Little background story. Im 18 years old m and weight 138 lbs. My skin is very oily. I've been having acne for 6 years now, i was put on doxycycline 3 years ago for 1 month and my skin cleared up amazingly fast. I had occasional pimples here and there but not so bad, they went away in 2-3 days. I had clear skin until 6 months ago when my skin broke out horribly after entering college. My acne is mainly consisted of those pimples under the skin/ papules, so topical treatments dont work very well on them. My derm put me on doxycycline again for 1 month with no results, i switched derm and i persuaded him to prescribe me accutane because i was so frustrated. He decided to put me on 6 months accutane therapy and I was very happy because i had high expectations for this drug. He put me on 10mg of accutane for the first month then my face became less oily, but no improvement.. i even developed a lot of whiteheads/comedones. 2 month still no improvement (dosage increased to 30mg), and now im about to end month 3 (dosage increased to 40mg) i am positive to say that im seeing no results from this drug. My acne was concentrated on cheeks area but now im getting acne on my jawline, temple, and forehead. 3 areas of my face that used to be acne-free.

Im feeling so low at the moment, im about to enter month 4 in 3 days and i think accutane is not working for me. Acne has greatly changed my life. I used to be very active, now i became a very anti-social person. I dont attend social events anymore, i dont meet my friends, no party, no longer go to gym or workout because i think why make the rest of my body good if my face looks like pepperoni pizza. I cant even look at people when talking to them. I must confess that i had suicidal thoughts a couple of times because of my acne. I just feel like grabbing a knife and cut my wrist with it. What should i do?

My regiments are all prescribed by my derm:

-Acne face wash

-Toner

-Benz-Cl cream

-Vitgel cream

-Nadifloxacin creamLittle background story. Im 18 years old m and weight 138 lbs. My skin is very oily. I've been having acne for 6 years now, i was put on doxycycline 3 years ago for 1 month and my skin cleared up amazingly fast. I had occasional pimples here and there but not so bad, they went away in 2-3 days. I had clear skin until 6 months ago when my skin broke out horribly after entering college. My acne is mainly consisted of those pimples under the skin/ papules, so topical treatments dont work very well on them. My derm put me on doxycycline again for 1 month with no results, i switched derm and i persuaded him to prescribe me accutane because i was so frustrated. He decided to put me on 6 months accutane therapy and I was very happy because i had high expectations for this drug. He put me on 10mg of accutane for the first month then my face became less oily, but no improvement.. i even developed a lot of whiteheads/comedones. 2 month still no improvement (dosage increased to 30mg), and now im about to end month 3 (dosage increased to 40mg) i am positive to say that im seeing no results from this drug. My acne was concentrated on cheeks area but now im getting acne on my jawline, temple, and forehead. 3 areas of my face that used to be acne-free.

Im feeling so low at the moment, im about to enter month 4 in 3 days and i think accutane is not working for me. Acne has greatly changed my life. I used to be very active, now i became a very anti-social person. I dont attend social events anymore, i dont meet my friends, no party, no longer go to gym or workout because i think why make the rest of my body good if my face looks like pepperoni pizza. I cant even look at people when talking to them. I must confess that i had suicidal thoughts a couple of times because of my acne. I just feel like grabbing a knife and cut my wrist with it. What should i do?

My regiments are all prescribed by my derm:

-Acne face wash

-Toner

-Benz-Cl cream

-Vitgel cream

-Nadifloxacin cream

-Accutane 40mg atm

-Oral clindamycin 300mg

Hey, don't worry! There are people out there who have been on accutane for one year, and you're almost four months in. You're breaking out more which is expected. Accutane is working for you, you're just experiencing an initial breakout, which will hopefully clear up soon. You're weight in kg is 62kg, so next time you visit your dermatologist, ask if it is okay to increase your dosage to 60mg of accutane. As for the all the acne topicals, I don't know why your derm wants you to use them, let accutane do it's job.

If you think that the suicidal thoughts are because of accutane, or if they get worse, please stop taking the pills! Talk to someone and let your friend/family know what is going on so they can look out for you.

I know it's hard to look people in the eyes and it's hard to go outside with acne, but don't let acne control your life. Be happy with yourself and be confident and I promise you that people won't even care that you have acne. It's going to be hard to do and be confident, but you will be so glad that you did. If people see you not worrying about your acne, they won't either. Just think about how happy you will be at the end of your accutane treatment, and how clear your skin will be. Clearer than those people who have put you down. Just battle through this initial breakout and know that there are people that are there for you and don't care about how many zits are on your face. You have friends to support you and ignore the ones that do point out your acne because they're not worth it. There's many people on this site who are going through exactly what you are so don't be afraid to reach out to them. Youtube is another site where you can find many accutane video diaries.

Live your life and go after your passions since acne has no right to take that away!

Hmmm i dont know if this is the dreaded IB, dont you think its too late for initial breakout? For the suicidal thoughts, nah man im pretty sure accutane isnt the cause. Its the disappointment i get for still breaking out even after 3 months of accutane, on top of that my vacation will be over soon which means that ill have to deal with people. Accutane is my only hope for acne and i dont know what to do if this fails. Itd be much more stressful for me to stop the accutane because that would mean my only cure for acne is gone. Anyway thanks for the support its pretty hard to cope with this situation, ive never had acne this bad in my entire life.

Hmmm i dont know if this is the dreaded IB, dont you think its too late for initial breakout? For the suicidal thoughts, nah man im pretty sure accutane isnt the cause. Its the disappointment i get for still breaking out even after 3 months of accutane, on top of that my vacation will be over soon which means that ill have to deal with people. Accutane is my only hope for acne and i dont know what to do if this fails. Itd be much more stressful for me to stop the accutane because that would mean my only cure for acne is gone. Anyway thanks for the support its pretty hard to cope with this situation, ive never had acne this bad in my entire life.

The IB doesn't always have to happen within the first few weeks. Some people get it early on, some people get it late, and some people don't experience it at all. The IB also varies from severity, and some individuals may have to do a second or third course of accutane.

Keep continuing the treatment and hopefully you begin to clear up! Accutane, like you said, is your last resort and it will be tough after once you stop it in the middle of your treatment.