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
December 13, 2011
Cons:
- Extreme dryness everywhere.
- Lower back pain. (i think only guys get this)
- Occasional mood changes.
- Blood tests
- Nosebleeds
I have suffered from a moderate severe acne for over three years now. I cannot tell you just how many different treatments i've tried, retnoids, oral antibiaotics, skin peels; and all with minimal results. However, in just about a week on accutane my skin became to clear. I would always go and look at those people with perfect skin and wonder how they did it. I don't have to worry anymore because I am now one of those people. All my cysts are gone, pimples faded away and gone. My skin is completely clear and even toned (not a single pimple). The dry skin is just terrible though, every night i have to cover my lips with aquaphor and take a fish oil pill. (beware, if you don't your lips will crack and bleed). For my skin I use the cerave cream twice a day and if i get other dry skin i just use some more aquaphor. Also for dry lips durring the day there is this great lip balm you can buy online called CortiBalm. One side effect is nosebleeds, the nosebleeds are caused from dry skin in your nose (the same thing can happen from cold weather), you just need to use a qtip and rub some aquaphor in your nose and they stop. The first week I had terrible lower back pain, but it went away quickly. One thing I have noticed is more frequent and stange mood swings, it is a bit strange but I have only 2 months left and I am so happy with the results I am seeing from accutane. I can finally be entirely confident about myself when i'm out. Not to mention I am getting alot more attention from the girls I like.
If you aren't self confident because of bad acne, accutane is nothing short of a cure.
July 24, 2011
Pros:
AMAZING skin.
Reduces scars and stretch marks while its at it.
3 days on it cleared all of the acne on my forehead.
Nosebleeds, great excuse for lateness (!), I had some all my life before the treatment, loads during and pretty much none afterwards. I think it helped stop me get them any more.
Cons:
If you still have a few spots left at the end of your course, request another month or two, I wish I had.
Dry skin, if you moisture its fine.
Dry lips, request Epaderm its a lifesaver, can also be used anywhere on your body as it is mainly meant for excema, but works wonders on sore lips.
Nosebleeds, I used to have quite a lot of them anyway, but there were a lot.
GO FOR IT! At first I looked at the list of side-affects and was like no way especially as the whole depression thing was on there and I was going through a rough time with some now ex-friends and had got a bit depressed after I came home from a weeks skiing (probably just the lack of endorphins), so I didn't want to really risk it. (While on Roaccutane I didn't get depressed at all just to clarify) So I tried the cream verion of Roaccutane and it made my face hurt, so I came back and decided to go for Roaccutane. And I wish I hadn't delayed it. I had a blood test which was ewwy (I hate them, I had two blood tests, both 12 hour fasting ones for this treatment, on the second blood test I fainted as I didn't even have any water in the 12 hours.) I went on Roaccutane and within 3 days my forehead was COMPLETELY CLEAR, granted I only had little ones there, but I didn't get any spots at all on my forehead during the treatment. Well I can't really remember if I had any "breakouts" as such probably because I was so psyched about my forehead. I probably had a few, but they didn't seem different to the amount of spots I had before the treatment. I think my treatment lasted 8 months and I only had a couple of spots here and there and I was offered another appointment to get another month or two on it, but didn't get my mum to arrange one. I wish I had because you're supposed to stop when you have completely clear skin for about a month and about 6 months later a couple started to creep back and another month they were bad enough for me to try and wheedle an appointment. I was then prescribed a cream which didn't work. I came back a few months and got another cream (Differin, the same cream that I had while I was worried about the side affects of Roaccutane, it is supposed to be "the cream version of Roaccutane" as it contains the same active ingredient, made my face go all tight and itchy, horrible) and then 3 months lat
March 27, 2011
Pros:
Self-steem booster!
Made me more confident and it was actually
the only med that actually worked for me...
It worked wonders and I wouldn't doubt to take it again if I had to.
Low doses in longer periods work amazingly too.
Cons:
In my case, I had a horrible IB even under a low dose
Lips get really dry
Face skin gets flacky and feels weak
Overall skin dries out and it can easily get damaged.
Even though I had very severe acne, I went through a low-dose treatment for 7 months and it worked really well. I recommend this med without a doubt.
