I never had acne through teens but when i was 23 i broke out along my jawline with deep acne. counting 30-40 at a time. It could have been stopping the depo BC shot because that was the only change in my life at the time. I have been on accutane for 80 days @ 40mg 1/day and i weigh 130lbs. I have not experienced any serious dryness or joint pain like most people and i am much happier but I was never worried about depression. before starting accutane i was very skeptical that it would work for me but i am very happy to say it has, and still is. I also got chemical peels with acne extractions at least once a month which made my recovery much faster.

I'll keep this as brief as possible. I've been off Accutane for about six months. I am a 22-year old female who got severe adult onset acne when I turned 18. I had severe acne on my face, back, and shoulders. I tried every OTC product and prescription product (including retin-A micro, birth control, etc. ) that my dermatologist recommended. My dermatologist believes I have a hypersensitivity in my dermis to testosterone. Finally, all that was left to try was Accutane. I've been on two rounds of Accutane. First was 6 months, second (three months later) was 4 months. My experience: After a couple weeks the drug stopped the oil production on my face. It was heaven. I had VERYYYY oily skin all through my teen years. My skin continued to break out for about a month, and then stopped. The breakouts that I had while on Accutane left the worst scars-be careful. I had no mood swings, in fact I was the happiest I'd been in years because my skin was clear and dry. After the 6-month round ended, the oil returned in a few weeks. The acne did slightly on my face, but not my body. I used benzoyl peroxide and went back to my derm. He put me on another 4-month round. Now, six months after my second round, my skin is manageably oily. I probably use 3-5 oil blotting sheets per day, versus the 20+ I was using before Accutane. My acne is 99% gone. I only breakout around my jawline now, so I use benzoyl peroxide there once a day to keep it clear. The rest of my face remains perfectly clear, and my back and shoulders are also completely healed except for the very occasional pimple on my back, which doesn't bother me whatsoever. I do have more joint pain. I do have some unfortunate scarring from breakouts during my accutane treatment. But to me, these are SO WORTH IT!!! Accutane saved my life. I can face the world, I can go to school, I can have a boyfriend, I can socialize, I can leave my house confident...I can feel beautiful. I will never regret it.

Im a 24 year old male, started getting acne when i was about 15. I took 1 20mg tablet of accutane twice a day for 6 months. Im about 95kgs so I think that is quite a low dosage. Thankfully I didn't really suffer from an initial breakout. Got most of the usual side effects: dry lips, nose bleeds, painful joints, red face but none of these where that bad and were certainly bearable. My face started clearing up after about a month, strangely my back acne and large pimples on my neck which had been gone for about a year and a half before i started the course then began to return. By about 3 months my face was totally clear with no new pimples. I finished the 6 months about 1 month ago and my face is still clear, the moderate back acne remained for the whole course but seems like it is starting to disappear now I am off the meds. Just got to wait now and see if they come back, not sure how long until I can be sure but for now I would defiantly recommend this drug. I played around with all kinds of creams and antibiotics for almost 10 years none of which had a positive effect for more than a month or so. My recommendations to anyone taking this drug would be to ask about taking a longer course of lower dosage, research seems to be showing that it is just as effective and you are much less likely to suffer from bad side effects. Also from my experience the less you do to your face the better, no face washes etc, I just wet my face when im in the shower and nothing else (think people are calling it the caveman regimen), my face never got flaky dry and I didn't ever use moisturizer. I think you are either going to get an initial breakout or your not and scrubbing your face won't change that, it'll only dry your face out. Cheers

