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
February 4, 2011
Cons:
Dry lips, dry eyes, some digestive upset. All improved after treatment finished.
While Accutane has some potential for severe side effects, it is important to gauge whether the risk is worth it. To me, it was. And the results are wonderful. If you are afraid of the potential side effects while on treatment, be sure to discuss any changes in your body with your doctor (like digestive upset) and stop taking it immediately if you find you are passing even a small amount of blood.
March 20, 2011
Pros:
No more oil
less acne
Less acne marks
Cons:
side effects
Dry Dry Dry
I have been using Accutane for around 3 and a half months and it is working really well. I went back to the Derm. after 3 months to get more and it was still bad. I was still getting acne every day. 3 days after i saw him i did not have any new ones and then the next day not a new one again. For 15 days now i did not get anything bad (maybe one new one, one or two days) but nothing really bad. My sink stared to heal every day and is starting to look really good. I think in the next 2 week it will be almost perfect. I would tell everyone to try this if there acne is bad.
July 22, 2010
Pros:
It works like magic.
Cons:
initial breakout, dry lips, some muscle aches
I was COMPLETELY clear when using it. literally, no blackheads, no pores even. it was great. Now, after I've been off for a couple years, I still break out very mildly, and very rarely. pores are back, but overall, my skin is much less sensitive and oily. overall, 90% better than before.
July 8, 2010
Pros:
Clear skin when you're on the medicine
Less Oily Hair
Back Acne cleared!
Cons:
DRY skin, lips, everything.
redness
pain in joints
Accutane is now linked to cause crohn's disease. I stopped using it, out of fear. it was working though.
I just thought that crohn's disease was a little too risky for acne medicine!!
June 29, 2010
Pros:
clears skin up completely
fades scars
Cons:
personally i got:
chapped lips, light nosebleeds, back pain, dry skin, bloodshot eyes
i wanted to review this because at the start of this year i was trawling these pages on an almost daily basis, really low because my skin was so bad but also panicking at all the scary stories from people. i went on roaccutane in mid february, i came off it 2 weeks ago and i don't have a spot to speak of. my scars are also fading, and the other day i actually left the house make up free - a big achievement for me (i used to wear a full face of makeup to the gym).
i did have some bad side effects, but personally they were all pretty minor for me and cleared up after a while. The chapped lips are something that i don't think you can imagine until you experience, but although its bad (i would apply lipbalm in the middle of eating) that also cleared up a bit towards the end of my treatment. it is amazing to have clear skin, i can look people in the eyes and i'm just so happy to look the way i've always wanted. i don't feel ashamed anymore, i don't have to slather on makeup now and i just feel comfortable in my own skin!
i'm 17 and suffered from severe acne from about the age of 13, so i finally feel good. my treatment was also free as i live in england and we have the NHS. so for anyone worrying about going on roaccutane, all i would say is DON'T! take the leap and you could have the skin you've always dreamed of.
June 18, 2010
Pros:
I though it was dramatically meant to cure all forms of acne? However in my case this does not appear to be true. Therefore I do not see any positives with this medication.
Cons:
There seem to be far more negatives having used this medication for nearly 4 months with no apparent results. They consist of the following.
Head aches.
Change in pigments of the skin
Depression/Lack of motivation.
Nose bleeds.
Feeling weak and tired.
Achy joints.
Very dry and itchy skin.
Swollen itchy/red eyes as well as swollen lips and occasionally the nose.
