I was put on Roaccutane when I was 14 and had tried every topical/oral antibiotic/contraceptive pill treatment from my GP and nothing worked. I immediately saw results, although did get very dry skin. I had no side effects such as depression. I would recommend this to anyone struggling with severe acne, my only wish was that my GP put me on it sooner and did not make me go through the torture of all the topical and oral antibiotic treatments. The reason I have scored 4/5 stars, is that now at age 21 my skin has flared up again - 7 years later and its come back as worse than ever. I am currently having to go down the topical cream routes again with my GP, which I am hoping works this time. If this does not cure it, I am hoping to go back on Roaccutane.

I took Accutane for 1 full year going up to a dosage of 60 mg. Side effects were tough although I was very pleased with my end results and it was completely worth it. My biggest nightmare was the acne coming back. I have been off for 8 months now. The first 6 months my skin was perfect, not even tiny breakouts. However the last two months it has slowly been creeping back. It is not nearly as bad as before Accutane however I am starting to get worried it will slowly get back to that. I keep getting small breakouts all over my face. I was my face morning and night and still it is coming. I also use a tropical cream given by my dermo when I got off however it does not seem to be doing much.I am very stressed out and considering going back on it because I am worried it will spread further. Overall very much worth going on the pill however in some cases like mine breakouts and large pimples can still return.

Hello! (side note i may refer to accutane and roaccutane, I'm not sure if theres a difference) I wanted to share my experience of acne and how I've struggled with it for the last 8 years. I started getting acne around 11 years old. Between then and 16 i made several trips to my GP where i tried multiple different treatments like a range of topical creams, antibiotics and going on the contraceptive pill. None provided me with the results i wanted. 2016-2017 was probably the worse years of my acne, all across my face, chest and back. I had had a couple of friends in a similar situation to me and they were put in roaccutane. I had done my research and knew that this was something i definately wanted to try. The side effects didn't put me off. If it meant getting the skin id dreamt of, it was worth it. In the middle of 2017 i started my course of accutane and started filming little clips of skin every few weeks or so and storing them on the 'my eyes only' bit of snapchat. (i will include pics if i can). I was discharged from the hospital december that year but at that point had had clear skin for a good 2 months. I do have to admit i did get cocky with it towards the end and wasn't taking the meds daily for those last two months and it may have come back to bite me on the arse, as nov/dec 2018 this year i am starting my second course of accutane. Going back to the doctor after almost a year after being discharged she did inform me that 20% do find acne to come back so it may have also just been i am a part of that 20%. I am so excited to start my second course again and have the best skin again, and go back to confidently not wear skin makeup. Side effect management: - Dry Lips: my dermo nurse on my first course of accutane recommended a 'nipple cream' that breastfeeding mothers use to heal broken skin on the old nips. Its very thick so id apply morning and night and then use trusty carmen during the day - Dry Skin: (on the face i mean) actually after my course i found garnier moisturising sheet masks to work a dream as well as daily cetaphil, I get the big tubs off amazon and they last a good 6months. I also continue to use gentle cetaphil face cleanser. I did get the occasional nose bleed but keeping the nose moist as well with the cetaphil and a Q-Tip helped. Also get the occasional headache, mainly when increasing the dosage but they passed. Bumped to start accutane again :))

My son had struggled with cystic acne since junior high. He tried a variety of different OTC and Rx products with limited success. We had resisted using Accutane due to worries about side effects, especially those which might be permanent. He had had some gastro issues, so we needed clearance from a gastroenterologist. This doctor said she did not believe there was any connection between Accutane and gastro problems such as colitis or Crohn's disease. He is a long distance runner, so he was also worried about joint/bone issues. Finally, in the summer leading into his senior year of high school (2017) he started taking isotretinoin. Within a month he saw improvement. After five months he was essentially getting no new acne. Now he is at college and is essentially acne free. The side effects were quite minor--the typical dry lips and a couple of nose bleeds. We wish we had started with Accutane a couple of years earlier. The reviews on this site were very helpful in convincing us to proceed. I hope this helps others with their decision.

