I was on accutane 10mg for 3 weeks. (I'm female, 5'3 and around 126 pounds) Then got moved up to 20mg which I have been taking for a month. My dermatologist appointment is tomorrow,and I'm telling her I'm not taking this medication anymore. I know this is a very low dose to be on, but my side effects show just how harsh this drug is. I have SEVERE abdominal pain 3-4 times a day with back pain and nausea. I'm so worried, I have no idea what it is but I've never ever had stomach problems before and it's a coincidence how this comes up when I get on accutane.. I have researched this side effect and it's supposedly rare,which doesn't make me feel any better. No amount of clear skin is worth the pain I'm in at the moment. It's a shame because my skin was starting to look like it was improving, but I can't spend every morning dreading the day ahead of me knowing I'll be in agonising pain. I know what it's like to read the bad reviews on accutane and just think of the clear skin you'll have so you use the whole "it won't happen to me" but honestly, if I could go back a couple of months and someone told me this is what was going to happen, no way would I of taken it. I know accutane has helped so many people clear their skin but many of those same people get health issues years and years later. This drug should be banned, I wish I never considered it. Update: I told my dermatologist and she didn't seem shocked at all. She suggested moving me back down to 10mg but didn't seem concerned about the worrying side effects I'm having. I've stopped the medication and I'm going to my family doctor to hopefully get some tests done to put my mind at ease, or potentially find out what's gone wrong. Biggest regret of my life. Last update: I've had 3 doctors and 2 surgeons examine my stomach. I've had blood tests, and even an ultrasound, but nothing is showing up. I've been off of accutane for almost a month and the pain is still awful. My dermatologist still insists it was not the drug that caused this, but doctors think otherwise. My digestive system has also been effected horribly by this drug, as well as the back pain and nausea continuing..

I took it mainly for scarring though my facial acne was a little worse than mild-moderate with monthly cysts*can't really call mild when having cysts).Acne on back was extensive but again,no bad lesions.Just the average pustules and papules.Has been on accutane for over two months and seeing less acne as time goes by.My back is almost clear and my face and arms get little weekly zits.But the truth is the skin peeling due to the excessive drying made my scars worse. Giving it a 4 stars now and will give it 5 once I get clear and continue to be that way.

Was on accutane 3 times! all the right amount of doses, but every time i got off the pill, my acne would come back worse! some people don't get it back, but i wasted so much money. what a scam.

I am a 30-year old female who has had bad cystic acne for well over 15 years. I thought Accutane was a last resort for only the worst cases, and I only had it on my chin. I was fed up with trying everything and went to like my 5th derm. She talked about Isotretinoin and I was on board! It took a little getting used to to be seen monthly and filling out the stuff online through iPledge. The first month was kind of bad getting used to the chapped lips (use Aquaphor) and very sensitive skin to the sun (ALWAYS apply sun screen and avoid too much time in the sun). My derm advised me to not drink and I probably did too much towards the end and I would often get sick, so be easy on your liver! By months 2-5 I was loving the results and how non-oily my skin and hair was. I finished after 6 months and I could not be happier and I wonder why I didn't do this 10 years ago and save the heartache over the years. Plus in most cases, you only need to do this once. Be patient, follow your derm's instructions, and do it.

Just fantastic. im on 60mg a day for 20weeks. Currently on week 6. Amazing difference! Side effects so far; Excessive heavy nosebleeds (slowing now) Dry skin/rashes (on my arms weirdly) Mega dry lips (Highly recommend 1% Hydrocortisone cream for stings and rashes- Miracle when you're desperate!) Dry itchy scalp Moody/anxiety- a little between weeks 3-4 (now ok) Had initial flare up of spots on week two, lasted around 10 days, now literally haven't has a new spot since! My skin seems to be peeling like a snake, be on guard with a good moisturiser, tons of lip balm and Vaseline. Stick it up your nose before you go to sleep, gross yes, but you'll thank me for that advice! Any form of Lippy or lip-gloss makes mine ten times worse, so I going with practical over pretty for 20 weeks. Ive had terrible skin since I was 15, im now 31. I battled to get this med, and it comes with more warnings than an explosive ship. But its SO SO SO WORTH IT!!!!! Week 6, my skin is already better than its looked in my WHOLE adult life! I can deal with the dry skin etc, the moodiness, a bleeding nose, and scratching my head all day long like I have nits, because my skin is already dramatically different!!! I cant wait to see what I look like by September! SO seriously, the side effects are a little unpleasant. But isn't having acne day in day out more unpleasant?! I think so. My confidence has been rock bottom for so long. Im always wearing make up. But now im so nearly at the stage by wk6 of going make up free!!!!!!!! Mega life win that will be! Just a word of advise- DONT try and squeeze spots once you've got going with this medication. Literally all they skin comes off around it and you are left with a huge red patch if red raw skin. Especially around my nose I found, literally it make the skin lift off under pressure. Just leave the spot, it will be gone tomorrow!They vanish the night! Go for it, you wont regret it!! ( I ignore all the ' this ruined my life reviews'). Make your own mind up. The side effects are gritty, but I cant say living with acne has been much fun so i'll take this one!

