Effectiveness: dose and case dependend. High dose (0,75-1 mg/kg) treatment provides more benefits and a reduced likelihood of relapse (10-30% depending on severity/type and root of acne) but more severe side-effects. Low dose (0,1-0,4) is recommended in less severe cases but relapse rate increases (50-60%) ' with significantly less side-effects. Gradual increase of the dose and intake with food (50-100% better bioavailability!!!) is recommended. Side-effects: dosage dependent, mild and NOT permanent in 99,8% of cases. 0,2% are usually unique cases e.g. 400% elevated starting triglyceride level results in permanent liver damage ' can be avoided. Can be dermal or systemic. Dermal: isotretinoin causes dramatical reduction in sebum production, thinning of the stratum corneum, and alterations in the skin barrier function. So your skin becomes dry and very vulnerable. Damage to the skin can leave scars because of this so take care. Dryness of the face and lips (95-100%). Dryness of the nasal (50%) and oral mucosa (40%), photosensitivity (40%), eczema (25-35%), nose bleeding (20%), dry eyes (20%), acne flare (8-20%), itching, rash, erythema (15-20% mild), hair loss (5-15%, reversible), peeling of finger tips (10%). They are usually mild, temporary, and respond well to symptomatic treatment. If you experience severe adverse effects just decrease the daily dose calmly or visit your derm. Systemic side-effects are much less common (pregnancy must be avoided of course). Osteomuscular pain (10-15%), headache (5-10%), elevated liver enzymes (0-5% reversible), decreased night vision, psychological disorders, pseudotumor cerebri (0-0,5% presumably not even side effects, very poor evidence of casual relationship). In the end I would like to warn you about getting information from laymen. You can get very distorted info here since these reviews are based on subjective experiences -mainly from unsatisfied people- so treat them with much caution.

It's been 16 days now, first started off on 20mg went and saw the Dermatoligist last night she has bumped me up at 40mg. Was expecting major results but maybe that's because i wasn't on a high dose. We'll see how the 40mg goes. If it's what everyone is making it out to be then i'm just going to hold on and keep waiting for these wonderful results.

This is my fourth month on accutane. I am going to start by saying I am writing this review because I feel compelled to give feedback. During my worst times on accutane, I would continually check this forum for support. It would help me think about the future, as opposed to the terrible acne on my face. Accutane has changed my life. After my second month, the drug started to work. It completely cleared my acne and I had only a few tiny zits since then. But, that does not mean it was an easy ride. There are a few things that I had to compensate in my normal daily routine. The first - the capped lips. I used a few different products, but the fist I would recommend is Dr. Dan's Corti Balm. This chapstick is like no other. It is designed for people on accutane, and works like a charm. It repairs split corners too. The second is the eye drops. My eyes got SOOO dry. It is soo annoying, I know. But the best drops I found to work were GenTeal eye drops. The Moderate/Severe ones seemed to work the best. This may not be common, but I had a very hard time with my nose getting very dry. My nostrils would get very dry and on some occasions would bleed. When I remembered, I would use Cortizone, a cream that I used for the eczema on my arms, in my nose. I would simply swab a q tip with Cortizone, and wipe it around my nose. It would help so much. Again, I am writing here because I know how it feels to be on this drug, and it is miserable. But if you are sick of having sh*t-confidence, then it is very worth the side-effects. I did experience a little depression, but it is no worse then the depression that I felt looking at myself everyday, day after day with acne. Just dont worry. I cant stess this enough. You WILL get through this. Just wait for two or three months, use the products described above, and you will be fine. GOOD LUCK!

this drug was a miracle for me. PLEASE don't be afraid to take this drug. it has changed my life in the most amazing ways. i am a happier, more confident person in every way. before i took accutane i woke up every day tormented by my awful skin. i refused to ever let anyone see my arms or chest and i hardly let even people who were closest to me see me without makeup. interacting with people caused me extreme discomfort. i never wanted to stand close enough to anyone to let them see my face, i felt horrible when i had to go out without makeup. my acne made me feel like a disgusting monster. i had moderate acne on my face, chest, and back and it was a nightmare for me. my life is so much better now. i touch the perfect skin on my arms, chest and back and i feel like it is a miracle. this drug was everything i ever wanted it to be. i can feel comfortable looking people in the face. this drug has changed my life more than anything else ever has. i am so grateful that all the suffering (from age 9 till age 21) is finally over. taking accutane was the best decision i've ever made. i am doing things i never would have though possible when i had acne: i've been asked out on dates (i never dated before because i was horrified by the thought of being intimate with anyone because of my skin problems), i can look people in the face when i talk to them, i feel like a normal human being for the first time in my life. the level of joy and happiness i feel about my skin is indescribable. the physical and emotional pain accutane cured goes beyond anything i can describe. my only regret was waiting so long to take it.

improved skin texture - smooth, soft-looking, feels great! major oil control! no longer look like i have an oil slick on my face by 12pm, with make-up sliding off my face. everything is so much easier to attain! also, my hair is so soft and silky. used to have oily hair, not the case anymore pimples come and go at lightning speed am so pumped by the improvement seen after only 2.5 weeks on 20 mg a day... i'm far from the finish line, but full of positivity.

