Should I Do Accutane?

Off Topic
21

[quote]RSGZ wrote:

[quote]Think tank fish wrote:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

Sorry but got to get your attention. Do not take this stuff. The side effects are awful but thats not why I say this. They’re temporary.

Whats not temporary is how much it will compromise your long term health. That stuffs been linked with loads of horrid diseases including various cancers.

I was on the stuff a lot as a teen and now I have a rare cancer with unknown causes. Of which studies are now showing accutane is often correlated with.[/quote]

Sorry to hear you this.

What kind of doses where you on, and for how long did you take the stuff? How can you be sure it’s definitely accutane related?

For other people, I believe accutane was originally developed as a chemo drug to treat cancer, but it was found to shrink oil glands and therefore became popular for acne treatment.[/quote]

Oh, dont get me wrong. I cant say with any certainty the accutane was to blame for my cancer. But its the only factor that studies are indicating could be responsible. I wish I was aware of this link when I was a teen. Because I would have never taken the risk.

I had 3 courses. The 1st two were high dose, 1mg/kg bw for 3 months I think. The other was lower dose for longer.

22

eeu - thanks for sharing your experiences. That was a lot of good information and the before/after pics were amazing.

23

Thanks to everyone who responded. I’m seeing my derm in a couple days and I’ll ask him to switch up my regimen and have me try some new drugs, annd if I dont see any improvement with those, I’ll make accutane a more serious option. One more question… What you see on me now is mostly just the leftover marks from previous pimples. Will accutane get rid of the marks(or scarring) as well? It seems like in most cases Ive seen, the peoples skin is perfect afterwords. However I have heard some people are left with scarring.

24

[quote]RSGZ wrote:
LOW-DOSE Accutane is the way to go.

I self-administered myself with it for 4 months, and I had some pretty horrible acne. It started at 15 or 16, and carried on into my early 20’s. I waited way too long to bite the bullet and get it done.

Doctors will normally do doses of 40-80mg, which is WAY too high. There is no need for that, and the side effects increase dramatically in those ranges.

10mg every day for 2 months, followed by 20mg ED for 2 months. 4 months later, the difference was astounding, and now 4 years later I’m still acne free (hardly even get spots at all any more).

Honestly, one of the best things I’ve ever taken.[/quote]

I started taking it in my mid 20s. I had bad skin in high school, but it seemed to go away, but I was getting occasional big sebaceous cyst or pimple that took on the weeks before they went away. I tried some other things, the doctor wanted to put me on accutane right away, and eventually went for it.

He wanted me on a super high dose from the start, but I said no. I started at 10mg for the first couple months, then gradually bumped 10mg/month up until I was taking 40mg, which I did for a couple months.

The worst side effects were red dry eyes and dry skin. For the first month, my skin got oily but I didn’t get any huge breakouts or anything. The red eyes went away relatively quickly and the biggest side effect I had was dry lips which was easily tolerable.

I made strength gains and experienced no fatigue or excessive soreness or anything of the sort. I did start dieting though mid way through and strength took a huge hit, so I would recommend just eating normal and feeding yourself while you are on it.

I did get a bit depressed though, but it went away. Nothing major and I didn’t want to kill myself, but I was more down than I usually am. Still had high points and good times, but I did notice more depression as the dose went up.

Eventually I just stopped doing it, well before I was supposed to come off and still have like 3-4 months worth at home.

Skin is good to excellent and not one big pimple since I started. I wish I would have done it in high school.

25

I think you need to exhaust other options before Accutane. I don’t know what the probability of ulcerative colitis as a side effect is, but that’s a seriously high price to pay for clear skin.

Go see a dermatologist and find out your options. When I was in college, I was given Retin-A cream along with a topical solution of clindomycin (an antibiotic). The combination worked perfectly for me. Notice that the antibiotic was topical. Start taking oral antibiotics on a regular basis and you open yourself up to other problems.

You may also want to take a look at your diet. Not saying that eating chocolate gives you acne or any simple 1=1 connection like that. But generally speaking, the less crappy, processed food you eat the less severe the acne problem will be. It won’t go away completely if you eat clean, but you may not have quite as tough a battle.

26

N A friend of mine did it recently oh maybe two years ago and it fucked I mean fucked up her digestive system in some horrendous way… she was in the hospital for three weeks and they were discussing remo ing part of her colon! I don’t know…

Another friend did it when we were in highschool ages and ages ago… was very intense but she also says was best decision for her.

