off of birth control but was breaking out even when I was on it. I never had acne prior to this..but anywho my face is just insanely oily all the time! I wash my face and within and hour my face is producing oil which is VERY frustrating! Im getting more and more closed comedones all over my face and I am concerned that they will all become inflamed. I know the problem right now is the oil. Do you think requesting Accutane would make sense even though the acne is mild/moderate as of right now? I don't want to go on Spiro and much less birth control to resolve this issue and I am concerned that this will just get worse as it has been for the past few months. Thank you.

Yes I 100% think accutane will help you. I have hormonal acne also and took BCP & Sprio for many many years. Those treatments are a bandaid. If your having adult acne then most likely it is something you will struggle with long term. A low dose of accutane will work wonders for you. But pls note that in 8-10 yrs down the road if your acne creeps back then you may need another course. It's not 100%. But it's much more of a "cure or almost cure" than any other Hormonal medication. It's very difficult if not impossible to control your hormones. But you can control your oil! And Oil is what's causing you to break out. Also oil destroys your texture, stretches pores and ages you. Oil is the enemy!

Just make sure your labs check out with your Dr. And don't let them push you into a high dose. Be confident and demand the low dose and tell them you don't want to risk the bad side effects. As long as your healthy to start with.... U will love the accutane. Ur skin will be amazing! :)

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(@bobowang)

Posted : 04/20/2014 11:40 pm

 

I think you can't use Accutane and RETINOID at the same time, and you can't take Accutane and Doxy at the same time, right?

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(@crab76)

Posted : 04/21/2014 5:58 pm

 

I think you can't use Accutane and RETINOID at the same time, and you can't take Accutane and Doxy at the same time, right?

Yes you can if you take a low dose accutane. The reason why is becuase Accutane in a high dose makes your skin very weak. So you have to treat it like a piece of fine silk to prevent it from cracking and bleeding. BUT if you only 20mg of Accutane you are able to be aggressive topically becuase your skin won't be so compromised. So hit it hard from the outside & soft on the inside! This approach will save your insides and clear your skin.

I would never ever recommend taking Doxy for acne. It doesn't work. Period. It will work for a short time but your acne will always come back because it only kills bacteria. Doxy doesn't solve the oil or inflammation problem. And that't what acne is... it's an inflammarory disease caused by too much oil. :) You must practice oil control to control acne. :)

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(@hgburm)

Posted : 04/23/2014 9:41 am

What is a good exfoliator to use every day?

Long story shortologist about 4 months ago and she told me that was probably the Mirena causing my breakouts. Well she gave my a glycolic acid wash (gentle) and a tretinoin cream and my oil and my oil production has just gotten worse since I stopped using my Proactiv. The Tretinoin cream does not dry me out at all because my skin is so oily right know but my skin looks worse than it did before. She did recommend that I start taking Accutane and I have been very nervous about it. But this has been a 20 year battle for me and I need advice.

Hello, I used to visit this board alot when I was breaking out and desperate.

 

Hello, I used to visit this board alot when I was breaking out and desperate.

I'm a medical esthetician & medical assistant for a very prestegious dermatologist who is AMAZING at getting people's skin clear. I follow his program and for the first time in my whole life I have clear skin and really understand how & why this works. I thought I'd come back on here and share what I now know. Hope this helps someone. I'm going to talk about a few different things.

ACCUTANE: This a MUST and is the only oral medication anyone should waste their time with (as long as your healthy). BUT with that said.... you only need a low dose. 20mg of accutane is plenty to do the job. When you take it in this low of a dose you will save your body the side effects. All the side effects you read about are from people taking high doses. If your healthy and your cholesterol & liver tests are good then 20mg of accutane will do the trick. Some people may have to take a longer course or repeat courses if acne comes back. Some people with minor acne may only need to take it every other day. We have many patients who take 1 pill a week for life just to keep the oil at bay. At this dose it's nothing more than a megadose vitamin A suppliment. I cringe when I see people taking high doses. It works in a low dose!! Trust me! I see it every day in our patients.

ANTIBIOTICS: These DO NOT WORK and will Wreck your natural bacteria in your gut. Trust me... I did it too! I took antibiotis for years! and guess what??? I still had acne!! Here's why.... Everyone has bacteria on their faces. So why do some people get acne and others dont? Well because the bacteria is mixing with the oil and getting trapped under the skin. So the problem is the Oil! Not the bacteria. You have to get rid of the Oil! (accutane is the answer for this)

EXFOLIATE EVERY DAY: You must exfoliate becuase people with Acne have a disorder with how their skin naturally exfoliates. This is why some people can have oily skin but not get acne. Becuase their skin is exfoliating properly. Someone with acne has an issue with the way their skin cells shed so the oil is getting trapped. So you have to Scrub every day! But make sure your using a gentle scrub with tiny crystals. Nothing jagged that will tear your skin... like St Ives appricot scrub! YIKES! Don't use that! lol

RETINOID: You gotta use trentinoin. 1% is best. I know it makes you red, dry & peely but this is ok! You have to get your cells turning over quickly to help the shedding process. Cuz remember...... your cells aren't shedding properly. So you gotta help them out. Also... trentinoin will keep you young forever! If you can't tolerate every day that's ok. Just do what you can. Even a few nights a week is better than nothing. You will build a tolerance. And once your get your skin clear you can drop down to a retinol.

