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
May 24, 2010
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 24, 2010
Pros:
Cleared skin amazingly
Cons:
Dry lips
Eczema
Achy bones / muscles
Tiredness
Mood swings
Abnormal liver function results
Sore inside of nose
Regular conjunctivitis
Couldn't drink as much, terrible hangovers if i did
Generally feeling flat & ill & crap!!
I finished a 4-5 month course in Feb and despite the odd tiny pimple, my skin is oily again, yet clear. I took 25mg for 4 weeks and then 55mg for 14 or 15 weeks. There's lots of nasty side effects and it doesn't get rid of existing scars BUT it does stop you from getting spots. At what cost to my liver and how long i'll stay clear for, i don't yet know. 100% recommend if your acne is bad because otherwise you'll be so tempted to give in sometimes as the effects can be so harsh. I know i've listed alot of cons, i did experience all of them and the 1-2 months were particularly rough. But the side effects vanished within a matter of weeks after finishing the course. The bottom line is - I WOULD still use Roaccutane again if my spots returned. It works wonders and to have clear skin for the first time in over 10 years feels amazing.
May 24, 2010
Pros:
Cleared my acne for seven months
Cons:
- Redness
- Flushing
- Dry lips
- Dry skin
- Nosebleed
- Problems with concentration
Well this is not what you want to hear. You are probably all going to mark this as not helpful because all you want is positive reviews. It is been seven moths since I stopped Accutane and its the worst decision in my life. My face is extremely red, and the flushing is ruining my life. I have stopped going to school, stopped partying, stopped meeting friends, literally stopped living, and its all because of accutane. Everything i do; eating, drinking, stressed, embarrased, exercising, and so on makes me flush. And I NEVER flushed prior going on accutane. I this doesnt fade my life is ruined. There are extremely few people that get so hard side effects, maybe one out of hundred. BUT IT MIGHT BE YOU, IS IT WORTH THE RISK OF POSSIBLY RUINING YOUR LIFE?
May 24, 2010
Pros:
Really cleared my acne, much less oil production
Cons:
Extreme dry skin, bloody noses, cracked skin, depression, high cholesterol
Accutane was a last ditch effort to get rid of my acne while I was in college. Everything else I had tried didn't work. The accutane dried me out. I was so dry I had to put a vitamin A & E cream on my lips so I could talk without them cracking and getting bloody. I would randomly have bloody noses. My cholesterol levels jumped up 50 points, and I was moody and stressed. I only had to wash my hair once a week because I wasn't producing enough oil to get it dirty! For about six months after my skin was beautiful and flawless. No acne at all! Then it came back. Not as bad at first, but a couple years ago it got worse than it had been before. Long term the drug might have given me Lupus like symptoms. The warning label for that has now been added to the drug, but when I was taking it I had no idea it could do that. Now my joints ache all the time and my eyes have never regained their normal tear producing abilities. My cholesterol did drop back down to it's normal levels after I stopped taking it. I wouldn't recommend accutane for anyone. Too many long lasting effects and it was hell while I was taking it. Even as a last resort I would urge people to really weight the pros and cons before taking it.
May 22, 2010
Pros:
*Pimples go away!!!
*Blackheads go away!!!
*Skin becomes oil free!!!
Cons:
*Bloody Nose
*Dry lips
*Back Aches
I told myself I would write a review if this worked and it did! I started clavaris (a brand of isotretinoin pill) in Novemeber. Within two months my blackheads started to get pushed out until I had no blackheads left. My skin, which was origionally really oily, stays oil free all day now.
When I started clavaris I had about four to fve really painful pimples all over my face each day. After four months on maximum dosage, my skin was still not clearing I was convinced it wouldn't happen. By month five it finally kicked in and I havent had a pimple in a month! So be patient if your skin is taking a while to clear!
