I was put on accutane due moderate acne that was not responding to any antibiotic treatments. I ended up being on 60mg accutane for 4 months (im male, 19 years old and 150 lb). The medication starting working very quickly, and within two weeks my face was completely oil free for the first time in years. In terms of my acne I didn't start seeing any major improvements until around the end of month 2. By the end of my fourth month, I had completely cleared up. Be warned though, DO NOT pick at your acne while on this medication, no matter how tempting. Accutane makes your skin considerably thinner and so any picking can and will leave you with red/brown marks on your face long after your pimples have gone, I learned this the hard way. Aside from the marks, my face is still clear two months after the end on my course, although it did get oily again. My doctor did also put me on 0.01% Retin-A for maintenance and for fading the red/brown marks. Despite my success in regards to my acne, the side effects while on this medication were a pain. While I didn't get any of the rarer, major side effects (eg depression, diarrhea, etc), I did have numerous other side effects. The biggest one for me was dry, red eyes, throughout my course. I had dry eyes before accutane, but I was not prepared for the constant pain my eyes were in throughout my course. Over-the-counter artificial tears did not help at all. If you have a similar issue, I suggest you visit an eye doctor like me, as the steroid eye drops prescribed (Lotemax) helped alleviate some of the burning/redness. Aside from dry eyes, I had the typical dry lips, rashes on my arms (moisturizing daily helped), a dry throat, and minor joint/back pain. All in all, I would go through all the side effects again, as Accutane really did help my stubborn acne. That being said, I would advise others to look at all the potential side effects before taking this medication, as Accutane may not be worth it if you don't have severe, or moderate-persistent acne.

I used it for 2 months but didn't complete the dose because I traveled and couldn't get supply. I've been off accutane for almost 2 months. Can I continue with the dose or I'll have to start all over? My acne was clearing but it seem to be coming back

I have used this for three monts and I ide 20mg for each day but im stopping cause I feel ITS enough but after 2 monts I got my acne back but only small acne

I started off with 20mg for 1 month, then 10 mg for 3 months, then 5 for 1 month and now I'm only taking 5mg every second day. My acne was bad, but Accutane helped a lot. My skin is mostly clear now, a little scaring on the cheeks but compared to what it looked like before I can live with that. My dosage was low because I have rather sensitive skin. I had dry lips and I only had to wash my hair like once a week. My hands were really dry too. If you inform yourself about the side effects and you make sure that you don't get pregnant while on it it's a very strong, but very helpful medication to get rid of acne! I can only recommend it to anyone suffering from bad acne! Good luck :)

I never give anything a perfect review, but oral isotretinoin has certainly come close to deserving one. I was on Accutane from February to November of 2014. In my 10+ years of battling acne trying and pretty much everything, nothing has been as effective and long-lasting at completely clearing my skin. Some unpleasant side effects but for me they were worth the sacrifice, particularly since acne has such a negative effect on me psychologically (I'm a skin picker). While the results weren't exactly permanent (it relapsed but nowhere near as bad as it was in the past--I'm on Estelle right now), it did give me blemish-free skin for over a year after finishing my course of medication, and that's something no topical or contraceptive will ever come close to offering. Changed my life, no joke.

For someone with hormonal acne, it isn't a long term solution for your problems. However, if you have horrible severe cystic acne, like how I did, you need to use this because it is the first step towards healing your skin. I went on Accutane at the beginning of my senior year and by prom my skin was glowing and perfect. 3 years later, my skin has gotten worse and worse again, but that's okay because I've found other great products work wonders for my skin. My side effects: -dry eyes (used eyedrops daily) -dry nose (a few nose bleeds) -horrible dry lips (not much that can be done besides drinking water and lip balm) -red, blushing skin -occasional constipation -blisters if I spend the day outside and forgot sunscreen -dry hair (I would only wash my hair like once a week) Honestly, having these side effects was 100% totally worth having clear skin.

