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 3, 2011
Cons:
- Severe dry lips
- Initital breakout lasted 3 months
- Takes a while to work
I'm 19 male and had acne since the age of 14. It has gradually been getting worse and worse to the point where I had severe cystic acne. The docotors tried everything to clear from anti-biotics, many drugs and tropical creams. All worked a little for a for a few weeks but no major improvements at all. Eventually I went for Isotretinion on the NHS which took around 3 months to get from my initial appointment as they have so many checks to do and big que's of people waiting to see the derms. Any how I finally got my Isotretinion in June 2011 starting with 20mg for first 30 days then upto 40mg after then. Within 7 days of taking my skin was feeling really smooth and got less oily everyday. However around the 20 day mark I gradually started getting extremely bad cystic acne to the point that around month 2-3 I had 20 big red cystic acne spots that would just not go. However as I hit month 3.5 I work up one morning and literally they were all nearly gone and from then I have been improving everyday to the point now I don't have one single spot and everyone I know is commenting saying wow you look amazing, even got myself a nice girlfriend. I would 100% recomend Isotretinion and just stick for the first 3 months of breakouts because they are defiently worth it!
December 1, 2011
Pros:
100% clear, smooth, non-oily skin
No spots at all!
Cons:
Dry lips
A few outbreaks of eczema on hands
Background: I'm a 23 year-old male and had mild/moderate acne for about 3 years. I tried pretty much everything before Accutane, including topicals, antibiotics, and changing diet. The only thing that worked somewhat were the Tetracyclines, but I quickly grew immune to them. I had flirted with the idea of Accutane for a while but the final straw for me was when I had a big break out and my face was bleeding after shaving... I felt so unattractive and miserable that I had no choice but to cancel my date and stay home that day. That's when I decided enough was enough, and I went to the derm. I took a low dosage of 20mg a month for 3 months. Nothing much happened for these months. My skin was no longer oily but I was still breaking out. Then on month 4 I went up to 30mg and my skin started to really clear up. After 6 months I was totally clear. All in all, it worked wonderfully and the side effects were very mild! My advice would be to take a low-dosage over 6-8 months if you want to avoid the worst side-effects. And stick with it. It takes months to see results. Overall - going on Accutane was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
November 30, 2011
Pros:
Removed All spots and now a year and a half later I'm still clear and 1 spot is now a big deal!! Cannot recommend it enough
Cons:
A few side effects
- very dry lips + skin
- mild ecsema
- some muscle pain
But how does this weigh up against perfect skin?
I was really concerned to start Accutane after reading all the side effects but my dermatologist assured me it would be ok. My skin was horrible not only on my face but my chest, back and arms. I was on 60mg a day for 6 months and the results were and still are fantastic.
I did not have a breakout (thank goodness) but my face peeled like i had really bad sunburn. with some heavy duty moisturiser this was fixed quick and I noticed a difference within a week, there just werent any new spots!!!
Sadly the effect didnt stay that quick the whole time and it did take the whole six months to slowly go bit by bit. Now my back and arms are literally perfect and my face has a little bit of scarring (but only i notice it :P).
I know some people have a bad time but I would do it again 1000x over for the results I have now. Good luck and I hope it goes as well for you too :) xxx
November 30, 2011
Pros:
clear skin
oil is gone
feel like I have my life back
Cons:
they are all worth it if the acne stays away...
ears ringing (gone now)
SEVERE neck pain (gone now)
severe face redness and flushing (gone now)
depression (gone now)
general joint pain (gone)
I hate accutane...and I love accutane. I am soooo glad to be finished. It was terrible!!. But sooo worth it in the end. At proper higher doses Accutane kills acne. I am 35 yrs old. I don't think it would have gone away for a long time without Accutane. I was isolating myself b/c of acne. I am post accutane 4 days and haven't washed my face with soap in a month!!! My face is totally clear...flawless!! I was on a high dosage; 160mg--2.0mg/kg. I could not afford to take a 2nd course, so I wanted to ensure 1 course was effective. I wanted to make sure my acne would not come back and also had issues absorbing the medicine. I am really hopeful that it will not return.
November 21, 2011
Pros:
completely cleared extreme cystic acne.
Renewed the skin- no scars left from previous acne.
Cons:
Extremely dry lips
I was lucky only to experience one bad symptom from this, the extreme dry lips. But for me it has been a miracle, completely transformed my skin from horrific cystic acne the size of maltesers under the skin, to clear skin. I would definitely recommend this! I was on this for around 8 months.
