I never suffered with acne as a teen, I guess I was lucky. My skin wasn't perfect, but it was blemish free. When I hit 20, everything went downhill. My hormones went crazy. Suddenly, it was as if my face was as out of control and there way nothing I could do to maintain it. I tried various products, microdermabrasion, light therapy, Tetracycline and a number of intense and EXPENSIVE chemical peels. For about 3 months, the tetracycline worked, then my acne came back with a vengeance. It was the worse I had ever seen it and suddenly I couldn't look at myself. I couldn't look at other people, I became anxious, shy, sad - I felt ugly. I began facial peels. I must of had at least 10-12 checmial peels( which did help). Slowly my acne began to improve, but it was still there, only not as aggressive and at a cost of £90+ a peel I couldn't continue using them. I learnt about accutane from the sk:n clinic where I was having my chemical peels; by which point my acne was graded as modular pustular acne - not nice, I know. Anyways, I continued having chemical peels for about 5 months,having at least 2 a month, before I demanded to be referred through my doctors to a dermatologist (only registered dermatologists can proscribe accutane in the uk and i just could not afford to fund it privately) I was rejected at first. I went back ofcourse, kicked up a fuss and told them how depressed I was. I finally got to see a dermatologist and straight away was given accutane. My first appointment, they preached about not getting pregnant, checked I wasn't already, checked my weight and just wrote me a prescription. I though it would be more difficult, but once I got to that stage it was fairly easy. I was told that I would need monthly appointments, needed to go on at least two forms of contraception (although I didn't because I can't have synthetic hormones for medical reasons), would need to keep an eye on my mental health and come back every four weeks for an up-dated prescription. I started on 20mg a day for 4 weeks- no problems, no difference. I increased to 30mg for 4 weeks then 40mg. I started to notice I was no longer breaking out, like at all. I had no side effects at first. My dose increased to 50mg a day. The skin on the back of my hands began to dry, like scales. My lips split, like they reallllyyy split. My eyes became so dry and gooey and I was going through at least one bottle of eye drops a week. They're not exaggerating when they tell you to moisturise ( personal preference, cetaphill - it's a life saver and can be used on your face and body) I started to get backache, really badly. I became nauseas. All my blood test came back fine and within 6 months I was off accutane and spot-free. I'm the happiest I've been with my skin in over 24 months. The only side effect I'm still suffering with currently is backache but I've only been off accutane for 6 weeks. Despite the side effects , I would go back on it tomorrow. Roaccutane changed my life, for the better. It's a life saver and I don't regret going on it.

I had severe acne for 20 years and tried everything until I tried Accutane. It basically cured my acne. I didnt really have much side effects except increased weight and elevated lipid level. Acne gave me so much problem in life that I rather be fat like Homer Simpson with clear skin. If you take low dosage (20mg to 40mg), I really doubt you are going to have severe side effects. Anyways, if you have moderate to severe acne, I think you should just try it. You got nothing to lose. It's a total waste of time to try those topical or oral antibiotics or some diet regiment. Take my word for it.

So im 16 and i struggled all through the last year of primary school and all throughout high school with severe acne. Some times were better, others not. My 'good' days were when my spots weren't red and inflamed they never seemed to go but when one did another 2 would replace that. i tried changing my daily routine, from what i was eating to exercising, home made 'remedies' all i can say for that is dont believe everything you read on the internet. It eventually got to the point where all the doctors and nurses at my doctors knew me, thats how regularly id been going to either get a new prescription or because the stuff i had wasn't working for me. This went on for about a year until my doctor finally told me about a dermatologist and booked me an appointment. i went had the blood test and weighing procedures, if im honest i was terrified about going on this, all the side effects potentially life threatening ones nearly stopped me from going on accutane. I went back saying i didnt want to risk it but my dermo insisted i should as they don't open this up to many people and turn away most that are asking for it. so i gave in, the first month i was on 20mg because i was a baby and panicked about what it could do internally, i saw slight changes, just slightly dry lips. 2nd month i was upped onto 30mg my skin got much better but as my dosage upped i broke out,making me think this was all useless, side effect: slightly drier lips, bit of cracking in the corners, dandruff (but i seemed to have sorted that) im on my third month now, 40mg one day, 30mg the other, my skin has cleared up so well im left with maybe 2-3 but spots, these are really unnoticeable and i feel so much more confident going out, i have some red scars left but nothing concealer doesn't cover up. im looking to eventually get rid of my scars completely but im in no rush. overall my experience has been so good so far, the only side effects ive had is dry lips and i went a couple of weeks not eating properly so lost alot of weight but thats all sorted now and im eating well again. One positive is i can go for 3-5 days without having to wash my hair now!

