Generic Name: Accutane for Acne (isotretinoin)
Accutane for Acne Reviews
"I've been taking isotretinoin for about 6 weeks now. I'm still in the 'it gets worse before it gets better' stage, but wow, my dark spots are slowly fading and I can't believe it. I've battled acne for 6 years, 6!!! So you can imagine how bad my dark spots are from the acne. I just want to trust the process. If you are in this stage as well and feel like giving up, DON'T. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER!!!"
"This drug is poison. Please care for yourself. Accutane ruined my life. I took 80 mg of Accutane for 9 months at 18 years old. I had cystic acne on my back and face. I tried birth control, antibiotics, and topical creams. So my dermatologist recommended this. Side effects: dry skin all over, chapped lips, eczema, brittle nails. Vision problems, waking up in the morning with my eyes sealed shut with pus, and dry eyes. Lips were a huge scab. Normal and monthly checkups/blood tests. I had dime-sized blisters on my body from a sunburn. Six months: body aches that made it difficult to sleep, poor digestion, hemorrhoids, bloody stools, and sad. Months 7-9: my hair fell out! I lost 80% of my hair, in pain and depressed. Nine months: finished treatment, I was 'cured' of my acne. I was bald, poor vision, and in pain mentally and physically. Three months later, my acne came back worse. My dermatologist said to do round 2 of Accutane, and I told her never to recommend it to anyone. It is so toxic for your body. Please do not take this drug."
"I was depressed by my acne but was hesitant to try Accutane because I feared the side effects. After months of researching reviews and testimonies, I finally decided to try it. I never write reviews, but I want to share my story because Accutane worked for me. It changed my life and self-esteem. I experienced very little side effects while taking it. My acne did get worse before it got better, but I've been off Accutane for almost two years and my skin has stayed clear. I had hoped to come across a review like this while I was researching the drug, and I hope this is reassuring to people who need it."
"I promised myself that if this worked, then I would write a review to hopefully help other patients out who are hesitant about taking Accutane. I have been taking Accutane (40 mg/day) for 4 months now. I am 5'5 and 138 pounds. I can say that Accutane works better than any other acne medication (the other medication I tried was Spiro, which helped my face acne by like 75% but did nothing for my back/chest acne). I have tried, and I had minimal side effects (dry skin, some fatigue, increased sun sensitivity, dry lips, dry eyes), but that is all. It was all worth it though. It not only got rid of my cystic acne but also got rid of my closed comedones and the sebaceous filaments on my nose. My ONLY regret is not taking this sooner. If you have pitted scarring or your skin scars easily, please take this. I have nothing but positive things to say about Accutane."
"I have had acne since I was a teen. I am now 37. I have tried minocycline, expensive acne products, etc. Nothing ever worked. In your thirties with acne is pretty embarrassing. Also, I'd cover it up with makeup and then that looks worse! I went to a dermatologist, and she recommended Accutane. I AM SO THANKFUL!!! My skin has never been clearer! I get compliments all the time from people who have known me. No side effects here :)"
"Honestly, I came into this drug thinking it would be really awful, but it has been easy. My acne was never severe in the first place, but I did have stubborn pimples. I'm on month 3 and my lips aren't chapped at all (thank goodness), and my skin isn't dry either. The only side effect is back pain, which is tolerable! The second I start to feel the Aquaphor on my lips go away, I apply it again (which is why my lips aren't dry, they don't get a chance to get dry). If you're thinking about taking this, DO IT. It's not as bad as people make it seem to be."
"I took this poison for 6 months, and it completely ruined my hair for life. It changed my hair texture. I have thinning hair, and it won’t grow long anymore. I have an itchy sensation on my scalp due to hair loss, and it torments me every day. I can’t even look at myself in the mirror anymore, trust me, I’d rather have acne than lose my hair. Now it’s made me more insecure. You're rolling the dice because not everyone gets these side effects. If only I would have known this medication could potentially cause balding, I would never have taken it."
"I went on Accutane 25 years ago for mild acne. As a young woman, you do not want to be worried about pimples on your face. I went on the standard dose - 40mg a day. I had mild dry lips - buy Elizabeth Arden's 8-hour lip cream, it's great. My skin afterwards was amazing, and I did not have a pimple for 20 years afterwards. Just people raving about how perfect my skin was. I'm now 46 and in excellent health, so for me there are no long-term effects at all. Don't believe the horror stories on the Internet by people with an ax to grind. Accutane is the only drug that works for acne, and for many people, it is a permanent cure. I recommended it to a work colleague with severe cystic acne - now she has perfect skin too, and it's changed her life."
