Should i go on Roaccutane?

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:06

Hey people

I'm 19 and still get spots and it really really bothers me.

I'm

-Missing uni lectures
-Ignoring friends calls
-Lost my personality
-Given up all 'fun' foods
-Never go out with friends
-Dread every day

I've previously been on oral and topical antibiotics but they have just been temporary cures.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience of this and how well it worked?

The spots i get aren't even that bad, but they are always on my chin, rather big and always 2/3 at a time, i haven't had a clear chin in 3 years.

vincent1989 · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:12

i'd say yes, i had a friend at college and when she started she was covered in spots but started a course of this stuff a couple of weeks in, by about the 3rd month of college they were all practically gone.

i'm not far of asking my doctor either, for much the same reasons as you and i've tried just about every over the counter spot remover (they never work

)

Maccy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:13

I was on it for about 18 months.

The symptons are horrible: dry skin in all sorts of places so be prepared to stock up on oiley moisturiser (like Nivea cream); random nose bleeds; depressive moments where you just want to give up, there have been articles in the news from teenagers committing suicide whilst being on Roaccutane; you're not supposed to drink alcohol; and there's a few others that I can't remember off the top of my head.

The results however are usually fantastic. The acne gets worse before it gets better, this needs to be stressed a lot to anyone who takes it.

I still get spots here and there, and probably should've been on the killer drug for a few more months, but I find drinking plenty of water and eating more healthier foods actually helps. Drinking coke makes my skin worse, for a reason unknown to me!

Stress can also play a part, believe it or not (whether this is psychological or not) and during exam periods people's skin can get a little worse. Before and during my A levels my skin got a bit worse but after I'd finished my skin calmed down a lot.

Do you use any skin products? The Clean and Clear products are pretty good as is the Simple odour-less range. I started using some Eucerin anti-redness cream recently and that does a lot to cover up the evils too, although it's about £23 for a small pot which isn't cheap!

Any other questions give us a shout

OpenToSuggestions · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:13

lexxy said:
-Missing uni lectures

Then you are an idiot. This has nothing to do with spots in the slightest

lexxy said:
-Ignoring friends calls

See above comments

lexxy said:
-Lost my personality

Again, see above comments

lexxy said:
-Given up all 'fun' foods

This one may be slightly relevant. I am not sure if there is any proof that fatty foods or chocolate make spots worse but I would assume they do.

lexxy said:
-Never go out with friends

Why not? If you are feeling down then thats what friends are for!

lexxy said:
-Dread every day

Due to spots? Loads of people have spots in their teenage years.

Roaccutane works but none of the reasons you mentioned really make any sense to me. I had roaccutane when I was 16 iirc as my spots were pretty bad. It makes your skin dry and lips split all the time and some get frequent nose bleeds.
These temporary side effects are worth it though....

gurusan · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:13

Not taken it myself but if it's affecting your life that severely you should go have a chat with a dermatologist.

vincent1989 · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:15

mglover070588 said:
Then you are an idiot. This has nothing to do with spots in the slightest

See above comments

Again, see above comments

This one may be slightly relevant. I am not sure if there is any proof that fatty foods or chocolate make spots worse but I would assume they do.

Why not? If you are feeling down then thats what friends are for!

Due to spots? Loads of people have spots in their teenage years.

Roaccutane works but none of the reasons you mentioned really make any sense to me. i had roaccutane when I was 16 iirc.

**** off 'you [...] idiot'. some people care a great deal about their personal appearance and what other people perceive them as, if you don't have that problem then good for you, but for others things can be extremely depressing

Tefal · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:15

Sounds like you've got bigger problems than spots. seems more like depression now.

If you haven't already tell your GP about those symptoms as even if you can;t get them cleared up there's ways to help you with those problems.

It's a bit hypocritical of me telling you to get help as i didn't(couldn't) when i was feeling similar/acting that way (still am, not because of spots though) and it didn't end very well.

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:17

mglover070588 said:
Then you are an idiot. This has nothing to do with spots in the slightest

See above comments

Again, see above comments

This one may be slightly relevant. I am not sure if there is any proof that fatty foods or chocolate make spots worse but I would assume they do.