I promised myself that if I find the product that would help my acne I would share my experience cause I know how painfully depressing is to have acne and not knowing what will actually help you or just make it worse. So here is my story I had acne since I was like 12. They were on my face, chest, arms, legs, practically everywhere. Before taking accutane I tried all kinds of cosmetic products and nothing worked as a matter of fact it usually got a lot worse or my skin got completly dried out but acne always came back.I also tried changing my diet and started homeopathic treatments but that didn't help either. My family has a really healthy lifestyle so I was avoiding any medications and was looking for other options. I went to like 5 different dermatologist and most of them suggested tetracycline antibiotics but as I was against antibiotic at that time they said chemical peeling could also help. Well they didnt, I just throw a bunch of money out of the window. Then I started to use some antibiotic cremes that made my skin red and my acne worse. I hated myself because of my skin, it affected every aspect of my life and I was miserable and depressed beacuse of it. After crying all days, not wanting to show myself in public and having no will to live I had enough and at the age of 19 I decided to go on medication after all. Dermatologist suggested accutane or tetracycline. Cause I read a lot of bad comments on tetracycline- how more than 70% of people got their acne back after taking it and cause I heard a lot of good ones about accutane and also knew some people accutane helped I decided for accutane - rouaccutane.I know there are a lot of terrible side effects but my hatred for acne outweighted all of them. Cause I am really really impatient I was expecting results to come right away but at the beginning it actually got worse. It didn't improve even after 3 months when you supposed to see improvements. I was devestated as accutane was my last solution in acne war. Dermatologist comforted me and said that when does it comes to improvement varies from pacient to pacient. I was impatiently waiting and at the end of the month five my acne actually started to got better! I still got occasional pimple or two but that was nothing to compare as it was before. I was so happy and could actually start wearing open back shirts and look people in the eyes when I talked to them cause my skin finally wasn't an obstacle anymore. Right now I'm on month 7 with last box of accutane and my skin is acne free with occasional small pimples before period still faaar from skin I once had. I was on 10mg at the begining than on 20 mg from second month till month 6 when I got back to 10mg. Regarding the side effects I only had a dry skin and lips nothing else! It is really importent that they don't scare you and that you don't focuse on them because I think they got a lot to do with your mind. My whole treatment I was just thinking about when it will get better never of side effects and maybe that's why I didn't get any (apart from dry skin and lips which really isn't a big deal). :) I hope I didn't write too much and that my experience helped you in any way! I really suggest accutane especially to people who have been suffering from acne a long time and no other treatment worked out for them. I know how horrible is to have acne so just have faith and try to think positive(even though it's hard at times) and believe me it will get better!

During Accutane- Dry Lips: one of the worst symptoms. Not a day goes by without dry lips, therefore not a day goes by without exfoliating your lips (I used various gentle and natural lip scrubs) and right after that I would apply aquaphor. I'd buy big bottles! Nothing tops this stuff. I would apply it all day long & for sure before bed. Dry face- this can be painful. But it only means it is doing what it should be! To help this, I would apply a little bit of moisturizer after washing my face in the a.m.& would repeat before bed. Make sure your moisturizer is good tho. You might have to spend some money on it but clearly if your skin needs accutane, it doesn't need any yucky oils to take you back to where you started. I used the normal/oily dermologica skin set. It inludes toner, exfoliator, face wash, moisturizer, and even eye cream. I used it all! It made my skin glowwwww. It was pricey stuff! But worth it. Otherwise my face was dry, red, scaly,etc. SIDENOTE ON MAKEUP: ladies....accutane = no makeup.... it's harddd to snatch your face with makeup while on accutane. I even used nice products on my face to hydrate & when I would apply makeup the texture would just not be right....if I knew that there was a day I HAD to wear makeup, I would prep first. Heavy hydration masks. Heavy moisturization. And shhh. I would even skip a few pills a couple days before. And even then, my face just wasn't that amazing texture. But it gets better for you makeup lovers I promise! A month after accutane makeup looks sooo stunning! The medication is no longer intensely affecting your outer skin.P.S this is about foundation etc like glam......mascaras and some blush/highlighter/ a little bronzer can look just fine while on Accutane! Dry arms: this was a huge thing for me. I would get these dry red scab like things on my arms. this is really only in the winter though. When they healed, they would scar and I had like tons of white spots (scars) on my arms. Ew. To prevent this my doctor prescribed me a cream...I believe some type of cortizone.....but yeah I would definitely hydrate those arms if you are taking it during the winter. Inside of nose dryness: I started to get dried boogers and scabs in my nose that hurt sooo bad. Definitely search for a product that can hydrate your inner noses they exist. Hair:(- a sad side effect for me:(:( lots of hair loss. I noticed this the first round of accutane. And before I could see if it would grow back I was being put on round #2 because my acne is just that bad and genetic. So this second round I am using absolutely NO heat, NO color, and NO hot water in the shower. NO harsh pony tails only scrunchies! NO messy buns, your hair will break! Sleep in braids and wear braids often! Wear hair down natural as much as possible ladies.do not wash your hair a lot. Use a gentle brush! And a wet brand brush to brush after showers. Use leave in conditioner & conditioning treatments! Trim dead ends if necessary! Trust me on this. Use a very very VERY moisturizing, protein rich, healthy shampoo and conditioner. After accutane: always use sunscreen! The sun will bring acne back! Always cleanse your face and use great facial products on your face! Take vitamins!

