I'm a 20 yr old dude. Always had both oily and acne prone skin. Month 1 was brutal with a bad IB lasting a few days. Now have oiless moisturized skin in week 6 already. No other product can compare to accutane (I used epiduo for several years). Worrying about my skin is completely obsolete now. Safe and effective when taken with a fatty meal, although I do binge drink occasionally on it (hangovers possibly a little worse). Take this with a large fatty meal and your dose will be more absorbed with faster results (almonds, avacado, eggs). A lot of things are bad for you such as accutane but atleast this one counts for something. Cheers

Until aged 19 I never had any problems with my skin. However when I started university I started to break out slowly and within a year had a full face of cystic acne. I tried many different treatments (none of which made any difference) and finally my doctor referred me to start isotretinoin. For the first four months I felt like there was no change however after that, my skin seemed to clear up extremely quickly (almost in a matter of weeks). I found it easy to copy with the dryness with intense facial moisturising in the night and the morning every day from the beginning of the treatment. I also kept lip balm on me at all times and applied regularly. Of course I still suffered from slightly dry skin and lips but it was easy to cope with and SO WORTH IT. Towards the last month or so of treatment I also found I had a stiff back and hips but again, it was easy to cope with and so worth it. I would highly recommend this treatment to anyone suffering. My self confidence was knocked for so long and I am finally (after about three years) able to leave the house without make up on. I suffered no depression of any sort but instead continued to feel better and better throughout the treatment as my skin improved. Stick with it, it is not a miracle drug and needs time to work!

I have suffered from acne since I was 11 I am now 27. When I was about 14 I got the benzoyl peroxide cream which made it worse so I stopped using it and it soon went back to "normal' which was bad but not as bad as when I was using th cream. When I was 16/17 I got oxcicetricyline and it reduced my blackheads and cleared my skin a lot but still not completely clear I was given this medication another couple of times after that spaced out through 8 years. To b honest I just thought that was me I had bad skin and that's it......deal with it!! After having my son at 19 I thought my skin would get better and to some effect I think it did as I was at the doctors a lot less than before about my skin. About 5 months ago I started to get big spots more like a cyst on my forehead when I never really got them there before. So I went to the doctors, he gave me the oxcicetricyline as it worked before.....this time however it didn't it got WORSE!!!! I got loads of huge cysts on my forehead chin and the side of my head along with other smaller "spot" type ones!! I was gutted! After that ran out I went on an antibiotic for a week I googled it and it was for th treatment of abscesses can't remember name.....did nothing! Then I got a 2 month suppy of lymecycline 408mg while I waited for an app with dermatologist. Didn't have to wait long only 3weeks as my doctor put it as urgent as it was so bad, really sore and swollen so I struggled to sleep at nights as I had a huge cyst right next to my ear on the side I sleepðŸ˜" so anyway in the 3 weeks it done nothing either. Was at derm yesterday and he gave me prednisolone a type of steroid to take for a month and accutane to start on the 3rd week. Think steroid to calm it and hopefully help keep an initial breakout at bay if I get 1. So I am just starting this and I hope that after this treatment I finally after 17 years have clear skin😊 can update if anyone wants to knowðŸ'ðŸ½

I am a 25 year old female who has suffered from acne since I was 15. Before I turned 20, my acne was quite mild, and I could easily treat it with benzoyl peroxide. However, after I turned 20, I started to develop those deep, painful, inflammatory cysts that would take weeks to go away. Benzoyl peroxide didn't seem to work so effectively as before, and I have tried all kinds of OTC acne treatments, antibiotics, even herbal tea... The sad thing is, none of these seem to improve my acne. For the past five years, my self-esteem was down to the lowest point. I wouldn't go anywhere without my makeup on, even just for grocery shopping. I would spend more than an hour to work on my makeup just to cover those f***ing pimples. I turned down my friends' invitations for trips or any kinds of outdoor activities, because I was afraid that the strong sunlight would expose the horrible bumps on my face, and then they just gonna keep asking what the hell was going on on my face (Maybe they are just cared about me, but when you are already worried about your acne even in your dream, you just want them to stop asking, and pretend that there is nothing wrong with your face)... Anyway, I was finally recommended to a dermatologist by a friend who has suffered from severe acne for 10 years. I know accutane is the solution after I saw the dramatic improvement on my friend's face. It's like she was born with such great skin. You could never link that to a face which is covered with pimples, scars, and large pores. So back to my story. In the 1st month, my face broke out like hell. I remember I was on this blog all the time reading reviews about accutane, and lots of people did experience an initial breakout from this medicine. I guess things have to get worse before they get better right? But the breakout was so so so horrible that I didn't even want my own parents to see my face. I basically just stayed in my room as much as I could. (Because my acne was caused by deeply clogged pores, so I was told not to wear any makeup while I was on accutane, I will talk about this in a bit.) In the 2nd month, the breakout finally stopped, the number of pimples on my face decreased from 30+ to around 15. In the 3rd and 4th month, the number of pimples kept decreasing dramatically on my face, and my face was much smoother and softer than before. Now I just started my 5th month treatment. But basically, I only have a couple of tiny little pimples on my face, and the scars have faded a lot as well. I might need to keep on taking this drug for another 2 months or so, just to make sure those clogged pores are entirely cleared out. As for side effects, mine were just dry lips, dry hair, and occasional joint/muscle pain, but they didn't bother me that much. But your skin will be super sensitive when you're on this drug, so it's very important for you to avoid sunburn or any strong topical treatment, otherwise you may end up with a red, itchy and swollen face. As I have mentioned, my cystic acne was developed from deeply clogged pores. From my derm's opinion, these clogged pores can be the result of my excessive use of makeup. I kinda agree with him, 'cause the cysts started almost a few months after I started applying full makeup. I used lots of different makeup brands for the past five years, from high end brands like Dior, Estee Lauder, Giorgio Armani to drugstore brands like L'oreal and Clinique. I also tried lots of skincare products that claimed they would improve my skin texture, brighten my acne marks, etc. ... But I didn't see any major improvement on my skin after so many attempts, or at least, the result was only temporary. With more pimples that I got, I tended to apply more foundation to my face, and I ended up with more clogged pores. Then these nasty clogged pores would turn to cysts, and I used more makeup to cover...The whole process just repeated over and over... So for the past few months, I took my derm's advice and completely stayed away from makeup, changed my entire skincare regime, and also stayed away from unhealthy food. Although my face is not flawless at this moment, but it has improved so much compared to what it used to be. And I can feel quite normal and confident when I walk on the streets now, because I don't have to worry whether people may stare at my face and wonder what the hell is wrong with this woman...