I found this site somewhere around 4 years ago. After reading through all the reviews on acne products i found there was only one that really stood out and that was of course Accutane. So I tried it and although it was a hassle to get my hands on it simply worked! I owe my self esteem almost entirely to this site for showing me the way. One word of advice for those who try it out: Put a disgusting amount of vaseline on your lips before bed. And keep vaseline on you all the time and you shouldn't have any problems with the side effects.

After all I had read about Accutane, I was pretty scared going into my treatment in early September of 2013. As I took my first little orange pill, I was terrified. I had heard so much about the horrifying side effects of the 'miracle drug', and, being a bit of a hypochondriac, I took to the best source I knew ' the Internet! After hours of reading blogs about people's experiences, looking at before/after pictures and scouring forum after forum, my head was spinning. I read about people's faces peeling off, having suicidal thoughts, and suffering through the worse breakouts of their lives. I saw images of cracked lips and sad faces with captions that read, 'my face feels like someone took a meat tenderizer to it.' I read about dry eyes, bloody noses, something called dry butt'"I don't even want to know what that is...NOT encouraging! As I kept reading and scanning, devouring these peoples' stories and experiences, I began to feel physically sick. My back ached, my head hurt, my brain running in circles of is this worth it, am I going to become suicidal? Am I suicidal right now? I was really a mental, physical, emotional mess on Accutane Day One. But then day two came. And day three. Four, five, six ' twenty-seven, thirty-nine, before I knew it I was (am) three months in! 20 weeks down, 8 to go, said my dermatologist today! My skin is not miraculously clear ' not yet, anyways. It is improved, yes, but not done yet. I am choosing not to despair until the treatment is done. I have hope. For all my worrying, and the tizzy I worked myself into on that first day, Accutane has NOT been that bad. It is a very serious medicine, and it should not be taken lightly or until you're ready for the responsibility of its potential side effects. But thankfully mine have been quite minor. It's really just been a few key lifestyle changes. Things I've learned to do while on Accutane: 1. Apply lip balm like it's my job. I literally cannot go ANYWHERE or any length of time at all without Chapstick, Vasoline, Carmex, Blistex, whatever I can get my hands on. As long as you keep your lips moisturized, they won't crack or bleed or peel or any of that nasty stuff you've read about. They'll be dryer than you've ever experienced, that's for sure, but keep those pesky little tubes handy (and don't put them in the wash) and you'll be okay. Sidenote: my hands also cracked and felt a bit like dragon scales at times. Keep hand lotion at the ready, as well. 2. Lay off on showering (a bit). Maybe this is just me, but Accutane really dried out my hair from the first few days. I have naturally quite greasy hair, and being on this drug made it dry, or at least normal like other peoples' hair. I only need to wash it every few days'"which is awesome'"and it looks absolutely great! Thanks Accutane for this one sweet side effect! Also my arms and legs have been dry, so I've had to adjust to showering less often and moisturizing EVERYWHERE after I do hop in the bath. 3. Be okay with picking my nose. You think I'm joking, but it's for real. The mucus in your nose will dry right up on Accutane, resulting in painful and sometimes bloody boogers. I'm just laying it out there for you'"those things are NOT comfortable to leave be, so you'll need to make time to just clear it out once a day. Just don't do it while driving, unless you have really tinted windows. Even then, it can wait! 4. Look forward to that one beer each week. Drinking alcohol while on Accutane is a touchy subject. Some completely abstain, others risk it (who needs a liver anyways, right?) I made a pact with myself to have no more than one beer a week while on the treatment. My liver scans (blood tests) have always been clear, and it actually has been kind of nice. It makes me really look forward to that one drink, and make sure I enjoy it in a special way'"with good friends or an extra delicious burger. 5. Be extra picky about my products. I swear by the following: Neutrogena Extra Gentle Moisturizing Face Wash to start and end each day, Cetaphil Lotion before bed, Aquaphor for those especially dry days (on scaly spots and lips before bed). Lip balms I'm not so picky ' whatever is closest is the best, no questions asked. Well, that's what I've got so far. Two more months to go ' maybe three, depending on progress. I'm thankful for relatively easy side effects, and being able to somewhat hide my excessive Chapstick needs under the cover of 'it's winter! Everyone's lips are dry!' To everyone else joining me in the exciting, frustrating, seemingly endless but ultimately (fingers crossed) effective journey that is Accutane, Godspeed. We are in this, together. ---- Flash forward to today, my one-year anniversary of starting Accutane. I'm happy to say, my face is totally clear! I haven't had a pimple since I can remember, much less a full-on breakout. No matter what time of the month, or how stressed I am, my skin stays clear! A little tinted moisturizer (and some sunscreen) in the morning, and I'm good to go for the day. In fact, I'm back to the oily t-zone I did NOT miss while on the medication ' but it doesn't bother me as much anymore. My skin isn't perfect. I have scars. Bumps, spots, marks on my chin and cheeks and nose. But instead of fixating on those I choose to be thankful. Thankful that someone invented this crazy, painful, apparently wildly effective medicine, and that I had the opportunity to take it. Thankful for people in my life who saw through the acne I had before and will see through it if it comes back again, but also rejoice with me that I can feel confident and pretty and more grown up than before. The journey was rough, I won't deny it. But a year out, I can say I'm glad I tried Accutane. I'm even more glad it worked. And I'm the most glad to say it's over.