27

[quote]Hallowed wrote:
N A friend of mine did it recently oh maybe two years ago and it fucked I mean fucked up her digestive system in some horrendous way… she was in the hospital for three weeks and they were discussing remo ing part of her colon! I don’t know…

Another friend did it when we were in highschool ages and ages ago… was very intense but she also says was best decision for her.[/quote]

Truth.

Before my stomach issues arose, I was on Accutane and suspect that it had a direct influence on my stomach problems. It turns out I was on an obscene dose and am shocked that I didn’t fuck myself up more than I already did.

Make sure you go to a reputable dermatologist. Things like acne, rosacea, dermatitis are often misdiagnosed and the remedies are not the same for each.

You are also very young and it could be due to the massive testosterone you are making from puberty.

28

[quote]MaximusB wrote:

[quote]Hallowed wrote:
N A friend of mine did it recently oh maybe two years ago and it fucked I mean fucked up her digestive system in some horrendous way… she was in the hospital for three weeks and they were discussing remo ing part of her colon! I don’t know…

Another friend did it when we were in highschool ages and ages ago… was very intense but she also says was best decision for her.[/quote]

Truth.

Before my stomach issues arose, I was on Accutane and suspect that it had a direct influence on my stomach problems. It turns out I was on an obscene dose and am shocked that I didn’t fuck myself up more than I already did.

Make sure you go to a reputable dermatologist. Things like acne, rosacea, dermatitis are often misdiagnosed and the remedies are not the same for each.

You are also very young and it could be due to the massive testosterone you are making from puberty. [/quote]

My GF that got the colitis or whatever horrible thing was at least thirty when she decided to do it. Her acne was the cycstic type really norrible and painful and NOT what I see in your pics OP.

Its a tough call but man acutane can be HIGHLY dangerous.

29

I did a run with iso about two years ago and while it wasn’t the BEST decision I’ve ever made, I certainly have zero regrets about it.

My skin is clear as shit and, while on it, I couldn’t give myself razor burn to save my life. Even now I can shave with a piece of broken glass and it’s still only 10% as bad as it used to be.

40mg/day for about 6 months or so and all I had to deal with was chapped lips and the occasional bloody nose during the winter.

I’m still an ugly motherfucker and my kids will probably be born with severe deformations… but at least daddy’s skin was clear for his 20’s.

30

I took accutane for 5 months in HS and it worked incredibly well. I had tried about two years worth of other measures first, though.

The only sides I got were pretty dry lips and skin, but I took it during the winter (in NY) because my dermatologist didn’t want me on it in the summer as I had a summer job that had me in the sun for 10 hours a day - but I experienced moderately dry skin every other winter, too, though, so take it for what it’s worth.

The first two months my acne flared up even worse, but after that, acne disappeared until it went away 3 months later.

Today, my skin is pretty much always clear.

and x9345092348 on the diet! Cut out the majority of your processed foods, drink a shitload of water, and cut out soda and milk and see what happens to your skin.

As for the scarring, maybe look into microdermabrasion?

31

Stay off the Accutane. Do not trust the prescription drug industry about anything. Ever. It’s not worth having potential side effects for the rest of your life for a problem that’ll go away on its own in a couple of years. Even if there’s only a small chance of serious side effects, don’t roll the dice.

32

OP, with respect, your acne is nowhere serious enough to warrant accutane. A milder drug should be fine.

33

[quote]Travacolypse wrote:
Stay off the Accutane. Do not trust the prescription drug industry about anything. Ever. It’s not worth having potential side effects for the rest of your life for a problem that’ll go away on its own in a couple of years. Even if there’s only a small chance of serious side effects, don’t roll the dice. [/quote]

rolls eyes

It can definitely mess you up, it’s up to you to decide whether or not the risks outweigh the benefits (true for all prescriptions. Your acne really isn’t that bad, chances are the dermatologist won’t even prescribe you accutane.

34

Fuck, screw the naysayers who roll out the “evils” of prescription drugs. If you want to get rid of the acne, just go to a dermatologist and ask.

35

Just to clarify, I have been taking 80 mg of minocyline (oral antibiotic) everyday for the past year. I’ve also been on a clindamycin/benzoyl peroxide cream and a clindamycin phosphate/tretinoin gel for the past year. These were prescribed by a dermatologist, whom I see about every two months.

