Roaccutane: I Hope It's Worth It. - Australia, AU

Happy New Year! Glad to hear you're doing well! I understand the struggles with acne - I had cystic from the age of 18 - mid 30's. I have cleared my problem up but my scars remain. Do you have an updated photo you can share? Also (and sorry if i've missed this) have you gone over your diet to see if there are any trigger foods?

Awesome to hear things have started to work out for you. Has your derma finally raised your dose? Tane will never keep you %100 clear. You have to remember, its shrinking your glands, not killing them off. I have been off Tane for about a year and a half to 2 years now. My acne was mostly backne. I still break out back there once in a while but its nothing like what it was before Tane. I used to get many quarter sized cysts that made it painful to just sit sometimes cause the back of the chair would put pressure on them. After tane, I get the odd pimple or blackhead that usually heals very quickly, but nothing more. As another poster mentioned, looking for triggers may also help. I found sitting in my polyester ultra soft robe all day or polyester shirts would result in a break out. After switching to %100 cotton robe, t-shirts and bed sheets, my breakouts are almost nil. I also tend to break out more in the winter then the summer. I think its because I get a lot more sun exposure on my back in the summer Vs the winter. If you have any cysts left at this point or any more pop up, I would contact your derma or any cosmetic place that offers cortisone shots. There usually pretty cheap. ($5 or $10) a session. They inject cortisone into the cyst and within 48 hours, its completely healed and no scars.

I totally agree with the person that stated to increase water consumption. Not only that, make sure that water is "clean" water. My guess is that you are and have been dealing with a "toxic liver" even prior to treatment. By not eating a clean (and often times raw diet) wrecks havoc on a person's skin. You are what you eat and what is going in comes out through the skin. Have you tried dry heat infrared saunas or red light (non invasive) therapy? This along with cleaning up the diet and detoxing the liver has helped my clients achieve clear skin.

HELP! I have always suffered from bad skin form the age of 13 (now 22)I have been suffering from severe cystic acne for 1 year now (I believe it was all bought on by a lot of stress over time) this covers my face, neck, arms, shoulders and back. I started Accutane 17 weeks ago. My face has cleared up a lot but has left red marks which I can deal with for now. but my main concern is my back, it got worse at week 2 of the medication and had continued to get worse. I have suffered from nearly every side effect that you’ve ever read! These past three months have been the longest, worst time of my life. I have lost all motivation, confidence and self-esteem. I’ve spend hundreds of dollars on a new wardrobe to cover myself up and constantly feel like I ned to check my dry skin. I haven’t worn my hair up in 10 months now as it covers my neck. No ointments, creams or vitamins have ever helped me. My derm put me on antibiotics for 4 courses to give the Accutane a kick in-this did nothing except give me typical horrible side effects of antibiotics. I take 2 tablets or Accutane 3 times a week. If I up my dosage any more I get nausea, vomiting, back pain to the point I can’t walk or move, always tired, eye sight is effected…its horrible. I suffer from anxiety as a result of Accutane and am constantly stressed as each day I wonder when this will all be over! Will this ever clear up being on such a low dosage or do I need to up my dosage and put up with the side effects? I was so excited to be starting this drug as I thought my life would be looking up… so far I am nothing but disappointed, sick, tired and tipping over edge. I am well and truly over this and would love to feel normal again! Can anyone help? Any tips, home remedies? Lotions? Thankyou!!

I am very surprised by the lack of results by on the same side.. not surprised as well if that makes any sense. I think the biggest factor against you right now is the low dose your taking. I understand 40mg's is a good starter month. But given the severity of your acne, your derma should have really upped your dose to 80 or even 120 by month 2 unless he was worried you were not dealing with the side effects well. Accutane works best in short time but high dose VS long time and low dose. Now here comes the worst part : ( Your body ie: your liver, can only take so much Tane. If you decide to do another round, and I would... but with a different derma, then your going to have to wait at least 6 months between treatments because you liver needs time to heal. Next time you see your derma, I would really question him/her as to why they choose to keep you at such a low dose cause its only stalling your treatment. Tane can effectively treat %90 of all cases and of the %10 left over, a second treatment can treat those %5. I really doubt your in the %5 category the drug failed for but you'll never know if your derma keeps messing around with by not giving you a more aggressive dose to treat it. Forget the face creams. The wont work unless you shrink your sebaceous glands and force the active acne to the surface to heal as the creams can only go so deep. Dont loss hope! I dont think this is you or the drugs that's causing this delay, I blame your derma. If this treatment ends and your not happy with the results, dont give up. Let your liver heal and start another round. lol.. and dont worry, when your done Tane, everything goes back to normal. I took about 3 weeks of being off the drug before I could feel my lips again and they stopped cracking. It took about 2 months before all the redness went away.

I hope it gets better for you!

I have been on isotretinoin for 2 months now. There has been a marked improvement in my skin condition. Please don't use oil based moisturizers or makeup. This will ususally compound the problem and limit the effectiveness of the medication. I also highly recommend the Sebamed foaming face wash and clear face gel. Their products are brilliant for acne prone/sensitive skin. I hope you skin starts getting better soon. Best of luck.