"I just wanted to come on here and let anyone that was thinking about taking this terrible prescription know what happened to my mother. She took it for 4-6 months in 2007-2008, and it devastated her body. Before, she was a healthy woman, after she fought skin lesions, sores, severe arthritis, carpal tunnel, severe stomach issues, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. She had seen lots of doctors, and most told her it was all in her head or something of the sorts. After 12 years of battling severe pain, mentally and physically, she took her own life a week ago. It may not happen to everyone, but I just wanted to let everyone know what the possibility was."
"If you are googling Accutane and reading this, please be open-minded about the medication. My biggest problem was I googled everything before taking it and had my funeral planned. For me, Accutane has been a life changer! I’ve had none of the side effects or anything I read or heard was even true. I didn’t break out more, never got depressed, bones didn’t hurt - none of the above! Only clear skin and some dry lips at times. I took 60mg daily for 4 months. I’m 5 foot, 105 lbs... they base it off weight. My dermatologist had me try everything under the sun, and nothing worked but this. She swore by it and told me 1% of people get all those gnarly side effects and to try it, and worse case scenario, you stop taking it and we explore other options. I’m telling you, try it! Be open-minded and grateful that there is something out there for us pimple oil heads."
"I took this 20 years ago for awful acne that I had fought from nearly 13 to 20 years old. I was terrified to take it, but I had tried every option. It cleared me up completely. I had minimal side effects and MUCH higher self esteem finally. I finally felt attractive and I honestly think, had I taken it sooner, my life would be different in some ways. My son is now taking it for the awful, cystic acne I've passed down to him! The dryness bothers him some, and at 2 months in he's not seeing the difference he wants, but I'm telling him to push through."
"When I was 17, I began to develop bad acne. My face (mainly around my mouth) developed cystic pimples. My self-esteem dropped and I became depressed and anti-social. I tried all sorts of creams, gels, antibiotics, and spironolactone. Nothing worked permanently. I finally decided to try Accutane. I AM SO GLAD I DID! I experienced zero side effects and within 2 months my skin was completely clear. Every month my skin became clearer. A year and a half after finishing Accutane, my skin is still clear. My self-esteem is 10000x better than before, and I no longer am afraid to look people in the eye or leave the house without pounds of makeup on. I was on Accutane for 6 months and experienced zero depression."
"I find that Accutane is one of the most life-changing experiences. Started to notice a huge difference in my skin on month 2. Treatment is very harsh with many side effects. Dry and thin skin, breakouts now and then, very dry eyes. I tried all types of Blistex lip balms, which did not help. Baseline Blue Seal works wonders on the lips and even on dry areas of the skin. I apply sunscreen every day with Nutraderm lotion to hydrate my skin. I also find that it really helps to have at least 3 liters of water every day. I'm currently in the middle of month 3 of treatment, and the past few weeks have been the hardest. Skin and lips are drier than ever, and there is a loss of hair. Some days depression kicks in, so it is important to keep your loved ones around you just to have some positivity. This treatment is quite costly, but it is all worth it in the end. A few months of side effects and paying the price for lifelong great skin and confidence."
"There is no doubt this drug Accutane works initially, but the long-term side effects and long-term success are definitely questionable. I took Accutane for 6 months, and yes, it cleared my skin completely, but at what cost? My skin was pink/red, dry, and extremely sensitive to sunlight. 12 months after I came off Accutane, my acne returned exactly as it was before. Not only that, but I now suffer from rosacea, I cannot tan, especially on my face, I have a red face all the time, and I blush when drinking. I never had severe acne and honestly wish I had never taken this medication, as the side effects are worse than the initial acne. Give it some serious thought, and please only take if you have severe acne."
"I tried literally everything from the 'best' off-the-shelf products to the long line of prescription medications that my dermatologist put me on. I finally got put on Accutane after 5 years of severe cystic acne. I am currently in my second month of use and without any acne. My acne scars remain intact, however, there is not a single active zit on my face. I am very excited and would recommend that anyone with cystic acne look into it. If you're on here looking at these reviews because you're scared or unsure if it will treat your acne, I'm telling you it will! 100%"
"I was on Accutane for 6 months at 80 mg/day. I finished about 8 months ago, and my skin is still very clear. The 'it gets worse before it gets better' line is very true. My skin was bad for the first three months I was on Accutane but then slowly improved the last three months. My worst side effects were lower back pain, dry skin, and dry eyes. These side effects went away after I finished. I highly recommend taking Accutane. Although it is hard having your skin be bad for a couple of months straight, it is definitely worth it. One thing they don't really tell you about is the blood work and pregnancy test you have to do once a month before getting your new packet for that month. This was kind of annoying, but if everything checks out in the first couple of months, you don't have to keep doing it."
