Isotretinoin (accutane) while on cycle

[funkygiraffe]

Running Accutane this cycle- started 3 days ago.
20mg daily with my last meal.
Will update in this thread with my experience.
Generally I will get some acne on the forehead and rear delts while on cycle.
Will update in a few weeks.

 

[Hugh J Sachs]

Running Accutane this cycle- started 3 days ago.
20mg daily with my last meal.
Will update in this thread with my experience.
Generally I will get some acne on the forehead and rear delts while on cycle.
Will update in a few weeks.

Probably more than you need

 

[funkygiraffe]

Probably more than you need

Only been a week and I’m almost completely clear, shit works fast.
I have ONE zit on my entire body. Though I still have a lot of discoloration spots on my shoulders and some by my temples from repeated acne there.

 

[Ghoul]

Only been a week and I’m almost completely clear, shit works fast.
I have ONE zit on my entire body. Though I still have a lot of discoloration spots on my shoulders and some by my temples from repeated acne there.

Do a proper isotretinoin cycle and never deal with acne or excessively greasy skin again.

 

[funkygiraffe]

Do a proper isotretinoin cycle and never deal with acne or excessively greasy skin again.

I bought enough to reach 120mg/kg of bw and I plan on using it all

 

[Ghoul]

I bought enough to reach 120mg/kg of bw and I plan on using it all

I started with the low dose protocol, given the potentially horrible side effects.

Titrated 10mg/day, 20 (splitdose), 30, 40, 60, 80, 90, 100, now 120mg/day at 90kg. Splitting the dose seems to be key to reducing sides. At each increase, I had some minor back/joint pain that resolved in a few days.

Now all I have at 120mg/day is chapped lips, slightly dry eyes, and "fragile" skin, all typical and easily manageable. I plan to hit 150mg/kg cumulative dose after 20 weeks treatment.

I hadn't planned on deviating from the low dose, but given the better long term outcomes, ie, no need for retreatment, associated with courses at least 5 months, and at higher cumulative doses, and the tolerable sides, I figured I may as well cover all the bases and get it over with.

I *love" how much less sebum I produce, I've never been able to avoid washing my hair once or twice a day without it becoming really greasy, and the shrunken pores have made my skin look incredible.

 

[Hugh J Sachs]

Do a proper isotretinoin cycle and never deal with acne or excessively greasy skin again.

Nevers a stretch. It does have lasting effects but in cycle it can certainly come back. Only 10 or 20 mg every 2-3 days usually keeps it under control once there tho. If fact I'd rather that then take a full course of a potent drug that you have no need for except for the massive amount of gear swirling through your bloodstream.

 

[Hugh J Sachs]

I started with the low dose protocol, given the potentially horrible side effects.

Titrated 10mg/day, 20 (splitdose), 30, 40, 60, 80, 90, 100, now 120mg/day at 90kg. Splitting the dose seems to be key to reducing sides. At each increase, I had some minor back/joint pain that resolved in a few days.

Now all I have at 120mg/day is chapped lips, slightly dry eyes, and "fragile" skin, all typical and easily manageable. I plan to hit 150mg/kg cumulative dose after 20 weeks treatment.

I hadn't planned on deviating from the low dose, but given the better long term outcomes, ie, no need for retreatment, associated with courses at least 5 months, and at higher cumulative doses, and the tolerable sides, I figured I may as well cover all the bases and get it over with.

I *love" how much less sebum I produce, I've never been able to avoid washing my hair once or twice a day without it becoming really greasy, and the shrunken pores have made my skin look incredible.

That sounds like way too much and acne may return next cycle anyway. This is definitely off label and more ain't always better

 

[Ghoul]

Nevers a stretch. It does have lasting effects but in cycle it can certainly come back. Only 10 or 20 mg every 2-3 days usually keeps it under control once there tho. If fact I'd rather that then take a full course of a potent drug that you have no need for except for the massive amount of gear swirling through your bloodstream.

If a small dose is resolving your acne it means your sebaceous glands were not exposed to enough of a cumulative dose to shrink. Accutane first slows oil production, so you see quick improvement. but shrinking those glands is a one way street with enough exposure to isotretinoin over a period of time.

If some time after stopping a successful full course (120-150mg/kg 4-6 months), when oil production resumes, a return of acne signifies the glands didn't shrink enough, so worst cases may require a second, or even more rarely, third course, but beyond that continuing acne is virtually unheard of.

The AAS hormone "signals" causing sebum overproduction can't cause acne if the glands are too small to make excessive amounts.

But yeah, if you only get acne on cycle, and never at any other time, or have dry skin already, short term, low dose use is enough as a temporary fix.