36

[quote]theuofh wrote:

[quote]RSGZ wrote:
LOW-DOSE Accutane is the way to go.

I self-administered myself with it for 4 months, and I had some pretty horrible acne. It started at 15 or 16, and carried on into my early 20’s. I waited way too long to bite the bullet and get it done.

Doctors will normally do doses of 40-80mg, which is WAY too high. There is no need for that, and the side effects increase dramatically in those ranges.

10mg every day for 2 months, followed by 20mg ED for 2 months. 4 months later, the difference was astounding, and now 4 years later I’m still acne free (hardly even get spots at all any more).

Honestly, one of the best things I’ve ever taken.[/quote]

I started taking it in my mid 20s. I had bad skin in high school, but it seemed to go away, but I was getting occasional big sebaceous cyst or pimple that took on the weeks before they went away. I tried some other things, the doctor wanted to put me on accutane right away, and eventually went for it.

He wanted me on a super high dose from the start, but I said no. I started at 10mg for the first couple months, then gradually bumped 10mg/month up until I was taking 40mg, which I did for a couple months.

The worst side effects were red dry eyes and dry skin. For the first month, my skin got oily but I didn’t get any huge breakouts or anything. The red eyes went away relatively quickly and the biggest side effect I had was dry lips which was easily tolerable.

I made strength gains and experienced no fatigue or excessive soreness or anything of the sort. I did start dieting though mid way through and strength took a huge hit, so I would recommend just eating normal and feeding yourself while you are on it.

I did get a bit depressed though, but it went away. Nothing major and I didn’t want to kill myself, but I was more down than I usually am. Still had high points and good times, but I did notice more depression as the dose went up.

Eventually I just stopped doing it, well before I was supposed to come off and still have like 3-4 months worth at home.

Skin is good to excellent and not one big pimple since I started. I wish I would have done it in high school.
[/quote]

Hah!

Such a long post I was expecting a rebuttal, but, good for you.

Of all the posts I’ve read here, everyone has been on a high dose at some point. This is the problem, IMO. Low dose accutane + research = success with acne.

37

[quote]Bambi wrote:
OP, with respect, your acne is nowhere serious enough to warrant accutane. A milder drug should be fine.[/quote]

That’s what I thought, for, oh 5 years. That’s the same thing people told me.

Until I realized that everyone felt sorry for me, and the reaction was the same everywhere I went, “oh, poor guy - he should get that checked out.”.

Seriously - get your acne under control. People are shameless, judgmental cunts - and getting it treated will be the best thing you ever do.

38

Wow, a lot of bad advice in this thread. I imagine many of these people have never had to deal with bad acne. Listen OP, you need to do what you feel comfortable with, and it would be silly for anyone to tell you there aren’t risks. There totally are. However, if you are seeing a good dermatologist, like I was, they will take the medication VERY seriously and do everything humanly possible to make sure that no harm comes to you.

To answer your question about scarring: you can see that my skin is pretty good. It’s not perfect; I have some scarring near both temples, but it’s not easily visible, especially when I’ve been getting some sun. If it works the way it should, yes, your skin would improve from where it is now after you take Accutane.

A lot of people are telling you to find other options, fix your diet, or just wait a few years. My situation was similar to yours, even though the actual distribution and type of acne I had was different from yours, in some ways. I spent years going to the dermatologist regularly, and never got anything but “some improvement.” I heard everything that has been said in this thread when I was dealing with it… drink lots of water, don’t eat junk food, wait a few years, etc. So I started eating really healthy, I carried a water bottle around with me and drank a TON of water, and I spent the next three years with…bad skin.

Don’t do anything you don’t want to do, but don’t listen to the people who don’t really know what you’re going through either. My acne might have gone away on its own by now, or it might not have, but I would have enjoyed these last three years of college a hell of a lot less if I was constantly worrying about breakouts and bad skin.

39

Thanks a lot eeu743, you’ve been a lot of help and have given a lot of solid advice.

40

haha I don’t always feel comfortable giving advice about lifting or eating, but I consider myself more qualified to talk acne, and Accutane, than the average person. Good luck with it man, I hope you get your skin cleared up, and definitely feel free to keep asking any questions you have, no matter how big or small.