After a five month course of accutane... I still have acne. Just not as much as before. I still break out every day though. I simply do not have the time and money to keep on treating it. I had to spend thousands on accutane. For that kind of money, I am very disappointed that I still have an acne problem.

I used accutane back in 2010 for five months. Completely got rid of my cystic acne and oily skin. I was clear until January of this year (2013). However, the acne I have now is mild and hormonal. Accutane is meant for cystic acne and oily skin, and it cured me of that, so although I have hormonal zits now, it did its job, and I'm happy everyday that I took the plunge. The only major side effects I had were dry EVERYTHING and achy joints. Oh, and some weird dreams.

I highly recommend this prescription drug for those facing moderate to severe acne! This product worked wonders on my severe acne during my preteen years. Though, I still have fairly mild acne (now in my twenties), I am no longer covered in red inflamed pimples, whiteheads, or blackheads. This drug is a high risk drug, but do not let that get in the way of clear skin. You will be on this treatment plan for over a course of five months and will be required to keep monthly blood work and dermatology follow-up appointments. Should see clearer skin by the end of each month while taking it as prescribed. I was cleared by month five! Drink a lot of water, maintain a good diet, and keep a positive attitude and you will thank yourself later.

I spent years researching Accutane. At the point the decision was bothering me way more than the acne, I finally decided to take the plunge, age 24. Clearly everyone reacts differently. You won't know how your body will deal with it until you give it a go. I stopped after two weeks due to severely dry eyes. I mean seriously dry. I couldn't see and sometimes went whole nights without sleeping because the pain was so bad, and no products helped. Doctor said this was very rare, especially on my low dose of 20mg. But I don't regret it for a second. At this point, two months after stopping, my skin is mildly dryer, and my eyes are still pretty irritated in the mornings and evenings. But now that I know I will never touch the stuff again, I feel free. Now that my last resort has failed, I have accepted that I will have to get on with my life without perfect skin. So while this isn't an 'Accutane was the best decision I ever made' post, it's not a horror story. Give it a go.

I was on this drug for 6 months, 10mg per day. I only saw results at the 4th month! The first months were hard to get through.. At the 2nd month my skin was at it worst point ever.. Now i only have scaring.. I am already doing treatments to get rid of the scaring and hopefully at the end of the year my skin is going to be perfect! Forgot to tell you, my acne wasnt that bad..It was moderate but while on the drug, at the 2nd month it was moderately severe.. You have to be patient if you want to see results

Long story short, I am 25, male and have tried every single prescription and topical drug. I even went onto extreme diet and exercise plans and numerous vitamin supplements and herbal medicines. Certain things improved my acne a LITTLE, but essentially I wasted thousands of pounds over the years for no reason at all. My profession means I am required to be in TV, magazines etc and so my derm prescribed it as a last resort. Though my acne was mild/moderate, it was completely resistant and so I've spent 10 years fighting it, and dealing with the physical and emotional side-affects. Cue Accutane. I was highly sceptical as I thought how can mild/moderate acne be so resistant, surely it must be a different problem, perhaps an allergy. No. Accutane cures ALL. I found this out first hand. I've just finished my course, and it took 5 and a half months for me to stop breaking out (I guess I was unlucky it took so long) - the last two weeks of the course I had no new blemishes, and now 2 weeks off the course (4 weeks clear), my skin is 100% clear with next to no scarring. You MUST finish the course, even if you clear up sooner, or else you will relapse. Acne is from WITHIN, not external, and Accutane shrinks and destroys unnecessary oil glands (I've done extensive research). Even if you don't have oily skin it will work, because even unnoticeable amounts are too much for the skin to deal with - I am an example of this. The side affects for me were manageable. But even if they were more severe, I would happily go through it all because I am now 100% clear. No face wash, supplements or anything else will do as well as this drug. I can now forget to wash my face in the evening, eat fast food, drink alcohol etc and not have one single pimple, not even a small one. This is my first and last review, and I hope it can change some lives like it has mine.

After developing severe cystic acne, I turned to my last resort, which was Accutane. The drug was extremely effective in my brother's case, so I figured I would I should at least try it. You have to realize, IT GETS WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER. The side effects were terrible. During the first month of treatment, my cysts worsened and became extremely itchy and irritated. Looking back now, It is almost as if the drug was "pushing out" all the cysts at once in order for my skin to get better. Then, the dryness set it. My hands and lips were ALWAYS chapped and I was constantly applying lotion/chapstick. FOR ATHLETES: During the second month, my joints locked up and I had to stop running for the remainder of the treatment. (Mind I am a cross-country/track athlete so this was the most difficult side effect of all.) I think it would be smart for any athlete to strongly consider starting treatment during the off-season just in case any side effects affect your performance like accutane did for me. I became depressed and had a lot of anxiety., which lead to a short attention span and insomnia. I did 3 months of treatment and even though I had a large amount of side effects, I would still recommend accutane. It was AFTER I finished treatment that I really saw an improvement in my skin. It was been 4 months of being off the medication and the redness of my skin is only now leaving. BE PATIENT. From what I know, you will not see results right away. You will get frustrated, but I strongly advise you wait it out unless it is really affected your health or your doctor tells you to quit. It is worth it, my confidence has gone up and ALL the side effects left within 3 weeks of treatment. Also, after I finished treatment and all the cysts were gone, I began using bio-oil to heal my scarring. Bio-oil has helped my scarring immensely, I strongly recommend it! Don't give up, you are all beautiful!