Best thing to happen to me EVER Prior to this drug: depression, hated my skin. Avoided all social interaction (as much as I could). Held back on relationships. Didn't bother sitting in certain lighting. Didn't go swimming, sauna, gym etc as I didn't want to be seen without make up. Didn't even open my front door as I couldn't handle the acne on my face. Accutane period- 7 to 9 odd months of Accutane. I would say it got worse before it got better. This was last resort for me but I was at the end of my tether and NEEDED relief as the acne was cystic, painful, red and unfortunately leaving me with A LOT of scars :( First few months was hard. Spots kept appearing. Skin hurt. Month 4-5 turning point in my skin. Clearer, better, brighter complexion. Friends and family noticed the difference and commented on how great it was. Month 6-9 up and down good and bad skin days. More good than bad. Towards he end it was great. Skin improved and improved even some of the scars filled up. LOVED the drug. Side effects: dry hair. Dry eyes. That's it nothing else Positive side effects- have my confidence back. I'm a new person. I can go out with my friends now. I don't hold back in reltionships. I DO have a lot of scarring but I literally do not care (sometimes) as I have been through the sh*t and back with my skin. I am no longer depressed! One year on; 2016- I do get the odd spots here and there. The acne has DRAMATICALLY reduced. It is not acne anymore it is a few spots mostly around my period. No biggie. I no longer get depressed about this life goes on! Scars - It does bother me. I have become great at concealing my scars with makeup. You can see them but only if your at a 40 cm distance from my face. So not bad. I will be getting treatment in the near future around 1.5-2 year time. Bottom line: try the drug. It is close to a miracle. Your depression days will be gone and you can finally feel at peace with your face. :) There IS light at the end of the tunnel (cliche but true)

I'm a 26 year old female who has struggled with acne for 10 years. I suffered from grade 4 acne on my face and back. It had been 2 years with my dermo trialing every topical acne cream out there, only to result in a bright red flaming peeling face that felt like I had shards of glass in my face every time I used one of these creams. Finally, she recommended Accutane. I did a lot of my research, and although hesitant, it was my last resort. I am just 2 weeks away from finishing a 6 month course of Accutane for the first time... and I must say, it was the best decision I've ever made. I started at 30mg for a month, then moved to 40mg x 2 weeks, 60mg x 2 weeks and 80mg for the rest of the treatment. The side effects are pretty awful, but tolerable. - Chapstick is your best friend. As well as Vaseline. That stuff is ideal for shoving up your nose when it's dry and bleeding. Never be without Chapstick or you'll regret it for days to come. - My joints suffered a lot - knees, wrists, ankles, hips. As someone who loves high intensity work outs, I had to slow it down around months 4-5 as my joints and muscles were suffering too much. - I fatigued very easily - naps were my best friend, and on my days off, it would be easy for me to sleep 12-14hrs. - Lots of headaches and back pain, which resolved with Advil as my dermo didn't recommend Tylenol. - My appetite decreased substantially (however I gained 15lbs... this is most likely due to the fact that I was drinking 4+ litres of water a day, not working out as much and eating sweets/dairy since I hadn't had them in ages). I'm fairly certain the weight will fall off when I'm off the meds. - Never be without a water bottle. You will always be thirsty. Avoid saunas, hot tubs and hot yoga (I learned that one the hard way) - I still drank as much beer as I normally would and my liver enzymes never suffered (although I've always been an incredibly healthy person so I'm sure that helped) but the hangovers were an absolute nightmare. - Make sure to throw on the SPF when out in the sun - even if it's for a short while. I burnt after an hour of being outside which never happens to me. - If you wear contacts, I strongly advise investing in a pair of glasses you'll be comfortable in for the duration of treatment. I only wear contacts for special events and that's about it, since the dryness is too much after about 6 hours. - I never had any mood issues - other then being grumpy due to being in pain or too tired. My stomach was never an issue outside of the decreased appetite. Overall, I definitely recommend this! I no longer wear foundation or make up EVER other then mascara. My back is scarred, but cleared up nicely. My make up routine went from 30 minutes to 3 minutes. I wash with charcoal soap or oatmeal soap twice a day, and in the morning put on Andalou Naturals Brightening Renewal Cream (it has a tint to it, as well as SPF 30) and in the evening, after cleansing, I throw shea butter on my face and call it a night. Other then mascara, these are the only things to go on my face now! A huge change from the mountains of cover up, foundation and creams I would put on my face (and back) to try and hide my acne. The best moment was my most recent check up at my dermos when the nurse looked at me, looked at my history, and looked at me again and said "Uh... it says here you're in for grade 4 acne on your face. I think they got it wrong...You have amazing skin" Nope. That's just what 6 months of Accutane does :) Her jaw hit the floor. The side effects are well worth it - especially if you were as depressed as I was, crying over your acne and dreading waking up and looking in the mirror every day.

