Anyone Taken Accutane?

[brazeneye]

My breakouts are becoming consistant, and I have to wear makeup everyday. I am seriously considering Accutane as an option, as I've already tried a variety of antibiotics.

Anyone else try it and have some insight?

 

[goandykid]

I did my freshman year of HS. I had pretty bad acne, and took it for several months. Works wonders and lasts for a very very long time even after you stop taking it. It's hard on your liver and dries your skins out like no other, but deff effective. It's one of the more serious acne medicines, make sure you can't jsut use Pro-active or something before you try it. Also, don't drink on it and use lots of chapstick and moisturizer.

 

[Arnold]

my wife did the Accutane treatment a few years ago, however she did not have "acne" per se, she would just breakout and did not like it. I don't think it worked very well for her because her breakouts were/are primarily from hormones, i.e. around that time of the month.

 

[bigss75]

I wouldn't go straight to accutane, I used RETIN-A MICRO and it helped alot. The bad thing is that your skin gets worse the first two weeks but clears up really nice

 

[brazeneye]

If tried a variety or antibiotics and hormone-medications, and nothing has worked yet. It's becoming my only and last option. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow.

 

[hardasnails1973]

Try vitamin B-5 at 1500 mgs a day with 30 -40 mgs zinc. Search on internet zinc and acne and you will get plenty of hits. taking accutane will destroy good bacteria in your gut and even end up causing more problems then just liver damage as well as it can alter birthcontrol and make it useless. Just to add another wonderful not it may not be a bad If you are off antibiotics to consume some probiotics to help replenish the bacteria that was destroyed by all the antibiotic treatment. Other wise you are putting your self in a dangerous situaiton where you could develop yeast and bacteria overgrowth in gut and that is not a pleasant thing to deal with. Just wanting people not to make same mistakes as I did. Some thing else just popped in my head. If you are eating something you are allergic too that could possible be why medicines may not working as well. Hidden food allergies are a big thing that go undiagnosed. So your dr may want to do a comprehensive food allergie test to se if some thing you are eating could be triggering a reaction. Acnes is actually a nice way of body trying to tell you that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. When ever there is a problem internally the first place to show up is on the skin and then liver would be the burden. Point blank there is a stressor that is affecting your body and needs to be delt with whether its emotional, biochemical, allergies, enviormantallly or what.

this reference are not scientific, but i will see if I can find any clinical data.

http://www.acne-resource.org/acne-articles/nutrient-intake.html
http://www.acne-resource.org/understanding-acne/treatment-b5.html

 

[brazeneye]

Try vitamin B-5 at 1500 mgs a day with 30 -40 mgs zinc. Search on internet zinc and acne and you will get plenty of hits. taking accutane will destroy good bacteria in your gut and even end up causing more problems then just liver damage as well as it can alter birthcontrol and make it useless. Just to add another wonderful not it may not be a bad If you are off antibiotics to consume some probiotics to help replenish the bacteria that was destroyed by all the antibiotic treatment. Other wise you are putting your self in a dangerous situaiton where you could develop yeast and bacteria overgrowth in gut and that is not a pleasant thing to deal with. Just wanting people not to make same mistakes as I did. Some thing else just popped in my head. If you are eating something you are allergic too that could possible be why medicines may not working as well. Hidden food allergies are a big thing that go undiagnosed. So your dr may want to do a comprehensive food allergie test to se if some thing you are eating could be triggering a reaction. Acnes is actually a nice way of body trying to tell you that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. When ever there is a problem internally the first place to show up is on the skin and then liver would be the burden. Point blank there is a stressor that is affecting your body and needs to be delt with whether its emotional, biochemical, allergies, enviormantallly or what.

this reference are not scientific, but i will see if I can find any clinical data.

http://www.acne-resource.org/acne-articles/nutrient-intake.html
http://www.acne-resource.org/understanding-acne/treatment-b5.html

I had taken an allergy test a couple years ago, and I have no known allergies (other than blueberries and white potatoes) that would cause any significant harm to me, or are even on the 'radar' to my body.

 

[hardasnails1973]

I had taken an allergy test a couple years ago, and I have no known allergies (other than blueberries and white potatoes) that would cause any significant harm to me, or are even on the 'radar' to my body.

Your body can develop different allergies to differnt things as one gets older
(sign). More so look at your lifestyle and if you can try to avoid potential situations and beleive it or not just taking 30 minutes to your self before bed or going for brisk walk can work wonders. Read the belly breathing and sleep recovery post by trouble just the simpliest things can make the largest impact in ones health.

 

[BigPapaPump68]

Getting on accutane for women is serious and a very long process now, that is if you do use the dermatologist instead of a research site.

 

[brazeneye]

I am really hoping there maybe something else out there that can 'fix' me, cause I am reading that a lot of people have permanment eye damage from it's usage.