where in the US can I get accutane? I was on accutane several years ago and want to get back on it.

I am beginning my third month of accutane and what can I say, I LOVE IT! I have experienced the usual dry skin and lips but nothing too bad. I recommend using carmex for your lips, it is a life saver. Before accutane my face was super oily. I noticed after 2 weeks on accutane I was not producing oil. My makeup would stay on all day and I could go days without washing my hair, awesome right?! If any of you are nervous about taking accutane I would give it a try. Talk it over with your dermatologist and determine what is best for you. I am so glad that I made this decision. Sure, the monthly blood tests and pregnancy tests are a hurdle to go through, but if you want clear skin its totally worth it. I hope that my skin will stay clear even after accutane so fingers crossed! Good luck to all.

I had terrible, painful cystic acne all over my face, back, and chest from the time I was 12 until I was 23, when I was finally put on Accutane. I took a six month course of 40mg and had very few side effects; just the usual dry skin, dry lips, and a few days my eyes were too dry to wear my contacts, but I have had no long term effects. I turn 30 next month and my skin is still clear (I still get a bump or two every now and then, but it's drastically smaller than my old cysts and goes away in a matter of days instead of weeks.) I still have pretty noticeable and bad scaring on my cheeks and back, but the Accutane even seemed to smooth those out a little bit, too. Accutane was seriously a miracle cure for me, before I finally got my prescription I had tried years of scrubs, washes, medicated lotions, antibiotics, etc. I do believe it is important for everyone to fully research what they plan of taking and look into several options, but don't be afraid of Accutane. :3 It wasn't nearly as scary as I expected and I'm incredibly thankful for the results I received.

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!

Honestly, accutane is a miracle worker. Just a little over a year since I've been off of it and I feel amazing! It shrank my poors and got rid of my acne, completely. I'm left with just a few acne scars but that would happen either way (it's not because of the drug). I had chronic acne since the age of 11. Not even kidding you, it was awful! I was made fun of and it really lowered my self esteem and made me very insecure about myself. I started taking the drug when I was about 13 and know, at 15 my acne went away and stayed away. It's quite ironic because the people who used to make fun of me for it are now actually asking me for advice because they have bad acne now. I would recommend this to anyone. The only side effects I got were dry skin, but don't worry that's normal. That's the one side effect that almost everyone who takes accutane gets. Don't worry about it though, it's only temporary and if you just use moisturizer it's really not that hard to control. I took it for about 7 months with a dose of two pills per day. I was kind of disappointed at first because nothing seemed to happen for the first 4 months! But after that it really kicked in and I started clearing up like crazy! The one thing I would recommend to people though is that keep it up and don't stop taking it even if your skin looks clear. TAKE THE FULL DOSE PROVIDED BY YOUR DERMATOLOGIST!!! I cannot stress that enough. The acne will come back if you stop taking it while you are supposed to be taking it. Anyways it worked for me and it really changed my life! And for anyone that is scared or nervous, don't be. Just think of the future, how great it will be to have clear skin and NO PIMPLES!!!

I have been on the higher end Canadian version of accutane called epuris. It's only considered more high end because you can take it with any sort of food, whereas, with the lower end ones you have to take it with a large meal and you're not supposed to drink milk with it. I have been taking 40 mg daily of epuris for about two months now, though I take breaks when my hands or lips get too dry. My doctor told me it doesn't matter if you continuously take it, as long as you get the required mg/kg within the next 4-6 months. That way, I won't have as many side effects, which I appreciated. Initially, it did get a little bit worse so don't worry if that happens to you. I don't have severe acne, it might be considered moderate and it's only on my cheeks. Most of it is scarring and redness so it looks worse than it is. The initial flare up may be worse if you have more severe acne. After a few days, I started to see it work. It dried my skin so the acne went away more quickly. A couple other flare ups happened but then they cleared up quickly and now it has been awhile since I've had one. I wash with cetaphil morning and night and use a tea tree/eucalyptus cream spot treatment. I think plain tea tree oil might be too harsh because your face gets very, very dry. It's also important to use lots of moisturizer and if possibly, get a prescription for hydrocortisone cream for your lips and hands. I have 1%. The only really inconvenient side effect is the dry lips. I have dry lips in the first place so this made them 10x worse. Currently, my lips are cracked and scabbed at the corners. I kind of look like the joker but it's still better than acne. I'll power through it until the treatment is done. The acne clearing benefits outweigh not being able to wear lipstick for a few months. Hopefully this was helpful! I recommend it! Just make sure you don't take a super high dosage in too little time because the side effects may be too much to deal with. xx