I went through high school with acne, generally hating life. I tried everything, from over the counter stuff to prescription creams & oral medicine. Nothing worked. I went on Roacctuane (I assume it's the same as Accutane, just a different name in Australia) when I was 20-21 to clear up the last of the acne I had; it was still fairly bad, particularly across my back and I still got severe breakouts on my face. Honestly? It's the best thing I've ever done with my life. The only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner. I started off with the 20 ml pills once a day, then increased to 3 times a day under instructions from the dermatologist. Like everything, it didn't work straight away and I saw results maybe a month or two after starting it. But once it worked, it cleared my face 100%. Only very occasionally did I need to worry about one pimple. Yes, the side effects are pretty heavy. Everything will dry out; your palms, eyes, nose, etc. My nose bled quite a bit at first. You go very pale & burn ridiculously easily. Otherwise, it was a God send. The only downside for me was coming off it. My dermatologist told me to slow down the dosage and it started to come back a little bit. However, a few months on and my skin was clear 99%. It's been a good year and a half since I came off Roaccutane. I'm now 24 and my skin is still a little acne prone but nothing like what it used to be. My back is completely cleared 100% of the time. Right now I have a few spots on my face but, hey, it could be a lot worse! I'm looking for a mild cleanser; I've used a product in Australia called Ultraceuticals which was fantastic at first but, again like everything, my face has become slowly immune to it. I'm considering the Clinique range as there seems to be nothing but bad reviews for Proactiv. Overall Roaccutane worked wonders for me, I'm so much more confident and happy than I was when I had acne. But the side effects ar

It really is amazing stuff and to think I very nearly didn't start treatment - I cried after I left my appointment as I was terrified about side effects and I was probably also in denial about how bad my skin was! However, I am now on my last week of treatment (after 6 months) and it was genuinely one of the best decisions I have ever made. My skin isn't completely perfect - still slightly red, but can be 100% covered up with make up and is most importantly, very smooth (and will continue to improve apparently..even after treatment.) After trying all the antibiotics and creams under the sun, I can honestly say that this is the only thing that will clear stubborn acne. Sure, the side effects are a worry and maybe I have been lucky, but apart from a little bit of achyness and tiredness (which may not have even been the drug, as I play a fair bit of sport) I have felt totally myself throughout the treatment and the dryness is absolutely nothing in comparison to regaining confidence!! Just a note however, that it did take an age to kick in, I got very disheartened 3 months into treatment and so if you're reading this thinking the same, please persevere! The feeling of waking up with no new spots is incredible after suffering for the past 4 years and I am now about to start university with lovely skin! So don't get put off by the negative reviews - I know everyone reacts differently to it, but the best thing you can do is give it a try!

TAKING THIS DRUG WAS THE WORST DECISION IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Five years after taking the drug I still suffer from many debilitating side effects. Sjogren's syndrome, severe headaches, fatigue, neurological problems, muscle problems. I have not been the same since taking the drug and I probably never will be. Most people do not know that Accutane is a CHEMOTHERAPY drug that was originally designed to indiscriminately kill cells in your body with the hope of killing cancer. Simply put, it is poisonous. Even if you do not experience side effects immediately, long term problems can occur years later due to the heinous damage this drug can do to your body. I cried tears of joy when I got the Accutane prescription from my doctor, but now I feel like crying tears of anguish daily at the mistake I made in taking this garbage. I am in my mid twenties and I feel like my life is over. Seriously, just look up the long term side effects on google. Most people will probably not listen to me, but do not say that I did not warn you.

My skin looks and feels amazing!! no more extremely oily skin, i finally have normal skin. The side effects do suck but are so worth it, and a small price to pay for beautiful skin. i feel so much better about myself.

