I'm going to write a very detailed review, but I'll summarize quickly: Accutane worked for me, but there were lasting side effects. I would encourage anyone considering the medication to do their research and really weigh out whether their acne is bad enough that risking long term side effects would be worth it. For me, I was 32 and my cystic acne had been ruining my confidence for over a decade. It was so worth it. The first month or so on Accutane, I experienced "flushing," i.e. redness and heat of my face, and a rough texture. Everything started to get dry, especially my lips. My acne began to clear almost immediately, which is NOT typical, and in fact I've read that some people don't see results until well AFTER they've completed their treatment! The second month, these side effects continued, as well as new ones: I'm really active in strength training and mountain biking, and I noticed a lot of pain in my lower body joints, especially my right hip. My hips were popping a lot. This was really discouraging, I didn't want to stop working out, but I really had to tone it down. When I had minor crashes on my mountain bike, they HURT and I bruised badly. My lips peeled constantly, I sweat more than usual and had hot flashes. Third month, I had blood with a bowel movement. Bright red, horrifying blood. I saw a doctor immediately, as is indicated by the warnings on this medication, because intestinal diseases are a potential side effect. Luckily, it turned out to be an internal hemorrhoid, and the tissue thinning that happens with Accutane just exacerbated the condition, so I was able to continue my course safely with no recurrence after I finished my course. I finished about five and a half months of the treatment, and here's the end result: I rarely break out, and when I do it's nothing compared to my old acne. My skin and hair are less oily. It's wonderful. The downside is that the flushing I experienced early in my treatment turned out to be a long term effect of Accutane; I now have mild rosacea that needs to be treated with a topical to keep my skin clear and smooth. No big deal. The worst of my lasting problems is my hip: Both hips still pop frequently and I think I caused a chronic hip injury by continuing to stay active through the discomfort while I was on the drug, though it's not anything that keeps me from physical activity. BUT it's important to note that I have had issues with my lower body joints for years, so I do not believe this would have happened if I weren't prone to such problems to begin with. I have read lots of reviews from people blaming Accutane for conditions as severe as fibromyalgia, and I'm not buying it; based on my personal experience, I believe that Accutane can exacerbate pre-existing conditions, but I don't think it's likely to cause new ones. Most of the complaints about Accutane "causing" new conditions that I have read are from people who began Accutane as a teenager, so I think it just seemed like the drug "caused" their condition, but in reality they were probably just asymptomatic at that time because of their age. Which brings me to my second disclaimer: I would personally not recommend this drug for anyone who isn't fully grown. I'm frankly shocked that a drug with such severe potential side effects is prescribed to kids who may very well grow out of their acne in a few years! So again: I urge you to find a doctor who isn't willing to used Accutane until you've exhausted all other options, and who seems knowledgeable about potential side effects. Even then, do your own research and decide if it's worth the risk. If you do start Accutane, STICK WITH IT even if you don't see immediate results! It was worth every miserable second for me to be rid of my embarrassing acne for good.

Don't get me wrong, when I tried this 5 years it worked wonders, it was my fault for stopping a bit early and not going back as advised. I couldn't cope with my mood swings at the time. Looking back I regret it. I now have acne a lot worse and only after 10 weeks after starting accutane again I'm not seeing any improvement, dry lips again and the last 24hrs I've had a some scary heart palpitations, it's obviously due to the pills and is accompanied with a very slight niggling headache. I'm gonna see how it goes but I fear I may not get the chance to really give this a second chance. This medication worked last time and I hope it works again, however it would have been unrealistic to give it 5 stars as the dry lips is pure hell and heart palpitations is not good for anyone's standards. Anyone else had this problem?

Like the title says. I will return to this post and edit it to give 5 stars only if the clear skin is permanent this time. After my first course of accutane, which was a low dose of 20 and then 30, I was clear for about two months or three months before I got acne back again, concentrated on my chin and jaw area. Originally, I had pretty severe acne, maybe moderately severe to severe. I started getting acne when I was 11 and I am nearly 21 now. My acne worsened when I was on lithium medication for my mood-- I'm not on lithium now. Accutane does work, and I would recommend it. During my first course of accutane, I was blissfully clear skinned. I did not have an initial breakout. And I did not have side effects other than slightly chapped lips. Maybe it was because my dosage was kind of low, because I'm a lightweight person. So I just did my second course, and that went blissfully well, too. No initial breakout, no side effects. My skin got a bit dry near the end of the course. This time, my second time, I started with 40 and took 40 all the way through. I hope that this time, the acne won't return.

