18 year old male. Accutane start date 12/17/17 end date 8/17/17.
Okay so i'd like to tell my story here since when i was going through my rough times i had always looked on this page for advice and it really helped me a lot. Now that my acne has disappeared id like to give some insight to anyone else that may be struggling with extreme acne and is considering taking Accutane.
From about the age of 14 years old I had always had regular teenage acne that wasn't extreme or even much noticeable, but even at that time I wanted to get rid of it completely so my mother took me to my regular doctor, and she prescribed me some benzoyl peroxide and erythromycin. They worked at first but after a short while they slowly destroyed my skin after about 2 years of use. It was at this time where I started to try and look for my own treatments for my mild acne. I tried eating healthier and using silicic acid washes to try to keep it under control while spot treating with over the counter benzoyl peroxide. By 2018 I was not able to control it at all and it was getting out of hand. I had acne all over my shoulders arms face and back. As a person who is very confident in everything that I do, I felt as though this was holding me back and causing me to be way too self-conscious. That's when I listened to my Doctor and was put on minocycline antibiotics. I stayed on those antibiotics for a while knowing that as soon as I stopped using them my acne would come back way worse than it already was. Seeing that the antibiotics had only slowed my acne down the doctor also prescribed me some Retin- A cream. From all the reviews i believed that retin-a would somehow be the answer to my problemsbut instead of it getting better before it got worse it literally just ruined my skin and caused it to break out 10X harder for about 3 months. Thats when i said enough is enough because My acne had become extreme and was to the point where the sides of my face werepurple from all the zits and the rest of my face was covered in small pimples. Even my back arms and shoulders were extremely bad too. This had a huge toll on my life and held me back from simply feeling good about myself. Sometimes i would even look in the mirror and be somewhat disgusted with myself, but one thing i did not do was give up.I had then learned from searching endlessly online that Accutane was a "cure" for acne. Hearing about all the side effects I was a little worried to use it, but I had no other choice because at this point my acne had become cystic and I was getting about 2 new huge zits every single day. So, It took me about 4 months but iwas able to hang on and finally get an appointment with a dermatologist, and in our first meeting he recommended that I take Accutane right off the bat considering i had already tried everything possible. But my insurance would not cover it unless I had taken antibiotics for at least 6 months without stopping. I did not want to wait 6 months, so I decided to pay out of pocket for it. That right there was one of the best decisions of my life. Dealing with all the verifications and the tight regulations on Accutane was a hassle but I was finally prescribed 40mg twice a day of Myorisan.
In the first monthI noticed that all the small acne on my face and body had disappeared, and I was happy that I didn't go through the breakout phase just yet despite all the back pain I was having and the extreme dryness all over my body and lips, also my eyes were very dry and my whole body was feeling rusty. What I did to combat those side effects was just drink a lot of water and make sure I always had a tube of Aquaphor (you will go through hell if you do not get a good ointment or cream for your lips) on me.
During my second and third monthI just kept breaking out nonstop (this is what you would call the initial breakout), but even though it was hard and disheartening I knew that this phase would stop and that is what kept me going. During this time i got the hang of what i was supposed to do to make sure things didnt get worse. Whenever i would shower i would dry myself off then immediately put on lotion so that i do not feel like my skin was going to rip. For my body i used the regular aveeno daily body lotion. But, for my face i carefully chose a light non comedogenic lotion which wasneutrogena hydro boost cream. These two lotions literally are what pulled me through my course (along with aquaphor for my lips of course). While on the course you need to make sure your face and body stay moisturized because accutane will completely stop your body from secreting oil.
During my fourth monthis when I seen a big improvement, I noticed that the breakouts were slowing down, and my skin was looking the best it had looked since back when I was a kid. I was still breaking out and my derm had told me that the best way to make sure it does not come back was to keep taking it until I did not breakout at all for a good 3 weeks- 1 month. I had a couple breakouts a month up until my 7-8 month where i did not have any at all.
I continued up until myeighth month, and I was finally done with my treatment. My skin was great! finally after such a long time I found something that had helped me. After I stopped, my skin only started to get better, aside from the scarring left by the huge breakouts in the 2-4 months, my skin was healing. Now about7 months post AccutaneI could not be happier. Thankfully my scars have all faded and its a huge blessing. I do not breakout anymore aside from few tiny pimples here and there, and over all my skin looks even better than some friends of mine that have not had any acne before! =) Another quick thing that I hope does not discourage anyone that is seriously suffering from acne, is that some side effects of the medication still have not gone away. Such as having to put on lotion to prevent dryness after showers, my skin cannot handle the cold anymore (feels as though my bones and skin are freezing), and my face turns bright red whenever I feel the slightest bit of embarrassment, anger, or surprise, even though I am tan skinned, and I never had that problem before treatment. Other than that, if you are truly looking for a cure for your acne I 100% recommend Accutane because the side effects are worth it especially when you can finally get your confidence and self-esteem back! 10/10 PS: Whoever is reading this stay hopeful and try your best to also stay positive, I know that it can be hard but where there is a will there is also a way!!! btw Neutrogena hydro boost (cream) is a life saver use it in the morning and night on your face and you'll be good for the day. Alright thats enough typing Im out...... GOOD LUCKKK!!!