November 19, 2011
Pros:
Clear skin
Dryer skin (definitely a pro if you're an oily mess)
Smoother face/back/chest
Cons:
Dry lips
Dry eyes (can't wear contacts for too long)
Dry nose (especially a con when you're fighting a cold)
I was extremely nervous to start Accutane. After reading reviews (which happened to be mostly negative), I decided most people probably don't get on here to express how happy they are when Accutane is working for them...so I decided I needed to. With all of the monthly precautions, its easy to say, Accutane can be very dangerous. For females, you are REQUIRED to be on a form of birth control. You will be required to take monthly pregnancy tests as well as Cholesterol/Liver tests every other month. If you're not prepared for the monthly lab work...don't consider this. When I first started I was the nervous "initial break-out"...thankfully, that never happened. BUT that is most likely different for everyone. Within a week my current imperfections were cleared...and my skin began to dry out. Unfortunately, the worst part about this would be the incredibly dry lips. I have bought so much chap stick it is unreal. You won't catch me without my chap stick...even when I work out. I have found that Burt's Bees (Medicated) and Aquaphor Lip Repair work wonders! I've been on Accutane for 3 months now and either I'm getting used to the chapped lips or they're not as bad as they once were. I'm so incredibly happy I started this medication. It was a long process to get started (since my doctor had me try almost everything else before Accutane). I have to answer questions through the iPledge system on a monthly basis in order to pick up my prescription...but they are pretty much common sense questions, so no big deal. Again, everyone is different...but this medication has worked wonders for my skin. No make-up, no cover-up and no being self conscious about imperfections...it's been great! My medication costs $10/month with insurance. Although, I have seen on my prescription that my insurance saved me roughly $800 for each refill I have received. Without insurance, this would be an extremely expensive 4-6 months! Great results t
November 16, 2011
Pros:
- Builds new face
- Repairs scars
- Eats acne(cysts/pimples/whiteheads/blackheads)
- Dry skin(good for me)
- Steroid for your skin
Cons:
nothing bothered me more then my ugly face witch disappeared in 7-8 days!
but i had muscle cramps, memory loss, headacahe, organ pains, vision loss, stomach pain, hair loss.
i've been on 20mg accutane for about week and my face has totally new layer of skin. I dont have cysts, red marks or blemishes anymore... i cant believe it!! i can wake up in the morning with dry skin.. no more oil!
This works like a wonders for me!
And people who claim the side effects - At this point i didnt give a poop what chemical or poison i would take to get my skin to look normal. I didnt even knew how i looked with clear skin. This is like a steroid for my skin.. in one week... i was effing crater-face. TAKE IT! if you do not want to take accutane then your acne isnt serious to bother you. But im gonna keep taking accutane for sometime, nobody want this thing to come back.
Oh yea, ive done eery possible diet, antibiotics and masks there are available.
i just wash my face 2x a day with special soap, sebufed. God bless you all!:)
November 14, 2011
Pros:
Clear Skin
Healed most acne scars
Confidence boost
Cons:
Nose bleeds
Dry Lips
I loved accutane! It saved my skin!! I had bad acne on my face (cysts, pimples, black heads and some whiteheads) and body acne on my upper back which scarred. But once I started taking accutane I saw great results from the beginning!! Although I did have occasional nose bleeds from a dry membrane so I used a non-prescription nasal spary called Ocean, and I did have crusty lips in the beginning but used plenty of beeswax chapstick 24/7 and I didn't have any problems after about 2 months. Those complaints are not a big deal or a deal breaker what so ever. I was on the dance team (dancing about 30 hours a week) and never had any joint or stomach pains. I've taken 2 treatments of accutane so far and about to take a 3rd treatment. When I stop taking accutane my acne flares up again and I'm surprised becuase I've forgotten what it's like to have acne again. But I'm excited to start another treatment so I'll have clear skin again! I get a 30 day prescription every month (don't remember the dosage), but I only take 1 pill a week and stock up, and I'm good for about 1 year. My doctor knows about this and he trusts me becuase I've known him for a long time and and I'm a trustworthy person. I would never do anything to jeopardize me, my health,my future baby, my doctor, or my status in the iPledge program. Although I didn't want to start another treatment (becuase of all the long term risks, which have never affected me over the past 5 years), I realize it's the only thing that 100% cures my acne. Definitely worth the risk. I can't wait to start another treatment!!
November 13, 2011
Pros:
Cleared up ALLL my acne totally
Cons:
Dry lips - just while on the medication
Slight lower back pain when excercising
A true God send, I tried everything and only accutane worked. I have hardly had a single spot since coming of accutane a yr ago. Just make sure u have a cummulative dose of 120mg per kg of body weight! I.e. If you weight 70kg, take 70mg once a day (1mg per 1kg of body weight) for 120 days, so that you would of taken 120mg per kg of body weight. This dose is what's needed to stop any acne returning (I'm a medical student and have studied this).
November 6, 2011
Pros:
-Clears ALL acne
-Replaces all kinds of creams and lotions with just one pill
-Drys out hair, which is good if yours tends to be extra oily
-Massive boost in self-confidence
Cons:
-Dry, cracked lips
-Dry scalp
-Occasional joint pain (for me, my lower back)
-Slightly drier eyes (annoying if you have contacts)
-Will morph your fetus into a hideous mutant
As far as acne treatments go, this is like burning a house down to get rid of a termite problem. It doesn't directly attack the acne - rather, it eradicates 99% of its habitat (sebum). Accutane also does not cause an initial breakout - the folks that are crying about it in reviews here are probably not considering the fact that when you start on Accutane, you stop all other treatments. And, since it takes a week or so for Accutane to fully affect new skin cells and oil glands, acne will indeed flare a bit. The bottom line is that your skin will definitely dry out but your acne will almost always go away within the first few months.
Pros:
- Clears all acne
- Improves skin quality (Flawless/smooth skin)
- Clears oily skin