Isotretinoin is a vitamin A derivative called a retinoid that is taken orally and is approved only for severe acne. It is thought to clear acne primarily through its ability to permanently reduce skin oil (sebum) production.
Isotretinoin is available in capsule form and is usually taken twice a day. Your physician will prescribe an initial dose, and this dose may increase or decrease depending on the response to treatment and side effects.
I never write reviews but I decided to write this as if it can help one person on deciding to use this ill be happy.. before starting accutane I was so worried about it due to reading the horror stories, but with my cyctic acne taking over my life I would of tried anything. I would sit up every night and read the reviews and sometimes not being able to sleep till 4am. When I finally decided to start, the nurse was explaining all the bad side effects (obviously they have to) and I started to have a panic attack. I was so scared of these that I didnt want to even start the accutane! After calming down I started my course, and with starting to see a difference in around 6 weeks I was so happy! Its been 6 months from starting and its one of the best things I have ever done, my confidence is finally coming back after suffering with acne for 10 years. So if anyone is considering this I would certainly recommend. Dry lips and low moods are something I experienced, but with healthy diet and exercise, I was able to over come them. I hope this helps someone today who is feeling low about themselves and their acne and know there is hope :)
I had severe cystic acne with risk of scarring, condition aggravated by eczema and insanely oily skin.
Diet and other medications didn't work so the dermatologist put me on oral isotretinoin after years of troubles and strong emotional distress due to condition.
Even go to bed and wake up was a nightmare due to the skin reactions.
Start oral isotretinoin at 16 yo: 6 months at 40 mg/day (0,7692 mg/kg/day).
Short story: no particular sides effects during the therapy (only typical cracked lips and flare up at first) and in fact this period was one of the happiest of my life (relationships, social life, good performance in high school due to reduction in stress).
My skin and my hair was literally amazing: I embraced the typical emo hair without wash or use an hair straightener.
My hair grew insanely long and shining without sebum.
After the regular end of the treatment everything was fine (skin returned oily but no more pimples or breakouts, eczema still here but manageable, hair still awesome but now a bit oily).
I spent my last teenager years very well and I finished high school with very good performance.
But troubles started in early twenties: inexplicable depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, low libido, erectile dysfunction, cognitive impairment, memory disorders, lack of ambition, eye floaters, photophobia, blurred vision, pili torti (occipital and temporal areas), thinning hair (now I'm completely bald).
At first merely mental and sexual issues, then...
A couple of years after I started to experience low back pain and severe lombalgy resulted in herniated disk so I had to go under surgical intervention (diagnosed with degenerative disk disease).
My bowel habits changed dramatically, I'm now constipated all the time and full of gas everyday.
Blood exams are all fine, markers of inflammation were never found.
Today I'm 27 and I'm just a shadow of my former self but my skin is perfect.
It's definitely a life-changing drug.
In conclusion: oral isotretinoin worth the risk? It's no coincidence that it's called the drug of last resort.
If you are a parent in search of an answer to relief the emotional distress of your son/daughter, I can tell you that oral isotretinoin worth the risk especially in the short term.
Adolescence is a very critical age and further stress is no recommended, teenage body dysmorphic disorder and social pressure are huge weights.
Sorry to inform you but you are not going to have side effects 5 years later you were going to be mental with issues
Destroyed my hair. Do not go on this poison
Accutane has cured so many of my patients when nothing else has worked. It is truly a miracle medication. It has even healed some acne scarring in the worst conditions of acne. It is my medication of choice in recalcitrant acne patients.