MOISTURIZER: DO NOT USE A MOISTURIZER! It's absolute CRAP that people say that you have to put oil or moisture on your skin or your skin will produce more oil. This is FALSE! Moisturizer makes your cells go to sleep. Your body has a natural hydrator called your barrier function. It's a mixture of lipids & water. If you have been using moisturizer then your skin is dependant on it. Like a drug. And in the beginning you will withdraw. But trust me.... once you kick the habit then your skin will thank you. All moisturizer does is trap dead cells on your face. And remember what I said above??? I said that you have an issue with your cells shedding! So don't make that issue worse by trapping them on there eve more.

NOTE: If you are SO DRY from your Trentinoin and you just have to use a moisturizer to "Comfort" you thru the tough part.... then that is fine. Just use it when you feel you really need it.

BENZOL PEROXIDE: Is great for a spot treatment on "pustual" type pimples. An infection can't live in the presense of benzol peroxide. So if you have pimples that have puss in them then you can spot treat with benzol peroxide. But it's pointless to rub benzol peroxide all over your face over blackheads. All that will do is dry your skin out more.

SALICYLIC ACID: Is your friend. Get a wash or even oil control pads with salicylic acid in them.

GLYCOLIC ACID: Is great if the texture of your skin is bad from scars. This will help.

HYDROQUINONE: This will help fade the spots quicker. But NOTE: Don't use hydroquinone higher than 4% and never for longer than 5 months at a time. Your body gets used to it and builds a tolerance. Use it to fade your spots and then get off.

And you can use all these products while on the accutane because if you take a super low dose then your skin won't get so sensitive like a higher dose.

I hope some of this info helps someone. I've learned so much working with this Dr. My skin has changed dramaticly and is so clear now. I know how awful it is to suffer with acne. I'm in my 30's and spent my whole life suffering. I finally figured it out! Hope you all can too.

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(@998888)

Posted : 04/25/2014 11:36 am

Hello crab76

Sorry if i misunderstood but can you please clarify? So basically you are saying that low dose will have the same results as high dose ? or that you do not recommend high dose of accutane at all?

Thanks

My story.

I am 26 years old male 1.93 m height 86 kg. I have acne since i was 14-15 years old and i do not really remember me without acne. I am using accutane for the second time now. Th first time i used accutane( 4 years ago)it reduced my acne significantly ( i had severe acne on my cheeks , around mouth and temples) but not completely. Two years ago severe acne returned but only on my forehead. During these years i used many products for acne. Now i am on the 4.5 month of my second accutane treatment with a daily dose of 80mg and a cleaning gel for sebo control. I have seen improvement but acne is still there.

Any advice and suggestion will be much appreciated. Thanks

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(@bobowang)

Posted : 05/01/2014 5:04 am

We have many patients who take 1 pill a week for life just to keep the oil at bay.

I really love these words"for life"!

My experience by now: I took 20mg per day, it works. I have back acne and facial redness, facial flushing. The back acne is much better. but the facial redness and facial flushing is much worse!!! After searching from the web, now I decided to try 20mg every other day(or 10mg per day). As they said, this dose will reduce facial redness and flushing, and also back acne!

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(@tanna23)

Posted : 05/09/2014 11:29 pm

This post is so helpful. It's well written and I like how you go into details.

 

I'm currently on 20mg roaccutane and my dr has no intention of increasing my dose. It's great to hear that you can use exfoliants on a low dose because I have a lot of PIH that I'm very eager to get rid of.

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(@renewal89)

Posted : 05/10/2014 2:33 am

I'm deciding whether to take on the accutane for my severe acne.

Reading lots of horror stories about the damage that it does really makes me think twice

My own ''analysis'':

Accutane cure acne by shrinking the sebaceous glands.

But at the same time, the drug is heavy and damaging for the liver.

And i was thinking maybe thats the reason for people to have initial breakout from accutane. This is because when a person start taking accutane, it starts to shrink the sebaceous glands but this process will take some time. However, once you start taking that, it damages your liver and this cause people to breakout more (always much easier to destroy something than to build it), there are many studies that link liver health to acne. This process continue until the sebaceous glands are small enough to stop breaking out. But, damage to the liver is already done.

And i heard and seen many people saying that if they happen to break out again after a course of accutane, they always came out worse. MAYBE that's because of the damaged liver?

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(@leo7)

Posted : 08/10/2014 10:36 pm

Hi everyone.

I am one of the fraxel horror stories u hear about. I had a baby and was feeling crappy about myself so I decided to get laser to fix some very minor acne scarring. Well the doctor didn't prep anything because I was nursing and basically burned my face off....I now have a face full of deep scars, pores (or laser holes) covering my face, my lips lost pigment and turned white in some areas, the fat basically melted off of my face in areas as well and my skin sags. I am 27 and have wanted wanted to take my life at times. I am embarressed to say that but it's true and before this happened I felt blessed everyday. I was very happy. There has been one person with fraxel damage, although not nearly as severe as mine, that was cured with accutane. He is still taking 5mg a day but I was wondering if you ever heard of accutane perm shrinking pores and helping with kind of superficial pitted scarring? Any advice would help.

I am gearing up to start accutane but the derm I just saw wanted me to take 40mg a day. I told her no way. I would be happy with 5, 10 or 20mg at the most.

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