Accutane

G.,

I did Accutane, but it was back in high school. I never had any problems with hair loss. My biggest problem was chapped lips. It worked WONDERS!! And other than a zit here and there, I don't ever have breakouts anymore.

G.,

I took accutane back in the early 90s and the results were great. The only side effects I experienced were occasion nose bleeds and dry lips. The dry lip are not too bad if you are very contentious about using the steriod lip balm they give you. My skin was beautiful and blemish free until about 15 years later when I got pregnant and had a baby. My son is now 9 and I do have the occasional blemish now and then, but I highly recommend accutane for clearing up adult acne. Good luck. m.j.

I completed Accutane treatment as a teenager and I had really bad acne. After that it never came back. Now I even rarely have one pimple. That is a miracle drug I think. I did have some side effects including bloody noses due to the drying effect and bad back pain. I remember the biggest side effect would be harm to unborn children, so as long as you aren't planning to get pregnant, I think the other side effects are bearable to get rid of the acne for good. It worked wonders for me. I didn't have to be on it terribly long before it worked.

I will be 50 and still have the acne. Or I would if I didnt'use the product I use. It's like proactive which does work. It is not a scam. But the product I use is called Kear Action. you can get it at Walgreens, it's under $20.00. It is my miracle. I used to get the cystic kind of acne along with the regular kind. As long as I use it religiously my skin stays clear. But if you are sure you want to get the accutane treatment done my sister had it done. She had it done twice because the acne came back. she had to get blood tests every month to make sure she was not getting organ damage. She also had arthritic symtoms from it. Her hair did not fall out though.
so I hope what ever you try works out for you.
L

I don't have any personal experience with it, but my brothers and sisters have all done it at different times. They had to be really careful about being in the sun while on it, but your doc probably told you about that. Other than that, for my siblings and other people we knew, it was the only thing that would clear up their skin and their hair didn't fall out, as far as I know. The only pitfall we noticed was that if you don't maintain your skin once it clears up, the acne will come back. But, with your being an adult female and not a teenage boy, I'd say you'd have a good chance of keeping up with your skin once it clears up :)

Many dermatologists now recommend the photodynamic therapy treatments with levulan as an alternative to accutane. At least three treatments are recommended (2-3 weeks apart) and you don't have the bad side effects of the accutane. and there are additional benefits to the pdt therapy - it treats any sun damage, any possible pre-cancers, fine lines, and of course acne. It works by shutting down the sebaceous glands. Here is a link that explains it in more detail: http://www.totaldermatology.com/pages/photoacne.html
Good luck, HTH !

Hi G., I took Accutane when I was 23 and the only side effect I had was very dry skin-but nothing moisturizer wouldn't help. I had acne and very oily skin prior to taking it. Afterwards, no more acne breakouts and no more oily skin. I am now 37 and still no problems. I had such a good experience with it that I'd recommend it to anyone.

I tried is over 20 years ago when I was in my mid 20s. The water and energy were just sucked out of me. My lips, face, hands, mouth were constantly dry and no amount of water or moisturizer would make a difference. I felt like I could not think clearly and had terrible moods. I tried to tough it out through the treatment but I and everybody else could only suffer so much.
The one thing that made a difference for me was changing what I ate and understanding how food affected my skin. Spend your money on a good nutritionist who believes in the value of food over drugs. Check out the book "Green for Life". I love the green smoothies. My body says thank you for stopping the drugs!

My hubby used acutane as a teen and it is amazing to look back at his photos. He still has breakouts, but no cystic problems.

I am a cancer survivor - please do not take the advice to take birth control for the sake of your skin. A class one carcinogen, low dose or not, may help in the short term, but ups your chances of breast and uterine cancers in such a huge way. If your doc requires it for the duration of your treatment, I get that. Check out my other mamasource posts for more details. I write about all this quite frequently!

USP Progesterone may be a big key for you, since acne is usually hormonally related in adult women. Arbonne has one with a metered pump, and I'd be happy to help you get a discount and help you figure out how to use it correctly.

johnleemd.com - website about hormone balance and discusses acne.

