I have been on Accutane for just over a month and myself and others can tell a big difference in my complextion. I never had a real problem with massive breakouts or anything, I always have had just one or 2 of the big ones. You know, the cystic ones that are red and tend to come in the worst places on your face, ex. mid forehead, between eyes, cheekbones. No topicla cream or antibiotic has stopped them yet. The only reason I decided to do this is because I am 26 and zits and look like I am 19 or 20 already and having zits makes me look even younger. My insurance pays for it all so I only have a 15 dollar copay on the scripts. Professionally (engineer) people stereotype me as a child and its tough to get by that vision.
Well after just one month on this stuff I don’t have a single zit on my face and I can’t “feel” any brewing. I am a guy so I am not sure what they mean but the girls I know say that it looks like I am wearing foundation because my face is all one color or whatever isntead of blochy. The onyl sideeffects I have had so far are dry as hell lips and dry DRY face. I was able to fix the dry face with Moisturel cream. That stuff is awsome. It is the same consistency as butter and it is thick but doesn’t clog pours and has no scent whatsoever. Regular lotion just doesn’t cut it.
All in al I hope the rst of my treatment goes well. I have to do it for 6 months. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about doing it. Yes there are side effects for some, but to me it has been worth the risk.
I’m so glad it’s working out for you Stinkpalm. Bad skin, especially past the teenage years, can be a big downer.
My older sister went on Accutane back when she was 19 or so. She always had horrible skin, it looked like she had a perpetual rash. The treatment worked great for her too. She’s 26 now, and I’m not sure if she still has to take it or not–I’m thinking no–but I know she was so relieved to be able to look in a mirror and not hate what she saw anymore.
She did have to go on Birth Control though, because of its potential for causing birth defects. (Actually, she’d been getting BC from the clinic for a couple years at that point; this just meant she had to start getting it from the doc with our parents blessing :))
I’ll third the positive comments. After going off the pill following Mr. Pundit’s vasectomy, my skin got worse and worse each month. I went to the dermatologist and for 2 years she tried every combination of topical and oral antibiotics. Still I never had perfectly clear skin. Finally, at the recommendation of my cousin, I asked about Accutane.
I’ve been on it for 3 months and my skin is completely clear for the first time in years. The only side effect is terribly dry lips and sinus headaches. Only 2 more months and I will (hopefully) be done with complexion problems for life.
I’m wondering if my dermatologist didn’t push for it originally because she knows that once you’re on it, you won’t need to go back…I’m still pissed that I wasted 2 years on those other regiments.
Did your pharmacist make sure to put the “Avoid pregnancy” stickers on your med pack? We used to put them on everyone’s Accutane prescription, because we didn’t have stickers that said, “Hey, It’s probably best not to get someone knocked up while you take this drug”.
PunditLisa, most dermatologists use Accutane as a last resort, because of its potential side-effects and the cost. (Well, when I worked in retail, it was ridiculously expensive.) But the side effects can be really scary. The FDA has a pretty hefty webpage about it.
Probably because the side effects are no laughing matter. These include birth defects, psychosis, pancreatitis, bony growth, decreased night vision and inflammatory bowel disease. These are rare, more common problems include chelitis (96%), facial dermatitis (55%), dry nose (51%), skin loss (50%), conjunctivitis (19%), hair loss (13%), eye irritation (11%) and rash (<10%).
Accutane is an excellent drug and the common side effects are benign. It has no place whatsoever as a first or even second line drug, however.
Skerri, believe me, they hit home the notion that you should not get pregnant while on this stuff. I had to sign several acknowledgement forms swearing I was on two forms of birth control; I have monthly blood tests to screen for cholesterol, liver damage, and pregnancy; the package has a huge green label with a warning to to NOT get pregnant; AND each time I pop out a pill there is a graphic of pregnant woman with a big red slash through it. I get the picture, I get the picture!
Dr. Paprika, thanks for the info. So far the only side effects are really dry lips and sinus headaches. More than worth it for clear skin and to stop the scarring I was beginning to experience. (I sure hope I don’t get “bony growth,” whatever that is!)
