Roaccutane / accutane

Been on it for less than 3 days and my skin is already feeling tight/dry. I've been taking it after a meal and wrapping it in peanut butter and swallowing it with milk for best absorption. :p
 
Hi guys...I'm the OP here. My results

Hi all,

Well I took accutane for 4 months and 2 weeks.

Month 1 = 40mg per day
Month 2 = 40mg per day
Month 3 = 50mg per day
Month 4 + 2 weeks = 60mg per day

I weigh 69kg and am just under 6ft 2. 22 years of age and had acne since 16. I never had 'severe' acne but i did get sever pimples...Massive cysts on my chin Would get one every 7-10 days without fail.

So did accutane work?


Short answer, yes. I currently have zero pimples. However it was a difficult drug to be on, here are the side effects I experienced

1. A very very itchy scalp (went away after 4/5 days)
2. Horribly red face (the whole way through my course)
3. Rashes on hands and arms
4.Chapped lips
5.1 X Nose Bleed
6. Massive increase in my sex drive.
7. I swear at one point it looks as if I was getting moobs :\
8. Slight joint pain
9. I found I sweat a lot easier.
10. Increased all the red marks I have from previous acne / bad complexion.


Whilst acne sucks, I developed a more significant problem around 2 years ago which I can only explain as 'burning sensation in face' / horrid flushing. However, i've recenty noticed that if I avoid GLUTEN this seems to go away quite significantly.

Anyway, I'm rather worried about how long the results are going to last / hoping for this horrid facial redness to go away.
 
My Thoughts on Ro-Accutanne

I like a lot of other posters suffered from severe acne from the age of 13 onwards. It continued until I was around 21. My GP must have gave me about 20 different tablets and topical creams which had little or no effect on the acne.

I got the usual jibes about "cut down the junk foods", "wash more often", "eat more fruit and veg". Not one of those suggestions are a contributory factor to severe acne.

I'm now 37 and my skin has been clear for around 15 years.

The treatment does work but the side effects can be severe namely:-

1) Severe drying out of the facial skin with the effects of the drug.

2) Severe drying of all joint areas.

3) Lips were severly chapped.

4) Hairloss which I discovered was caused by the drug during the treatment but was not told until afterwards by my GP.

5) Suicide and depression but that side-effect was not particularly know whilst I was taking it.

The drying symptoms can be alleviated with a quality non-fragranced moisturiser.

If given the choice again I would still use the Roaccutane treatment even with the hairloss I suffered. The only downside I have from the drug was that I cannot grow my hair long like I had on occasions before use of the drug. Before the usage of the drug I had the archetypal "pizza-face". I have not suffered scarring from using the drug either.

It's a case of weighing up the pro's and con's but their is far more information on the drug effects now than when I had to use it.
 
Gosties said:
I like a lot of other posters suffered from severe acne from the age of 13 onwards. It continued until I was around 21. My GP must have gave me about 20 different tablets and topical creams which had little or no effect on the acne.

I got the usual jibes about "cut down the junk foods", "wash more often", "eat more fruit and veg". Not one of those suggestions are a contributory factor to severe acne.

I'm now 37 and my skin has been clear for around 15 years.

The treatment does work but the side effects can be severe namely:-

1) Severe drying out of the facial skin with the effects of the drug.

2) Severe drying of all joint areas.

3) Lips were severly chapped.

4) Hairloss which I discovered was caused by the drug during the treatment but was not told until afterwards by my GP.

5) Suicide and depression but that side-effect was not particularly know whilst I was taking it.

The drying symptoms can be alleviated with a quality non-fragranced moisturiser.

If given the choice again I would still use the Roaccutane treatment even with the hairloss I suffered. The only downside I have from the drug was that I cannot grow my hair long like I had on occasions before use of the drug. Before the usage of the drug I had the archetypal "pizza-face". I have not suffered scarring from using the drug either.

It's a case of weighing up the pro's and con's but their is far more information on the drug effects now than when I had to use it.
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Possibly the best post of this thread:o Also welcome to the forums :)
 
So I've been on it for about 3weeks now, my skin is completely oil free and fairly dry and my lips are peeling pretty bad even with the carmex. My mouth area has been breaking out like crazy but the rest of my face is fairy clear.

Problem is now that I'm moving up to Scotland on the 15th of December and I'm not sure what will happen with my course. Hopefully my derm will just refer me to another derm up in Scotland that will carry on giving me the accutane.
 
Good to hear you're getting on ok with it. On Friday my dose was upped from 40mg to 80 mg, but I'm taking 60mg for a few days to ease into it.

If you let them know about your moving they may rearrange your interim checkup (if you have one) to just before you leave, that'll give them/you more time to find a derm in Scotland. I told them about my plans to go to Thailand in late January and they moved my final appointment to accommodate as it was originally early February.
 
Just had a chat on the phone with my derms Secretary, and shes told me that when I go to see my derm again on the 10th, that he will give me another two months worth of 80mg a day, up from 60mg(which I still won't start til next week, currently on 40mg). Then that will be the end of my treatment (4 months).

