Does accutane work better the 2nd time

[whoknows 0]

It seems like a lot of people do accutane 2x. Does it work better after the 2nd time? I sure hope so. I just took my daughter to the derm today, and she said it would be a good idea to take it a second time, since the topicals aren't working. She got several facials, and the derm and the esthetician both said there's no point in getting more, because her pores clog right up again. Every pore is clogged.

She's been washing with this SA cleanser, and has been having nothing but whiteheads. They literally appear within hours after taking a shower. It's such a bummer. It's summer for crying out loud. She's 16, and has been dealing with this for 5 years.

I really hope 2x is the charm. Please report if it worked (or not), the 2nd time for you.

My daughter looked great for a month or 2 after the first course ended last July. The whole 10th grade was pretty good actually, winter formal, school play, etc, but her skin slowly got worse and worse. Argh.

Thanks for your input.

[yg's mom 0]

I can't answer your question from personal experience, but at the end of this reply I've copied something I found on the internet. The article, unfortunately, doesn't mention WHO the patients were who needed more courses of accutane, but other articles I've read say that those individuals whose acne started before age 12 are more likely to need more than one course. (It sounds like your daughter's started at 11??) So maybe one more course will do it.

What dosage was your daughter on before, for how long and what does she weigh? (I'm curious to know what her total cummulative dose was.)

Anyway, here's the excerpt from the article:

In a study of patients who were observed for 10 years, a single course of isotretinoin therapy completely cleared acne in more than 60 percent.16 If relapse occurred, it usually developed within the first three years after isotretinoin therapy; 78 percent of relapses were reported to occur within the first 18 months.16 Of the 39 percent of patients who experienced a relapse, 16 percent required re-initiation of oral antibiotics, and 23 percent required additional isotretinoin therapy.16 In those who relapse, repeated full courses of isotretinoin may be required. Of the 23 percent of patients who required repeated courses in one study, 17 percent had two courses, 5 percent had three courses and 1 percent had four to five courses, with predictably successful results and without additional adverse reactions.21

Layton AM, Knaggs H, Taylor J, Cunliffe WJ. Isotretinoin for acne vulgaris--10 years later: a safe and successful treatment. Br J Dermatol 1993;129: 292-6.

[yg's mom 0]

In my previous post ignore the "16s" that you see at the end of several sentences. Those are footnotes to the article that I've copied at the bottom of the excerpt.

[tp414 0]

It seems like a lot of people do accutane 2x.  Does it work better after the 2nd time?  I sure hope so.  I just took my daughter to the derm today, and she said it would be a good idea to take it a second time, since the topicals aren't working.  She got several facials, and the derm and the esthetician both said there's no point in getting more, because her pores clog right up again.  Every pore is clogged.

She's been washing with this SA cleanser, and has been having nothing but whiteheads.  They literally appear within hours after taking a shower.  It's such a bummer.  It's summer for crying out loud.  She's 16, and has been dealing with this for 5 years.

I really hope 2x is the charm.  Please report if it worked (or not), the 2nd time for you.

My daughter looked great for a month or 2 after the first course ended last July.  The whole 10th grade was pretty good actually, winter formal, school play, etc, but her skin slowly got worse and worse.  Argh.

Thanks for your input.

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[whoknows 0]

Thanks, Ygsmom. Hopefully this will do it. My daughter's friend just finished her second course and looks great. It's just such a bummer because of the dry lips and sore back. She's running cross country so the sore back thing is especially annoying.

[whoknows 0]

Thanks for the link TP414. Unfortunately BP kills my daughter's face. She tried Dan's regimen, and Proactive and she was red the whole time...like a tomato. She's had several facials because of the bumps and clogged pores, especially on the sides of her chin, and they just come right back. She tried the antibacterial soaps, and got the clogged pores. She tried the SA cleanser and got whiteheads, red marks, scabs (that's where she's at now).

Today is picture day at highschool. What a bummer. I think the accutane is the right thing. It's the 6 months of hell that stinks. At least she knows what's coming. We've got the good lip stuff and she has a new bed, so maybe her back won't hurt so much.

[rockonjl9 0]

Thanks, Ygsmom.  Hopefully this will do it.  My daughter's friend just finished her second course and looks great.  It's just such a bummer because of the dry lips and sore back.  She's running cross country so the sore back thing is especially annoying.

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[whoknows 0]

Is the joint pain from accutane? That stinks. My daughter ran xcountry while on accutane last year, but didn't run as fast as she did the year before.

[tp414 0]

The nature's cure has pills that evidently work wonders. Most people who use this treatment don't even bother with the BP that comes with the pills. You should go over to the "over the counter" forum...there are a few threads on people who are having success with just the pills. They are seeing results quicker than they would with accutane. Some are reporting progress in just a few days. Good luck.

[Login_Name 0]

I've tried the natures cure stuff in years past. It did nothing. In fact, I had a couple of my worst bouts ever while on it. I'm not saying it caused it, just that it did nothing positive.

[whoknows 0]

I guess if you took accutane twice and it worked the second time, then you're probably not on this board anymore. Sigh. I hope it works.

[OPamela 0]

I decided to do another round of Accutane. I started and 30 days later my face is about half way clear already! Dry lips, using vasline every 2 hours helps!