After seven years of fighting acne, I want to go on accutane.

i just went to my family doctor and he sent me to the dermatologist. it was pretty bad, but i was also only around 14, and my doctor then asked me why i waited so long. you should definately go on it considering the amount of time and products youre on. im sure your dr will agree. accutane will suck for the beggining, but it will all be worth it when youre done. the only problem i can see is that you should try and not go on accutane during the summer, as you shouldnt go in the sun much when you are on it, but i guess your doctor will talk to you about that. good luck.

Doesn't matter if the doctor agrees or not. I went on accutane years and years ago for very mild acne (2-3 pimples on the face a week, rarely a couple on the shoulders) that just would not die. I talked to a dermatologist, she was going to overcharge me--I went to my internist, he gave me a baseline blood test and I told him I had no intention of taking a blood test every month and he agreed. Tested me two months in on a 6.5 month cycle, then when again I was done. Get a good chapstick, expect to have some pain on the face but it'll fade. Don't be overly grabby with your face, when you're peeling that'll just make it feel worse. For what it's worth, I still get a 1-4 pimples a month, but they're smaller (to the point of not being noticeable if you are more than 5 feet from my face), they recede faster (2-3 days instead of a week) and if I just hit them with a little BP they're gone in less than a day, or receding without leaving scars. I've considered going back on it for maybe four months, but everyone tells me that I have "great skin" so I guess it's just paranoia.

maybe its different in canada, but i had to get from the doctor.

You have to get a prescription from a doctor, but there are plenty of dermatologists who are going to go "try my x system" or "go through these steps first" to try and milk money from you. Facial peels, endless rounds of antibiotics, stupid gels and creams, laser treatments, whatever. Taking accutane is a serious thing, but if you've made the decision there's no point to beating around the bush. If a doctor won't give you the script after you explain the situation, you find another who will. I went to my internist because my family has known him for years and I knew he'd give me the prescription.

your mileage may very, but many people who have acne as teenagers find that it goes away once they find a sexual partner and begin having sex on a regular basis. it helped me, and a friend told me he had terrible back acne (bacne) until he started getting laid.

yea, i would just ignore this post.wtf?

I'm getting laid regularly anyways, so that's not it.

BTW everyone, if I go to the dermatologist, is he just going to refer me to my doctor?

my doctor referred me to a dermatologist. so i dont think youll have a problem.

if your dermatologist tells you that it is not severe enough, tell him/her that it is severe to you and you want it gone. I am on tetracycline right now, and if this stuff does not do the job, then I am thinking about going on accutane. We are probably in the same boat. My acne is not severe, but it is fucking annoying seeing that shit.

Reading this post finally pushed me over the edge regarding the decision whether to register for SF. I have been lurking for quite a while and couldnt make up my mind.

Just something to consider about Accutane:

I was on this medication when I was in my teens for severe acne. The product certainly helped, but it was not a cure-all. Be aware that before you go on this medication there is the potential
for severe side effects. While I am unsure as to exact numbers, I know a minority of people suffer from serious side effects ranging from dry-ness to severe depression.

I became disturbingly depressed during the period I was on this medication. It came on slowly but reached the point where psychiatric treatment was required. All medical professionals were confused as to the sudden onset of the depression, and after exhausting all options gave up. Wasn't until one day that my mother just happened to notice the drug side effect label on the Accutane that we considered this could be a cause.

Long story short(ened): stopped taking the medication, and within roughly two weeks all symptoms of the depression were gone.

From discussing this problem with others, I have become aware that there is a minority of individuals, though not a small number, who have endured these type of side effects.

Just a friendly warning; be aware that this is a medication and not something to be taken lightly.

Considering there's a massive program between all makers of isotretinoin that requires monthly blood tests and the physician to ask questions about mental well-being in addition to absurd birth control measures for women it's not exactly some hidden secret. You are in the extreme minority, and your experiences shouldn't turn someone off this drug anymore than the experiences of someone who was blinded should turn someone off LASIK. There are risks, and if you think the procedure/drug is worth the risk you do it.

It's still good to be reminded. When I was on Accutane, I was pretty depressed as well. Not acutely, and of course it's hard to say whether it was from the drug(s) or the fact that I looked like utter crap, was in constant pain and couldn't sleep well because of the severity of the acne, the frustration of an ongoing, resistant and obvious disease, or what exactly. It's just something to keep a close eye on because depression can really affect a lot of other parts of your life, not excluding how fast you heal and how effective the acne treatment is, how motivated you are to bother with proper upkeep on yourself, etc. If you do go on it, just make sure your friends and parents etc. know to keep an eye on your mood and behavior and to update your doctor(s) with that info. Get your primary doctor's email so you and your parents/etc can easily contact him/her without waiting on hold forever. (I wouldn't expect responses, but just to keep the doctor apprised.) I will tell you a trick I came up with when I had one ... wound? lesion? whatever you call it, it was nasty, on my chest. It just would not heal and kept sticking to sheets, shirts, and peeling off with bandages no matter what I put on it or what kind of bandages. This thing seriously was there for a couple weeks and making me insane (still have the scar). What I did was to make a standoff ring out of a clean plastic water bottle cap (I cut the top off or poked holes in it or something) and taped that over it so it would keep anything from touching the wound. Be sure to make some way to allow it to breathe. After doing that for a few days along with Neosporin, it healed up enough that I could use a normal bandage on it. I know this is gross information but hopefully it might help someone who is going nuts with a similar situation.

... This is not normal, and does not have anything that I can think of to do with isotretinoin. If you had a wound that would not close it is a significant sign of something very bad. Accutane does not make the healing of wounds take longer. There are a lot of potential "combinations" that can make a drug like this lead to depression. The most obvious one is that your face is peeling, it's red, it's probably painful and if you got to the point of using isotretinoin you probably look like shit and have totally understandable self-confidence issues as a result of having acne for years. The less obvious thing is that you are advised to stay out of the sun, and it can cause a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is tied both to your mood and apparently to muscle and bone pain (isotretinoin already causes joint pain). I've never really seen a specific reason to believe that isotretinoin, the drug, itself is responsible chemically for an increased risk of depression. I think most people that are taking it, and with the side effects of joint pain, worsening skin early on, pain if you sweat or just pain from skin breaking in general, are already susceptible to depression and it adds to it.

It wasn't a wound that would not close, it was just one that kept soaking into bandages and then peeling back open. I wasn't blaming it on Accutane, just throwing a tip out there in case anyone else ran into that situation. Anyway, it's healed now, and I've had a zillion blood tests since then, so I think I'm pretty much fine.