Hey sailor_saturn!

Even though I don't know you in real life, I am INCREDIBLY happy for you  Acne can ruin lives and I am so glad that you no longer have to live every moment thinking whether or not your actions will impact on your acne!

I have 2 questions for you
1. When you said that you had taken 2 courses on it, what was the dose and how long did you take it for?
2. Are you still on 20mg a day?

Currently, I am on one 10mg pill a day and I have been doing this for around the past 7 months. Used to have severe acne, but I haven't had a single pimple for a while now, even when I eat junk! *knocks on wood* Still get some when I'm stressed though, but I understand that. 

My dermatologist said that I'll probably stop in 4 months time. Now that I've read your post, I'm a bit worried since you were/are on twice the dose for a much longer period of time!

Hey felicity.h

First and foremost, I just want to say thank you .  Secondly, let me answer your questions as detail as I could to help you with better understanding

1) I was on it twice between 2013-2015

_First course: my derm wanted me to take 40mg a day for the first month. Then she would jump it to 80mg a day for the second month and I'd finished by month 6th. But after second month, my lab result was so bad with high cholesterol and high triglycerides my derm put me back for 40mg a day like the first month and the plan changed from 6 months to 8 months.
First month: 40mg a day
Second month: 80mg a day (lab result was so bad)
Third month: 40mg a day
Fourth to Eighth month : 40mg  a day

_Second course: the same plan as the first , 40 mg a day for 8 months. 

2) I am still on it at 20mg a week and i am not planning to stop it anytime soon. I think I will be on it for life.
 

have u spoken to ur derm about that life time plan? I don't think any derm will approve accutane as a lifetime prescription.

Short term wise, I'm on 20mg for probably 6 months and I agree it seems to be a miracle cure so far for me so far.

Sorry I think I made a big mistake for saying I'm on it 20mg a day. I only take 20mg a week . I only take 1 pill every Sunday

20 mg a week is equivalent to drinking one beer so yeah I'm planning to depend on it for the rest of my life as long as I have clear skin.

i spoke with my Derm and she said as long as I see her every month and all my result come out normal she wouldn't mind let me be on it. However, if I ever experience any side effect I need to let her know asap so she can't take me off it. But after 2 years of taking it at 20mg per week, I have no side effect except for little dry lips.

Wow that's a long time. I've heard of people taking 10mg per month for a year.

3 hours ago, sailor_saturn said:

Sorry I think I made a big mistake for saying I'm on it 20mg a day. I only take 20mg a week . I only take 1 pill every Sunday

20 mg a week is equivalent to drinking one beer so yeah I'm planning to depend on it for the rest of my life as long as I have clear skin.

i spoke with my Derm and she said as long as I see her every month and all my result come out normal she wouldn't mind let me be on it. However, if I ever experience any side effect I need to let her know asap so she can't take me off it. But after 2 years of taking it at 20mg per week, I have no side effect except for little dry lips.

holy crap, yes that's quite a big difference!

Hey everyone

Accutane seems to be my miracle cure too *knocks on wood again*. Fearing the day I stop taking it, although I may ask my derm about the life-time option sailor_saturn mentioned! Or maybe I should just see how my skin reacts once I'm off Accutane. 

Thanks so much sailor_saturn for answering my questions! Must've been quite intense, those courses. I'm experiencing some minor side effects e.g. dermatitis, redness on my face on only 10mg, but I can't complain given its benefits.

Love sharing my story with you, you're all incredibly supportive and I appreciate it Acne seems to be taboo in our society (or maybe it's just me not wanting to talk about it to my friends)

26 minutes ago, felicity.h said:

Hey everyone

Accutane seems to be my miracle cure too *knocks on wood again*. Fearing the day I stop taking it, although I may ask my derm about the life-time option sailor_saturn mentioned! Or maybe I should just see how my skin reacts once I'm off Accutane. 

Thanks so much sailor_saturn for answering my questions! Must've been quite intense, those courses. I'm experiencing some minor side effects e.g. dermatitis, redness on my face on only 10mg, but I can't complain given its benefits.

Love sharing my story with you, you're all incredibly supportive and I appreciate it Acne seems to be taboo in our society (or maybe it's just me not wanting to talk about it to my friends)

from everything I've learned low dose accutane is much better and safer than taking high doses.

Ah that's so good to hear! Thanks snarkygirl, trusting my derm on this one 

Hi!
I am 17 years old and have had acne for 4 years. My skin has gotten and worse and better over the years but my back has always been quite severe in comparison to my face. Now that it is summer, my skin is beginning to look very grim on my face and back and I am scheduled to go on Accutane in the next 9 days. Is there anything that you would tell me to prepare me for the journey?