I hadn't realized I was only going to be on it for 4 months, when most people take it for a good 6 months. But I guess If it still hasn't completely cleared up by then they will keep me on it.

She also told me to register with my new local GP in Scotland now before I move. I wasn't aware you were allowed to register with a new GP in a different area until you had residency there.
 
Gosties said:
4) Hairloss which I discovered was caused by the drug during the treatment but was not told until afterwards by my GP.
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Gosties - Interested to hear what your experiences were with the hair loss, Ive had similar experiences (Im 33 now, took roaccutane course at 19).

The Roaccutane course did coincide with the beggining of my hair loss, however Ive never been able to pin down whether or not the hair loss was due to the drug, or was going to happen naturally anyway.

It certainly continued for years afterwards - and it has been "pattern" hair loss - not falling out in clumps like you would associate with stress or chemicals, so Ive never been sure whether the drug was responsible.

Certainly at the time roaccutane was like a miracle drug for me. I dont have any photos of me when I had my acne (was pre digital camera days lol!), but it cured my acne and made a massive, massive difference to my confidence and life at that age.
 
Crimefighter said:
Gosties - Interested to hear what your experiences were with the hair loss, Ive had similar experiences (Im 33 now, took roaccutane course at 19).

The Roaccutane course did coincide with the beggining of my hair loss, however Ive never been able to pin down whether or not the hair loss was due to the drug, or was going to happen naturally anyway.

It certainly continued for years afterwards - and it has been "pattern" hair loss - not falling out in clumps like you would associate with stress or chemicals, so Ive never been sure whether the drug was responsible.

Certainly at the time roaccutane was like a miracle drug for me. I dont have any photos of me when I had my acne (was pre digital camera days lol!), but it cured my acne and made a massive, massive difference to my confidence and life at that age.
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Glad it worked for you, too bad about the hair loss. How long were you on it for if I can ask?
 
NinetyOne said:
Glad it worked for you, too bad about the hair loss. How long were you on it for if I can ask?
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Just 3 or 4 months if I remember rightly.

the derm assured me that if I needed a longer course I could always go on a 2nd course. (I didnt need the 2nd course).

Roaccutane was pretty new for us (in NZ) at the time so I think short courses were the norm then, to see how it worked.
 
Crimefighter said:
Just 3 or 4 months if I remember rightly.

the derm assured me that if I needed a longer course I could always go on a 2nd course. (I didnt need the 2nd course).

Roaccutane was pretty new for us (in NZ) at the time so I think short courses were the norm then, to see how it worked.
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Fair enough mate. How bad was your skin though? severe or? I'd probably describe mine as moderate but consistent. Also do you remember what dosage you were on?
 
I went on this when I was younger. My Acne didn't overly bother me since I have never been the sort to be insecure over something like that seeing as I couldn't really do anything about it. However it reached the point where I had a kind of... "network" going on underneath the skin on my face, press one place and somewhere else would pop, it got quite painful.

I went on Roaccutane and it cleared up nicely, never having come back since. I didn't have any noticable side effects either so I can certainly say it was worth it :).

Actually reading through, I may have had the "Drying" effect, but I have eczema (something I have fortunately mostly grown grown out of) so dry skin was really nothing new to me.
 
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NinetyOne said:
Fair enough mate. How bad was your skin though? severe or? I'd probably describe mine as moderate but consistent. Also do you remember what dosage you were on?
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Id guess it was moderate but extremely consistent as well, my face and neck were never clear. However the acne I did have was deep, cystic, and painful.
 
Crimefighter said:
Id guess it was moderate but extremely consistent as well, my face and neck were never clear. However the acne I did have was deep, cystic, and painful.
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The pain is the worst bit if you ask me, It's like a constant reminder every time you move your mouth or head.
 
NinetyOne said:
The pain is the worst bit if you ask me, It's like a constant reminder every time you move your mouth or head.
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Yes you are right about that, and even though its been 13 years since for me, your comment reminded of it :p

I certainly dont miss it, and I do hope it works for you.

PS regarding the breaking out, I do recall being told by the derm that it gets worse for the 1st month before it gets better. By the end of your second month you should be seeing signs of improvement.
 
Crimefighter said:
Yes you are right about that, and even though its been 13 years since for me, your comment reminded of it :p

I certainly dont miss it, and I do hope it works for you.

PS regarding the breaking out, I do recall being told by the derm that it gets worse for the 1st month before it gets better. By the end of your second month you should be seeing signs of improvement.
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Haha sorry for reminding you! :p
 
NinetyOne said:
I hadn't realized I was only going to be on it for 4 months, when most people take it for a good 6 months. But I guess If it still hasn't completely cleared up by then they will keep me on it.
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I think I'm on it for 6 months, but you were bumped up to a higher dose much earlier than me so we'll probably still end up taking the same amount of accutane in total, which is what matters at the end of the day.
 
Mansize_tissue said:
I think I'm on it for 6 months, but you were bumped up to a higher dose much earlier than me so we'll probably still end up taking the same amount of accutane in total, which is what matters at the end of the day.
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Yeah I guess your right, did you start on 20mg then was it?

I know some people go on really long courses of 10-20mg a day and still get results.
 
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