Email me for more info

I was on accutane back in 2000, before I had any children (I was 21 and had graduated from college and looked like a teenager with the acne I had!). It is extremely rough the first month as your entire body dries out. You need to have a billion things of chapstick with you at all times because it dries out your lips like crazy. It also makes you break out really really bad during the first month and then you clear up.

I took it for 6 months I believe. I didn't have any acne again for over a year. I used to have it on my chest, back and my face.

Even 10 years later I have never had acne like that again, but I do have to say that I do get acne, and cystic. It's taken years to get the cystic deep acne again but I have but my chest and back are almost completely clear.

If you have really bad acne I say go for it. It was totally worth it to me. I tried every single acne medicine on the market and nothing worked but acutane!

Let me add I had prescription coverage and it still cost me $100/month for the medication!

G.,
I can tell you about the experience we have had with Accutane through my son. He is 17 now. At 14/15 he developed a horrible case of acne. It was very difficult for him, after several types of treatment with his general physician, we sought advice from a dermatologist. Dr. Muller made a couple of suggestions, one of which was Accutane. He started Accutane and in less than a month, his acne was half of what it was before. His only complaint with Accutane was a slight headache when they increased the dosage and my only complaint was that he would forget a dose here or there, but that is due to his age. He suffered no hair loss, no vision impairment and no other side effects. I hope this helps... I know it's a male vs. female issue, but we truly enjoyed and continue to enjoy the results from his taking Accutane. He is a totally different kid, with more self confidence...

L.

I had very bad acne and i had tried everything birth control all the pills creams and everything.i was finally started on acutane.Best thing that has ever happened to me byt the time I was done i was acne free besides a few scares from the years of acne.It worked wonders for me and besieds extremly drying out my face when I was on the pills I had no other side effects no hair loss nothing I just had dry flaky skin on my face for a little while.But if you are like me that wont matter when you atart to see the results.It has been seven years since I went through the treatment and besides a pimple here and there I am still acne free.For me this was a life saver and if you have been struggling with bad acne for a while I would highly reccomend it.LIke I said I do still have the scars where I had the acne for years but I havent really tried to do any kind of scar treatment I was just to happy with my skin after the treatment my scars didnt really matter.They are very light and not really noticeable.They have nothing to do with the treament the are just left overs from the acne.So good luck I hope it works as well for you as it did for me.Just make sure there is no chance of you getting pregnant I know that the risk to the baby is the biffest.I was on birth control at the same time.

I've had acne issues since age 10! I'm 30 now. I have been to several dermatologists and feel like I have literally tried everything out there imagineable. The one thing that helped me was birth control so I know my acne is all hormonal. But another thing that helped THE MOST was changing what I ate. The worst thing ever imo after doing TONS of research is dairy. Try to eliminate drinking milk and ONLY use organic milk when you do. I switched to using Rice milk in my cereal years ago. I still use organic milk to bake/cook with but that's it. Everything else dairy I buy is organic too. This has made a world of difference. All the hormones/anitibiotics in conventional milk was making my acne worse. I also switched to all natural skin products and make up. If I can eat it, I'll use it on my face. I currently use the Kiss My Face line (they are pricy but well worth it and you only need a little product so it does last awhile) that I get at a health food store. For make up I use Southern Magnolia Minerals (online only). It took about 6 months or so after I changed all this to really notice a BIG difference. I would try anything before using Accutane, two of the dermatologists I went to wouldn't even prescribe it because they felt it too dangerous to the body. I would try switching diet and products first. And honestly the one thing that helped the most was simple Benzyl Peroxide cream at night. Good luck with whatever decision you make. Acne sucks BIG time, esp. as an adult - it's not fair!!

At age 25 I was diagnosed with adult onset boilous acne. After being told that Accutane was the only way to go, I used it, and have benn blemish free for about 20 years now. I did not experience any hair loss, at all. I had to make some adjustments to my daily hygiene routine, as oil is attacked from the inside out, so no moisture lotions with oil, nothing with oil, at all! I found aloe vera to be my friend. I once accidently spilled cooking oil on my hand, and like a sci-fi movie, watched as that patch of skin turned to alligator looking scales! It took about 20 minutes to come back to normal looking skin. So, I am serious, NO OIL! As I remember the time, my hair grew better than ever in that 6 month time period! So, that is al I have (that I can remember anyway!) I do not regret it at all, and I am happy with my skin now, I think I look pretty good for 45!

