Accutane

Originally Posted by Teger

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Accute is for serious cystic acne. If you don't have cystic acne, you don't need accutnate. The diet/skin links are pretty much myths.

I don't know about this. Mine could best be characterized as moderate, but it wouldn't respond at all to the less-extreme treatments. I went to two dermatologists and both recommended Accutane, which I took and do not at all regret.

If you're OK with some possible (not definite) joint/muscle soreness, and ot drinking or spending any time in the sun without sunscreen for six months, and your derm will perscribe it, do it. They'll make you get monthly blood test to monitor side effects, and let you know if anything is awry. It will fix your acne for the next few years I would guess, and possibly for life. And the only thing you will think after six months is "this is ******* awesome". It might cost you a half a year of training at the worst, so it's up to you whether or that's worth the risk.

I had 'severe nodular acne' in high school. I tried a ton of topical products, tried changing my diet, the whole 9 yards.

I took accutane for 5 or 6 months my senior year and have been 99% acne free since. I get the occasional barely noticable whitehead but never the painful kind I experienced in high school.

to echo what has already been said make sure to visit your dermatologist at least once a month for blood draws to be taken, they also will ask a series of questions to help them determine how much you should take.

Obviously with your circumstances there are a lot of things to take into account, find a dermatologist you are comfortable with and really weigh out your options.

The side affects are serious, even fatal IIRC.

If it works with your body chemistry I think it is your best option; but inform yourself, you are the one who has to live with the outcome.

BTW-- if you don't have health insurance you're sorta fucked, its 89-100$ a month with basic HMO insurance, 385-400 without.

In general, if you have scarring, then I believe dermatologists immediately move on to Accutane. It is widely regarded as one of the best drugs in dermatology. There are obviously side effects, which you already know. Someone mentioned joint pain. I don't know much about how common that is with accutane, but it's certainly not the most common side effect (which is dry skin). I also don't understand how that person's dermatologist was making tons of money off of Accutane. Regardless, you should be having this conversation with a dermatologist, not an internet message board. Personally, I went through two cycles of Accutane at different doses. I had very dry skin, and my lips were always cracked. However, it worked wonders for my skin, and I don't have any scarring. I'm glad my dermatologist recommended it. I had tried several topical and oral medications prior to using Accutane.

I went on my first treatment of accutane for 5 months, had perfect skin for about 6 months and started to break out really bad again.(Not as bad) I went for a second treatment of 5 months, and I've been off it for about 6 months and have moderate acne now. There's no bumps or whiteheads, just red marks. I guess they're accentuated by my extremely pale skin though.

Originally Posted by ghettogoody

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I took accutane for about 4 months when I was 17 (I'm now 21). My skin was probably worse than yours (from the sound of it) and I had a lot of cystic acne on my cheeks with white heads and blackheads on forehead and chin. I experienced all of the usual side effects, dry skin, etc. all of which were far outweighed by the fact that after about 2 months I had completely clear skin and stopped getting eruptions altogether. Unfortunately, during the period I was taking the drug, I experienced severe knee pain akin to arthritis. Because I had been under treatment for patellar tendonitis at the time I began treatment, my dermatologist was reluctant to stop treatment or to acknowledge that my condition was a side effect of the drug (that and the fact that she was making a ton of money off the expensive accutane regimen).

Given that you are athletic and looking to do a triathlon, I would consider the possibility that you will experience severe joint pain if you take accutane (this is one of the listed side effects). I was a 3 season track athlete and was forced to stop participating until I got off the drug and my knee pain went away.

Once I was off the drug, the pain went away quickly and the other side effects dissipated over a few months. Basically, accutane was (and has been) the only effective treatment for acne. The dryness etc. is totally worth it for clear skin in my opinion but the effects on the rest of my body were not. PM me if you have any other questions, though suffice it to say I have very mixed feelings about this effective but powerful option.

You had knee pain as well? Damn, I finished up a 6 month course 2 months ago and my knees are *still* killing me. Although, they hurt before I started, but the docs couldn't find anything wrong with 'em. Go figure.

