O/t: Bad Acne

[Kroms_laugh]

I've always had acne. Bad acne. Since I started taking testosterone replacement, it's gotten worse. I'm scared shitless of accutane (because it can cause permanent digestive problems), and nothing else works for me. ProActive is SHIT! It actually made mine worse.

Now I'm trying to 'megadose' vitamin b-5. I'm not a medicinal chemist, so use google if you need an explanation of how it works.

If this doesn't work my only other option is accutane, and frankly, it scares the shit out of me. I've heard of lawsuits because of so many problems, etc. Apparantly it raises liver toxicity horribly. Can this be controlled with milk thistle while on accutane? (Alot of my chemically augmented friends say it will)

 

[Stez]

I've found my skin has become much much better on HRT, however HCG makes me greasy and break out, so i gotta be careful not to use it too much.

 

[mranak]

I was prescribed Accutane as a teenager. *Many* people have been prescribed Accutane. The side effects are hell. And who knows, maybe the Accutane is what caused my hypogonadism. I haven't heard that about the digestive problems.

All in all, I am a huge advocate of Accutane when the patient is monitored by a physician that knows what they are doing. If you decide on the Accutane, then they will no doubt do bloodwork throughout the Accutane cycle, monitoring your lipid profile and liver function. If those levels get to unresonable levels, you can always discontinue the Accutane.

My acne on my back has gotten really bad the past couple of months, but I've been using Retin-A gel 0.05% and it seems to be doing a good job for me. But if nothing helped and Accutane were again my only option, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Lawyers want to make money from Accutane, nothing more or less.

 

[Glaim]

I've used accutane and it didn't even raise my liver values. I honestly feel the liver toxicity is blown out of proportion similar to oral steroids.

www.acne.org has helped a lot of people.

 

[robertin75]

Hi Kroms_laugh:

Where did you hear that accutane causes permanent digestive problems?

If you found it on those accutane rage or similar websites and support groups, I'm afraid that someone lied to you. Most of the people that post in those support groups are actually lawyers which want to make LOTS of money, by making you think that Roche will compensate you with thousands or even hundrends of thousands of dollars if you pay them huge amounts of money to review your "case".

As mranak said, Accutane is very effective and sometimes the only thing that can help people with severe cystic acne and if the physician prescribing it knows what he is doing, he will order monthly liver and lipid panels as well as complete blood counts to see that everything is running smoothly.

Accutane can elevate your liver enzymes (AST,ALT, etc.) and triglycerides, but will return to normal once you stop the drug.

Also, accutane can cause digestive problems, while you are taking it, but they will go away once you stop it.

Every prescription drug can cause the same side effects as accutane if it's not used properly.

Be careful with megadosing with vitamin B5 alone, as this will cause an imbalance on the other B complex vitamins.

Of course, this is just my opinion and you're the one who is going to decide what's better for your acne.

Regards,
Roberto

 

[Kroms_laugh]

Thanks for all the replies, bros. I appreciate the fact that some vets took the time to contribute! Thanks!

Roberto,
Thank you for your post! Very informative. That has helped ease my worries alittle. I'm taking a B-50 vitamin to combat the 'other than b5' deficiency it causes. I am getting a few headaches from the high doses... which sucks.

We'll see how this turns out. Thanks again, fellas!

 

[bcachot]

Krom, I would treat Accutane like Russian Roulette. Some people will get through it fine. Other's it will fuck up silly. You really have no way of knowing which category you fall into unless you try it. I think a lot of people go for it because they don't have what it takes to modify their diet or go through the proper topical skin treatments, of exfoliation, BP and retinoids, which I admit can be a lot of effort. Treat Accutane as your last resort. BTW B5 didn't work for me either.

 

[Kroms_laugh]

^^ Thanks for your reply.

Accutane is definately my last option.

I just found out my mother used it for 6 months and her skin was completely clear for 10 years. She had really bad acne and has the scars to prove it. And no offense to my beautiful mother, but I do not want to suffer that same fate. She said the only problems she had on accutane was 'dry mouth' and dry lips... that's it.

I dunno... we'll see. I have a consultation about accutane tomorrow with my GP (I'd rather see my GP than the dermo's here in my city).

