Acne 101 | Acne Care and Support-Accutane

Accutane

Accutane is basically the atom bomb of all acne treatments. But it should only be used as a last resort, as the caution list is a few pages long, and the side effects are risky. But, it is known to completely wipe out acne while your on it, very effective against all forms of acne. The maximum time you can be on it is 6 months.

In 80% of cases, acne does not re-occur after the first 6 months of taking accutane.

What is accutane?

It reduces the amount of oil released by oil glands in your skin, and helps your skin renew itself more quickly. So it will dry out your skin greatly, as almost no oil will be released. Accutane is full of vitamin A.

Accutane is used to treat severe nodular acne. It is usually given after other acne medicines or antibiotics have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms. In other words, its a last resort treatment.

Here is a account of a friend who was on accutane and telling of her experiences;

I finished my 6 month cycle about a year ago. first off, there's a 30% chance that your acne will come back like mine did BUT it was no where near as bad as it was prior to taking accutane. I just use Tetracycline now and it cleared up again.

And you're right, it does get worse before it gets better. The amount of time that lasts is different for each person. I still drank milk but ask your dermatologist about that.

Buy a tube of blistex. Your lips will get so dry and chapped and might even bleed. Also buy some Vaseline for your nose to keep that from drying up and bleeding. Use a qtip to get it into your nose as bacteria can enter your body through your nose. My ears dried out too but i didn't try to treat that....rough it out or ask your dr what to do about that. Also, buy a big bottle of eye drops because your eyes will always be dry. get lotion for your skin as well....eucerin worked best for me. Seriously, its no joke that everything will dry out

DON'T drink alcohol at all. And i waited for about a month afterwards too. accutane is risky enough for your liver and you don't want to add to that.

You're lucky you're not a girl. i had to take pregnancy tests every month and blah blah blah it was a pain.

And maintain a healthy diet. Your skin will eventually start healing over and you want to have good things running through your body to keep your skin healthy. Drink a lot of water everyday and forget sodas.

I didn't experience depression but i'd say it made me grouchy and preferred to be alone most of the time. i mean, i had terrible acne and didn't feel like explaining myself at parties when offered a drink. you might get extra tired or have insomnia but try to stick to a reg sleeping schedule.

As you get further into your 6 month cycle, your dr will increase the dosage. Let him or her know about any headaches as it is a sign of increased brain pressure and is dangerous. i had to stop taking it for a month because of that. stopping for a month added another month to my cycle (i hope that makes sense).

You will love the results. it's hard work but you WILL get good results. that stuff is powerful. results show up at different times for diff people. just rely on people around you to tell you the difference since you'll be looking at your face too many times a day.

The side effects of accutance are numerous, it is one of the reasons that accutane is such a "last resort";

depressed mood, trouble concentrating, sleep problems, crying spells, aggression or agitation, changes in behavior, hallucinations, thoughts of suicide or hurting yourself;

sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

blurred vision, sudden and severe headache or pain behind your eyes, sometimes with vomiting;

hearing problems, hearing loss, or ringing in your ears;

seizure (convulsions);

severe pain in your upper stomach spreading to your back, nausea and vomiting, fast heart rate;

loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);

severe diarrhea, rectal bleeding, black, bloody, or tarry stools;

fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms, purple spots under your skin, easy bruising or bleeding; or

joint stiffness, bone pain or fracture.

Less serious side effects may include:

discomfort with contact lenses;

joint pain, back pain;