This stuff is amazing!!! I'm one of those people who has had acne since puberty and NOTHING has ever worked for me. Not even a little bit. And I have found that this is the only thing that actually will work. I was on it for six months the first time around and then three years later I was on it for four months, which it is normal to have to go on it again every few years but it is totally worth it. Unless you have a lot of money to blow, though, you absolutely HAVE to have insurance. If I didn't have insurance I would have had to pay substantially more than ten bucks a month. And like others have said iPledge blows. Hated it. Don't be surprised if your doctor doesn't really know how to use it. I had to end up waiting an extra month to get a prescription because my derm didn't enter it in the iPledge system, and you also have to answer some stupid questions every month before you pick up your prescription. I kept forgetting to answer mine before I went to the pharmacy and it would just tick me off to no end. But just about anything is worth getting rid of your acne, right? That's what I thought. Do yourself a favor. Go on accutane NOW. Please. You won't regret it.

I always promised myself that after all was said and done with my accutane treatment that I would come back onto these blog and share my story in the hopes of helping a skeptical, scared person like myself. I am now 21 years old and completely acne free. In high school, I never had acne. My skin was pretty much clear my entire life untill college. I started breaking out a lot on only my chin and forehead. Pretty much every breakout was "cystic" and never rose above the skin. Unfortunately this meant that they took forever to go away and they completely dropped my confidence. Absolutely nothing worked for me. I tried topical creams but the pimples were too deep and no antibiotic did a thing. Finally I decided to try accutane although I was absolutely scared. I already had some health issues (headaches, neck problems, etc.) I thought that I would never be able to handle any "side effects" because I'm already dealing with my own Health problems. Once I stared the treatmant, I quickly realized it was worth it. I started to see results within the first month. My face is also not oily at all. So I thought I would be painfully dry on this stuff. however, my skin and lips got dry but it was nothing lip balm and lotion couldn't fix. As for the side effects, I truly could not notice much of anything. Accutane truly just becomes apart of your life for a short period of time and then next thing you know, it's over! I was on it for 6 months and I am beyond grateful that I tried this. My skin has been flawless, soft and beautiful for 5 months since I have been off it. I never break out and I almost forget sometimes that I used to have bad skin. Accutane is COMPLETELY WORTH IT! If you are on the fence about it, please try it! I remember calling my dad crying before the day I was about to start it, and he convinced me to give it a shot. I am soooo glad he did! If you are worried that you already deal with some discomfort due to health issues like I did, don't let that stop you! If anything, any previous health problems you had only makes you tougher, so accutane should be a breeze for you! I want everyone to feel this way about their skin.. If you are a candidate to take accutane, please give it a try :)

These pills have boosted my confidence level significantly after finishing it. However, after five months of being off of it, i am starting to see plenty of pimples. not as bad as before, i would say i am moderate right now (not including the bright red face). also, these pills initially increased my depression (when i was on them) because in the beginning they got so much worse than before. also, my hearing almost disappeared. right now, from the medicine, i am facing hair loss and high triglycerides. i dont know if any problem will occur in the long-term because of accutane. For all of you reading this and wondering on whether to take it or not, i would say yes ONLY IF your acne level is really severe (which means cystic acne covers every inch of your face) and if everything else youve tried has not worked. there are many problems related to these pills so talk to your doctor and family first. You dont want to risk internal problems for better looks. I thought it was effective but i still have a really red face and pimples are coming back.