I was recommended Accutane for my skin years ago as a teenager after suffering moderate acne throughout high school that became cystic by the time I was about 17. Now (at 23) I have it mostly on my jawline and forehead but I get flareups on my back and upper arms randomly, possibly due to stress. I put it off for years because of some of the horrific side effects, and I didn't want cracked bloody lips or flakey skin when I was going to school or while I had a job, Im a very self conscious person and hiding dryness with makeup is impossible. But after my father passed away the stress it put me through started up the worst flare up of my life and I needed to do something about it. I was in a deep horrible depression and I was graduated from college and in between jobs so I decided to finally start treatment. By the time I jumped through all the hoops to get the medication my skin was a little bit healed from a bad breakout, so I think that helped avoid the "initial breakout" a lot of people complain about. I had about the same amount of zits that I would usually have for the first two weeks. It wasn't until I started experiencing the drugs side effects that I noticed my skin clear up at the 2-3 week mark. My eyes got dry, the inside of my nose got dry and bloody, and my lips got dry too but not nearly as bad as I expected. I just needed to upgrade my chapstick from Burt's Bees to Aquaphor at the three week mark and they healed up. My skin got smoother and smoother, and aside from some flakiness around my nose it wasn't too dry at all (I thank my Nivea soft moisturizer with jojoba and vitamin E, it saved me from eczema as well). Another side effect that I LOVE is that my hair isn't greasy anymore and I can go days without washing it. It's actually growing now because I used to wash and dry and heat treat it so much it would just break off and stay the same length. I'm so happy. I wear foundation and I don't have to blot the oil off my skin every hour as well, it looks fresh and matte all day. I know some people experience a lot worse side effects, and Im lucky its working so well for me, but even If I was a flaky bloody mess for four months It would still be worth it for the clear skin. I'm feeling more confident than i've ever felt and my anxiety and depression has been slowly improving. I went camping at a two day rave and didn't have to stress about makeup or how my skin would be and it felt SO GOOD. I felt free and alive. Im excited for the months to come because my skin continues to improve and my hair is growing longer and I don't have to put as much effort into my morning routine which helps me get up and leave the house more often. Five stars, I would give it 100 stars if I could.

Taking Accutane was a HUGE mistake! I took it because I had been battling acne for over a decade. I did not have cystic acne but my face was always full of pimples and some were quite painful. The entire month and a half I took it, I was severely sick to my stomach. I missed several days of work and could not keep any food down. I also developed the largest pustules I have ever had in my life. The only acne scars I have on my face are from the breakouts I had while on Accutane. It still upsets me, over a decade later, that i could have been scar free if I hadn't taken this drug. I also believe my immune system was severely compromised from taking Accutane. I got terrible colds the following 2 winters in a row that I had a terrible time fighting off. Prior to taking Accutane, I would only get minor colds in the winter. If you are a female with hormonal acne, I highly recommend trying Spironolactone first. 50mg 2x a day has kept my skin clear for 9 years now. Absolutely nothing else worked for me except Spironolactone. I know that some people with cystic acne do have success with Accutane. But it was a horrible nightmare for me. I recommend females try Spiro first before resorting to such a damaging drug as Accutane. Unfortunately, guys cannot take Spiro due to side effects in the male body.

I'm giving Acctuane two stars because it was a total cure for both of my brothers. Unfortunately for my sister and I, we both relapsed a few months after stopping. The dermatologist recommended taking a second round, but at the end of my first round my hair was falling out. I still have bald patches on my hairline. Not cool.