I don't know where to start... So in october 2014, after 4-3 years of moderate acne, my skin started to severely breaking out. I don't just mean severe, I mean REALLY SEVERE: By November, my skin was covered in cysts all over my cheeks as well as lots of BIG whiteheads and big pimples on my temples and chin as well. I feel like something went really wrong inside my body, and I still haven't figured out why it happened. By 18th of november 2014, I started on Isotretinoin. And week by week my face gradually got better. (Go check my album and you'll see the improvements in a matter of a few months). This has been my saviour to my social life. I almost dropped out of high school because my face was in so bad condition. When I would sleep and wake up, I would find my pillow in blood because of my acne. Just smiling hurt and sometimes pus would come out of my face if I smiled. FAST FORWARD: I am now ALMOST 4 months in and I currently have NO zits on my face, only one cyst that hurt on my neck/jawline. Other than that my skin is so smooth, but I have loads of scars. They're not deep, but I have small (noticeable) and lots of them on my cheeks as well as some on my temples. I have NO blackheads on my nose and the side effects, they have not been bad at all. Just REALLY dry lips, not too dry skin and sometimes my back would hurt a little, and from time to time my joints. But it is SOO worth it. *BUT don't think this will happen to you, because we all react differently, so don't expect this drug to work magically on you as it has done so far with me. I also recommend NOT taking this drug if your case is not severe. I only took this drug as a last resort, and because my acne was out of control. I have myself started approaching my acne holistically, meaning I have made some changes regarding diet and lifestyle and skin care, because I really do believe that the root cause of acne can be controlled by taking good care of your body from within. I recommend this drug to severe cases of acne, because it is not something to play with if it can be controlled with something far less dangerous* 1st month - 3rd month: 40 Mg per day

Hi my name is Oliver I really need help im 16 yrs old Ive been on accutane for 3 months now and ive seen no improvement.. Yes i touch my face but only recently like few days ago recently because Ive been very patient and I want these pimples on my face to go away [:(] .. This really sucks because honestly I used to be a good looking kid and now with accutane im so ugly. I have no confidence anymore. My initial breakout was horrible and honestly I think im still in it with the exception of like 4 pimple difference.. I have cysts, whites heads, papules, and my face is disclored and red and purple in some spots. I just want to know when it will be over or if i should just stop and use proactive + because it worked for me before but it was just too much commitment so I switched to accutane so I wouldnt have to worry about acne forever. I knew initial breakout and i got it on the 12th day of accutane, I knew it was coming and I expected it to last 1 month or so. I dont know why this is happening to me, yes I am a little awkward and quiet but I swear im nice. im going to keep praying and try to be patient hopefully there is light at the end of this very dark tunnel. ima just give this product a 5 star because i believe it will work lol

After suffering with persistent acne for 7 years I finally got referred to a dermatologist. My first appointment was in oct 2014 and I got prescribed doxycycline. Not sure why as I have been on this before! He was very against me going on roaccutane as I have suffered with depression in the past. Had my review 2 week ago and this time was a different dermatologist as the previous one had left (thank god!). She straight away recommended roaccutane. Had my blood test done 20 mins later and picked up my prescription the next day. I have never felt so relieved to pick up medication!!! The thought of knowing I was on it was a weight off my shoulder instead of having to beg for it which I had to first time around with the previous dermatologist. I'm now going in to my second week of 20mg and my skin is so dry already and my lips too but my skin has cleared up dramatically already :) I had to go to boots today to buy cetaphil and wow that stuff is brill! Didn't sting or burn like most moisturisers do to my sensitive skin. I am also using burts bees lip balm as carmex wasn't working for me (felt very grainy on my lips). If any of you people are suffering then please ask for roaccutane. And also not all dermatologists are sympathetic :/ I'm just so glad that the second one I seen was female and empathetic as she sympathised with me and knew that I needed this treatment so don't be put off with only one dermatologists opinion!! (You can ask to see a different person). I'm using less make up as previously I would cake it on and even then you would still see the lumps! My foundation is very expensive (Estée Lauder double wear - which is brill for coverage by the way) and with me using less is a pricey bonus :) I'll keep you updated but if you have any questions then I'm here. I know how horrible it is to suffer with acne - physically emotionally and socially!! Hope this helped x

i had severe acne when i was in high school- it was awful- i tried everything- until my dermatologist and i agreed that it was time to try accutane. I have to say this should be the end all be all for acne sufferers. the months that were ahead of me were tough- fortunately i had a great support team including my mother and my dermatologist- the peeling, the dry lips- it was all worth it in the end- my skin looked and felt amazing- it is a rough road but much worth it! i have not had horrible severe acne (going on 9 years since my last treatment)- please make sure that you go over everything with your doctor- prepare for what is ahead, and keep going, there is a lot of support out there for this and i highly recommend you go over this clearly with your doctor

