I visited my dermatologist today (we've been working on my skin for about three years now) and we discussed my options regarding my acne and she felt accutane may be right for me given all of the other options we have exhausted. My acne has greatly improved since my first visit with my dermatologist, but it recently started flaring up again in the past few months. This time with more painful, deep bumps-particularly in my lower cheek/chin/jaw area.
In my three years working with my dermatologist, I have tried the following prescriptions: Doxycycline, sulfur wash, Acanya (Clindamycin Phosphate and Benzoyl Peroxide) in the morning, and Retin-A at night. I also wash with cetaphil cleanser and a basic exfoliating scrub with my clarisonic morning and night. I understand that my acne is not severe, but I have tried just about everything that can be prescribed except accutane and we are hopeful that it can heal the rest of my acne. One of my concerns is the initial flare-up that many users experience. My acne is not currently severe and I have seen some cases where the initial flare can cause more cystic acne to surface, and I would be disappointed to see my skin look that rough once again. However, I am hopeful that the initial flare would be less severe since a lot of my acne surfaced while I was on doxy and the topicals (I am currently still using the topicals but no longer on doxy.) My skin is persistently oily, even on the many prescriptions I have tried, so I would like to think that the dryness I experience would be less severe than others, but I am willing to deal with dryness to get to the clear skin I desperately want. Another small concern I have is the birth control requirement. The possible effects of birth control such as weight gain is something I would prefer not to deal with as long as I remain abstinent, so I am hesitant about being required to take bc. My final concern is that since I will probably be on accutane my first few months in college, the sun sensitivity may be a problem because the university I am likely to attend is a ten minute ride from the beach. However, I am very pale so the use of sunscreen is not a new concept for me, haha! Do you think accutane is worth the many effects in my case?
(Below are pictures of my skin in its current state)
8 hours ago, LatteEnthusiast said:I visited my dermatologist today (we've been working on my skin for about three years now) and we discussed my options regarding my acne and she felt accutane may be right for me given all of the other options we have exhausted. My acne has greatly improved since my first visit with my dermatologist, but it recently started flaring up again in the past few months. This time with more painful, deep bumps-particularly in my lower cheek/chin/jaw area.
In my three years working with my dermatologist, I have tried the following prescriptions: Doxycycline, sulfur wash, Acanya (Clindamycin Phosphate and Benzoyl Peroxide) in the morning, and Retin-A at night. I also wash with cetaphil cleanser and a basic exfoliating scrub with my clarisonic morning and night. I understand that my acne is not severe, but I have tried just about everything that can be prescribed except accutane and we are hopeful that it can heal the rest of my acne. One of my concerns is the initial flare-up that many users experience. My acne is not currently severe and I have seen some cases where the initial flare can cause more cystic acne to surface, and I would be disappointed to see my skin look that rough once again. However, I am hopeful that the initial flare would be less severe since a lot of my acne surfaced while I was on doxy and the topicals (I am currently still using the topicals but no longer on doxy.) My skin is persistently oily, even on the many prescriptions I have tried, so I would like to think that the dryness I experience would be less severe than others, but I am willing to deal with dryness to get to the clear skin I desperately want. Another small concern I have is the birth control requirement. The possible effects of birth control such as weight gain is something I would prefer not to deal with as long as I remain abstinent, so I am hesitant about being required to take bc. My final concern is that since I will probably be on accutane my first few months in college, the sun sensitivity may be a problem because the university I am likely to attend is a ten minute ride from the beach. However, I am very pale so the use of sunscreen is not a new concept for me, haha! Do you think accutane is worth the many effects in my case?
(Below are pictures of my skin in its current state)
Your dermatologist is not allowed to prescribe accutane for mild cases, it is completely unethical and they should be reported.
Please don't risk you sanity, your fertility and your longterm health for the sake of mild acne .
We should not even be having this conversation!
7 hours ago, hatetane said:Your dermatologist is not allowed to prescribe accutane for mild cases, it is completely unethical and they should be reported.
Please don't risk you sanity, your fertility and your longterm health for the sake of mild acne .We should not even be having this conversation!
I agree with above. You don't have severe acne... not at all.
There are very extreme acne cases, and then, there is deadly cancer like neuroblastoma... that's for accutane. Many lives have been turned to hell because of this pill.
7 hours ago, LatteEnthusiast said:Yeah, I think I'll let my dermatologist know that I'll hold off on the accutane unless my skin gets significantly worse and maybe try going back on the doxycycline for a bit to see if that can clear the rest up. Thanks for you guys' feedback!
You will thank us later. This is really a last resort drug- in your case I am 1000% sure you need not risk this. Have you tried mino?
Your acne is really not that bad, trust me.