I have gone through just about every acne medicine out there with my doctor, and he said that he wants to put me on accutane. Im kinda of nervous because of all the work that goes with it and the possible liver problems. If anyone is using it, it would be great to get some feed back on the medicine…pros and cons. Any facts would be welcome too!! THANKS!!!!!!
Related posts:
11 Jan
1:04 pm on January 11th, 2010
Unlike most of the people posting…I’ve actually taken it…
First of all, it WORKS. I never realized just how bad my skin was until after it was clear. It’s done wonders for my self-confidence.
Here are the downfalls…there is quite a bit of red tape to get through before you are issued a prescription. It causes severe birth defects if taken during pregnancy, so you have to have two negative pregnancy tests before receiving the prescription. Then you have to choose two forms of approved birth control or pledge abstinence throughout the course of your treatment. Each month, you’ll go in for blood draws where they’ll do a pregnancy test and also test your cholesterol and triglycerides. Then you’ll go to your dermatologist, they’ll approve your account, you go online to answer a couple questions and at that point you are authorized to get your prescription filled for the month.
The side effects are not for the weak…think dry. Dry eyes, dry skin, dry nose, dry lips, dry scalp and hair, dry ears…all of this is easy enough to treat though. It can cause your triglyceride and cholesterol levels to go up…although this sounds kind of scary, it’s closely monitored enough that I never worried about it. After the first month, my cholesterol jumped over 60 points and I was stuck on a low fat, low cholesterol diet for the remainder of my treatment (that was another four months!). I’m not going to lie, it sucked big time…but I was able to get my cholesterol back to a healthy level (improving my long-term eating habits…) and stay on the medication. Despite the problems I had with it, I wouldn’t trade my experience…I think that says a lot.
I know there has been some publicity about Accutane being linked to depression/suicide. I never had any of that and my original dermatologist who is the number three prescriber in MI has never seen that either. Based on the huge number of people who have taken Accutane and the few people who have had reports of depression/suicide, I would amount it to coincidence. Nonetheless, at each monthly appointment, you will be expected to fill out a survey to make sure that you haven’t had any unusual depression symptoms.
For me, my experience was so worth it, I can’t even begin to describe it. As far as my appearance and self-confidence goes, it was more significant an investment than braces. The best thing you can do is talk to your derm a bit more about it and really look into how much you’re willing to put up with for clear skin.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
2:50 pm on January 11th, 2010
Wow, it’s supposed to work wonders. My doctor recommended it to me.
But my mom refuses to let me use it. As much as I want clear skin now, it’s not worth it.
Accutane can kill you. It harms your lungs and your heart, and it can prevent you from having children later on in life. I mean right now, I want clear skin but eventually your face will clear up but it’s a lot harder for your lungs & heart to be fixed.
It’s very bad for you.
I wouldn’t recommend it.
5:49 pm on January 11th, 2010
I haven’t heard of that… But my mom works at a skin care clinic. The cindettes are the best, they worked great for me. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get them all dried up. If you have acne on your chin, creams are sometimes too strong. It can cause skin to rot. Sorry- anyhow if it is like something you drink, that sounds bad! I wouldn’t use that!
8:31 pm on January 11th, 2010
If you are MALE dont even think about it it causes baldness by the time you hit 19!!! if you are a women its ok but hair loss can still affect you really bad
Just use hydrogen peroxide the one you use to treat cuts and wonds trust me i use to have acne for over 5 years it cleared me up in just 4 DAYS!http://www.acne.org/hydrogen-peroxide-re…
8:36 pm on January 11th, 2010
It works wicked. But beware it is very bad for you. It was proven to cause severe birth defects so if someone could be pregnant they can’t take it. It is a harsh drug. You need to carefully consider.
9:46 pm on January 11th, 2010
it can lead to mental health problems, hair loss, pink eye, fragile/weaker skin, nose bleeds, sensitivity to light and many other things.
10:39 pm on January 11th, 2010
I have 2 friends that it worked wonders for, but it is suppose to cause crazy mental problems. Use it as a last resort