I did use Acutane. I had lots of little side effects, mostly pertaining to the serious drying out of my skin while taking the medication. I had to switch to dry shampoo, and keep CONSTANT petroleum jelly on my lips. I also had some nosebleeds. At the beginning, I will also warn you your skin will get a lot worse while it gets everything out of your system. I did not have any hair loss. Now after saying all of that, I would still do it all over again. I occasionally have a breakout today, but they are very mild as opposed to what I had 10 years ago. I would recommend it.

My brother and I both took Accutane as teenagers. I took it for maybe a month or two, then quit because of the side effects - for me, serious drying of ALL my mucus membranes that got so bad that they started to crack and bleed. My brother took the Accutane much longer, and his lips got so dry and bled that they cracked and bled and took months to heal (he had a permanent 1/8" ring of chapped skin AROUND the outside of his mouth, on his skin). Also, he spent a lot of time outside in the sun and got many horrible sun burns on the tips of his ears and nose that have left permanent scars. Personally, if there's any way to avoid the Accutane, I would!

Have you tried birth control, or if you are already on b.c, have you tried switching brands? I was on Loestrin Fe for years and suffered from acne. I went to different dermatologists and tried all kinds of topicals and antibiotics. Finally, one said, "Maybe you should change your b.c." I switched to Yaz, which has an anti-androgen, and from the moment I switched, I haven't had one break out!! That was 2 years ago. I hadn't tried Accutane, but it is my understanding it is the drug of last resort due to all the potential side effects. I wish you well.

My daughter just finished 5 month on accutane in December. She had no side effects and she looks great. Her skin is still clear. It was definitely worth it. Her scars continue to fade even after three months of being off of it. Good luck!

Stay away from it.
I was on it to clear up my skin before I got married and ended up in the emergency room - got heart palpitations. They said that they couldn't prove it was the Accutane, but I just know it was it. It also gave me crazy mood swings.

I'm from Ireland. This stuff was banned in Ireland because too many teenagers were committing suicide that were on it. It's known as "roaccutane" there see:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-01-26-accutane-u...

If you search for roaccutane in google you'll see that it was banned in other countries too. (Dubai, for example)

Have you tired using clindagel every morning (and finacea at night for the real deep stuff)? Worked for me.

I know this is very late, but I just had to tell you about my experience with Accutane. I have had acne since a teenager. I have been to many dermatologist over the years and nothing worked long term. I started accutane when I was 46. I was also taking birth control pills (my doctor said you must use two forms of birth control while on the med.). I used it for about 3 months with the usual drying and some hair loss. In my 4th month of treatment, I had a stroke. Had to stop immediatly taking ALL the meds. It was not a severe stroke but was confirmed by a MRI. My doctor said that they couldn't be positive that the meds caused it, but I had been on the birth control for years before starting the accutane. I do still have some residual damage to the nerves in my left side. Please consider the risks before you begin this treatment. I still battle with the acne, but it's better than living with the other risks!!

I took it in my early 20's and stopped the treatments because of side effects. My hair thinned noticeably and it took probably 5 or 6 years for my hair to regain thickness. (While on accutane, I could only wash my hair once a week or week and a half. Any more then that and it fell out even worse.) I had arthritic side effects. All the blood tests and pregnancy tests... the whole experience was awful. I still have breakouts, but I use a cleanser by a local company named Blue Calla and I have a really good facial done about every 4-6 weeks. Those 2 things combined seem to have stopped the majority of the cystic acne.

I used accutane about 11 years ago and it was wonderful, the only side effect i can recall was very dry skin, lips etc. Acne is such an awful thing to deal with day in and day out that since there is a RX such as accutane, I would take full advantage of it's benefits. I wouldnt want my kids to have to go through the pain of dealing with acne and wouldnt hesitate to put them on this if needed, if the Dr thinks it needs to be prescribed. Good luck and enjoy your new beautiful complection.