I jinxed myself. I woke up with 2 little zits budding today. One is on the fleshy part of my cheek right below my eye so it is nice and red even though it is small.
Oh well, I am only a month into the treatment and I have heard that the stuff doesn’t really start to reach full stride till the end of the second month begining of the third month.
When I got it every time you punched out another pill, you punched out a little ‘chad’ (if you will) with a picture of a pregnant woman with a ‘no sign’ over her body.
So here I was, a 17 year old male virgin with little paper push outs scattered about my room. My mom asked if I was on birth control…LOL.
Congrats, Stinkpalm, I think you will be fine when completely done with treatment.
Heh, Cyberhwk, your description fits that of my son a couple years ago.
The dermatologist put my kid through several other regimens until finally giving the go-ahead for Accutane, and he had monthly blood tests to make sure his liver etc was okay.
The potential side effects (wasn’t one of them depression?) were a bit alarming, but my kid was only on Accutane for about 6 months, and then was done forever. His skin cleared up magically, just had a bit of dryness. These days he’ll get the occasional stray zit or two as any almost 20 year old might, but nothing like those grim Pizza Face days of high school.
My brother and at least two of my friends went on to Accutance (it’s sold as “Roaccutane” here) in their early 20s. They had similarly good results.
I’ve seen the boxes before and the medication as sold in Australia doesn’t come with the same dire warnings against pregnancy. It’s in the little leaflet but there’s nothing like those little anti-pregnancy pictures.
Glad to hear it’s working for you, Stinkpalm. Oh, and two little zits is nothing.
An oral surgeon prescribed the stuff for me as a means of inhibiting the development of oral cancer. Aside from the horrendous price ($300.00 per month) that my insurance refused to pay, I suffered some serious side effects. I took the stuff for about two weeks and dropped it on the advice of another oral surgeon. I’m glad it works for you, though.
Another set of kudos for Accutane. I took it back around 1983 and I’m happy to report that the pleasant changes seem to last forever.
I’m in my 40s now and I find that the skin on my calves and thighs actually gets DRY now, and I even put LOTION on them sometimes! (A small price to pay, indeed)
Another Accutane success story chiming in. I didn’t notice much change at first, but then it really took off. I’ve never heard of accutane not working on acne, so I think your daughter is in good shape, dinsdale.
I took it in my late teens. I’m in my mid 30s and still get zits, but it’s nothing like it was. The zits are occasional, and only one at a time. The biggest thing for me was getting rid of the redness. That was huge.
I’m one of the ones who had side effects. Only I didn’t feel suicidal, I felt homicidal. Not to a great extent (I didn’t actually kill anyone, or even come close, unless looks really do count…), but I was a gigantic bitch-on-wheels to everyone who knew me, which is pretty unlike me, so my family members gently suggested that I should stop taking it. (Heh. At one point during the course I screamed at my little old mother that my sister was a bitch every goddamn day, yet nobody was making a big deal out of THAT–she replied calmly that my sister simply had a bitchy personality, whereas I did not.) So I did, with a couple of months of treatement left to go.
That said, however, I still sometimes touch my cheeks in amazement at how smooth they are, and I am very satisfied with the results. I feel beautimous.
It worked wonders on me. I went from having a huge area of my face looking like a raised scar to never having more than two microzits at any one time. The few zits (one to three) on my back howerever never went away and i still get them just as much as before 5 or so years later. On the bad side I turned a bit yellowish and my skin did not seem to heal well. I once had a cut on my lip for a few months. I became a bit moody at the time too, which is pretty uncharacteristic for me. I also developed zits in the area right above my knee, which makes me like to think that accutane did notget rid of zits, it just made them relocate to a less conspicious place.
I figure it was just a ploy by my kid to get birth control with our blessing!
I must say it didn’t bother me that she acted as tho the very IDEA that she would need birth control to prevent the possibility of pregnancy was outrageous! Yea, she’s still my little baby.
So I’m supposed to be attentive for side effects. Any hints on how I can tell when I should consider my 15 year old daughter emotional and unreasonable? I thought that was part of the job description!
