Seven or eight months of Accutane basically cleared me. I'm 17, 160 lbs and was on a regimen of 40 mg/day which I was told is relatively little for my body size.
I have been off Accutane for about two weeks and I'm getting breakouts already. My back, forehead, cheeks, arms, chest and neck. Nothing severe, they're little and few and far between, but it's discomforting nonetheless.
I don't want to wait until it's as bad as it was before treatment to start a second course. That being said, would a second course be better started as soon as possible (I'd imagine that I would be able to avoid the worst of the initial breakout) or is there a period of time that I should wait before contacting my dermatologist?
Thanks.
Before jumping to a second course, why not give topicals a try. For some people they work much better after accuatne ( i found this true when using the regimen after my accutane course). Also, you may want to look into diet and lifestyle changes if you haven't already done so. If you do decide to do another course, i think they recommend a 6 month waiting period.
I personally would go back to your dermatologist and ask for 80mg regimen instead. Thats what my derm has done, and I've been through 3 courses of accutane since I was your age.
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
start the regimen right after you've finished accutane unless you want your flare up to go so bad you wish you'd never of done it in the first place. I've been there... just spot treat and gently use 2.5 BP.
Remember, for about 4-5 months after your accutane course your healing isn't the same thing as before so it will take longer for spots to go away and heal.
I'd wait at least a month. I got a couple spots for about 3 weeks after my first course, then they went away entirely.
That being said, if you're still breakout out 1-2 months afterwards I wouldn't wait too long to do a second course. In my opinion it's utterly pointless to waste any more time than necessary having bad skin. Keep in mind your side effects will be much worse.