December 14, 2010
Pros:
Medium-term acne reduction
Cons:
I had pretty much every con there is for it - dry skin, dry peeling (and bleeding) lips, bleeding nose, bleeding gums, dry eyes, sties, raised blood cholesterol levels, depression, hair loss, terrible photosensitivity, aching muscles and organs.
I have been on 3 rounds of Accutane in my time, starting from when I was 11, the last when I was 18 (I'm now 28). Each treatment worked, for up to a couple of years after, but the acne always came back in the end. During the first treatment I had to go on steroids to stop my face from collapsing. My recommendation is that if you really want a short term solution, and you are willing to put your body through hell and possibly cause permanent damage to your organs, go for it, but life is long, and Accutane doesn't get rid of acne permanently.
December 7, 2010
Pros:
completely cleared up my acne!
Cons:
lips are quite dry but nothing some lipbalm cant fix
There's a lot of scare-mongering about accutane which meant that I put off taking it for a long time. However it's made my skin perfect and cleared up my acne that had really affected my confidence.
September 15, 2010
Pros:
works like magic
been clear for 20+ years
Cons:
dry eyes, dry nose, dry scalp, chapped lips, very miserable for the first couple of months.
Went from looking like i had been in a fire because my face was so covered with cystic acne that only got worse as was prescribed one antibiotic after another till my doctor finally reluctantly put me on accutane. I am left with scars some 25 years later but I didn't get pregnant while on the medication and I have 3 beautiful perfect girls that unfortunately have their mother's skin. I am taking them both in tomorrow to get on it!
Keep in mind I was paying $100 a month 25 years ago! And it was worth every penny!
September 7, 2010
Pros:
IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT HAS GOT RID OF MY ACNE I HAVE HAD FOR LIKE 9 YEARS!
I HAD NONE OF THE SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS!
I took 40mg for 5 months and in the FIRST WEEK it totally got rid of my oily skin!!!!
My skin is now completely oil free AND acne free!!!!!
Cons:
I would not really say these were cons but the general...
-dry skin
-dry bleeding lips
-have to wait a few months for it to work
its a miracled drug!!!
goodluck with anyone going ahead with this! :)
July 28, 2010
Pros:
No More Oily Skin!
Makes you way more motivated because no acne!
No oily hair!
If you have a lot of acne and red cheeks it'll take that away too.
Cons:
Initial Breakout
I felt depressed at times because too high of a dosage
Did not see dramatic results til the end of the 4th month,
sensitivity to the sun
Amazing product, if you want no acne, take this. It'll take around 6 months, i'm on my 5th but right now i have no active acne on my body! It feels amazing i used to have upper arm acne, back acne, face acne, neck acne, sometimes butt acne, but now it's all clear. I used to be afraid to take my shirt off but now i do it without hesitation. You may get pink marks and such left over when you're acne clears up, but just don't play with it and touch it, it'll clear up on its own. and don't pop pimples while on it because the accutane will do it fast. Bottom line great product try it. and it is worth it!
July 19, 2010
Pros:
Cleared up acne
Cons:
long term side effects are not worth it
acne returned once usage stopped
I'm still not entirely sure of all the ways this drug wreaked havoc on my body. Everything from dry lips, to depression, to digestive disorders. If I could do it over again, I would not have taken this drug. When you have bad acne, you might do anything to get rid of it, but trust me. This is not worth it.
April 11, 2010
Pros:
-Clear skin (clears up what other acne treatments don't)
-Confidence
Cons:
-Acne flaring up when dose is changed
-Dry and chapped lips
-Some depression/mood swings
-Frequent visits with a dermatologist and blood tests
-Caused some new acne in unaffected areas
I've been on Accutane for 6 months now and my experience with it has been mixed. So far, the medicine has done wonders to my face, but has yet to improve my back. Most frustrating, is the fact that my dermatologist says I will have to continue taking the medicine for longer than usual to prevent new cysts on my back. If you're considering taking Accutane be prepared for the side effects. They are numerous, and some can really suck. I listed some that I experienced in the cons section. Also, be aware that you may be on it for a while (like me), or have to retake it later in life if your acne returns. Accutane isn't prefect, but if nothing else seems to work for you it's worth trying.
Pros:
- Works when nothing else will.
- Dramatically clears acne.
- Nothing short of life changing.
- Evens out complexion
- Reduces redness
- Works quickly