 

[Kroms_laugh]

lmao... so I started accutane today. 40mg daily divided into 2 doses throughout the day. I told my doc about how I was scared shitless of the stuff, and he laughed at me (it's okay, we're pretty close). Then he said something about how I'm trained to charge live machine guns but wimper about blood tests. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

[SprintR]

If I was you I would stop accutane now! This drug is responsible for putting me through 10 years of hell and I believe it has contributed to my low testosterone. The musculoskeletal side effects can be very severe in a lot of people. I was unable to run at all for 6 years after finishing accutane due to severe bone pain, and my muscles were so sore that they would tear just walking up stairs. Now all of my joints click and crunch when I move them and I have arthritis in several of them. All of the problems I've had with my body are documented side effects of accutane. Go to http://www.roaccutanesurvivors.com and read the messages posted in the guest book. Also go to http://www.ragforum to read about the experiences of those people who have taken accutane.
There are hundreds of thousands of people world wide who have had their lives destroyed by this poison.

 

[BigRagu]

hrt did make me break out also...... but after a few months it evened out and the breakouts slowly stopped............u have been on hrt for around 2 months now correct? if so see what happens in a few more months b4 even considering accutane......that stuff is EVIL...........

 

[Glaim]

I honestly had no problems at all with accutane. I got dry lips for a few weeks about halfway through, but other than that not a single side effect. Didn't permanently clear up acne though. I think my dose was too low. 40 mg / day

 

[SprintR]

Yeah a lot depends on how large your dose was and more importantly. how long you took it for. Accutane should never be taken for longer than 3 months. The folks who did several cycles lasting 6 months or more in duration have the most sides, irrespective of the dose they took.

 

[SWALE]

It would be far better, IMPO, if you can stand to ride out the acne for a while. Mere changes in hormone levels can set it off in those sensitive to same. It can take several months for the body to acclimate itself. Another way to think of it is you are going through puberty again.

 

[Kroms_laugh]

It would be far better, IMPO, if you can stand to ride out the acne for a while. Mere changes in hormone levels can set it off in those sensitive to same. It can take several months for the body to acclimate itself. Another way to think of it is you are going through puberty again.

Thanks, Doc. I really don't have a choice anyway. I had horrible diarrhea yesterday (first day on it) and my doc wants me to stop immediately. Although I would have sucked it up, my wife wants me to stop.

I'm going to see about antibiotics. So I wasted 666 dollars on a months worth of accutane that the pharmacy can't buy back. Needless to say, my wife's a little pissed.

 

[robertin75]

Hi Kroms_laugh:

Make sure you take a good probiotic if you're going to be on long term antibiotics.

Regards,
Roberto

 

[BigRagu]

Thanks, Doc. I really don't have a choice anyway. I had horrible diarrhea yesterday (first day on it) and my doc wants me to stop immediately. Although I would have sucked it up, my wife wants me to stop.

I'm going to see about antibiotics. So I wasted 666 dollars on a months worth of accutane that the pharmacy can't buy back. Needless to say, my wife's a little pissed.

U SEE I TOLD U IT WAS EVIL..... 666 DOLLARS HUH...... the medication of the devil.......... lol

btw that sucks u lost all that money..................

 

[pmgamer18]

It would be far better, IMPO, if you can stand to ride out the acne for a while. Mere changes in hormone levels can set it off in those sensitive to same. It can take several months for the body to acclimate itself. Another way to think of it is you are going through puberty again.

When I first started on AndorGel the acne got real bad on the back of my neck. But like SWALE said in time it stopped and I have not had a problem with it anymore.
Phil

 

[Weatherlite]

Krom, thought you were still in the military. No insurance to cover the accutane?

Feel for ya bro! I too had the runs when on 40mg/day. We dropped it to 20 and was just fine. Finished a few months and the acne was awesome. 2 months later it came back on my sides REAL bad. So, back onto 20mg/day. This time there was little effect so we upped it back to 40mg/day and I'm still doing great. No bowel probs at all (and of course the liver is fine--my cholesterol is another story! Taking an extra 5g of fish oil for that one)

I agree with everyone who says use it as a last resort. This WAS mine. Nothing else ever worked. Some of my acne used to be as large as a nickel and a few even as large as quarters (thank god it was all on my back and sides!) Accutane is the only thing that worked for me. Also, like many others, TRT actually HELPED my acne! It reduced the severity by almost half! I'm hoping the accutane will get rid of the other half.

Good luck to ya bro!

 

[Kroms_laugh]

Since I'm a pending medical discharge, they will not cover my medical costs. Which sucks.

I started using Minocycline today. My doc, who I trust very much, put me on this after immediately taking me off of accutane.

Will taking Minocycline with my testosterone and nolva (or letro) be a problem?