After being scared off of Accutane for years due to horror stories online, it was only when I was 27 -after over 10 years dealing with reoccurant breakouts of acne- and reached my lowest emotional point dealing with the depression that it caused me (I really got to a point where I did not want to live anymore) that I gave in and thought i might as well try the drug. I had a very bad flare up, I used to have bad back acne (painful cysts) and moderate forehead bumps (blocked pores) and painful reoccurant cysts on my cheeks and chin (hormonal acne) which had begun to scar badly. I didn't want to wait on the NHS for a dermatology appointment as i was at such a desperate point psychologically so I went private for the first month to get a prescription and then transferred to the NHS to finish the course, I was on half the "normal dose" for a longer period which meant 30mg for a year rather than 60mg for 6 months, I did this as all of the studies i had researched showed that this had the same effect with less side effects while on the medication. I don't really know how else to describe it as anything other than a miracle for me, within 2 weeks my acne had all completely disappeared and the few scars I was left with then faded a few months later. Over the course of the year I had beautiful skin and hair that never needed to be washed, the only slight inconvenience was that I had dry lips but with regular lip balm my lips never cracked or got too dry, I just had to make sure I applied lip balm every couple of hours (more if I was busy at work or working out sweating a lot etc). I came off the Accutane almost 2 years ago now, and my acne has not returned, I occasionally get a tiny pimple that disappears in a day if I leave it, my hair oil returned a bit but I still don't have to wash my hair every day, my lips are mildy dry but nothing a couple of applications of lip balm per day can't solve. My skin is beautiful still, smaller pores and not the oil slick it used to be minutes after washing every day. I used to be so anti drugs and I honestly tried every natural remedy for years first and then topical bp (only really helped if i caught every spot 'in time') then antibiotics. I really wish I had not wasted so much of my 20s being so depressed about my skin, cancelling social events, spending hours online planning what my next cure would be. For me Accutane has dramatically changed my life, to the point that I went from being quite lost in my life to excelling in my career within months of starting, getting into the kind of relationship i deserved and 3 years later have just had a beautiful baby (with no break outs during the hormonal rollercoaster of pregnancy and post pregnancy). I'm not saying this drug will cure all of your problems but if like me your acne affects you psychologically to the point it is causing your life to always be "on hold" or cancelled at late notice. It is worth giving it a go, because I had a low dose for a year I had such little side effects with so much reward! Some people may have a bad time on the drug but I also believe that this has a lot to do with the high doses most people are on.

Accutane did everything I thought I would. At first it seemed to make my acne worse. for month 2-4 I was taking 80mg of isotretinoin and still getting huge breakouts- worse than before i started. However once month 5 came along, suddenly all the breakouts stopped. I did 6 months of Accutane and now 2 months later i have yet to get a single zit since month 5. 3 month of no zits? I'm crying tears of joy; It made the side effects worth it. I haven't had skin this clear since before puberty. The worst side effects for me were horrible cracking/peeling lips and constant bloody/scabbing nose. I literally could not leave my house without a tube of vasaline. I had situations where I would have to leave work or school to go back to my house to get my Vasaline bc my lips were bleeding so bad from being dry. I also experienced rashes on my hands and arms, a messed up menstrual cycle, constipation, dry scalp (which was actually nice because i have oily hair), and sore joints. The pregnancy tests and blood draws were terribly annoying but understandable considering the birth defect risk. overall- worth it (as long as I never have to do it again). However, prepare yourself for the side effects.

The choice I made to start taking Accutane was not one of my best. I used to have very severe acne, to the point where I was the second most acne riddled person in middle school. but since then, while I still have it and get breakouts from time to time, I haven't considered it a problem since. However, when I heard that Accutane was pretty much the cure for acne, I decided it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Ohh but it did. I knew it had risks when I started, but those risks and side effects are very rare. I figured what were the chances they would happen to me? I was only on it for a little over a month, and the problems only became apparent to me when I stopped. It caused severe anxiety, a massive change in personality, and I felt like I was losing touch with who I am. When I made the choice to stop, some of the more serious problems showed up for a little bit. I started hearing things that weren't real, I lost my appetite, and I became one of the most irritable people you could ever meet. After talking to my doctor about these symptoms I was experiencing, I was told that it was causing a condition called psychosis. If I had continued to take these pills, I would have had to live with that for the rest of my life. Taking Accutane is like a Russian roulette and I got the bullet. Now that I've been able to clear my head, I noticed the memories I made while taking Accutane just don't feel real to me anymore. It was like I was watching a movie; I remember, but I know it wasn't real. While my head was under this spell, I managed to make some of the worst mistakes in my life. My friends had stopped wanting to be around me because they didn't like how I was acting. There was a girl who I really liked who stopped wanting to be around me because I started acting weird and creepy. I put a couple people in prison because I was in a bad mood. I was so filled with emotion, I cried more on Accutane than I had since I was six years old. I probably scared the shit out of this girl too, because she wants me to stay out of her life now. I had so much anxiety about it and I kept on bothering her about how she doesn't want to hang out anymore. Nothing felt worse than to have someone who once enjoyed your company start avoiding you at all costs. Once I realized how much I've been scaring her, my anxiety got worse and I had the first anxiety attack that I've ever had in my life. I felt like the worst person in the world and thought they should lock me up. After stopping the pills, I had to go to therapy for the first time ever, and I was put on a new medication to fix the problems that the old one caused. The thing is, for most people Accutane really works! But after experiencing the worst of the side effects first hand, I just can't recommend it. I don't wish to have my experience shared by even the worst of my enemies. It was the strangest point in my life and I regret the decision to take it more than any choice I've ever made. Even with my head cleared, I'm still going to have to deal with the consequences of my actions while I was on it. My college room mate switched on me, and now I'm going to have this girl hating me forever. I'm just glad I stopped taking it in time. I got a taste of what living with psychosis can be like and I swear if I had to live like that forever then I would have ended myself.

