I've had severe acne since the 7th grade. I'm now a sophomore in highschool and i've been fed up with my acne. I finally went to my derm a month ago and got on accutane starting at 80mg a day. i didn't experience anything until the end of my first week. My lips slowly got really dry but my face also started getting smoother and slightly clearer. I was slightly depressed at times but my girlfriend helped out with that. My skin looks a lot better now and i'm looking forward for more good results in the months ahead

TRY IT!!! i came to this website 4 months ago when my dermatologist told me to think about taking accutane and i gotta say i was pretty scared. i kept reading about people who became very depressed and all, and i began to think that maybe this wasnt for me.After some encouragement from my family i decided to take it. Now im 1 month away from finishing my treatment and i can easily say starting the accutane treatment is one of the best decisions ive made. My face, back,neck,shoulders and chest are clear of acne (i still have some scars) and i definetely feel alot more confident around others. I have recently experienced my hairline to recede, but according to my dermatologist, if its caused by accutane, it should come back about a month after my treatment is over. On some poeple its permanent but its usually people who are older (20-30sums) and were going to loose it sooner or later. as for other sideeffects, its nothing you cant control.

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...

I did Accutane a couple of years ago after suffering with acne for YEARS. I was really nervous about taking it (I remember reading these forums all the time and doing a lot of research) and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that are doing the same thing, so I feel like I need to write about my experience. This is my first time back on here since I finished Accutane (because I haven't thought about acne since!) but I felt like I needed to write something...because it might help someone else! I'm 25 now. I had a little bit of trouble with acne in high school, but started to get progressively worse during my freshman year of college. I tried everything...OTC products, changed makeup, stopped wearing makeup, antibiotics, spironolactone, dietary changes, prescription topicals...EVERYTHING. I still have two grocery bags full of leftover acne treatments. 4 years later...graduation and my acne had gotten so bad that I felt embarrassed to do job interviews, and it made me really self conscious around people. I like to run, and I think I actually got used to my face burning when I worked out (those topicals are rough!) My dermatologist finally brought up Accutane after she said there was literally nothing else I could try. Honestly, I thought Accutane was out of the question because I knew I had to be on birth control...which I basically can't do because I have Factor V Leiden (clotting disorder, estrogen-based BC puts me at risk for clots) The doctor I went to was comfortable with prescribing Accutane as long as I pledged to be abstinent while being treated, which at the time wasn't an issue for me (apparently not all derms are comfortable with this...my sister saw a dermatologist who refused to prescribe it unless she took BC) Another obstacle was cost. My insurance wouldn't kick in for prescriptions until I hit my deductible. So I paid out of pocket for the first two prescriptions (~$700 each...could've got a new laptop or something instead, but whatever) After that I think they were about $50 for each prescription. My dermatologist said the higher dosage (60mg I think?) actually costs less than the 30mg dosage...so she ended up prescribing me 60mg, but told me only to take it every other day. Long story short, it took a few months and a lot of lotion and lip balm, but 6 months later I was acne-free (and years later, I still am!!!) I think I was still getting zits until around month 5, so it definitely took some patience. But it made such a difference in my life. As far as makeup, I wear nothing on my face now except a tinted moisturizer and undereye concealer (because I DON'T NEED IT! It's fantastic!) I use Cetaphil facewash and moisturizer at night...no more money wasted on products that don't work. I get the occasional small blemish when I have my period, and that's it. It's honestly been a life changer. By the way, Eucerin lotion and Aquaphor lip balm worked best for me...your skin and lips really dry out. I had some trouble with dry skin patches that turned into a rash on my arms at one point during treatment (kind of looked like eczema)...dermatologist gave me an rx for Triamcinolone cream which cleared it up. The only weird side effect that I had was some trouble with mild lower back pain during treatment, but it resolved itself shortly after I finished. And yeah, the ipledge program and labwork every month is a pain, but if you have trouble with bad acne you know it's a small price. My bloodwork results stayed perfect throughout treatment, by the way...I think my total cholesterol went up a few points, but it was also pretty good to begin with! So yes, Accutane can be a dangerous medication and it should be properly monitored, and people should be fully aware of the risks. Risk vs. benefit...this med is reserved for people who have tried everything else. All meds have side effects, most have warnings about problems that they CAN cause. You'll probably read horror stories in your research about people that had bad luck with Accutane, but not every medication is right for every person. There are horror stories about pretty much any medication on the market. But if you're at the end of your rope like I was, it really is worth a discussion with your dermatologist. Changed my life! Good luck everyone!