Oh, and accutane works.

Originally Posted by robbie

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I had 'severe nodular acne' in high school. I tried a ton of topical products, tried changing my diet, the whole 9 yards.

I took accutane for 5 or 6 months my senior year and have been 99% acne free since. I get the occasional barely noticable whitehead but never the painful kind I experienced in high school.

to echo what has already been said make sure to visit your dermatologist at least once a month for blood draws to be taken, they also will ask a series of questions to help them determine how much you should take.

Obviously with your circumstances there are a lot of things to take into account, find a dermatologist you are comfortable with and really weigh out your options.

The side affects are serious, even fatal IIRC.

If it works with your body chemistry I think it is your best option; but inform yourself, you are the one who has to live with the outcome.

BTW-- if you don't have health insurance you're sorta fucked, its 89-100$ a month with basic HMO insurance, 385-400 without.

With my insurance it was 10 bucks a month + 20 doctor copay.

I was taking Sotret, maybe that's why. (Another version of accutane, same thing)

Per Teger: "The diet/skin links are pretty much myths." is a myth. If one does their homework most truths become available. The author of the book mentioned did. The OP must weigh cost and benefit; the cost of living without a food staple dear to him vs. the benefit of clearer skin. I hope he finds a solution he deems agreeable. May the members of styleforum have an eventful '09.

R.B.

Oh, accutane. Accutane, accutane, accutane.

I took accutane in my mid-late teens (I think I was 17 at the time). I started off on one capsule per day, on the doctor's orders. I had enough capsules to last me a year or something, at which point it was all supposed to be over. My skin dried out, and I had to moisturise heavily a couple of times a day to stop the skin of my face from peeling.

Cleverly, my doctor and I decided to up my dosage to three capsules per day. The reasoning was that it would be over quicker, and I could then lead a normal, acne-free existence. I tell you, it was not a good idea. The moisturising increased, and peeling (and flaking) occured anyway, on my hands and face especially. My lips I kept under control by using some sort of semi-solid baby stuff. That wasn't the worst though. Oh no. The worst was that, I'm not sure what you call it, but you know the skin that goes over the side of your nails, connectin them to your fingers? Okay, that started to crack and bleed, but underneath the curvature of the skin, so I couldn't fix it. And it would ooze blood, and then scab. I am not talking little scabs. I am talking about scabs that would take up half the space of my fingernails. And they hurt.

I used to play a lot of tennis at the time, and they would get ripped off when I hit a ball, and then get *****, and then rescab.

Oh god, it was horrible. I used to wear bandaids on my fingers (it would always be my ring- and middle-fingers that were affected). I remember one time with my then-girlfriend, I was doing my business with her and I lost the bandaid. If you catch my drift. You have no idea how difficult it was to get back.

Oh god, terrible.

But on the bright side, when it was all over, it was all over. I quickly returned to normal, and my acne (though it didn't stop completely) was greatly, greatly reduced.

Oh yes, be prepared to turn into a cheap drunk. I used to be able to drink a bottle or two of vodka, but was reduced to something of a two-can sam following my accutane experience. It lasted for some time.

bumping this thread as I'm looking to get a prescription for accutane.

I'm 21 and had SEVERE acne in highschool, then it went away for the most part. Just had the occasional acne here and there, but nothing too bad.

Then the moment college started this semester, I've been having moderate acne. It's really ******* annoying and I really want to cut the nonsense topical treatments/anti-bacterials that derms want to prescribe first and go straight to accutane.

How hard is it to get a scrip for it? And WTF is the wait time for dermatologists over a month (boston)? WTF.

I understand that everyone reacts differently to the drug -- some are lucky and only get dry skin, whereas others, such as the above poster, get terrible dry skin and bleeding -- so I'm not going to ask "what to expect."