Ive been battling severe acne since 2013. I'm now 19 years old and have been on accurane since January 2017. I wish I could post my before and after. Its amazing. I had cystic acne that destroyed the texture of my skin. I ALWAYS had at least a couple big painful cysts on my face surrounded by various smaller bumps. I was on Tetracycline which failed to make any difference whatsoever. I took the leap to Accutane and my acne was completely cleared in a matter of 3-4 months on it. After time, my acne scars have significantly faded as well and my skins texture is smooth and my skin is actually glowing! This however is an extremely powerful drug that effects more than just the skin. Some minor side effects ive personally noticed is increased hair loss, dry skin for the first few weeks and extremely dry, unrepairable lips. I cannot repair my lips no matter what i try or how much i spend. I assume as long as im taking accutane this problem will be persistent. The major side effects occur mentally. I would honestly probably look for another method of clearing acne if you have any prior mental health issues. I never considered myself depressed before accutane. Probably about 3-4 months in I was diagnosed with depression and put on anto depressants. They failed to work and at about the 6 month mark on accutane i grew extremely suicidal. This past christmas I attempted suicide. And i still live with perpetual suicidal thoughts. Since May 2018, ive been having panic attacks. This has brought on a whole new list of side effects such as having no energy, inability to sleep and at times extreme, overwhelming thoughts of suicide. I find myself uncontrollably crying every single day. This is not necessarily the cure for self-esteem issues caused by acne. Please consider ALL the possible side effects before starting this drug. Because you will most likely be on it for years and the cons can start to definitely outweigh the pros. I have decided against discontining my use of accutane simply because i think if I stopped my acne would come back further damaging my self esteem. I really don't understand why this is prescribed so easily to teens. Teenage acne is normal. Accutane should only be prescribed as a last resort. While It 100% has worked for my teenage acne, the side effects will be taken through my adult years.

Taking this medication was a horrible mistake. I took it for a year, and a year after being done with medication, I still experience awful side effects. Joint pain, tingling in body, dry mouth and DRY EYES. These are only some side effects I'm still experiencing after taking it. On top of all, my acne came back. This medication is NOT worth all the pain you will endure during and after taking it. If I could go back in time I'd never take Accutane.

I was on accutane when I graduated high school (2015). I had bad hormonal acne, back acne and chest acne. I decided to go see a dermatologist because I decided I try with one since all my life I've treated my acne with home remedies, over the counter products and creams(it helped temporarily). I walked into the dermatologist explaining my situation I remember telling her "I'm tired of not having clear skin like my friends" I got to a point where seeing my skin full of acne/white heads was normal and I never really knew how bad it was until I tried ACCUTANE. Long story short the dermatologist looked at my face my back and my chest and right away told me about accutane she explained to me allllll the dryness it caused and side effects. I was put on birth control while i was on it. After the 2 month I saw AMAZING improvements my pores were smaller my skin was glowing!!! I had so much confidence in myself like never before! After finishing my 6 months on a 40mg... (20mg was my starting point) I was so happy i was going to be off of it!! 4 months passed and my acne came back only on my right side (that was always my acne problem) for some dumb ass reason I tried birth control again and it was such a horrible mistake!!! I now have acne all over my chin and jaw my cheeks as well it wont go away... I would hate to go back to accutane :(