Take the pill with good fats ( avocado, peanut butter, etc).
Get some good moisturiser for your lips and face.
Monitor how you're feelings mentally and physically and maybe keep a journal
Don't hesitate to call your doctor or nurse for whatever reason.

Hey there soutera

I second everything snarkygirl suggested, some great advice!  Never leave the house without a lipbalm, I've learnt my lesson I've heard rave reviews about Aquaphora in the US, as well as Blistex. Obviously it will depend on which country you're living in, but I'd say that it'd be a good choice to go for those "heavy-duty" lipbalms that protect and moisturise your lips rather than those which seem to only have a lovely smell!

Also, keep in mind that it is a journey. For most people, their acne will clear up over several months instead of in a week's time. As I already had severe acne before going on Accutane and then experienced the initial breakout, it would be safe to say that at that time, I was definitely not mentally strong. I would stay locked in my house for weeks on end, with all the curtains drawn. Basically, I suspected that the medication wasn't working and that I was "doing it wrong". My mindset that my acne would disappear overnight was definitely detrimental to my mental health as that definitely didn't happen!

That aside, I wish you the best of luck! Keep us in touch of how you're going I'm a newbie here of on acne.org, but I already love the community and positive vibes the members send out

I agree, the solutions to acne don't work fast but being patient and consistent is the key. I really enjoy the different personalities and perspectives on here.

Thank you both! I will stay in touch and will remember to try and stay positive 

Anytime soutera, our pleasure

Yes, definitely let us know how you're going! All the best 

Sorry everyone for the late response.
I hope all of you guys will receive the same fantastic results as mine when taking Accutane. I can only speak from my own experience, Accutane is such a life saver for me. Here the products I were using while on full course of tane.
_Vaseline for lips , and nose (besides the lips , your nose probably will get dry as well). I purchased a big jar of Vaseline for under $5 bucks and it lasts a very long time.
_Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizers. If your skin gets so dry then try to purchase jojoba oil or coconut oil , just one drop of those oils will do all the tricks. Or puchase a 100% organic of Aloe vera, it works pretty well too
_Neutrogena sunscreen (A MUST)

I am not gonna lie the first 2 months on tane were hell, thanks god I did not  experience any initial break out like others. But my face was so red like a tomato and it was so dry which i hated. But after you skin gets adapted to the med, then you will see a huge change on your skin.

Hope i can help, be positive and don't give up

I was on low dosage from 2013 to 2015 (10mg every other day). I want to start again but I always get a small initial breakout. I really dont want a small breakout right now. Can i start immediately with just 1pill per week? Or do i have to build up the medicine into my system by doing 10mg a day for a month and then do the 1 pill per week?

By the way my bloodtests from before were not always good. I have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. My derm prescribed statins to lower them down.

1 hour ago, giveback said:

I was on low dosage from 2013 to 2015 (10mg every other day). I want to start again but I always get a small initial breakout. I really dont want a small breakout right now. Can i start immediately with just 1pill per week? Or do i have to build up the medicine into my system by doing 10mg a day for a month and then do the 1 pill per week?

By the way my bloodtests from before were not always good. I have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. My derm prescribed statins to lower them down.

if you're not breaking out actively why take it?

26 minutes ago, snarkygirl said:

2 hours ago, giveback said:

I was on low dosage from 2013 to 2015 (10mg every other day). I want to start again but I always get a small initial breakout. I really dont want a small breakout right now. Can i start immediately with just 1pill per week? Or do i have to build up the medicine into my system by doing 10mg a day for a month and then do the 1 pill per week?

By the way my bloodtests from before were not always good. I have elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. My derm prescribed statins to lower them down.

if you're not breaking out actively why take it?

scalp acne that hurt. I get them everyday. Clogged pores on cheeks and chin that get inflammed. I just want to stay clear forever. Im a 33 year old male and have had acne for 20 years already

Fck scalp acne. They hurt like .....

I just started my first course. Currently I'm on 10mg every other day.

Hey dani. Where u from? Did u get an i.b?

Hello! What is the maximum daily dosage of isotretinointhat anyone has every heard of?

Hello all,
Im 24 and has been having moderate acne since 13. This is the first time i've been suggested accutane so i thought i should give it a try. Im now on 10mg per day and this is my fourth week. Definitely experiencing effects like dry lips and skin, but so far i've noticed only worsening of my acne. (e.g: both my cheeks used to be clear but since week 3 my left cheek has broken out worse than it has ever been). Is this the initial breakout everyone is talking about? If it is how long can i expect it to last and is there anything i can do to at least calm it down? Getting depressed everytime i look at the mirror:(

Please keep us updated! Is low dose really works?