I'm 19 years old and I have been suffering with moderate to serve acne since the age of 13. Having bad skin has really made and impact on my teenage year. Teenage years are suppose to be the best years of your life however when suffering with acne this appears to be far less true. Having acne just makes me feel so ugly especially when the majority of your friends and those around you have lovely clear skin and all appear to be confident this definitely creates an impact on your self esteem as well as your confidence. I think a number of people who do not surfer with acne fail to understands how emotionally distressing it can make an individual who is suffering from acne feel. Furthermore, in spite of this I decided that I would seek professional help by all means being referred to a dermatologist. The first dermatologist I met with decided to put me on a dosage of 35 mg for 4 month as she wanted to avoid any unpleasant side effect. Once I had been 2 weeks in to the course I immediately started to see dramatic result, my skin was clearing up, my scares appeared to be less evident and I was not breaking out. Everyone close to me began to see changes and had complemented me on how great my skin was improving. However worse was yet to come, in spite of this after 1 to 2 months my skin had broken out like it had never done before, I was really worried because I thought I was getting better but in fact I just started to get really worse which was not a nice experience, After 2 and a half month I thought it was time that I would consult my dermatologist as the break out had become even worse. This time I was referred to a different dermatologist and she explained to me that the initial dosage was not correct in correspondence to my body weight therefore she decided that I should go on the full dosage which is 70 mg in the UK. Having been on the full dose for over a month I still am not seeing any significant changes in fact I am still breaking out really
May 24, 2010
Pros:
cleared up acne 100%
Cons:
extreme fatigue
sore joints
rash on arms
hair loss
decrease in memory and concentration
killed sex drive
I highly recommend not taking Accutane. I took it in 2000 while in high school and have regretted it ever since. It worked fine, but side effects started showing up a couple years later. I used to enjoy life before taking Accutane. I enjoyed hanging out with friends and playing sports. Now, I am tired all the time and have no interest in socializing. My neck, back, and knee joints are constantly sore. The worst part is that it absolutely killed my sex drive (link for non believers, [link removed] I'd rather have my acne back times 10 instead of taking Accutane. Also, you don't always get the side effects while taking the drug. I just had nose bleeds and dry skin while taking the drug, but the bad ones showed up a few years later.
May 17, 2010
Pros:
-No more Oily skin.
-Skin feels a lot better
-Some what feel more motivated
Cons:
-Dry eyes, skin everything
-Hair thinning, hair loss
-tired all the time
- Feel like sh*t a lot
- Make you feel angry and depressed some times
- The big one is joint pain and that sucks so much.
If you have acne that wont go away then i say take this, but bottom line, the cons are worse than the pros in my mind. If you want to clear your acne without these side effects i say follow dan's regiman and you won't experience this gay sh*t. My suggestion is its all up to you, but if i could go back, i would've not of taken it.
April 9, 2010
Pros:
don't have the breakouts I've had, skin isn't as oily
Cons:
wrinkles (just a few), some side effects, very thirsty all the time
I used Amnesteem for a good two months then quit because of a really severe side effect which ended up being very easy to manage (sorry it's an embarrassing one, look at the side effects and find out which one you would never want to discuss with anyone). My skin become very dry, but manageable even though I was shy of two months and it's almost six months after I quit and I do not suffer from the same acne I had. I get one or two or no pimples anymore and I haven't scarred since (I get the pockmarks and indented scars often, not anymore though). I have experienced wrinkles on one side of my face since I used this, but I bet if I would have moisturized and drank more water and cut out coffee and the few alcoholic drinks I had, I would have been fine. really though if you scar (indented) easily or have severe acne, you should try this. I would not recommend it for everyone because of how easy it is to develop side effects and how severe they can be.
December 19, 2009
Pros:
It makes your acne go away while you're on it. Make sure you have a doctor that discusses this med in depth w/you. Ask a lot of questions, bleeding when you go to the bathroom isn't normal. Your triglicerides should always be monotored monthly.
Cons:
My acne came back about 3 months after stopping this product. I did three courses @ 40 mg. Caused a lot of headaches, back, neck pain. Dry skin, skarring, hair fell out. Do not take Tetracyclines(birth control or antibiotic)while on this med.
My doctor was not monotoring this medication well, and other physicians are not aware of the counterindications of this drug. You should never have surgery on this drug. If you have headaches you should stop the medication altogether. I had a c-spine epidural while I was on this medication (also do not take any corticosteroids--read the fine print) to make the pain go away in my neck (common side effect) which no doctor knew was from Isotretinoin. I developed an epidural hematoma, and went paralyzed. I then had to have c-spine hematoma evacuation and a lamenectomy at 3 levels. I had trouble with clotting the entire time I was on this medication but I was also prescribed tetracyclines by doctors that don't know how to pick up a PDR. Because of the steroids and medications they gave me for my back and the ammount of accutane I was on, I then had an acute adrenal crisis & almost died. This drug is a cancer tumor chemotherapy, only use if you absolutely must.Try organic/hormone free diet
Pros:
Completely cleared my skin. I feel like a normal human being again. I don't feel ashamed to look people in the eye for fear they will only see acne.