Hey guys,
just wanted to share some of my experiences with acne to hopefully help some people out. Definitely try other methods first if you want before jumping on Accutane, but nothing personally worked for me except it.
I am currently finishing up a course of Accutane prescribed by my dermatologist. Started off at 40mg per day for 1 month, then 50mg, then 60mg, then 70mg, now at 80mg. She prescribed me to do another month on 80mg because my bloodwork looked fine (even on steroids/orals) and I did have a few small breakouts of a few pimples over the last few months.
I battled with acne as a teen, had it really bad on my face especially. Tried a few different OTC and prescription face washes but they did not work.
Got prescribed Accutane when I was 19/20 by my doctor, but she only had me on it for a few months. It cleared up my acne, but I relapsed several months later.
Also took Accutane a few years back prescribed by my dermatologist at the time, same thing it cleared me up but I relapsed several months later. But this time not as bad. It mostly was gone until I started taking steroids.
Over the years I tried a bunch of OTC face washes (salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, exfoliating cleansers etc), as well as prescription face washes with limited success.
Tried several supplements including Vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin b5, fish oils, greens supplements, antioxidant/fruit supplements, zinc, green tea, turmeric, multivitamins, spearmint tea, probiotics. Also tried various diet changes that I had researched online.
Was prescribed antibiotics several times (minocycline, doxycycline, tetracycline) with minimal relief.
If you guys are suffering with acne, I highly recommend talking to your doctor to see about possibly being prescribed Accutane. Your bloodwork is monitored monthly (at least where I live), and it is the only effective treatment I have found for acne. I spent a lot of money, time and effort trying other methods, I wish years ago I had made more of an effort to be put on Accutane.
I definitely had issues each time with very dry lips, skin. But there is Vaselines, stronger lip balms etc you can buy to help combat this a bit.
Hopefully this post helps. I tried tons of different methods from researching online but none really helped my situation until I took Accutane. It can be a harsh drug, but all 3 times I took it my bloodwork was fine and I can't recall having any adverse effects outside of dry skin/lips.
