Hi Everyone,
As most people have, I've dealt with acne for a while and ran through the gamut of treatment options with my derm. We're trying doryx/epiduo combo one more time before I head for Accutane. I've done my reading on accutane and I know what to expect, but I wanted to ask some questions about it and get a few answers from people who have experienced it.
I'm hoping to field answers from people who have similar skin but will take anything I can get! I am a 24 y/o male. I have struggled with acne since 16. It's mostly been mild to moderate, and very cyclical. Some months I think it's gone for ever and then it hits me again. I'm on like a 1 month on, 1 month off rotation with breakouts. They have come back more frequently and aggressive as of late.
Obviously products like epiduo and differein have IB's as well. Is the accutane IB anywhere comparable to those? Worse, better, the same? I really want to manage my expectations. Would you say skin dryness is anywhere comparable between doryx/epiduo and accutane? I'm already flaky now...
Second,I have great skin on my forehead and back, but terrified accutance will rip this up for me. Are previously unaffected areas fair game for accutane?
Lastly (and this may be wishful thinking...) since I'm restarting epiduo and doryx leading up to accutane and will experience an IB with that, do you think it's possible that purge will lessen my purge on accutane?
I really appreciate any help you guys are willing to offer! Thanks!
Hey!
I've been on 'tane for two months now, and I have skin pretty similar to yours. I've been struggling with moderate acne since 13, and I'm 21 now. Mine wasn't quite as cyclic as yours, but the amount of acne I had at a given time was less or more during different times of the month. I was on pretty much everything, including epiduo and differin.
Since I've been on accutane (40mg twice a day), I'll definitely say accutane has a higher IB than both those products I've tried. Granted, everyone reacts differently to these meds, but its been two months, and I'm nowhere close to clear after my purge (although there has been visible improvement!). Also, I have noticed that areas that didn't have acne had acne with my IB. I never had acne on my forehead in the later years of my acne struggle, but I got a few since being on accutane, and I got a lot on my back too :(. However, I find that it mostly stays where your problem areas are. Most of my IB is on my jawline and around my mouth.
I would definitely say skin dryness is higher too. Actuate will dry EVERYTHING up. I got dry and chapped lips on day 3, and they haven't stopped being dry since. The hardest thing I ever had to deal with is cuts in the corner of my mouth (angular chelitis). Those were the worst, but I have been faithfully applying hydrocortisone to it, and I've also seen a big improvement. I also have accutane rash, which is a rash on my arms that comes and goes. My dorm gave me a prescription steroid for that so it's manageable. I will say that, at least for me, if I stay on top of my dryness, it's manageable. Things that help me most is sleeping with a humidifier, Aquaphor on a schedule (so you don't let your lips shrivel!) and lotion after every shower.
Finally, I honestly don't know if epiduo would help you with the IB. It could!
The "skin purge" idea has some scientific backing, but to be honest, it's not well understood or necessarily even legit. Even with topical retinoids.. if your skin is well looked after, there's no real reason why you should experience a big "purge" for weeks on end. My derm told me that acne very rarely causes the "initial breakout" that people talk about so much online, and that people mistake their normal cystic acne for an accutane-induced breakout.
I broke out during the first 4 months of accutaneat 40mg, but it wasn't more so than before, and to be honest my skin was 50% better after the first month. I didn't have any IB, just the drug took 4 months (ish) to give me really good skin.
It really is a miracle drug in terms of clearing up your acne, my god... after a few months, assuming you take it with fat (so important), you'll wash your face and be utterly amazed at your skin. It gives you the most glowing, pore-less, incredible skin that you can imagine.
However, it's left me with heavy, heavy hair loss. I've been off it for nearly 4months and I'm shedding so much. I've lost a good 1/3 of my hair, if not quite a bit more. In no way do I want to put you off or scare you, but this traumatic side effect is really affecting me and everyone taking accutane should be warned that, yes, it is an amazing drug, but that you could v well be left with this issue. I don't regret taking accutane,but as a young girl who had stunning hair before and is now thinning badly, I honestly feel like I've traded one issue in for another. Plus, my acne is hormonal so it's coming back as well which is great !!!
Accutane is different for everyone but I will share my experience. I have tried everything under the sun for acne, and never really experienced much of an initial breakout. I got an inital breakout about 3 weeks into starting accutane. It really only lasted about 2 weeks, then I started seeing improvement. I took minocycline and used benzoyl peroxide in the months leading up, and maybe that lessened my inital breakout? But I still got one. In any case, the IB was short lived - so try not to worry about it. It was more than worth it in the long run. (Also, to answer your other question, my acne pre-tane was mainly on my cheeks and jawline - and that's the only place I got acne during my IB, too.)
On 12/1/2016 at 9:24 PM, PMT1958 said:Hi Everyone,
As most people have, I've dealt with acne for a while and ran through the gamut of treatment options with my derm. We're trying doryx/epiduo combo one more time before I head for Accutane. I've done my reading on accutane and I know what to expect, but I wanted to ask some questions about it and get a few answers from people who have experienced it.
I'm hoping to field answers from people who have similar skin but will take anything I can get! I am a 24 y/o male. I have struggled with acne since 16. It's mostly been mild to moderate, and very cyclical. Some months I think it's gone for ever and then it hits me again. I'm on like a 1 month on, 1 month off rotation with breakouts. They have come back more frequently and aggressive as of late.
Obviously products like epiduo and differein have IB's as well. Is the accutane IB anywhere comparable to those? Worse, better, the same? I really want to manage my expectations. Would you say skin dryness is anywhere comparable between doryx/epiduo and accutane? I'm already flaky now...
Second,I have great skin on my forehead and back, but terrified accutance will rip this up for me. Are previously unaffected areas fair game for accutane?
Lastly (and this may be wishful thinking...) since I'm restarting epiduo and doryx leading up to accutane and will experience an IB with that, do you think it's possible that purge will lessen my purge on accutane?
I really appreciate any help you guys are willing to offer! Thanks!
Did your research indicate to you that accutane can and does cause permanent low libido and impotence?
As clearly unbiased poster 'hatetane' has reminded us - Accutane is a very serious drug and it can have very serious consequences. Use as a last resort.
However, I'll just add that majority of people have great results without long-lasting side effects, so if you decide your acne is seriously impairing your life, try not to let those kinds of doubts creep into your mind.