Why not? If you are feeling down then thats what friends are for!

Due to spots? Loads of people have spots in their teenage years.

Roaccutane works but none of the reasons you mentioned really make any sense to me. I had roaccutane when I was 16 iirc as my spots were pretty bad. It makes your skin dry and lips split all the time and some get frequent nose bleeds.
These temporary side effects are worth it though....

You've obviously never had spots or am a much stronger person than i am.

OpenToSuggestions · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:19

vincent1989 said:
**** off 'you idiot'. some people are care a great deal what they look like and what other people perceive them as, if you don't have that problem then good for you, but for others things can be extremely depressing

Missing uni lectures for spots. I mean come on....are you actually being serious?!

That is REALLY going to be considered for impaired performance if he fails the year isn't it.

I had spots bad, so did my brother. I got told all the time by some people I did not wash my face etc etc I eat chips all the time etc etc when really I did the opposite! No point whining over it, I just got on with life....until the GP told me about roaccutane so I tried it.

Just saying how it was for me

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:20

and they cleared up with age? I'm 20 soon and can't wait much longer..

gurusan · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:21

If they are so bad that they are likely to produce scarring I would deffo go see a dermatologist. If you are hesitant to go because of feeling embarrassed or something just don't be, they are dermatologists and see things far worse than common acne.

tisonlyme · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:21

As your username doesn't quite give it away, are you a guy or a girl?

If you're a girl, there are much better options than taking roaccutane...

If not, maybe you should give it a try. I had really bad acne on my back and chest in my teens, it really affected my confidence, but I don't think I would have risks the side effects. You might not be so concerned about that though!

vincent1989 · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:21

mglover070588 said:
Missing uni lectures for spots. I mean come on.

That is REALLY going to be considered for impaired performance if he fails the year isn't it.

I had spots bad, so did my brother. I got told all the time by some people I did not wash my face etc etc I eat chips all the time etc etc when really I did the opposite! No point whining over it, I just got on with life.

Just saying how it was for me

by the sounds of it, they have [the spots], at least in part caused depression, if you're not happy with how you look it can be easy to become depressed, again, if this doesn't bother you then 'good for you' but to others it is something really important

OpenToSuggestions · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:21

lexxy said:
and they cleared up with age?

Nope, they cleared up with roaccutane

I had bad spots from 13-16, but as I was starting to get minor scars the GP put me on the roaccutane. After 16 the spots declined and by 18 I had virtually none.

reflux · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:22

Definitely go on it; it sorted me right out, and I didn't really suffer any of the symptoms either. Make sure you have a good chat with your doctor and parents first though.

KaHn · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:23

I feel sorry that you've had to live with it this long, I went on them when I was 15 and as such have had no skin problems since then, I do still have some scarring on my back but my face has none.

So in short yes as it should only be fore 6 months and you will notice the benefits very quickly.

KaHn

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:23

thanks, i shall be ringing up the local doctors to book an appointment, any idea how long it takes to actually get on the stuff mg/Kahn?

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:24

KaHn said:
I feel sorry that you've had to live with it this long, I went on them when I was 15 and as such have had no skin problems since then, I do still have some scarring on my back but my face has none.

So in short yes as it should only be fore 6 months and you will notice the benefits very quickly.

KaHn

Thank you very much, I've been putting this off for over a year now and today should be a big step in a good direction.

OpenToSuggestions · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:25

lexxy said:
thanks, i shall be ringing up the local doctors to book an appointment, any idea how long it takes to actually get on the stuff mg?

I think it is in the chemists you can get it right away (with prescription obviously). Was a few years ago now.

From knowing friends with various life problems and university impaired performance, missing lectures due to spots will not be a sufficient reason.

Get to the GP asap!

lexxy · 17 Feb 2009 at 11:26

I've been twice and I went from topical antibiotic to oral antibiotic so hopefully third time lucky i'll get the stronger stuff that actually does something..

I'm male btw