Some cons about isotretinoin medication is the dry lips. Aquaphor vaseline is a miracleworker for this. I got some back aches but they weren't severe. I also got a couple nosebleeds while on clavaris which was embarassing but worth the final product. Aquaphor can be put in your nose too which moustrizes and helps prevent nosebleeds.
BOTTOM LINE: This product is great and you should defineatly ask your dermatologist about it!
May 21, 2010
Pros:
Clears skin fast! Smooths out the bumbs! Acne is dissapearing!
Cons:
Dryness everywhere! *to be expected*
I have pretty bad acne, like SEVERE. And I never leave my house because of it, or rarely do, I hate having to look like a clown with pounds of makeup and just hated life because of how BAD my acne was. It affected my life in the worst ways! So I had enough and decided to go through the long process of getting accutane. I got it, it has been one week! ONLY ONE WEEK! And I feel more confident, because I know this stuff works, my acne is going down, before it was all flared and gross, now it is subsiding and looking better than I have seen it in a long time! My skin used to be very oily and like 3 days into it, the oil goes away, and even my hair feels dryer. :) Totally worth it. So far so good, I can't wait to have PERFECT skin!
May 20, 2010
Pros:
Clears severe acne
Leaves skin flawless
Fades scarring and red marks
gets rid of excess oil
Cons:
minor dry skin (chapped lips)
increased my liver enzymes
sunburn easily
Nothing has ever worked on my acne as well as accutane. I used to have severe nodular inflammatory acne and was finally put on accutane when it got really bad my junior year of high school. I started at 10mg first month then 20mg second month, 30mg the third and topped off at 40mg the remaining months. It took about 4-5 months before my acne was noticeably better. I didn't noticed a IB probably because my acne was already pretty bad to begin with. By 6 months there was only a few red marks left. After 9 months my skin was completely flawless and my confidence was never so high. This was the time I got my senior picture and my skin looks absolutely amazing in that picture. However around this time my monthly blood test showed very high liver enzymes out of the blue and my doctor immediately took me off without hesitation. It may have been because I started drinking around this time. DON'T drink while on accutane, it can only do you harm. About 2-3 months later my acne came back, though not nearly as severe. Now 2 years later, it has slowly gotten worse and could be considered moderate acne now. Currently I am trying tretinoin to see if it can replicate accutane's results. If you have severe acne like I did I'd give it a 5, however if your acne is only mild to moderate I'd recommend trying retin-A or another topical retinoid.
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.
May 14, 2010
Pros:
if you have horrible acne like i did in sophmore year of highschool, u need to take this drug. dont screw around with other crap like deoxycycline or differin or duac or other stuff that doesnt work. Accutane is the best period.
Cons:
If your fam has a history of hairloss, you will get it from taking this drug. Im not talking about balding, but u will get some minimal thinning in the front. however, this didnt happen until 3 years after i took it. But trust me you can always wear a hat if u want for ur hair. BUT U CAN NEVER WEAR A HAT TO COVER UR FACE!!!!!
take this drug, your acne will be destroyed. For those of you who have had instences of depression/over aggression its not because of the pill. Its because you are that way. 45 students in my highschool took this pill at 40 mg 2x a day for 6 months and not one of us had depression or over aggression. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU DO NOT PICK AT THE ACNE ON UR CHEEKS WHILE ON THIS DRUG! YOU WILL GET SCARS! if you do have scars get affirm co2 laser treatments i have had two and all my deep pitted scars are completely gone.
May 14, 2010
Pros:
Clears SKIN
Cons:
Chapped Lips
Sore Muscles - Aches & Pains
Dry Nose
Dry Skin
If your on the fence about accutane, get it! The side effects are really not that bad but waking up everyday without a new pimple is amazing. Total self confidence booster. Going the whole day working two jobs, in the heat and humidity, without being greasy is awesome. I am in my fifth (and final) month and have not had a pimple in almost two months. Get it. Get IT. Get. It.
Pros:
cleared up acne 100%