My husband took it when he was 19. It pretty much sucked all of the moisture out of his entire body. It also made him depressed and have mood swings. It did work, though. He ended up quitting treatment early because of these effects. You have to decide if the side effects out weigh the benefits. You could always try it and if it has too many negative results, than just quit. Everyone is different so you wont know how it affects you until you try it. : )

I was in my early 30's when I did accutane. Although I didn't have a terrible case of acne, I felt at my age I should have outgrown acne after my teen years and I was tired of dealing with pimples! It was the cure I needed. Worked immediately and completely. There were no side effects but it was mandatory to be on birth control during the course of treatment and for six months afterwards, as I recall. (This was about 20 yrs ago for me). The doctor was very good at following my course and I was seen regularly throughout. Any side effects would have been caught early. If you have a doctor you trust and feel confident about, have done the research and know what to be aware of and look for, it can be the one-time cure for the acne. Hope this is helpful.

Dear G.,
I went through the Accutane treatment. I had severe acne and tried many other treatments first. Now this has been many years ago and Accutane was fairly new on the market. I know it has been prescribed to many, many other people since with success. I was told of the warnings; mainly absolutely NOT to get pregnant! I did not have any hair loss, but again I am just sharing what my experience was. First, the positive is that it completely cleared up my acne! Even one year after I completed the treatment, if I started to get a pimple or breakout, it would dry up and go away right away! The main negative experience that I went through was that it dried me out pretty badly. My lips and pretty much my skin all over. I was able to deal with it by using products to keep my lips, face and body moisterized and drank a lot of water. The moisterizers will want to be something to talk to your Dr. about. Aside from the dryness, I did not have any other adverse affects and again it completely cleared up my acne. It worked for me! Just make sure that you ask your Dr. all of the questions you have so that you can make the right decision for yourself. Good luck with everything....I can completely relate to the mental and physical pain and stress caused by acne. God bless you and your family!

I took accutane when I was 19, it worked for me. I am now 35 and have a little bit of acne once in awhile, but nothing compared to what it was for years before taking it. I did have the extreme drying, actually some of it still affects me. I would get bloody noses and found I had to put lotion or vaseline inside my nose, which I still have to do on a daily basis to not get bloody noses. I had to use a really good lip moisturizer too. Going from having very oily skin and washing my face 3-4 times daily to having to be careful not to dry it up too much with 1-2 times daily. It also made me very hungry, I was eating everything I could get my hands on and out-eating some guy friends that no one could out eat, and I actually lost weight at the same time. (I went from about 99 pounds to 80 and down to a size 0 jeans) Of course I gained the weight back after the treatment was over. I don't think I noticed any hair loss. Even with the side affects I would do it again. I hope this helps you. Good luck!

Hi G.,
I took when I was 19 and it cleared up my acne for a couple of years and then it came back. It was like a miracle because I had very bad acne for years before taking it. I think it works for people w/ extremely oily skin. Yes it is extremely drying. My dermatologist gave me some special lip ointment up front and said to use it constantly. I did and that helped w/ the lip issue. (they will peel off if you don't use something very moisturizing) You cannot be in the sun too much or get pregnant while on it. otherwise, I think it's great for short term clear skin. You do have to go in the Dr's office to check your blood work constantly but for me it was worth it! Good luck! S.

I took Accutane when I was 14 years old. I had acne starting when I was 6 years old so I had dealt with it for many years already and since I was entering high school I was really wanting to rid of it. I was on Accutane for 12 months because of how bad it was. My worst side effect was dry skin and lips. I couldn't go outside without at least 50 spf sunscreen because I would fry like an egg. But within 12 months it was cleared and really now I only get one or two pimples when I have my period. It was the best thing my mother or I could have done for me. Acne is difficult to deal with and I couldn't imagine having it as an adult. I would suggest it. Talk with your doctors and make sure you know what the stats are of the side effects you are worried about.

Hi there,
I used accutane in my early 20s and it really really worked!!!
I only used it for a few months.
i did not lose any hair or anything. It REALLY clears up the acne. You should not plant to be pregnant though while taking it.