"I had to take two courses, genuinely think this drug saved my life. I had beyond severe, painful, bulging, cystic acne everywhere that nothing worked for while in high school. I had to wear undershirts because I would bleed through my shirts. I had to quit sports because any contact would cause bleeding, not to mention pain. I was essentially bullied out of high school due to the severity of my skin. I literally, to this day, have never seen anyone with as bad of acne as I had. It completely cleared up my skin after the first course. After a few months, it did come back, pretty harshly by most people’s standards, but literally nothing in comparison to what it was. I took another course, and I have clear skin to this day, 6 years later with minimal scarring. The only side effect I had was dry everything - skin, eyes, nose, lips. People say it causes depression, I think having severe acne is much more likely to cause depression than Accutane."
"If you're debating whether to take this medication or not, please do it! You will not regret it. I suffered from cystic acne, and my dermatologist recommended this drug to me. I read reviews on it, and there were so many bad reviews and so many negative things about Accutane, but I promise you it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Although everyone's experience on Accutane is different, mine was very good. By the first month, I saw a change. Some of the side effects that I experienced were sore muscles in the first month. Another side effect was dryness, OMG when I tell you my skin was dry! The products I used were Cetaphil as a gentle wash and CeraVe as a moisturizer, and that's it. Do not use anything more than that, your skin is so fragile and sensitive while on Accutane. My holy grail item was CARMEX for my lips. Finally, I just want to say that regardless of the side effects on Accutane, it was worth it, I promise you! If you have cystic acne and want to get rid of it, please take this!"
"I took Accutane in the early 1980s after years of unsuccessful treatment by dermatologists. I was given every antibiotic available, had ultraviolet light treatment, dry ice treatments, liquid nitrogen treatments, and then finally X-ray treatments. None of these worked. Accutane cleared my skin quickly, and I haven't had a problem in almost 25 years. I had no serious side effects."
"Today is my 11th day on Accutane, and I have already seen some major results. I had a small breakout the first couple of days, but now it has gotten so much better. I'm so happy because I finally have hope that my acne will go away. Because I don't even go out with friends anymore, and everyone at school makes fun of my acne. Yes, it's severe, and I'm glad this is working. Side effects I have are dry lips and a little bit of back pain, not much though. At school, I am so ashamed of my face, I try to hide it. All those who have severe acne, you are not alone, I understand how you feel."
"I used it over a year ago. All I really have to say is that it changed my life, truthfully. I'm 25 years old and I had gotten bad cysts on my jawline and almost everywhere really. Nothing worked, so finally I tried it. All the crap you hear about dry skin and lips doesn't come close to how good you feel while your skin gets better. I only did a 6-month trial, and it's been over a year since I stopped, and I haven't had one cyst, pimple, or anything since. The same goes for my back, I had very mild acne there, and that has stopped as well. So if anybody is worried to take it, don't be. It really works, and it's so worth it."
"I am on a 10 mg Oratane dose, one pill a day. I had very oily skin, mild pimples that would break out every third week, and lots of blackheads, which are gone and skin no longer oily. I am happy with the results so far in my second month now. The negative part about taking the meds is the side effects: sore joints, dry eyes and nose, very thin skin, and the worst, it has to be my lips, chapped, red, dry, and extremely sore. I even thought of quitting the meds."
"I'm on my fourth month of Accutane and can honestly say this has changed my life. Four months ago, my confidence was literally non-existent. I couldn't look people in the eye, I hid away from everyone even my family as much as I could, I hated going out in public. My acne wasn't severe or cystic but when you have pimples on your face, you feel like that's all people are looking at. After reading so many scary things about this medicine I was really hesitant about going on it. But I couldn't be happier that I did. I've experienced only dry lips, skin and eyes which is pretty easy to control with a good moisturizer. I sometimes (rarely) experience minor back pain. But it's so worth it, everything is worth it. I finally have my life back!"
"I was (was feels so good) suffering havoc of acne from my 8th grade. Continued till my 12th grade, successfully destroyed my whole teen life. I took hundreds of antibiotics, Proactiv, facial packs. All failed completely. Acne actually changed my personality, my image, and whole life. After visiting many dermatologists, the last (yes last) of them prescribed me Accutane. At first, I didn't take it very seriously, but after 1 month, my persistent acne started disappearing. All thanks to Accutane, it put a full stop to my acne problem. I'm still recovering from all the psychological disaster played by acne in my life. But today I'm completely acne-free and confident that it will never come back. ONE last advice, don't think, just go for it!"
"I took Accutane at age 40, and I regret not taking it sooner. My skin and lips did not become overly dry. I did have blood work done every month and signed paperwork saying I would use birth control. This medication changed my life. My face cleared up almost immediately. No more embarrassing cystic acne that kept me from enjoying my life. I had read horror stories but spoke to several people who had success with this drug. For me, it was worth the risk. I tried creams, lotions, potions, multiple antibiotics, and nothing worked."
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