Accutane is honestly the most incredible thing ever. After 4 months of being on the drug, the only thing I regret is that I wish I had tried it years earlier. I never thought about writing a review, but I knew it would be worthwhile to let others know about my amazing experience and to give them some hope if they're feeling blue about acne. I'm a 22 year old male, and started getting acne about 8 years ago. While never incredibly severe, it was persistent, irritating and psychologically damaging. I would get it on my face and even ass sometimes, but the worse was always on my back and chest. No matter what I tried, it would always come back. I tried numerous over the counter and prescription topicals, as well as antibiotics like minocycline. None of them seemed to do much work, and last year my face started randomly breaking out so bad I barely wanted to leave my room. I finally gave in to Accutane after avoiding it due to all the 'horror' stories, and all I can say is 'wow.' I took the antiobiotic Bactrim a few weeks before and into starting my Accutane course to reduce the possibility of an initial breakout, and boy did that combo do wonders. Since starting Accutane, my whole body has completely cleared up, and I have had maybe one zit since then. It has 100% changed my complexion, and I can't even believe I suffered through all those years of acne. As for the side effects, they are pretty much zero. The only issue I've had is somewhat dry lips, and for that Dr. Dan's Cortibalm is a life saver. As well, although not recommended, I boozed pretty hard while taking this drug, and haven't had any liver related problems thus far. In regards to people who complain of depression and severe side effects like muscle/joint pain and hair loss while on Accutane, I don't discount those claims, but I would highly suggest giving Accutane a first hand experience before believing everything written on the Internet. Reviews tend to bring out all the naysayers and nervous nellies; rarely do you hear from the positive end of things. Anyways, I'll conclude by saying that Accutane is a life changer. Go see a dermatologist as soon as you can if you've been considering this drug and ask them for more information. I would not even hesitate if I had to take another round of Accutane, that's how effective it has been.

I'm a 32 year old female and broke out with very severe acne all over my face about a year and a bit ago. I've never had flawless skin but I've also never had acne before. This was very sudden and there is no obvious cause for it. Before starting my course of accutane, I spent over a year on this site (and many others) reading people's reviews trying to pick out the positives and trying desperately hard to ignore all the scary negative reviews. About this time last year I was offered accutane as my final solution to my hideous acne and I turned it down. I wasn't particularly convinced by the suicide claims but put off more of the apparent ageing of your body and the fact that you have to sign a disclaimer before you take the drug ( I don't know of any other). Anyway after a year of trying apple cider vinegar, tea tree, jojoba oil, diet changes etc etc and of crying everyday as I tried, unsuccessfully, to cover huge cysts that were so bad they changed the shape of my face I decided to go back to my docs and asked for a referral. By this point, I'd had holidays ruined (one's were I don't appear in any photo's, where people cruelly stared at me on trains probably because they thought I had a contagious disease), so many night's out missed, so many old friends falling by the wayside as I didn't want them to see me how I was, that I really didn't care about the side effects anymore. If anything, I was panicking that the derm would find a reason not to give me accutane and I'd be