# Accutane



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

Hi gang. I've suffered from mild acne and acne scars since September 2010. After a few months of doing blood work and waiting for appointments, my dermatologist finally prescribed me Accutane. I was a little worried at first because I read a lot of horror stories about the product, but he assured me that Accutane almost always works and that the horror stories are mostly exaggerations.

Anyway, my mom bought 40mg of the "generic" brand of Accutane, which isn't actually Accutane but it's the same thing and it's cheaper. I should start the medication in a few days and I will record my experience with the product in this thread if anyone is interested. My acne is moderate to mild but it stills affect my confidence. I expect my acne to get worse for the first month for two but I hope for it to disappear in the long run.

Does anyone have any experience with Accutane? I'm sure there's another thread about this somewhere but I can't be bothered to check. I heard dry skin and lips are common side effects? What do you say, grandpa?


----------



## Dreamscape (Sep 18, 2010)

I was on it when I was about 17. It did work to clear my skin but the side effects can be somewhat harsh. My lips were incredibly dry, even trying to keep them moist they would end up peeling a few times per week. The big thing I noticed was an increase in depression. I can't say for sure that it was the Accutane, but it was a rough time while I was on it. It seemed more difficult to focus on things and made me feel kind of weird and gloomy in general. I also remember having to get blood tests every month while I was on it, which was kind of annoying.

There was a point after I finished taking it when I was telling people that I _almost_ wished I had never taken it. But I think now that I'm older I'm glad I did. Acne really is a confidence killer, and this was the only thing that had a dramatic impact on my skin. Hopefully you won't experience the negative emotional changes taking it though, which was the main thing that bothered me.


----------



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

I was a little worried about the emotional side effects because I have been feeling blue and disinterested in life this past year, although I think that's partly because of my acne! But I will take my chances. What's the worst that could happen? (other than me killing myself)

If it gets too bad I will stop taking it. Thanks for your reply.


----------



## Disastuh (Mar 20, 2010)

I went on accutane at 40mg for 5 months, and I've been clear since. Well, lately I've been getting a few that I suspect are related to stress, or the lack of nutrition in my diet, but I literally only get like, 3 or 4 tiny blemishes at the most. I'm really grateful I did it, and I would do it again if I had to. I actually didn't experience any side-effects, either...I wasn't even dry. Probably abnormal, though.


----------



## kilgoretrout (Jul 20, 2011)

My brother was on Accutane for about a year and while his skin cleared up very nicely, he developed very dry, scaly, and discoloured skin (mostly on his hands and back), chapped lips, and got frequent nosebleeds.


----------



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

I got 30 capsules for $38. That's way cheaper than I thought. Anyway I took my first capsule about 6 hours ago and I already feel my face getting tight and a little dry around my mouth. I'll update you all if I experience anything else.


----------



## RUFB2327 (Sep 28, 2008)

I was on Accutane from September 2010-March 2011 (6 months). My advice is to buy a good face lotion (I used cetaphil)and find a body lotion that works for you, maybe even buy some head and shoulders shampoo cause it basically dries you out everywhere on your body.

As for the results, It completely cleared me up which was awesome because I don't think I was clear of any acne since I was 13/14 yrs old. Unfortunately, I've been getting some pimples again. I haven't been completely clear for the past month/month and a half. I think it might have to do with the fact that I work construction, so I'm sweating outside in the summer heat for 8+ hours a day. Hopefully after the summer it starts clearing back up.

While on Accutane, I never experienced any more emotional distress than I already suffered because of SA. If anything, I was more confident as I cleared up more and more. I have to say though, even after I was off the medicine and had no acne, I was still pretty miserable because I still had acne scars. Not red marks, I mean actual scars. 

One other thing that you might experience is facial flushing. While on the medicine, whenever I strained lifting something, like at the gym or wherever I would turn ridiculously red. I struggle with blushing to begin with, so when I was out in public and would blush, it got pretty bad. However, the longer I was off the medicine, my face went back to normal and now I'm pretty much back to where my face was before in regards to turning red.

Good luck and I hope you only have to do one course and you don't run into any problems besides the usual side effects. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.


----------



## Glacial (Jun 16, 2010)

Accutane was the only treatment that cleared my face up. Before Accutane, I had tried just about every OTC and Rx offered. Give it about six months to see the full effect.