In 2008, I took Accutane for 7 months, 3 pills/day, After 2 months, my skin was indeed clear, but it was incredibly dry, red and irritated. So my dermatologist reccomended Bioderma Sensibio moisturizer while taking Accutane. It did saved me a bit but I had to apply it like 3-4 times a day. Now, the side effects were awful... I was anxious, aggressive with people around me, angry, depressed and I became an antisocial kind of person. After stopping it, my face was great..for almost 4 months. Then I started breaking out again, badly. I really think that the dosage & time are really important. For instance, my bestfriend took only 1 pill/day for 1 year and she is acne-free for almost 8 years now :) And if you have hormonal acne(jawline and chin), Accutane is not a long-term solution.

Moderate acne from time I was 13-25 y/o. Tried everything, nothing worked. Weve all heard it. Moderate acne runs in my family. Accutane was the only thing that worked for my brother years back, but I was hesistant because of all the side effects and being a girl I know how much of a hassle/process it was to get. My skin had to get pretty bad (scarring, hyperpigmentation, small holes in my face from popping, cystic) in order for me to become willing. I did my research tho over the course of 2 years, I read up a ton and watched alot of Youtube expriences. Dermatologist said it would take probably take 16-20 weeks for my treatment. I started at 40mg first two months, topping out at 60mg for the last 3 months ( my weight was about 110-115lbs at the time). I was scared I would have the "initial breakout" that everyone talks about but surprisingly didnt. That in itself taught me that MY experience may not be yours and YOUR experience may not be mine. Side effects throughout my treatment: - EXCESSIVE HAIR LOSS (dry and brittle due to no oil production) - dry, flakey/snake-like/ super irritable sensitive skin - chapped lips constantly - lower back pain in beginning of my Tx - bloody stool (3-5x a month) - dry eyes - bloody, scabby noses all the time - elevated liver enzymes - ringworm on both forearms (lasted 2 weeks) - eczema/ rash on my hands (througout Tx) I took progress pictures throughout my journey (which i recommend you do). My skin didnt clear up instantly and didnt really start to see the results I wanted until month 4 almost into month 5, towards end of my treatment. The side effects that I went through were so annoying but tolerable, and I questioned if it would really be worth it or not. I stuck with it. The most annoying side effect for me was that Ive lost about 40-50% of my hair thickness. It still continues to fall out in the shower pretty depressing and I am hoping it will stop soon. My last dosage was almost 2 weeks ago. I tried a million over the counter Txs, prescribed topical creams, birth control, prescribed diuretics , oral antibiotics, fixing my diet.... nothing worked. If you ask "Would you reccomend accutane or would you do it again?" My answer would be "Absolutely, and only if your dermatologist rides the journey with you ."

When I was a junior in high school my acne was the worst it had ever been. My acne was severe and I could tell my face was starting to scar. I was so extremely depressed and would not want to hang out with my friends on the weekend. After trying many different products, prescribed and over the counter, I decided that go on accutane. After 3 or 4 months my skin had drastically improved (I took if for 4 months). When I was done I was so happy! Please, if your acne is making feel depressed and embarrassed, try actuate. It saved my life and boosted my confidence. If you are scared about the initial break out or the dry skin, it is worth the 4 to 6 months you are one it. I am so thankful a product like accutane is out there. Please try if you are fed up with your acne!!!