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 31, 2011
Cons:
sunburn
hair falls out
dry
red face
lips bleed
leaves scars
I had to do two rounds of this.. The first time my beautiful skin lasted 6 months and the second time it lasted a year. I'm breaking out again and it's because I went off of Yaz (girls do not get off of this! This was my problem both times). It did make me have fantastic skin for a while, but I will never go on this again. My face is tomato red in all my pictures and it took about 6 months AFTER getting off of it for me to start tanning again. I don't go to tanning beds, but my face was ghostly white for those 6 months no matter how much sun I got. DO NOT GO ON THIS DRUG, Try Yaz for 3 months if you're a girl, try medicines like Menocycline (I couldn't get on this because of stomach issues), and BENZOYL PEROXIDE (which I'm allergic to). Hope that helps!
December 30, 2011
Pros:
Destroyed and Eliminated Acne Cysts
Confidence Regained
Clear skin for over a year to date
Cons:
Redness (treatable)
Dryness (treatable)
Scarring (treatable- consider dermabrasion or at home dermabraision after treatment)
Accutane for most and for me cured my acne. The pores produce sebum oils which irritates the hair folicle and causes cysts. Accutate dries the oil and trains the pores to push out impurities. Without oily pores you cant have acne...
For me accutane is a wonderful, amazing drug and has kept me clear for 13 months now and I have never had a severe outbreak. I am still battling reddness and scarring but both are getting better day by day, and I have the skin I once had.
For dryness buy a mosturizer that also helps the redness. Eucerin is my #1 pick. Carry chapsick with you during the course of accutane and once your done with the course I belive that you will see a difference. I hope it works for you as it di for me and good luck to all!
December 30, 2011
Pros:
none
Cons:
makes acne worse
causes dry skin
this is the worst drug that i have ever tried to clear up my acne. Though people said that accutane takes some one month to clear up acne completely, the initial breakouts were unbearable. my breakouts were worse than before. I couldn't tolerate it anymore and stopped using accutane.
December 26, 2011
Pros:
no pimples
redness fades
I have my life back
I feel like a normal 35 year old male now
Cons:
DURING TREATMENT:
9 months of treatment
sore back/neck
red sunglass face
no energy
moody
Accutane offers hope of clear skin when you have no other options!! It's not a drug to play around with...very serious!!..but it can work wonders. Trust your doctor but verify your treatment plan. I had obsorption issues and had to lobby my doctor to increase my dosage... I finished on 160mg/day... the highest dosage prescribed for my weight (2.0mg/kg). In the end though it worked. Currently Post accutane 4 weeks and I wash my face 1x/day with water only and sometimes I still need a slight amount of moisturizer on my forehead and cheeks. Using soap dries my face out really, really bad and turns it irritation red. But, No pimples currently and I hope it continues!! Good luck in your journey.
December 24, 2011
Pros:
Completely eliminated acne
No redness
No cysts
No spots/yellows
No blackheads
Cons:
Really dry lips
Came back within 2 months!!!
minor joint pain
Isotretinoin was one of the best things I ever did. It got rid of my acne completely and boosted my confidence sky high. Didn't really suffer that
many side-effects, but I was on the lowest dose for my bodyweight. The really bad thing was though; it came back!!! Within a month or so, it my acne came back with a bite, but at least I no longer get cysts and is now only moderate, I am back on it now, hoping to rid of it again soon!
December 22, 2011
Pros:
Less Oil
No more shine
Smoother Complexion
Pimples starting to fade
Cons:
More redness of skin
Chapped Lips
Fatigue
Can't go in the sun
It's been 16 days now, first started off on 20mg went and saw the Dermatoligist last night she has bumped me up at 40mg. Was expecting major results but maybe that's because i wasn't on a high dose. We'll see how the 40mg goes. If it's what everyone is making it out to be then i'm just going to hold on and keep waiting for these wonderful results.
December 21, 2011
Pros:
cleared up acne fast
Cons:
relapse after stopping it.i had taken two courses of accutane for 8 months and one year respectively.but the condition of my skin is back to before=(
had depression and anxiety aft taking this medication so be very careful and do check if your level of irritability increases aft taking it.
If I had a chance,I wouldn't have taken this medication.The days of suffering with anxiety and depression was too unbearable.And it wasn't due to the acne itself. I was not told by my doctor that the medication was closely linked to all these. All they did was prescribe the medicine,I was having problem sleeping,palpitations,slight violent behavior and irritability once I started the medication.Nobody in my family was aware that it might be one of the side effects of the drugs.So please do monitor the behaviour of your family members who are taking up this drug.They might be suffering in silent without anyone knowing it.You can google it up and check on your own about the relationship of accutane with depression in adolescent.
Although it does clear up your acne but this is just temporary.I have taken up two courses of accutane,once for 8 months and another for one year. All I can say is,I'm now back to square one again.Huge painful acne on my skin,a big blow to my self-esteem again.
This product had given me false hope twice.If I was given a choice i wouldn't wanna try it again.Its quite pointless if you know your going to end up where you have started.Moreover,nobody knows the long term side effects ot taking so much medication=(
My doctor wanted to prescribed me this medication again,but I'm never going to try another course again.
December 16, 2011
Pros:
works brilliantly
very smooth skin
Cons:
dry lips
nose bleeds
blood tests
pregnancy tests
increased sweating
i went on roaccutane as a last resort - having pretty bad acne since 9 years old (i am now 18) and having tried everything.
I tried various antibiotics, the pill, and all other treatments under the sun.
I finally decided to go on Roaccutane this August and am coming off on Wednesday! have been on it for 4 months in total and it is absolutely amazing! i wish i had done it years ago. I have to say, I was worried at the beginning that it wasn't working, as it can take time to work. family and friends told me it was working straight away - but i was self critical so didnt noticed a change until a few months in. Even in this last week it has improved immensely and i am very very happy! (it did get a little worse before it got better but not hugely worse) My side effects consisted of nose bleeds - however i had them frequently before so that will be why i had lots more. I also had increased sweating (which is one of the rarest side effects) which I have to say was very embarrassing and upsetting, however my skin is amazing so was worth it! I also had dry hands and arms which went away with aftersun!
And of course I had the most common side effect - dry lips for which I used 'eucerin aquaphor' which was absoutely amazing and sorted my lips out overnight like magic! - seriously recommend it. depending on the dosage each month, i paid between £25- £35 for the prescription. So in total it will have cost about £150. Best money ever spent! I would 100% recommend accutane as despite all the many side effects, it has brought an end to bad skin, and i now feel very confident and do not feel self-conscious all the time! i would truly recommend it, it is life changing.
December 16, 2011
Pros:
Nothing
Cons:
messed my eyes up
messed my stomach up
dry skin
still bad acne
Don't take this it better to have acne then have bad health now i need to take medicine for my stomach and I still have pain sometimes. I still don't know what wrong with my eyes. Plez don't take this for the sake of your health! My problems are not big but still don't take this it better to have no problems!
December 15, 2011
Pros:
some improvement in skin texture
Cons:
dry cracked lips
body aches
worse break outs than before
I've been on Amnesteem for almost 4 months, I'm just now finishing month 3. I'm getting really nervous that its not working for me because my skin is not clearing. In fact, once month 2 hit my skin broke out and flared in places it never has before, with big painful cysts. After being put on a steroid, my skin calmed down, but I'm still waking up every morning with new cysts... THEY HURT! My back acne especially...Does anyone have any advice? Please tell me it's going to get better and I'm going to get the "perfect" skin everyone else brags about after going on this stuff. I'm really losing hope and my self esteem is really being affected. So frustrating.
Pros:
Clears you up no doubt