----------



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

Did your guys' acne get worse before it got better? That's what I'm afraid of the most. I got lip balm stuff to help with the dry lips.


----------



## guppy88 (Nov 12, 2010)

Colton said:


> Did your guys' acne get worse before it got better? That's what I'm afraid of the most. I got lip balm stuff to help with the dry lips.


there's better stuff out there than that. accutane is actually safer than most people think. It's really just like any other NSAID. I was lifting on the stuff and it had no effect on me except for no acne.


----------



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

Thanks for reminding me that I made this thread. I've been on Accutane for almost a month and there hasn't been any major side effects. I get occasional pimples, my lips and mouth are dry (lip balm and moisturize fixes that) and I've experienced a little back pain, although I can't be sure that that's related to the Accutane.

So far it hasn't really helped my acne, but I know it usually takes a couple months for results.

I also experienced swelling around my teeth and gums, but that was only for a day.


----------



## NE1CME (Sep 17, 2011)

This isn't any relevant post to Accutane, but I have a problem with acne as well, and apple cider vinegar has helped tremendously. I drink about half a cup each day. You'll want to have something to wash it down with...it tastes a bit ugh :/ but it works.


----------



## guppy88 (Nov 12, 2010)

Colton said:


> Thanks for reminding me that I made this thread. I've been on Accutane for almost a month and there hasn't been any major side effects. I get occasional pimples, my lips and mouth are dry (lip balm and moisturize fixes that) and I've experienced a little back pain, although I can't be sure that that's related to the Accutane.
> 
> So far it hasn't really helped my acne, but I know it usually takes a couple months for results.
> 
> I also experienced swelling around my teeth and gums, but that was only for a day.


I'd also look into gluten free diets, and possibly go to acne.org


----------



## CynicalOptimist (Dec 31, 2010)

guppy88 said:


> I'd also look into gluten free diets, and possibly go to acne.org


Really? I've never heard of gluten being related to acne. I've heard it can be helpful to avoid dairy products though.


----------



## CynicalOptimist (Dec 31, 2010)

NE1CME said:


> This isn't any relevant post to Accutane, but I have a problem with acne as well, and apple cider vinegar has helped tremendously. I drink about half a cup each day. You'll want to have something to wash it down with...it tastes a bit ugh :/ but it works.


What do you chase the apple cider vinegar with? LOL. It seems rather unpleasant to consume by itself from the sounds of it. LOL. I've heard of people using apple cider vinegar on the skin itself as a toner. Do you do this as well?


----------



## guppy88 (Nov 12, 2010)

CynicalOptimist said:


> Really? I've never heard of gluten being related to acne. I've heard it can be helpful to avoid dairy products though.


Gluten is the cause to a lot of inflammation among just acne.


----------



## CynicalOptimist (Dec 31, 2010)

guppy88 said:


> Gluten is the cause to a lot of inflammation among just acne.


Oh, ok. Wow! That's good to keep in mind. It sucks though, because that could be contributing immensely to my acne and I love bread products! It's hard to imagine my life without them. :blank


----------



## Colton (Jun 27, 2011)

NE1CME said:


> This isn't any relevant post to Accutane, but I have a problem with acne as well, and apple cider vinegar has helped tremendously. I drink about half a cup each day. You'll want to have something to wash it down with...it tastes a bit ugh :/ but it works.


I went through a couple months where I'd rub apple cidar vinegar on my face every night before bed. I tried to drink a bit and could not handle it. It's like acid. Blehh!

I will look into the gluten-free diet thing. My biggest problem is my acne scars, not really the acne itself. Also I've been on Accutane for a month and a half and there have been no serious side effects but no big improvements either.


----------



## persona non grata (Jul 13, 2011)

Took it awhile in high school. Absolutely unmanageable lip chapping. Had some unusual depression type issues while on it but I don't know for sure it was the drug. 

Clearest skin I ever had.


----------



## BlueBoo (Mar 21, 2012)

I'm on it at the moment, the chapped lips can be annoying, but as long as you have enough lip balm it's not so bad lol .


----------



## A3rghee029 (Aug 6, 2012)

I thought there was talk about Accutane being off the market or some lawsuit back in the 90's for having side effects with suicidal thoughts? My father had severe adult acne(sure there's a name for it) and he said accutane worked great for him until the doc stopped him from taking it. Now he looks like a burn victim.


----------