Originally Posted by GreenFrog

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bumping this thread as I'm looking to get a prescription for accutane. I'm 21 and had SEVERE acne in highschool, then it went away for the most part. Just had the occasional acne here and there, but nothing too bad. Then the moment college started this semester, I've been having moderate acne. It's really ******* annoying and I really want to cut the nonsense topical treatments/anti-bacterials that derms want to prescribe first and go straight to accutane. How hard is it to get a scrip for it? And WTF is the wait time for dermatologists over a month (boston)? WTF. I understand that everyone reacts differently to the drug -- some are lucky and only get dry skin, whereas others, such as the above poster, get terrible dry skin and bleeding -- so I'm not going to ask "what to expect."
Its depends on the dermatologist. Mine prescribed it to me when I asked but I had seen her one or two times before I asked her for Accutane. The only annoying side effect I got was the intense dry lips. Slap some petroleum gel on your lips and carry around a tube of chapstick. Sadly my results lasted for two years and I got some moderate acne again so I decided to order myself some low dose accutane from an online source and took a pill three times a week for some maintenance. I was taking 60 mg a day or 420 mg a week when I was on prescription whereas I am now on 60 mg a week. Have stayed clear for a good period and plan to cut the dosage when I run out of my current supply.

Originally Posted by bwonger06

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Its depends on the dermatologist. Mine prescribed it to me when I asked but I had seen her one or two times before I asked her for Accutane.

The only annoying side effect I got was the intense dry lips. Slap some petroleum gel on your lips and carry around a tube of chapstick.

Sadly my results lasted for two years and I got some moderate acne again so I decided to order myself some low dose accutane from an online source and took a pill three times a week for some maintenance. I was taking 60 mg a day or 420 mg a week when I was on prescription whereas I am now on 60 mg a week. Have stayed clear for a good period and plan to cut the dosage when I run out of my current supply.

Thanks for the reply.

You ordered from an online source -- presumably without a prescription? How can you tell if the product you get is legit or not?

I was on Accutane for six months when I was 25. If I remember correctly, by law, your derm must first try two other types of treatment before he/she is allowed to prescribe Accutane.

It's taxing on your liver, so they'll test that before, during, and when you get off Accutane. So yeah.. no drinking.

If you're a chick, I think they put you on all sorts of birth control because Accutane will cause MAJOR birth defects. I think you even have to sign something basically stating you'd have an abortion.. ???

The only side effect I had was some pretty serious nose bleeds. I swabbed my nose with Acquifer (whatever it's called) every day and that pretty much ended the nose bleeds.

Accutane shuts down a certain type of oil gland permanetly. I had some cystic acne on my back and it totally dried it up. No problems since.

Originally Posted by dissapointedengineer

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I was on Accutane for six months when I was 25. If I remember correctly, by law, your derm must first try two other types of treatment before he/she is allowed to prescribe Accutane.

It's taxing on your liver, so they'll test that before, during, and when you get off Accutane. So yeah.. no drinking.

If you're a chick, I think they put you on all sorts of birth control because Accutane will cause MAJOR birth defects. I think you even have to sign something basically stating you'd have an abortion.. ???

The only side effect I had was some pretty serious nose bleeds. I swabbed my nose with Acquifer (whatever it's called) every day and that pretty much ended the nose bleeds.

Accutane shuts down a certain type of oil gland permanetly. I had some cystic acne on my back and it totally dried it up. No problems since.

Well, as a college student, my weekends consist of heavy drinking. I'd have to cut out alcohol COMPLETELY? I'd rather drink a lot and get drunk or nothing at all.

No case of acne in human history has been caused by an Accutane deficiency. Using it to "cure" acne is laughable. Acne is a symptom in 100% of cases - every type of acne has a true underlying cause. You're not "curing" anything; it is mere symptom suppression. If your body is producing excess oil, you don't take a drug to suppress oil production. You give the body what it is asking for when it creates the SYMPTOM of abnormally high oil production. If the skin is dry, that too is the body alerting you that it needs nutrients to function properly.

Based on the cause, you could be covering up a much more important problem. Drugging your symptoms away is like quieting a crying baby by throwing a haymaker to its chin.

The fact that drugs like these are pushed onto kids who don't know any better perfectly frames the impersonal, haphazard, and unhealthy tactics of money-hungry pharm companies.