stuck that way forever. When I started taking 30mg, I was ultra-aware of every change in my body and immediately blamed any aches and pains on the tablets. Nothing I have experienced so far has made me want to stop taking them. It was after two weeks that I started getting dryness and I was pretty dry already..I could live with this and as for the initial breakout (which didn't happen for me) I don't think I would have noticed as my skin was so bad anyway. I am now over a month in and on 40mg, my skin on my face is dry - about 4hrs after washing my face and moisturising I get sort of like tiger-striped peeling on my lower cheeks, chin and a bit on my forehead. My skin is also quite red and I have dry circular patches on my arms and chest which I know will go when I stop taking the drug (somedays if I moisturise well it's barely noticeable and it has calmed down loads as my body gets used to the dosage increase). The real deal-breaker though is that after a month, loads of people have commented on how much better my skin looks and I feel that although I have some way to go, if I had to stop the tablets for any reason I would be far happier to have it as the way it is now. I'm no longer in pain, I don't spend every minute of the day thinking about my acne (or what other's think), not rushing home to wash my face so I feel clean. If you do any of that, you at least need to give accutane a try, I know a lot of people say this but I really wish I had taken it sooner. I saw a lad sat at a bus stop the other day with skin that was as bad as mine and I wanted to tell him to take it. There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't have clear skin like everyone else. Products I find useful are: Liz Earle's Skin Repair Moisturiser for dry/sensitive skin - when I was doing research all I read about was Cetaphil. I bought both the moisturiser and the wash and hate them both. They are full of chemicals and they made my skin feel like I'd put aftershave on it. Clarins Santal Oil - this is great under moisturiser when your skin gets REALLY dry Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic - nice calming softening toner. La Roche Posay Effaclar Purifying Foaming Gel - I've used this on and off since I first started getting acne, I always want to try new things but this is good at cleansing and it's very mild. I use it with Liz Earle's muslin cloths which I use to scrub the dead skin off my face. These are great because even though the derm will tell you not to exfoliate, there is absolutely no way you won't...you just can't leave it like that, especially if you are a girl and wear foundation. I use Neutrogena Deep Moisture Comfort Balm for my body and this stuff is brilliant, I even use it on my face sometimes when I need more moisture than usual. You get a 300ml tub for £6 and it is so soothing and lasts ages ( I know this as my skin feels slimy when I wash in the morning) For my lips, which get really really dry - I tried Burt's Bees lip balm, Palmer's Coco Butter lip balm, a Vitamin E rescue balm from Superdrug, oil, Cetaphil and nothing stopped that weird cracked and greasy feeling you get. I found an old lip balm in my bag that I got from Germany and it is the only thing that works for me. I paid £8 to get it delivered to the UK and I wouldn't hesitate spending that again when it runs out it is so worth it. It is called Med Protection SPF 15 by Labello and it's amazing. Labello is the German version of Nivea and I'm not sure whether the UK version matches up but I would definitely recommend just trying Labello. I know this has been a lengthy review but I really want to help people who are agonising over whether to take accutane. Acne is a horrible and heart-breaking thing to have to go through and I sympathise with anyone who is. Please give it a try!

