Anyone use Accutane/oral isotretinoin?

[xsnowwhite]

i've heard it works well but I talked to my derm and she said they don't want to perscribe it unless its a really severe case of acne. They try to avoid it as much as possible but it works wonders for those who truly need it.

 

[underwater]

sorry if this has already been said, i didn't read all of the replies

but i have hidradenitis suppurativa, and have since i was quite young and my dermatalogist suggested i go on accutane
one of the listed side effects is suicidal behaviour, and although i can imagine how hard it would be to prove that accutane causes that it is listed as a rare possibility
the whole time i was on accutane i was well, very suicidal and cutting compulsively, which i wasn't like before taking accutane and since i have quit taking it
as well, i had a little bit of acne on my face, nothing big, for the first month or so i saw improvement both on my face and with the hs but by the third month i got the bit of acne back on my face and saw not further improvement with my hs, but my skin was still ridiculously dry
i ended up quitting taking it much sooner than i had intended to stay on, and since then i have gone on diane 35, a form of birth control that helps with acne treatment, and my face has cleared up quite well, as has my hs (it's more under control right now than it has ever been)

so needless to say, i would suggest against taking it unless it is absolutely necessary, there are alot of other acne medication out there

 

[underwater]

oh and as a quick add on, i had to get blood tests every month, couldn't drink alchohol (i don't drink anyways though so it was no big deal for me), and had to stay away from too greasy of food

 

[Moppit]

I have taken Accutane on about 6 different occasions. Unfortunately for me it never got rid of my acne. I finally stopped taking it because I couldn't take anymore nose bleeds, extremely dry skin, peeling lips and burning up in the sun. I know a lot of people it did work for but unfortunately it wasn't me.

 

[chameleonmary]

Hey Moppit - did you have cystic acne by any chance? Also, how long were you on the medication each time you took it? I was on it for just over a year. Did you find the breakouts came quickly after stopping?

 

[Regalis]

Reviving this thread, because... well, okay, two things. Last week my skin basically exploded with an outbreak of cystic acne so bad that when i tried concealer and foundation it... looked like flesh coloured gravel. maybe oatmeal :| and this, in turn, pushed me into running to my GP for a referral to a derm., and now I have an appointment for Tuesday week ( first one I could get )! In case there's any other Aussies who're curious about it, the referral was dead easy to get; I went to a free clinic, saw a GP and explained why I wanted a referral. The doc checked out my skin, nodded, and wrote out the referral for a local dermatologist. Calling to make my appointment today, upon finding out that I'd like to get the drug sooner than later, the receptionist told me I can bring my own blood tests done by my GP with me to the appointment, and she even went and checked what I need done. Honestly, I'm pretty excited.

 

[XLiluX]

I was on and off accutane for a few years in my teens and so was my brother. Neither of us had any side effectives other than dry skin/lips. Honestly, the worst part was having to do the monthly blood tests. My derm prescribed it after other medications/creams didn't work. It wasn't a problem getting a prescription, I wasn't forced to take birth control and didn't have any issues with getting it covered by insurance. But I'm in Canada and all the stories I've heard about those pledges and things like that seem to be in the US. It was also years ago too, so maybe they don't prescribe it as easily here anymore either.

 

[Dizziku]

I'm sixteen and I just started the accutane process less than two weeks or so ago. So far I've experienced very dry skin and lips; the texture of the skin on my face has changed. Now everything I had on my face prior to starting accutane has become a flaring scab, and very flaky. Also, I've found that accutane makes me more emotional than before. I just had my boyfriend visit from across the country for a week. He left yesterday morning and I was a total wreck. But besides that, I believe that accutane really will help my horrible skin. It's been bad literally since I was nine or ten years old.

 

[girl507]

it works extremly well. My friend was on it and she tried everything for her pimples and nothing worked. Accutane left her skin very dry though. Also she was put on birth control pills and she had to have her blood drawn every week. My aunt is a doctor and my aunt said that they tell family doctors not to reccomend it to anyone. Also, with my friend accutane was a last resort. It is a pill, which you probably already know. Anyways, I am assuming that accutane is a very dangerous drug, so be careful if you do decide to go ahead and try it.