I had moderate to severe acne for 11 years, starting at age 13. I tried everything. I have very good general health but my face didn't show it. At age 24 I was defeated and my self esteem was very fragile. I just tried to be as gentle as I could with my stubborn face and hoped it would go away as I aged. I had visited a doctor at 18 and he was very dismissive which made me reluctant to seek advice again. Years later when I saw a GP about the flu, she asked me if I was doing anything about my cystic acne. I said the best I'd tried was BP, but after 8 years its efficacy had plateaued for me and the benefits were marginal. She referred me to a derm who prescribed isotretinoin. I was very anxious about the risks but I was well-informed. Because I had suffered with this for so long (and had the scars to prove it), I felt it was worth a try and to continue with the mental anguish, social isolation and ongoing disfigurement was damaging in itself. I know it sounds vain to dramatise acne like this but I imagine it's something like obesity - observers always assume it's your fault, that you're doing something wrong and that is what makes it incredibly hard to live with. I was on isotretinoin for 6 months. The biggest cost was the derm visits and the blood tests were no fun (I used to imagine a little ant was biting me when the needle went in and that calmed me down). Everyone's experience will be as different as our own biology but for me, IT WORKED IMMEDIATELY. No initial breakout and today, 3 months after stopping, still no pimples. All side effects have since gone (creaky joints and dry everything!!) I had extremely oily skin before and now my skin is normal (some very minor oily skin on my nose at the end of the day). I am just so relieved that I will not have more scars. I do wish I had gone on it earlier, but there is no such thing as perfect and I am finally genuinely content.

Moderately severe acne has been a struggle in my life for quite some time. After over 10+ years of being prescribed virtually every antibiotic/topical on the market and in addition to trying many natural methods and diet changes, I went on the "miracle drug" known as Accutane. I did not take this decision lightly, and had read many reviews on both sides of the fence for this controversial drug. After signing the papers for iPledge and getting health insurance purely for this drug, I finally was prescribed 40mg per day for the first month. I was so excited to be on a drug in which my morning and evening routine were narrowed down to just simply washing and moisturizing my face. I felt much less nervous about my diet and things touching my face and it made a real life style difference that was amazing. Initially, my only side effects were very dry skin and chapped lips, two things that are easily manageable and worth the trade off of clear skin. My skin had virtually no active spots upon taking Accutane besides maybe two very tiny things that came to the surface for perhaps one day and disappeared, I experienced no initial breakout that others often talk about. Then, the unexpected happened out of nowhere. I started having very strange issues. I couldn't swallow very well, water and food was going down my esophagus slowly. My heartbeat was really noticeable at night when going to bed and often times would race or change speeds randomly. I felt a twitching my chest and ribcage off and on, and heart palpitations. Then, worst of all, I started to have a hard time breathing. My lungs felt a little tight and sore and I was struggling to keep my breath. All of this put me with different doctors, nurses, and a week of feeling I couldn't even be left alone. My anxiety was becoming higher and higher, and I couldn't focus with the physical symptoms and anxiousness. Ultimately, the doctors and dermatologist took me off the drug. Sure enough, within one week all of those symptoms either subsided or were greatly reduced. I didn't think I could fit in that small percentage of people with these serious side effects, but it happened to me and it was scary and real. I wanted so badly to continue regardless of the symptoms because I just want the acne to stop plaguing my life, but the breathing issues pushed me over the edge. This drug does in fact damage the physical state and the mental state for some people, and often times permanently. I am happy I made the decision to try it at the least, but I am confirmed in belief that although effective, Accutane is a serious risk. Sure, you can be lucky and have a wonderful experience that changes your outlook on life and confidence, and that is a blessing. On the other hand, there are thousands who have had the opposite result, or initially were cleared only to be left with major health problems down the line that can only be linked back to the drug itself.

After trying many products from antibiotics to topical treatments to chemical peels I have tried EVERYTHING for my acne to settle down but it clearly didn't want to at 18 with moderate to severe acne I had finally given up I then went to a dermatologist and got prescribed 40mg of Accutane every other day, so I took my first pill within an hour later half of my tongue and lip got numb so I went to my family doctor ( cause my dermatologist was unavailable ) and took me off it as a suspense of being allergic to it. Know after being on minocycline and tactuo which hasn't really helped much I might give it another shot. Any Suggestions? Highly recommend if you have tried everything. Try and take an allergy test before hand if you suspect that u may be allergic to it.