I started Accutane in February of 2014 and just finished under a month ago on July 24th. I am currently 13 and started when I was 13. 5 years ago my mom went on it and had more side affects than me, she had dry skin everywhere, cracked lips, very irritated skin (the usual.) As for me, i only had dry lips and for a portion of time my chin was always cracking. Otherwise I had no issues. Like I said, i was on it for 5 months. For the first month i was on one 1, 40mg pill a day, the next month i was upped to 2, 30mg pills a day, for a total of 60mg's a day. Iwas on that same dosage for 2 months after that. To simplify that I was on 60mg's a day for 3 months. :). For the last month I went to only 30mg's a day. When I started I was scared of looking anyone in the eye and my face was always oily. I tried 7 topical gels and another set of pills in the past and no luck:(. Accutane was our last resort. My dermatologist wasn't skeptical at all. I trusted him fully and family supported me. I did it and now I'm as happy as i've ever been. I love my skin and am not afraid to wear no makeup in public anymore! I fully recommend Accutane to anyone who needs it.

I researched everything about isotretinoin before I started taking it. I wanted to weigh the risks and benefits before taking the drug for 5 months. I have had mild to moderate acne since I was 16 and I am now 26. I tried antibiotics, birth control, ACV, chemical peels (which made it worse), even the acne.org regime which irritated my sensitive skin too much to keep using. After talking with my dermatologist, we decided that these other things I have tried did not work and he suggested a five month course on accutane. There is a lot of waiting involved in order to get the prescription. Waiting after the pregnancy test, waiting to get approved, waiting for results. They make you jump through A LOT of hoops if you are a female, but if you are willing to get the necessary tests every month, it is worth it. My dermatologist prescribed me a low dose of 20mg for the first two months then I went on 30 mg. I have just finished my last months prescription a few weeks ago and my skin is the smoothest and clearest it has been since I can even remember. However, I still have some redness and my skin is still sensitive and dry. My side effects were very typical. Dry skin, dry lips, sore joints, low energy, and eczema flare ups. All of my side effects were bearable and I would do it again if I had to. Some of the products that I use to combat dryness are Cerave moisturizing facial wash, Cerave PM moisturizer, Aquaphor & lanolin for my lips. For makeup, I used Estee Lauder double wear foundation and it helped with covering up any redness or unevenness. Loreal's True Match also works well for a drugstore brand. After the third month, I noticed I needed less and less makeup because I didn't have to cover up anymore. I also love E.L.F lip exfoliator for dry flaky lips. Another positive side effect besides clear skin has been that my hair has been growing very fast. I asked the dermatologist about this and he could not explain it. I only have to wash my hair every few days because of the lack of oil. It is important to note that your skin will be very sensitive while on accutane. You have to be very careful not to pick your skin because it will not heal as fast as it normally would. It is also important to note that you cannot tan, get a tattoo, or wax while on accutane. I get my eyebrows threaded instead and it works very well without any irritation. I am tan and do not normally burn while in the sun but while on accutane I burn very easily. Also you are not supposed to drink alcohol while on accutane, when I did, I noticed it affected me strongly so I would not recommend it. I tried three different brands, Claravis, Amnesteem, and Absorbica. I would recommend taking Absorbica if you can because it is absorbed the best. The other brands you are supposed to take it with a fatty meal in order to be absorbed. Even though on the label they warn you about depression, It has not affected my mood at all. There is a lot of scary information out there about accutane, but I wanted to share my experience and hopefully help someone with their decision to try it. I would recommend it to anyone that struggles with their skin.

I finished a 4-5 month course in Feb and despite the odd tiny pimple, my skin is oily again, yet clear. I took 25mg for 4 weeks and then 55mg for 14 or 15 weeks. There's lots of nasty side effects and it doesn't get rid of existing scars BUT it does stop you from getting spots. At what cost to my liver and how long i'll stay clear for, i don't yet know. 100% recommend if your acne is bad because otherwise you'll be so tempted to give in sometimes as the effects can be so harsh. I know i've listed alot of cons, i did experience all of them and the 1-2 months were particularly rough. But the side effects vanished within a matter of weeks after finishing the course. The bottom line is - I WOULD still use Roaccutane again if my spots returned. It works wonders and to have clear skin for the first time in over 10 years feels amazing.

AMMAZING RESULTS! :) I am on my 5th & final month of taking 2 generic forms of Accutane; Amnesteem 10mg (1/day), and Claravis 30mg (2/day), 70mg/day. I made it through high school with no acne and developed moderate acne at the age of 18. I am a model/actor/student and the acne was a night mare, absolutely horrible on my self-esteem and confidence! I tried several prescribed meds with no help. I was aware of Accutane through close friends who took it & I was fearful of it even though they did have amazing results from it however sites like this one scared me. Finally my acne got to where it was very painful and intolerable, at that point my Dermatologist recommended Accutane and I was now willing. I am highly involved in sports and only experienced occasional hip & chest pain in the 2nd month of taking, I believe, 40mg/day. I had not noticed any other aches or pains except those natural to the workouts & conditioning I do. My dry lips and dry skin are tolerable w/ the constant use of AquaPhor, (found at Walgreens). When starting Accutane my doctor started me at a low dose and upped it each visit until the 3rd month when she upped it 70mg /day' it finally worked. The 2nd & 3rd month I had a huge acne flare-up! After the middle of the third month my skin was beautiful, no pimples, not one!!! I'm acne-free! I have flawless skin! I would recommend to anyone dealing with moderate to severe acne that he/she takes with a (large) grain of salt many of the scares that are out there regarding this large vitamin A Derivative. In my opinion, It's All Worth It!!!! :) The, Dry lips (completely under control w/ AquaPhor), Sensitive/Dry Face (Again, nothing that AquaPhor couldn't help!), Occasional Hip & Chest Pain,(in the second month only), Occasional Severely Dry Anal, causing a couple of painful bowel movements, and weirdly, eyebrow sweats no matter what my body temp is...(the eyebrow sweats may not be related to accutane as I have not shared this possible side