Acne.org Products
Oral Retinoid
Efficacy
87%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Use with EXTREME CAUTION: Causes severe birth defects and fetal death.
Oral Retinoid
Acne.org’s Real World Take
The nuclear option. It works reliably and provides long-term remission of acne, and even severe acne, in about ⅔ of people who properly take an adequate dosage. However, it permanently and irreversibly changes the skin and the body forever and users may experience long-term side effects for the rest of their lives. It’ll nuke it, but there is no going back.
Oral Retinoid
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Isotretinoin (Accutane®)? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
September 20, 2007
Cons:
Dryness; Took a while to work
Mood swings - which sucks especially b/c I'm a guy
Less energy
This stuff works, but you have to consider any possible consequences. For me, nothing else worked and I was sick of living with acne, so I decided to do it. Luckily for me the side effects weren't too bad and it got rid of all my acne, which felt great. I've been off it for about 3 months now. The acne has started to come back, but its not even close to how bad it was before.
August 28, 2007
Pros:
Clear Skin, No oil. Dont spend as much money on shampoo or make up while on accutane, although I bought alot of Aquafore. Kept it in my car, in my purse, at work, next to my bed, it worked wonders. Insurance covered it and labtests
Cons:
Acne may get worse before it gets better. Lights at night seem much brighter.Headachs, irritabillity, Dry lips, scars and nose bleads.Nose still bleeds a little. Also I seemed less hungry, which is not alway a bad thing. IPLEGE is a nightmare.
I have been off for 5 months. Oil is starting to come back, I must wash my hair every 24hrs now. This morning I got my first post-accutane zit. Small like a normal persons pimple, not cystic thank god. The one thing I have noticed is scarring is worse. Chicken pox, acne, and other scars I have had before are MUCH worse than they were pre-accutane. If I would have know this would work I would have taken it as a teenager.I would probably have saved myself some scarring. Also I would suggest if you are trying to clear your skin for a wedding or reunion or are on a time line start taking the medication more than 6 months before your event. My wedding was in my 5th month on accutane. My skin was ok. Not broken out at all, but it was a wreck, dark circles, sullen ashy, definatly looked alot older in my pictures. It seemed like my skin lost some elasticity and suppelness. Once I was off the medication at 6 months my skin texture improved. Overall I am glad and wished I had done it sooner
August 2, 2007
Pros:
Cleared my skin after 6 weeks!! Made my VERY oily skin drier. My pores looked smaller. I had PERFECT "movie star" skin!
Cons:
dry skin, very dry lips, mild chest pain...nothing that made me worried enough to stop the treatment. Oh, and the annoying blood tests.
I have always had pimples and very oily skin. Living in a humid and hot place doesn't help. I broke out really bad due to stress in 2000 and tried it all...topical creams which all killed my sensitive skin, proactive, all the antibiotics you can imagine, even birth control pills. FINALLY, my derm. put me on Accutane. I took it for 6 months and was amazed. I had no pimples, no scars! People told me that my skin was beautiful and it really was. Over the years my face became very oily again and i had little break outs here and there. I used proactive for these everyday little pimples. Unfortunately, a few months ago I noticed that the proactive was making my face really irritated so I stopped using it and I broke out really bad! I went back to the derms and they started the whole creams and antibiotics charade. Finally, I went to a new doc who agreed to put me on Accutane. YAY! I start in 20 days. Has anyone taken it twice with success???
July 27, 2007
Pros:
VERY VERY effective, clears up skin up within months
Cons:
dry lips and skin, very easy to puncture skin (for me anyways)
If you havent tried this...try it.. itll work wonders on your face.. sadly I am a rare one who is allergic to the medication so I still suffer from acne but when i was on the medication for the 3 months i could tell the acne was going away
July 7, 2007
Pros:
works very well no acne
Cons:
depression, very dry skin, back problems,
it worked but it was not worth it because of the side effects
July 7, 2007
Pros:
CLEARS SKIN SOMEWHAT BY THE FOURTH MONTH.
