Accutane...?

[wannabejuan]

Ive got kinda a problem on my hands. I have acne, and ive been to a dermatologist about it. He gave me an antibiotic, and 2 topical creams. He said he is very strict with acne, and likes to "Hit it hard" to stop it quick. Hes an arogant *******. Anyways, so ive been using this antibiotic and creams regularly now, with only mild results, things are getting better, but I dont think he will be satisfied when I go in for a checkup, and he wants to put me on accutane if im not doin better by the time of the checkup. From all that I have read and heard about accutane, and from what my pediatrician has told me, its pretty much bad news, I mean suicidal tendencys is one of the side effects, and you have to get blood drawn twice before you can even begin taking it. Usually, im pretty much against taking any drugs unless they are absolutly 100% neccessary, and I was leery about even goin on an antibiotic. So anyways, has anyone been on Accutane, or know anyone who has? A few of my freinds have, and it has cleared up there acne, but i cant help but think that it probably also cut about 10 years off of there life. What should i tell my Derm./parents ? Is it worth taking it, im not ultra devistated about having acne, sure id like to get rid of it but its not like i cry in front of my mirror every night, i know it will go away. Agh, HELP!

 

[ReD MaFiA]

i'm doing the same course as you are right now ( antibiotics+ 2 topical creams).
if you were taking it less than a month dont expect ANY results yet. it usually takes 1.5-2 month for it to kick in.
i wouldnt suggest taking accutane unless you have severe acne.
doctors these days recomend that **** to anyone with any degree of acne.
as i understand you have same type of acne as me(light), so finish the course of antibiotics and creams. and if that doesnt help, i'd suggest you just wait until you grow out of it.

accutane is VERY strong and having that kind of stuff in your body can heal your acne,BUT, while healing, it can also **** up other parts of your body like liver. i think anyone would rather have acne for a year or two more, than to have a ****ed up liver for the rest of your life.

good luck man.

 

[regulus]

I used Accutane and I reget not doing it looong ago. It causes emotional probs in some people but not me. women caused my emotional problems. There are two probs with Acutane. Peeling, and cholesterol. It increases the levels of cholesterol in your blodd and you know what that leads to. Your face will peel which isn't too bad. The worst part was peeling and cracking lips. Keep plenty of Carmex on hand. I stopped using Accutane almost 2 years ago and I only get 2-3 pen tip sized bumps every now and then. It also smoothed out some of my acne scars.

 

[jmm854]

I'm on Accutane right now. Take it brother!

I went through the process of taking medication that doesn't work so the doctor can cover his ass just like you're doing now. Most of the time the sh*t dermotologists give you at first doesn't work but they don't give you Accutane up front because of the health risks involved. I've been on it for about 6 weeks. The blood tests are a minor detail and in the end the side effects aren't a big deal. Your lips will crack and peel. Your skin around your lips will get very dry. You will get frequent nosebleeds. But considering all this, the drug's worth taking. It gives results.

 

[LionFox]

I had serious ance when I was 16-17.. I was sooo damaged as a person back then, my self-esteem was shot, I looked horrible, i was always depressed.

I use to scrub 3 times day, used stridex pads until my skin would peel.. nothing would help..

I finally got rid of it by going to a dermotologist and taking some oral medications. It took 6-8 months, but it worked. He suggested Accutane if that treatment didn't work but it never came to that.

Another good thing to do, the best thing besides prescription medication, is hydrogen-peroxide. Soak a cotton ball in it, than apply directly to your acne for a good minute or two.

Just don't plan on going anywhere or letting anyone see you for a good 15-20 minutes after you do it.. You won't look pretty. But this really did help me years ago.

 

[studmuffin15]

i took accutane about 2 years ago and it really fukked me up. serious, serious depression. i thought that i was losing my mind. as soon as i stopped taking it, all the symptoms went away.

is it bad for your body? maybe. some tests conclude yes. the important thing is to keep up with the regular blood tests to make sure its not fukking up ur body.

i also experienced the dry lips and stuff like that. it wasn't very pleasant, but it was far from unbearable.

the results have been good. i had moderate acne when i was on it, and even 2 years later, things are calm. i think that it had a lasting effect which is good.

my advice is this: it works different on different people. some people may experience depression, others might not. the results cant be disputed...this stuff works! looking back, i would say the only time you should take it is if ur acne is soo out of control, u have no self-esteem, u dont wanna leave the house, etc. if you arent at that point, try alternative methods that arent so dangerous.

but if u do go for accutane, keep in mind that if u start feeling whacked out in ur head when u are on it, it could prob be from the accutane and get off it immediately!

 

[Shiftkey]

I went on accutane after visiting a dermatologist when I was 17. It worked great while I was on it. My acne completely cleared up. Unfortunately it came back in full force a few months later.

There is NO CURE for acne.

All that accutane does is temporarily stop acne to prevent you from getting scars and to boost your confidence. The reason you get put on it for a long time is in hopes that you grow out of it by the time the drug wears off.

The main side effects of accutane are possible, rare, liver problems (which is what the blood tests are for), sensitivity to sun, dryness, and possible mild depression. I had all of these but the liver problems.

Sensitivity to sun was a big one for me. I ignored the warnings and got so badly sun burnt that I had second degree burns (blisters) up and down my arms on two separate occasions. Accutane also seems to of permanently lowered my sunburn resistance because I was tan before accutane and now I burn easily and my skin is very white.

Dryness was just a nuisance and shouldn't be much worse than what your antibiotics are doing.

The mild depression was something I was suffering from that I realize only in retrospect. I was depressed before the accutane just because my acne was bad and my confidence was low. Once the acne was gone, but I while still on accutane, I still had the same level of depression. As soon as the drug wore off I no longer felt depressed. Both before and during treatment I would have half-second thoughts of suicide, but I always realized that wasn't a good idea. I don't think accutane was the cause of those suicides. My theory is that the people who committed suicide were already near suicidal before accutane, and that accutane wasn't helping their acne as much as they wanted. This took away their last hope for an improvement in their self-esteem.

After going on accutane I never went back on, but this is mainly because antibiotics have been working well for me. I'm 20 now. Right now I'm on minocyn, a derivative of tetracyclin. You might also consider trying Proactiv, but it's common to form a tolerance to that after a few months. I also suggest not washing your face with soap because the ingredients in most soaps can aggravate your skin. You might consider trying different shampoos and soaps because you might be allergic to the ones you're using. I've also found that a better diet and frequenting the gym have lowered my acne slightly (though I'm not sure if this is a placebo effect or not).

I'm also curious if you live in a big city (pollution) and if any of your relatives have or have had acne?