 

[Hugh J Sachs]

A full course of isotret for cycle related acne is like dropping the atomic bomb on Philadelphia to curtail disorderly conduct after a Phillies game.
Gets the job done and no one's probably going to complain, but a limited, more target approach will have less collateral and work just as well

 

[TomGlass]

A full course of isotret for cycle related acne is like dropping the atomic bomb on Philadelphia to curtail disorderly conduct after a Phillies game.
Gets the job done and no one's probably going to complain, but a limited, more target approach will have less collateral and work just as well

Lol I don't know if you actually meant to do this but comparing Phillies fans to zits is incredibly fitting....Sore, greasy, full of pus, and whether you're talking about their hats or their highBP they're always red..nobody wants them.....holy shit this is accurate.

 

[Ghoul]

A full course of isotret for cycle related acne is like dropping the atomic bomb on Philadelphia to curtail disorderly conduct after a Phillies game.
Gets the job done and no one's probably going to complain, but a limited, more target approach will have less collateral and work just as well

I've always dealt with some level of back and shoulder acne, AAS set the bacne on fire though. Experiencing how well it works, how easy the sides have been to deal with (for me), knowing. what I know now, even without the AAS I would've done this a long time ago.

A couple gelcaps twice a day for 5 months, dry lips, in exchange for the improvements I've seen has been well worth it. The anti-photoaging effects, nose shrinkage, not having greasy hair 6 hours after a shower, along with the clearing skin and (odds are) only having to do this once is definitely worth it for me.

 

[Liter O' Test]

Im a greasy guy, (maybe this is why look 23 despite being 30), done a couple runs of accutane, i think i hit culmlative dose but I can't be sure, it wasn't permanent cure for me.

I got some permanent sun damage the last time It, so ive avoided it the past 5 years and gotten VBEAM lasers to treat ithe redness,it works well, but not a permanent solution.

Recently I saw another dermotologist about VBEAM, he suggested accutane like they all tend to do, but this time the Doc was smart enough to actually convince me to run it again, which says a lot because I'm really stubborn and untrusting of doctors.

He keeps up to date on the latest information, for example how non-ablative lasers are OK to use while on accutane and a lot of the old guidlines are exaggerated for safety. Which is great, because half the reason I have avoided accutane these past few years is because of the guidelines of no VBEAM during treatment and for 6 months after.

So 2 weeks ago I started 20mg, a few 40mg days here and there, it already smoothed out my skin tone and reduced some inflammation, I have some tiny bumps still in a specific region but I have been all over the place in regards to test/estrogen or maybe its a minor purge.

Accutane seems to work fast for gear related acne, much faster than it does for the average young person., or maybe just cause I ran it in the past I needed a top up, who knows.

This time I am taking all the steps I can to avoid sun damage while on accutane and i'm going to get the allowed laser treatments while on 20mg.

I avoid going outside during peak UV hours (like 1030-1700), I wear sunscreen inside and I'm going to be using 10mg of anavar, and BPC157/TB500 at a preventative dose. I don't like HGH but I will be doing something like 10IU for a few days prior and post laser treatment and 10g marine collagen throughout the day.

 

[Rez.]

Done my fair share of crushed up dodgy alleyway purchased chems in my time.

But fuck my old boots, Accutane is the most unsociable compound i've ever injested.

My bro-science recommendation for no sides (10mg ed so far):

1. Take the moment you wake up.
2. 1-ltr water with 2g Pink Himalayan salt.
3. Cheese slice for fat-absorption.

Result = zero sides. No dry lips nadda.

The journey
First dose necked back with a facial gurn during my 5pm meal as the pharma inbox pamphlet recommended.

Spent the next 12hrs with an annoying stomach ache and banging headache. "Oh you lil we bitch Rez".

FU Accutane!!!

It is one harsh MF.... But... it really does work... 7 days @ 70mg cummalative, the forty or so red-puss-filled zits on my shoulders completly dried-up and fcked off.

2nd dose tried 10mg as soon as I woke up on empty stomach... no stomach ache but headache.

3rd dose necked with 1-ltr of water and 2g of Pink Himalayan Salt. Winner winner chicken dinner. No sides.

But this will take me best part of 3 years to reach cummalative absorption going by 120MG/KG metric... so I need to pump up those numbers?

Next move, try another 10mg 3hrs before bed... why the 3hrs?

Because I need to down another 1-ltr of water and piss it all out before nun-nights.

Any suggestions how to get more of this angry little pig of a drug in without feeling like a dried up prune?

Also any tips on getting rid of the zit scars?.. i've got like 40 brown pimple discolourations on my shoulders "Sexy man" (thai-accent).

Rez.

 

[Ghoul]

Done my fair share of crushed up dodgy alleyway purchased chems in my time.

But fuck my old boots, Accutane is the most unsociable compound i've ever injested.

My bro-science recommendation for no sides (10mg ed so far):

1. Take the moment you wake up.
2. 1-ltr water with 2g Pink Himalayan salt.
3. Cheese slice for fat-absorption.

Result = zero sides. No dry lips nadda.

The journey
First dose necked back with a facial gurn during my 5pm meal as the pharma inbox pamphlet recommended.