So my acne began when I was 15, before that I had perfect skin. Then it all hit really fast. By the time I was 16 I had severe acne, not only blemishes like everywhere, but really bad cystic acne too (the worst kind of acne, leaves terrible scars). It was messed up. Like most people who are contemplating Accutane, I'd tried everything medical and "organic" pretty much to "cure" it. Except of course Accutane. I was hella scared to try it because of the side effects, which to any person in their right mind, it is off-putting. When my confidence and social life reached it's lowest, I realized that the small possibility of getting a bad side effect beat the the hell out of the certainty of me being depressed and ultimately not living life to it's fullest. So I gave Accutane a chance. Basically my experience was exactly how it was described; started off getting worse, after 3 weeks began to improve, always dry as hell skin, chapped lips (keep a chapstick with you at all times). After 5 months I had clear skin, the only problem was the accutane sometimes messes up the healing process, it seemed my body started overhealing (hypertropic) where there were cystic acne scars. Now although acne was gone for now, I had to deal with a couple of bad scars. After 8 months I was finished my 20mg dose, my skin didn't have a single pimple on it and my scars had improved quite a bit. Now I was scared to go OFF it. Funny how that works. I read somewhere a good article, somewhat discredited by the fact that it was trying to sell a dodgy product, but it had some good information. Firstly; that acne is a warning. It is a warning that something in your body is going wrong. Now I'm not talking about the occasional blemish that comes with growing up or having dirt in your pores, I'm talking about proper acne. Acne is showing that you have an imbalance in your body, meaning that until you solve the imbalance, acne treatments are pretty much useless. So it's been a year since I was on Accutane and it was a great starting point of clearing my skin, then the acne slowly began to come back. Nowhere near as bad, but still. So I came to the conclusion it was my DIET that must be causing the acne (I had a terrible diet), (even though I got told there wasn't much of a link between my diet and acne) also I was always outside sweating and playing sport so that couldn't be the problem. So I decided to drastically change my diet and cut down on dairy. It was super hard, chocolate withdrawals and replacing meals like chips and cake with tuna and sandwiches with lots of salad and fruit, steaks are always good though. I also hit the gym and started a high protein diet. My acne decreased and now I am back to pretty great skin without relying on any drugs. Now for the moral of this review. I absolutely recommend Accutane to anyone who needs a "life boost" because they are suffering from bad acne (mostly cystic) and the mental side effects (depression). However I also recommend changing your lifestyle or diet following your course of prescribed Accutane. If I could turn back time, I'd do the hard yards with exercise and change my diet INSTEAD of taking Accutane, because I truly believe that it would have had the same effect. Accutane though, I'd say has been a life changing and eye opening process for me. Only a couple of small scars left which I plan to fix in the near future and I'll have flawless skin once again! Thanks for reading :)

please please please im actually begging all of you who have acne, ive been their, i had terrible acne just a few months ago and now im completely clear. If you want the skin you have always dreamed of having then you need to be on this medication. Don't let the rumors scare you, this is a completely safe medication and barely anyone actually has serious problems. My dermatologist told me that she has treated 10,000 people with accutane and all 10,000 of them had perfect skin at the end and no one had any serious health problems. So again, don't be scared away by the negative reviews on here, which brings me to my next point. Your very closely monitored while on accutane so if anything serious does happen, your doctors will know right away and give you the proper treatment. Accutane is miracle drug and I simply urge with all my heart that if you have acne and your self conscious and embarrassed by it that you please do yourself a favor and go on this medication. I know how hard it is to have bad acne, or even any acne for that matter. It hurts and it kills you inside trust me i was in that place for over 2 years until i went on accutane. So please i beg you do yourself a favor and go on accutane and get your life back and get the skin that youve always wished you had.

I was very happy with the results I got from taking this med. Even though I would get headaches, they were taken care of with advil. The dry skin wasn't too bad, just have to lotion a lot ( I used CeraVe) . I had a lot of whiteheads that would pop up during the day, blackheads all over my nose, and red, painful zits on my chin and cheeks. This took care of it within 2 months. The positive results outweighed the negative in my situation. I was nervous at first to take it, but I am so glad I did.

Didn't really work for me - even after starting a second course. It could work for you though - worth a try! Ladies - Even whilst using two methods of contraception I managed to get pregnant - make sure your consultant takes you blood to rule out pregnancy beforehand - mine didn't!!

I was on it for 9 months, and I was speechless. It cleared all my acne. I was so confident. A week after I begun getting it back, and I was mortified. I had to go on Epiduo which I don't think anyone else had to go on afterwards. Red marks show up after every single pimple I get. I can't control my acne now, and I am VERY educated on skin. I don't know what to do, school starts next week. This is just my experience, everybody has a different experience. I'm probably going to have to go back on Tane. I recommend it, even though I lay in the 25% percent of people who relapse. You may be different.

This is a very dangerous drug! You are taking big risks with your health if you go on this medication. I strongly believe it is responsible for me developing severe depression, chronic digestive problems (IBS), and worst of all I think it caused my interstitial cystitis (IC). IC is a condition that makes you have constant bladder pain and you feel like you have to pee all the time. If they find a link to accutane and IC I am definitely going to try to sue. Accutane can cause these problems even years after you have taken it so I am still anxious about other ways in which it may have impacted my body. Oh and by the way my acne is back and in full swing, so I didn't even get the permanent elimination of acne that is always advertised with this drug. BOTTOM LINE: Read all the health warnings with this drug! They clearly show that accutane is toxic to many organs and systems in the body. Unless you have very, very, very, very bad acne that is extremely disfiguring this drug is not worth it. If you think acne is bad, try living with the multiple health problems this drug will probably leave you with.