I'm a 17 year old girl and I had constant issues with my skin before accutane. I would get the occasional cystic zit and besides those I just had constant break outs where I would get 5-10 new zits a week. I had tried just about EVERY medication on the market from topical to oral. They all seemed to lessen the breakouts for a few months until my body got used to them and the acne returned. My daily routine consisted of caking on makeup to cover my acne, only making it worse. At night it took me about an hour to get ready for bed because of my lengthy skin care routine. These topical gels just caused my face to become very oily on top of the oily skin I already had. And I mean oily. My face looked like I just jumped out of the shower. I finally got to the pont where my dermatologist recommended me for accutane and let me tell you that was the best decision I've made in my entire life. I went on accutane and after about 3 months I started seeing a lessening in the breakouts as well as a complete loss of my oily skin. I was on accutane for about 7 months and at the end of my accutane journey I had not gotten a zit in about 3 months(a miracle for me). I have now been off accutane for about 5 months and my skin still looks impeccable. In fact, it's still getting better. Now, if I get a zit it goes away within 3 days and does not leave a mark. I now simply use lotion for skin care with the occasional retin-A on a small zit and that is it. It now takes me 10 minutes to do my makeup where it used to take me 30. I Know this sounds cheesy but its such an amazing feeling to look in the mirror and see your natural beauty as opposed to the 10 zits on your face. I am so much more confident and I still do not have oily skin until the end of the day( and only mild). I highly recommend accutane. I was extremely worried about the sideeffects and impact on my emotions but I did not have any problems during my accutane course(despite blood tests, gross). I did however have extremely dry skin especially when young my dosage from 40 every day to 40 one day 80 every other day. Be aware, a small nudge against a wall will peel your skin off. Keep a lotion on your skin and make sure you use sun screen!!!!!!! I burned even with spf 100. Also if you get a zit, DO NOT SQUEEZE. I know, that's the oldest cliche but on accutane it's super important you don't squeeze because it will peel off skin around the zit leaving a large scabby scrape on your face that is very hard to cover(it looks awful). If you do get one of these put aquaphor on it and leave it for as long as possible( overnight is recommended). Do it evey day until it goes away(should take up to 4-5days). Aquaphor was my best friend on accutane. Anyways, overall message: I HIGHLY recommend accutane. It was the best decision I've made in my life thus far. I feel so much more confident and beautiful.

I am a 32 yo female who has had worsening cystic acne from about 25. Having progressed through all the usual over the counter products and also prescription medication like retin a, my GP referred me to a derm for the 'last resort'. And I am so glad she did- 6 months later I have perfect skin for the first time in years. I took 20mg a day for the first months and 40mg a day after that (I am finishing my course in the next month or so). I have experienced a number of the usual side effects- dry lips, headache for the first two weeks, and occasional eczema on my hands when I don't moisturise enough- but none of them have been unmanageable. Remembering to drink lots of water and moisturise, moisturise, moisturise are the key. I was scared to take this medication for so long because of all the negative press, however I wish I had taken in years ago. If you are considering this medication I would suggest finding a good dermatologist and talking through the pros and cons with them to see if it might be a good fit for you. And if you decide it is, go for it and don't look back! A note on costs- in Australia this medication costs me around $35 for a box of 60 20mg capsules.

I just turned 50. Accutane was new at the time I tried it. I suffered severe acne on my face, back, and chest that was getting progressively worse despite all treatments. It was painful, embarrassing, and pretty much ruined most of high school for me. I started accutane when I was 17/18 and was on it for 6 months with regular monitoring and blood checks. Side effects were similar to others with headaches, joint aches, dry lips and skin, and sensitivity to sun. I recall there was little improvement for the first 4 months. In fact I was so frustrated I started taking more than prescribed. Luckly my Dr discovered this quickly and freaked me out with descriptions of all the dire consequences that result from taking too much. After I completed treatment, all acne was gone for at least a couple years. It felt amazing. I would get occasional pimples after that but nothing compared to what I experienced before treatment. I am a healthy fit male and I don't believe I have suffered any long term side effects. My sons are hitting teen age years now and if I see them starting to experience severe acne like I did, I will aggressively push the accutane route.