background info- female, 17 yo, tried 5 different antibiotics and several topical creams before being referred to the dermatologist by the GP. I live in the UK so I recieved a 4 month treatment of 40mg per day roaccutane for free on the NHS after about a 4 month wait. PROS -completely clear skin after 4 months -during treatment my hair got much less greasy and barely needed washing. However this stopped after i finished my course CONS -dry skin everywhere, although was manageable with a lot of moisturiser and lip balm -eczema on arms, back of knees, and hands -severe back pain lasting the whole duration of the course, couldn't be helped by physiotherapy -(the worst side effect) irratable bowel syndrome. Severe pain while passing stools (to the extent of crying), constipation and blood when I wiped. Was severly debilitating and made me afraid of going to the loo for 4 months SUMMARY - despite the awful side effects, I do not at all regret taking roaccutane even though i only had mild-moderate acne as it increased by confidence SO much

I went on Accutane about a year ago and I had moderate to severe acne before starting my treatment. I also had moderate acne on my back chest and shoulders. I took a generic isotretinoin capsule once a day of I think 400 mg (maybe I can't really remember) for 6 months. It was quite a pain to start, I'm female and my doctor required I take birth control during the entire course of treatment even though I was abstinent the entire time. I had to get a hormone implant called nexplanon a month before I could start the treatment and since I might have to have my wisdom teeth out while I was taking it I had to do that too before I could start. But after all that it did work really well, my acne was completely gone by the time I finished the 6 months. My skin was very dry and I did have a few side effects, I had dry skin, nose and eyes for almost the entire 6 months plus a few months after I stopped taking it. I did not have any severe side effects and had no complications. Now almost a year after taking the drug, I still get pimples occationally but it's very mild, I still have some minimal scarring from before I took the drug but to my knowledge it was not supposed to fix that at all just prevent any further scarring. The acne on my shoulders, chest and back is completely gone and has not come back at all. I would recommend this drug, even though it was a bit of a hassle to start and had some scary possible side effects, my acne is almost completely gone and I'm very happy with my skin. I wish you luck if you have acne!

I took it mainly for scarring though my facial acne was a little worse than mild-moderate with monthly cysts*can't really call mild when having cysts).Acne on back was extensive but again,no bad lesions.Just the average pustules and papules.Has been on accutane for over two months and seeing less acne as time goes by.My back is almost clear and my face and arms get little weekly zits.But the truth is the skin peeling due to the excessive drying made my scars worse. Giving it a 4 stars now and will give it 5 once I get clear and continue to be that way.

Moderate acne from time I was 13-25 y/o. Tried everything, nothing worked. Weve all heard it. Moderate acne runs in my family. Accutane was the only thing that worked for my brother years back, but I was hesistant because of all the side effects and being a girl I know how much of a hassle/process it was to get. My skin had to get pretty bad (scarring, hyperpigmentation, small holes in my face from popping, cystic) in order for me to become willing. I did my research tho over the course of 2 years, I read up a ton and watched alot of Youtube expriences. Dermatologist said it would take probably take 16-20 weeks for my treatment. I started at 40mg first two months, topping out at 60mg for the last 3 months ( my weight was about 110-115lbs at the time). I was scared I would have the "initial breakout" that everyone talks about but surprisingly didnt. That in itself taught me that MY experience may not be yours and YOUR experience may not be mine. Side effects throughout my treatment: - EXCESSIVE HAIR LOSS (dry and brittle due to no oil production) - dry, flakey/snake-like/ super irritable sensitive skin - chapped lips constantly - lower back pain in beginning of my Tx - bloody stool (3-5x a month) - dry eyes - bloody, scabby noses all the time - elevated liver enzymes - ringworm on both forearms (lasted 2 weeks) - eczema/ rash on my hands (througout Tx) I took progress pictures throughout my journey (which i recommend you do). My skin didnt clear up instantly and didnt really start to see the results I wanted until month 4 almost into month 5, towards end of my treatment. The side effects that I went through were so annoying but tolerable, and I questioned if it would really be worth it or not. I stuck with it. The most annoying side effect for me was that Ive lost about 40-50% of my hair thickness. It still continues to fall out in the shower pretty depressing and I am hoping it will stop soon. My last dosage was almost 2 weeks ago. I tried a million over the counter Txs, prescribed topical creams, birth control, prescribed diuretics , oral antibiotics, fixing my diet.... nothing worked. If you ask "Would you reccomend accutane or would you do it again?" My answer would be "Absolutely, and only if your dermatologist rides the journey with you ."