Spent the next 12hrs with an annoying stomach ache and banging headache. "Oh you lil we bitch Rez".

FU Accutane!!!

It is one harsh MF.... But... it really does work... 7 days @ 70mg cummalative, the forty or so red-puss-filled zits on my shoulders completly dried-up and fcked off.

2nd dose tried 10mg as soon as I woke up on empty stomach... no stomach ache but headache.

3rd dose necked with 1-ltr of water and 2g of Pink Himalayan Salt. Winner winner chicken dinner. No sides.

But this will take me best part of 3 years to reach cummalative absorption going by 120MG/KG metric... so I need to pump up those numbers?

Next move, try another 10mg 3hrs before bed... why the 3hrs?

Because I need to down another 1-ltr of water and piss it all out before nun-nights.

Any suggestions how to get more of this angry little pig of a drug in without feeling like a dried up prune?

Also any tips on getting rid of the zit scars?.. i've got like 40 brown pimple discolourations on my shoulders "Sexy man" (thai-accent).

Rez.

The best thing you can do is just keep a stable dose. The sides are worst at the beginning, and when increasing dose. After a week, they ease off. I got up to 180mg/day and it wasn't as bad as the first week at 10mg / day.

 

[Rez.]

The best thing you can do is just keep a stable dose. The sides are worst at the beginning, and when increasing dose. After a week, they ease off. I got up to 180mg/day and it wasn't as bad as the first week at 10mg / day.

Thanks Ghoul, how much time did you leave between dose increases?

 

[vapor77]

Do a proper isotretinoin cycle and never deal with acne or excessively greasy skin again.

I've been on doctor prescribed Accutane 2.5 times and still haven't achieved a permanent cure. Always seems to resurface after a year or so.

First cycle was working up to 120mg per day over 9 months.
Second cycle was 80mg per day for 5 months.

That should have gotten me to my cumulative dose right there.

Recently started up again and will be doing 40mg per day. Hoping this time will be the last.

 

[Ghoul]

Thanks Ghoul, how much time did you leave between dose increases?

Once I decided to go for 150mg/kg cumulative, and it was going to take forever unless I really ramped up the dose, I tried to go up as fast as possible.

As soon as the sides (other than dry lips, which you can only keep using lip balm for) eased off and I felt ok, I'd double.

On average, every two weeks.

At 180mg (2mg/kg, the absolute max) after a week it didn't get better, some SI joint pain, so I dropped down to 160mg which was tolerable.

I was so happy with the results after 3 months, I decided to go for 220mg/kg cumulative, the "magic" number with the highest documented rate of never needing retreatment.

However, the other thing that predicts best long term results beyond cumulative dose, is continuing for 2 months beyond complete clearance (with the added benefit of reducing old acne scars because skin turnover accelerates to an incredibly fast rate).

My shoulders were last to clear, at 3 months, and I was going too fast, because I'd hit 220mg/kg before the 5 month mark.

So I've been easing off, down to 100mg/day. Once I started reducing, there have been zero sides other than dry lips.

Always split dose to twice a day. This makes a big difference in sides. Always eat after food, preferably high fat. Most failures are attributed to lack of absorption by failing to eat high fat meals. Effectiveness is reduced by 80%+ without it. If you can't manage that, you'll need to buy Sotret NF, which doesn't rely on high fats for absorption, but'll be more expensive. For 20,000mg $450-500 vs $200-250. By comparison 20,000mg of the equivalent NF stuff in the US is $18,000.

Stay disciplined, all sides have been temporary (until 180mg). Don't panic when acne returns or worsens. That's a good sign. It happened multiple times, in different body areas as the treatment "reached" those areas. I got (very short term) acne in places I never had it before, like my stomach! Once that happens, the area will clear and be "done".

Stock up early, consistent daily use has proven vital for effective treatment. You don't want to lose ground and go through sides again. Murphys law I had a hell of a time ensuring I didn't run out and came. very close. The larger gelcaps 30-40mg make things a lot cheaper when buying 20,000mg of this stuff, but you need some 10-20mg to have flexibility of dosing.

 

[Ghoul]

I've been on doctor prescribed Accutane 2.5 times and still haven't achieved a permanent cure. Always seems to resurface after a year or so.

First cycle was working up to 120mg per day over 9 months.
Second cycle was 80mg per day for 5 months.

That should have gotten me to my cumulative dose right there.

Recently started up again and will be doing 40mg per day. Hoping this time will be the last.

Has he got you on Absorica LD? Given the previous failed attempts, though expensive as hell, I'd assume insurance might cover it instead of the usual Accutane generics. The nano particle formulation has been shown to be much more successful.

The other good news, is even when previous attempts have failed for whatever reason, it's extremely rare anyone ever has to go through more than 3 rounds to get a permanent cure. I assume even with absorption issues, or just cursed with a resistance to it, it overcomes those problems by the third round.