Accutane (isotretinoin)

Accutane - the most effective treatment I've tried but not a miracle cure. Weigh up the pros and cons carefully.
lionfish ·
Works better than anything else I tried Much less oily skin - skin feels and looks nicer. Easy - no creams to apply or regimen to follow. Potentially dangerous - regular blood tests required Dry eyes, lips, skin and joint pain are annoying as time goes on. Not a complete cure. My acne wasn't the most severe case ever but it was persistent; 10 years of back and body acne. Various other treatments failed so I decided to give Accutane a go. I'm a big guy so my dose was large; I started at 20mg worked up to 100mg, my total course length was 34 weeks and a cumulative dosage of about 14000mg. If you don't know what cumulative dose or total dose to body weight ratio is about I suggest you research Accutane further before taking it. Initially side-effects were minimal but as the course wore on I did start to struggle with dry lips, dry eyes, painful joints and a general feeling of being unwell. Towards the very end my blood work wasn't ideal (lipids) and I felt my mood was bad. It did clear my skin up the longer the course went on but it was a slow process. I went from having multiple large cysts and nodules on my back to almost none. Unfortunately because of the side effects above and my already large total dose I had to get off it before my skin was 100% clear. As a result I am now getting a (milder) return of my acne after 8 months off. I have now started another course which is going to be a low dose over a longer time frame. I would cautiously recommended it to people with severe acne or moderate persistent acne that is scarring. This is a powerful drug and you need to treat it AND your body with respect while you are on it. Most people will only get the milder (but still sucky) side-effects that I experienced, others may get more serious ones. Research and weigh up the risks carefully.
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