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 felt a negative change in my mental state, mental fog difficulty speaking to other and some symptoms of depression after taking this drug for a couple of weeks and thus stopped after about 2 months. I would not recommend, as whether or not any of the long term physical effects are proven or not, anything that changes ur mental state when it is not meant to is scary....

It works. But you need to give it some time and consult your dermatologist for right dosage. All the side effects you read about will happen but with time and consultation it will go away. Hang in there.

Yeah it cleared up my wife's acne, but also gave my son heart malformations for wich he had heart surgery at 5 days old and my wife developed ulcerative colitis which has no cure. None of the really strong medications given have been able to control her symptoms and she will most likely end up with surgery removing her entire colon. And yes the link has been proven that's why they've paid out millions in lawsuits.

It is a very good product. It starts working immediately and you can see the signs very quickly. You will stop getting breakouts almost as you start taking the pills. This is because it will make your skin very dry. Like very very dry. So use moisturizers, sunscreen and lip balm as much as you can. They will probably start you off with a small dose and then increase it. I had to do blood tests every month to make sure no side effects were happening. And nothing did except for the dry skin. After a while my skin was very clear. So i stopped taking the pill. A bit of acne started coming back afterwards but now with use of creams it's under control. So overall a very good product. Defenitley saved me during high school. Would recommend it for anyone with bad acne

I was prescribed Accutane in 2012. I was on 20 mg for the first month and then 40 mg for the next five months. While on the medication, I experienced moderate joint pain, excessive sweating, body odor changes, subtle digestive changes, intermittent episodes of depersonalization, fatigue (mentally), decrease in libido, skin dyness, and eczema. The worst part of this medication is what persisted AFTER treatment. Although many of the minor side effects subsided, some became worse and/or persisted in the subsequent months. I still get eczema flare-ups to this day. My subtle digestive changes became more serious AND chronic several months after treatment. They still plague me. Joint wise, I have difficulty sitting in certain positions for extended periods of time, which was NOT an issue before Accutane. Lastly and most problematic, my mental health has tanked. I live in a perpetual state of brain fog. I developed a stutter, my mental processing became slower, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I generally started to feel FLAT. I do not experience emotions like I once did. This makes it hard for me to enjoy hobbies I used to, yet I do not *feel* "sad" or "down" in any way. Worse yet, ALL of the symptoms I experience can be traced back to a journal article or an internal memo published (but previously withheld) by Roche. I was led to believe any serious side effects were rare and/or reversible. This is simply not the case. Users of this drug should wait several months to a year before determining if their treatment was worth it. As I explained, many of my Accutane-induced issues intensified in the months following cessation. Scary.

I have just finished my first month on accutane. The symptoms I have had include: fatigue (like seriously exhausted ALL the time!!), some nausea, a little grouchy (due to fatigue I think), dry lips, dry nose, dry skin, random rashes that pop up and go away overnight after moisturising, sensitivity to the sun, dry scalp, little head aches here and there, a bit of an achy body and if I don't drink enough water my chest hurts due to dehydration. But all of these effects are so small. I travelled to London from Australia on this drug and got a blood nose, not sure if from the plane or the drug, probably the drug lol. But my skin is amazing!!!!!!!! I had an initial break out that was 2 giant pimples and after that my skin just got clearer and clearer. I've only been on the drug a month and I've gone from 30 pimples to 2. I still have redness and scarring but I am feeling positive in time they will go also. If you are unsure whether or not to go on this drug, just do it! I didn't want to take it because I was scared off from everyone's negativity towards it, but really the positives outweigh the negatives. It is a very strong drug-yes, but you are only on it for 3-6 months and then you are free from acne!! 3-6 months of dry skin and feeling weird with an end result of clear skin is much better then never ending depression because of acne. Take the risk, take accutane, but listen to your body, if the drug is too strong for you-stop. but give it a go I'm telling you it works! xxxxxxxxxxxxx