G.,
I did it, and for the same reason - adult onset acne. Honestly, it was the best thing I ever did and have not regretted it once. Since the drug is cumulative, you can somewhat control the side effects you experience. It's dosed based on weight - and a "round" of it just means you need X amount before it's done, and that could be a shorter time period or a longer one. The longer you stretch it out, the less severe the side effects. My doctor was pretty conservative, gave me a pretty low dosage and the only side effects I experienced were dry skin (which I'd NEVER had my entire life - I've always been very oily) and sensitivity to sunlight (just wore sunscreen). Oh, and really, overall dryness (eyes, etc.)

My skin never looked better than when I was on it. And since finishing it, I've not had ONE breakout. Even during pregnancy when I thought for sure it would come back - not one. My skin and hair are no longer oily - ever.

The truth is, it's a strong medication. Requires serious monitoring (hence the monthly visits and bloodwork) but for me, at the end of the day, it was very worth it.

One thing that they didn't tell me about, though. Your cholesterol has a tendency to rise while you're on it. Just a side effect and something that they're monitoring with the bloodwork. Unfortunately my cholesterol never went down - but it's likely because it was high before and I never knew it (hereditary high chol. for sure).

I wish you the best! Just be sure not to do any sort of WAXING while on it - your skin is super sensitive while you're on it and waxing can cause scarring - happened to a friend of mine who was on it at the same time as me. When she finished it she got her eyebrows waxed...she didn't wait long enough for her skin to get back to "normal". I've had no issues whatsoever with waxing in the years following my treatment.

Good luck. And try not to get too scared by all the horror stories you read online. That almost talked me out of it. But in the end, I trusted my doctor, focused on the "end game" and made it through!

G.,
I know you asked for first hand experiences and while I haven't personally taken this medicine, my neighbor has and she loved what it did for her. Her doctor was pretty strict and made her call in EVERY month she was on it to confirm that "she was not pregnant" if you know what I mean :-) She never mentioned to me that her hair fell out, and I never noticed her looking thinner on top.

I used it, had no side effects whatsoever. Loved it. I did it again several years later with the same results. It's great. Just don't use the generic, my doc ssaid it's not as good.

I have a sister that is in her mid 60's. She took Aacutane in her 40's. I don't remember how long she took it for, but didn't stop because of any side effects. She never lost any hair. She's always had thick hair and that may be why no big hair loss was ever noticed. She was very happy with the results and that's about all I remember about it. If she had, had any bad adverse reactions, I would have known & remembered. I really wish I knew more about it and could be of more help. Best of luck, you might go to Drugs.com or WebMd.com (I think they are the correct sites, might have to search) you can do a search on accutane and if there are alot of people having problems with it, they won't hesitate to have it posted on a message board.

I did Accutane several years ago and it did work for about 2 years then my acne gradually started coming back.

Taking Accutane is such a hassle (the blood work and prego tests monthly) but I would try it again.

You do need to make sure that you are fully aware of all of the possible side effects (from birth defects to high triglycerides) and all of the dos and don'ts (no sun, no waxing, hair breakage, etc). It's not something to be taken lightly but it can be very very effective.

Also, as a health insurance agent I can tell you that several insurers will not accept you for up to 3 years after you have stopped taking Accutane. I actually found this out the hard way!

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.

Good Luck and God Bless.

My daughter took the Accutane treatment after she graduated from college, went to work in a school district, and now had insurance. It was very hard on her. It did make a difference in her skin, but for the year of the treatment, she had blood in her stools, chemical sensitivity to light, some hair loss, and to this day, can't handle certain antibiotics. It was a huge trade-off (to my way of thinking), but in the main, I suspect she would say it was worth it. As a mom, I worried mightily, once she began to reveal to me the extent of the side-effects, but she wasn't about to discontinue the treatments before the process was complete. Think long and hard about it before you do it.

I did it for 6 months, and my skin was very dry for over 1 year. I loved it because my problem was really bad, then it was really gone. I haven't had it as bad since then. For some people, it makes them prone to depression (as was the case w/ a friend), but in my case, I was so happy my skin was getting so much better that I did not struggle with that. I struggled with keeping my lips moist and with itchy dry skin, but nothing so bad that lotions can't alleviate. I wasn't sexually active at that time (and way long thereafter) so I didn't have to worry about birth defects.