Cons:
GET WORSE AT FIRST. VERY DRY SKIN/LIPS. DRY EYES.
I AM 17 STARTED THIS ON FEBUARY 23RD I BELIEVE. I BEEN ON THIS Sotret PRODUCT FOR 5MONTHS NOW, ON THE FIFTH MONTH NOW. DIDNT SEE MUCH IMPROVEMENTS UNTIL NOW. I DO NOT HAVE ANY ACTIVE PIMPLES NOW. HAD cystic acne. IT HAD CAUSED ME TO SCAR EASILY. EVEN THOUGH I DO NOT HAVE ANY ACTIVE PIMPLES NOW I HAVE SCARS AND RED MARKS ON MY CHEEKS. MY DOCTORS SAID THIS WOULD GO BY TIME BUT I REALLY WANT THOSE SCARS TO GO AWAY. I USE VASELINE LIKE CRAZY, EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T HELP STILL KEEPS MY LIPS AND SKIN DRY. SOME PEOPLE WON'T SEE RESULTS FOR AWHILE ON IT, I DIDN'T BUT I THINK IT'S WORTH A TRY. CUZ I DO THINK IT IMPROVED SOMEWHAT. MY SKIN FEELS SMOOTH BUT THE MARKS ARE THERE.I'M PROBABLY GONNA BE ON IT FOR THE 6TH MONTH AND MAYBE 7TH MONTH TOO(HOPEFULLY YES BECAUSE I STILL THINK IT HAS A LONG WAY TO GO) AND THEN I AM OFF OF IT FOR GOOD.
June 13, 2007
Pros:
I had SEVERELY bad cystic acne and started taking accutane, and it helped drastically. It cleared up my cystic acne within a year. And for the next 4 years, I only got minor acne. However now, my acne is starting to flare up again.
Cons:
A lot of stomach and abdominal problems. But they go away after you get off it.
By far, the closet thing to a cure out there, and the only thing that REALLY works. I've taking antibiotics for years, and they kinda help, but Accutane really does get rid of 95% of acne.
May 26, 2007
Pros:
i am 100% clear
Cons:
dry skin, chapped/peeling lips, eczema, easily torn skin, depression
This medication definitely affected my personality and made me feel depressed. Without a doubt it was caused by this medication. It wasn't severe or anything, but it was there. I would still say this product is a miracle. The amazing results outweighed the side effects for me.
May 22, 2007
Pros:
No more emabarassingly oily skin, cleared my pimples within short time
Cons:
dry eyes, chapped lips, sore joints, (just praying i won't have long lasting side effects)
I'm 27 now and wish I had started Isotane much earlier, maybe when i was in high school coz i was such a nerd and having dry eyes and chapped lips would nt have bothered me! Its working well, just worried that i didn't take it for 7 days whislt on holiday and the acne was slowly coming back, so hope when i stop treatment i'll be lucky and the acne will never come back!
May 18, 2007
Pros:
Acne gone, works especially well for cystic acne, there's a generic that's more affordable and works just as well.
Cons:
2 years later I still have cronic dry skin and am dehydrated a lot (dont know if its due to accutane) but it's so worth it not having acne. causes scarring while treatment. none of the cons outway the pros, in my opinion.
Girls, do not be discouraged if your acne does not clear up while ON accutane, but will after you are off. All I can say is hang in there. I did it for 5 months and from the day I started, the blemishes already on my skin kind of froze in time and my skin didnt really improve. I never scarred until I started accutane so be CAREFUL with your skin. Do not pick, seriously. Just leave it be and it will take care of itself. Also, you may experience depression and hopelessness feeling (especially if acne persists throughout treatment) but keep your head up! Once it is over, its worth it. My skin was looking great by about a month after finishing. I am 24 now and i still get paranoid that acne will come back but my skin looks and feels great all the time. I get "normal" zits every once in a while (small surface ones) but it kind of makes me feel normal. I would even do it again if my cystic acne came back. It was very worth it. It works!!! Good luck!!!
Pros:
Got rid of the acne; my face was oil-free all day