 

[depaul]

I took accutane in high school, freshman year I think. My breakouts were bad and I didn't want to go on long term antibiotics. I consider myself lucky as I never had any of the blood tests done (oops!) for the 6 months that I was on it, but my liver has survived intact anyway.

Getting on accutane for women is serious and a very long process now

Yes it is, for good reason - accutane interferes with retinoic acid mediated anterior-posterior patterning during development. Despite the doctors' warnings, and the fact that each pill has a "no pregnant woman" sign on the container's backing (think the no smoking symbol, but with a pregnant women instead ) there were still maybe 20-100 women a year (don't know the exact stat) who were getting pregnant while they were on accutane, and having hideously deformed babies. So now I'm pretty sure that it's a rule in the medical community that women who take accutane must also be on birth control, regardless of whether they claim to be abstaining or what.

So that's another consideration for you. Like most things in medicine, there is risk involved in taking accutane. However it cleared up my skin very well. The acne came back after a couple of years, but much milder, and I was able to control it with a topical antibiotic (Benzaclin) to my satisfaction - topical antibiotics don't mess with your system like oral antibiotics do.

Now I'm not even using the Benzaclin, just eating clean and washing up Call it pychosomatic, but I swear that eating sugar makes my face break out...I know that technically that shouldn't be true, but it sure seemed that way...in fact, that first got me pointed in the direction of eating healthy...

anyway, I digress. The choice is yours, just make sure you make an informed desicion and balance the risks with how much the acne affects your life, self confidence, etc. I know in my case as a somewhat nerdy high schooler, there was no question that it was worth my while.

 

[brazeneye]

Yeah, I am very aware of the birth defect concern, and have no plans of getting pregnant or having children within the next couple years.l

 

[BigPapaPump68]

Yeah, I am very aware of the birth defect concern, and have no plans of getting pregnant or having children within the next couple years.l

Schedule an appointment with your dermatologist, and hear what he/she has to say about it. I am on it now, and my blood tests are coming back great, and all of the horror stories you hear about it are bull shit. The only reason why it's so hard to get is because of that senators son who flew a plane into a building. Nobody even knows if the accutane had anything to do with his suicide. But since his dad was a senator, he made sure that people about what it could do.

 

[sinafl]

I am currently taking accutane. Yes it does dry your skin, but its well worth it. The accutane basically peals off your old layer of skin on you, and provides you a new layer of skin. This is why the dryness occurs. I have been taking it for about 4 months now, and I love it. I can eat anything I want (well not anymore since I am on a diet) and acne would not appear. I strongly recommend it even if you have very little acne, the side affects are little to none, and the end result is fantastic.

 

[goandykid]

I agree, my end result is great, but the 6 months during werent the exactly fun. 2 steps back but 50 leaps forward as far as skin goes, but please be careful for your liver and the other side effects. Accutane should be the last resort, try pro-active first or something IMO.

 

[Mudge]

I've used it, didn't go nearly 6 months though. Pantothenic acid (B5) is another milder alternative.

 

[hardasnails1973]

I've used it, didn't go nearly 6 months though. Pantothenic acid (B5) is another milder alternative.

Didn't i already mention that
B5 stimulates adrenal cortex
Acne can also be related to adrenal imbalances as well which are another indicator of stress
When taking high dosages of b5 make sure you have equal amount of biotin other wise you can cause a biotin deficeincy since they compete with same receptors in the digestive tract.

So as you can see there is possible hidden stress/imbalance that could be resulting in the acne it self.

 

[brazeneye]

Hmmm...

I am kinda scared at the fact that I have to get regular bloodwork done to help with the acne if I am on Accutane. I am going to see if I can start some sort of supplementation program through what has been suggested in this thread and see if it helps

 

[Arnold]

Hmmm...

I am kinda scared at the fact that I have to get regular bloodwork done to help with the acne if I am on Accutane. I am going to see if I can start some sort of supplementation program through what has been suggested in this thread and see if it helps

Accutane is hard on your liver.

 

[BigPapaPump68]

Hmmm...

I am kinda scared at the fact that I have to get regular bloodwork done to help with the acne if I am on Accutane. I am going to see if I can start some sort of supplementation program through what has been suggested in this thread and see if it helps

If you do decide to try B5, go to www.bulknutrition.com they sell it in bulk and it's pretty cheap.

 

[fufu]

I did some simple things that really worked.

1.) don't touch your face througout the day unless your hands are clean
2.) don't have other things touch your face, think about, no not that much, but there could be certain things throughout the day that come in contact with your face that you may not think about
3.) eat your veggies!
4.) wipe down(not to hard, just softly) the sweat from your face if you have been sweating alot, that is if you don't plan on taking a shower for a bit.
5.) don't scrub your face, it can worsen the problem, just soft rubbing with some sort of facial cleaning device.
6.) clearasil "daily acne control" pore cleansing pads have worked great for me. One of the bad aspects of it is if you sweat, then you can taste it. Blech, also never use this stuff during a situation where kissing can ensue, it will leave you skin tasting bitter and disgusting.

