Mom in Her 40's Starting Accutane.

I have been done with Accutane for 3 weeks now. So far, so good. I no longer need to put Aquafor on my lips every 10 minutes, which is so nice. My face and scalp don't seem to be producing any oil yet. I definitely don't have any signs of pimples. So awesome! I still have very stiff joints which I only notice when staying in certain positions for long periods of time. Hopefully that will subside. I lighten my hair so it's already damaged. Without any natural oils from my scalp, my hair is so dry, brittle and broken off everywhere. My only regret is that I didn't use deep moisturizer more frequently and take better care of my hair. At least it grows back :-). Based on my experience with Accutane, I would say go for it.

I just completed a 5 month course of Accutane (60mg/day). I have to say, the few side effects I had were totally worth it. I literally have not had one pimple since starting Accutane. No initial breakout whatsoever. The dry lips started immediately and never stopped but as long as I carried chapstick or Aquafor, it was manageable and not that big of a problem. The 2 other side effects I had were sore joints and my hair being extremely dry and brittle. Around the end of month 2, my knee, ankle and elbow joints began to feel extremely stiff and sore in the morning and after remaining in one position for too long. I felt like I was at least twice my age getting out of bed in the morning or up off the floor. Most of the time, once I was up and moving, it went away. I did take ibuprofen in the morning sometimes but not very often. My doctor said the stiff joints would start feeling better a month or so after completing my course of Accutane. I figured that having sore joints for a few months was worth getting rid of the acne. Due to the lack of oil production on my face and scalp, my hair became extremely dry and brittle. I lighten my hair, so it's already a little damaged but it got way worse. My hair is also somewhat long. I can see breakage all throughout my hair, up to my scalp. I tried to wash my hair as little as possible, which for me is twice a week. I also used tons of conditioner and often put coconut oil and jojoba oil throughout my hair but it's still very dry. I am upping my conditioning and refraining from drying and straightening it. My hair will grow back healthy again, so it's worth it. For skin care, I used Cetaphil face wash and lotion as well as putting coconut oil and grape seed oil all over my face. It would just soak right in. It sounds crazy to put oil all over your face, but it works. My skin looked healthy and needed the hydration. I religiously put sunscreen on my face and neck every morning and throughout the day. I thought taking Accutane in the summer would be terrible but it was fine. It was actually better for my skin because it forced me to stay out of the sun. My course ended 5 days ago and my lips are still dry, joints still sore and no natural oil production yet which is all normal. I will update when I notice symptoms subside. I thought taking Accutane would be much worse. I have to say, it wasn't a big deal at all for me. I know others have had a very hard time with it so I feel very lucky. Hopefully, the acne is gone for good!

It has been awhile since I have updated my progress while on Accutane. I have to say I am definitely pleased with Accutane thus far. I have very few side effects. My skin is dry but the flakiness has subsided. My hair is very dry as there is no oil production on my scalp either. I literally smear coconut oil all over my face and put some in my hair. Same with jojoba oil. It all just soaks in. I haven't had one pimple since I started taking Accutane. The skin on my neck and back is super soft. I do notice that I have joint pain. It's not terrible but enough to be annoying some days. My joints are also very stiff. Advil or Aleve takes care of it right away. My doctor says the pain and stiffness will go away not too long after stopping Accuatne. It has all been worth it so far :-).