Best,
Dr. Green
Honestly anyone who is suffering from acne like mine GO ON ACCUTANE! Don?t be afraid of horror stories, it is truly life changing. Never used to have ANY confidence because my skin was so bad at one point (2 years ago) and now I?m so confident with no makeup and my skin is brand new. I was 18 at the time, was on it 6 months and the only side effect I had was dry lips (nothing horrendous just you?re usual dry chapped lips) used aquaphor to sort that and I had quite dry skin which looked bad with makeup on, nothing horrendous and was okay when I soaked my face in ceravae moisturiser or aquaphor.
before I went on accutane I had tried about 4 antibiotics, 3 birth controls (all made it worse or did nothing), duac, isotretinion gel, mario badescu products... the list goes on. I used to spend hours a day searching how to clear acne, I went insane! I even went vegan during the process as at one point I was convinced chocolate caused my acne. So many positives to accutane the only thing now is that my hair is maybe a little thinner than prior to the tablets and try not to drink too much alcohol on these (even though I did as I was a uni fresher eeek). Best of luck, it ALWAYS gets better just be patient. X
I took Accutane twice. I took it the first time for 6 months(20 mg) daily. And my face was clearer than ever. After exactly 6 months my acne came back. But it was not as severe as before. Then it got cystic again. And after 7 months. I thought that maybe i should take it again. I took it AGAIN. For 6 months(20mg) daily. Got really clear skin for another skin months. Then i had a relapse. Keep in mind i’m a person that takes best care of their skin. From morning to evening routine i take care of my skin as best as i could. After that i was soo disappointed. Now almost an year after my second round of accutane. I still have moderate acne. On my face , back , arms and chest. Accutane may be the solution for some but not all. Please keep in mind the side affects when starting Accutane. It made my hair very thin. And i still to this day have severe back pains. And my bones ache. And my hair is very less than what it used to be. Hopefully it works for you. But it was not an answer for me.
That's because you took 20mg for 6 months, you didn't complete the full treatment and consume the total required dosage of 120-150mg/kg. You consumed around 3600mg, which would have been woefully insufficient. It's the people that don't intake the required cumulative dose, skip doses, and don't consume with food (fatty foods more specifically) that are more likely to experience these problems.
This was the only acne product that worked for me. I was scared about all the supposed side-effects before taking it and especially stunted growth and depression. I ended up taking it for a year and my only side-effects were dry skin and lips that weren't really even that bad. I was on a low dose but took it for a longer time as my dermatologist had prescribed. Now afterwards I still have a pimple or two once in a while but by my standards I consider my skin clear :). For me getting rid of acne with accutane was one of the best things that has happened in my life and for me it was a miracle drug.
I am so sad I waited so long to do this. It is life. Changing! I had a pretty gnarly cystic acne going on. Not a single pimple now. Not. A. Single. Freaking. Pimple. Scars and redness is still there, but just started Retin a for that!
How long did it take for you to be clear. I'm end of Month 5 and still getting small breakouts. I will say parts of my face haven't broke out in a month, but still quite a few on nose, and side of nose.
I was on accutane for 2 months when I was supposed to be on it for five - totally stopped cause the pills rose my liver levels and I got scared, nonetheless, it cured my awful, thick, painful cystic acne. Heres photos along with a details on my journey
ANYWAY,
Don't have insurance? You're screwed. ESPECIALLY if you're a female. Let me explain:
Woman, once a month we must have blood tests done. Before you can get the pills, you must have a blood test. Each blood test (at QUEST) is $580 without insurance, the pills themselves range in price depending on the pharmacy, I picked mine up at COSTCO and paid $450 for them. Now, both the$450 and $580 are needed once a month. Its very, very costly.
As for Accutane itself, the process is insane and VERY much full of headaches. You CANNOT get the pill right then in there, you cant get them next week, in the next two weeks and so on. You must take a very stupid online assessment, pray to a god that your doctor did the steps right in calling Accutane and adding you into the system (otherwise, you would need to wait 2 months to get the meds) and after a month, if everything is done well and you visit your doc ON THE EXACT date planned, you can get the meds. Do no travel if you are on accutane. If you miss an appointment, they will need to reschedule everything and you could have to wait 2 months for the meds.
Everything with accutane is a damn process, a long, expensive one, due to law suits or something.
Ive had appointments on a monday, rescheduled for a friday and was told accutane removed me from the system therefore i had to take a blood test on a specific date, wait certain days, take another blood test, wait a few days, go to the doctor, after 30 days go to the doctor again and if, again, the doctor did everything well on their part (ive been to several and many times they could add your name wrong ((slight mispell can affect everything)) your birth date wrong, etc - youre screwed and gotta wait another 30 days) i could then get the prescription.
The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:
Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.
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