I seem to go through bouts with my acne. I am perfectly clear now, but it has acted up for weeks at a time. I think the weather being drier and colder has been the biggest help.

 

[goandykid]

Don't be scared of the regular bloodwork, it's jsut a super precautionary measure. I know it's hard on your liver but it never affected me that much beyond the lack of moisture in my skin.

No harm in tkaing it for a month and seeing how it does, if a problem does arise then the bloodwork will catch it early.

 

[BigPapaPump68]

When I get bloodwork done monthly, my liver values on accutane have been in the normal range. If your really worried though, get NAC.

 

[Mudge]

Accutane is hard on your liver.

and cholesterol, and I had plenty of side effects with my skin becoming dry in places where you don't think about on a normal basis.

 

[BigPapaPump68]

and cholesterol, and I had plenty of side effects with my skin becoming dry in places where you don't think about on a normal basis.

I wish he was joking, but it's the truth.

 

[hardasnails1973]

When I get bloodwork done monthly, my liver values on accutane have been in the normal range. If your really worried though, get NAC.

Milk thsitle standrized at 80% would be better
actually Now has a nice product that has milk thistle dandilion root, artichoke in standrarized dosages. For cholesterol fish oils 1 tsp once per day will help lower it. Thyroid and adrenal imbalance can play havoic with hormones too. Hence why b-5 is suggested it helpe to metabolism cortisol as well as cholesterol

NAC 600 mgs
krala 100 mgs x2 times a day
biotin 5 mgs a day
B-5 1500-2500 mgs a day

When starting an nutitrional supplements consult your dr to be safe

 

[BigPapaPump68]

Milk thsitle standrized at 80% would be better
actually Now has a nice product that has milk thistle dandilion root, artichoke in standrarized dosages. For cholesterol fish oils 1 tsp once per day will help lower it. Thyroid and adrenal imbalance can play havoic with hormones too. Hence why b-5 is suggested it helpe to metabolism cortisol as well as cholesterol

NAC 600 mgs
krala 100 mgs x2 times a day
biotin 5 mgs a day
B-5 1500-2500 mgs a day

When starting an nutitrional supplements consult your dr to be safe

Only bad thing about taking the milk thistle is that it stops working after being on for a while. That is why I said to take NAC.

 

[lioness]

PMS breakout is all I get.

This might sound corny...

That Proactive stuff.

I know it sounds corny...but I've actually heard a lot of people say it WORKS.

I have 2 girlfriends with teenagers. Their faces were pretty bad. They ordered it... WOW

I didn't see the teenagers for a month or 2. I saw them in Dec. WOW They looked great! HUGE change.


Might be worth a try. It's not gonna mess up your liver I think there's even a money back guarantee...

Just a thought...

Good luck cutie

 

[mooseboy84]

Please do not laugh at this post, lol. Im not trying to sell anything, just giving a suggestion of what has helped me.

I suggest you try Mary Kay products.

Im a male and used to have bad acne. It was not "horrible" nodular, or those really hard big nasty bumps type of acne, but I always had alot of whiteheads and breaksouts all over my face, especially around my hairline and cheeks.

I have very oily skin and have tried countless over the counter stuff. From Nutrogena to Noxema. I tried proactive twice, and it didnt do anything. It dried out my skin and never really stoped the outbreaks.

The thing that really made the greatest change in stoping the breakouts, was my mother suggesting I used some of her mary kay products.

I was embarrased to even use them, but she kept suggest so I started using it, and my skin really cleared up. What the mary kay products have done, is stop the breakouts. I may have a Very rare occasional bump here or there, but it was not 1/4th as bad as before I started using it.

Again, not trying to sale anything, but as a guy who cant wear makeup and has had acne problems since my early teens, it really did help. Now im am totally sold on marry kay.

They have all kinds of cleansers and exfoliants, but these are the 3 things I use. 1 beauty bar to wash my face. 2 night soultion which is an exfoliant gel, and 3, the age fighting moisturizer for oily skin. You have to find someone who sales mary kay, because they only do direct sales. Im sure if you start asking women you know, youll find someone who sales them.

Just a suggestion. I was embarrased to use mary kay, but it really has helped better than any topical soultion ive tried.

Again, I know that that may seem like spam on my first post, but I lurk alot.

 

[BigPapaPump68]

Just got my blood work results today from being on accutane, and my liver values have went down 2 points since ive been on. That was at only 40mgs, Now I am starting at 80mgs.