Punch. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

My dermatologist and parents were both saying "Accutane is a last resort, your skin is not so bad..." blah blah blah. The fact is that I have had acne since I was 15, and although an objective external observer may say that it wasn't too bad, that was irrelevant. It killed my social life and made me a recluse. My problem, maybe, I am too shy and need to just 'get out there'. Whatever, I just needed clear skin.

One day I went to my ripoff of a dermatologist, and luckily for me he caught me on a REALLY bad day, then finally relented after I begged to be put on the 'Tane. That was in February 2008.

For the first 3 days, my skin magically cleared, but this was not a slam dunk. It did come back, and I was shattered and thinking to myself "not another f*cking phoney treatment...". HOWEVER I gave it time. I'm not going to deny it, I looked like a beetroot for the entire treatment. My skin was extremely dry, and for my skin piling on the all-hailed moisturisers such as as Jojoba Oil didn't help. It made me look greasy, but didn't soak in and truly moisturise. So I was a beetroot, but after the 3-day clearup and breakout for 3 weeks afterwards, my face finally decided to get with the program and get rid of the acne.

As far as exercise goes, it seemed like the best thing for me to do was absolutely nothing. Eat healthily and keep the body clean, but don't exercise to 'clear out the pores' and so on. All that did was further irritate my already-irritated skin.

So, my last day on the prescription was October 5, 2008. Since then I've been getting less-and-less red. For the last few months the redness has basically gone, and my skin *is* clear, and for the first time in my life I've actually been complemented on it. I've gained confidence and been able to go out and socialise without feeling like I don't deserve to be there. WARNING: there are occasional breakouts if you eat badly, and don't keep washing your face regularly (non-irritating cleanser + sunscreen/moisturiser is still crucial!!!!)

Accutane has given my life back. I wasn't in the 'severe' acne category, but it's not about that. It's about how it makes you feel inside. After all acne is not a fatal disease, just a disfiguring one that kills your self-esteem.

I know there have been horror stories, but PLEASE for your own sake if you're wavering about whether or not to go on Accutane, I urge you to go for it. If you've tried out the weak treatments and they don't work, i.e. your acne is not severe but persistent as hell, but you know it's taking a heavy toll on your social life, take the plunge. It'll most likely be the best decision you ever make. I know it was for me.

There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Milly. My skin is clearer than it has ever been.

When I first started, I had a headache (mild to moderate) for about a week. It went away. I did experience some dry eyes (drops once a day cured it, and it got better with time). During my entire course I did experience chapped lips and my nasal mucus was always blood stained from the dryness.

I discovered that if I took 800 mg of vitamin E daily, I did not experience dry or flaky skin. In fact, using moisturizer once a day was all I needed. The eczema on my arms returned after about 3 months of treatment and I used over-the-counter cream for it per my dermatologist.

Since stopping treatment, I have not experienced any ill effects at all. My skin is clearer than it has EVER been. I started getting cystic acne in the 5th grade and this is the FIRST time I have ever been acne free. Even my blackheads are gone. I have gotten just a few pimples, but they are so small that I usually don't even notice them unless I take a very close look in the mirror. Even then, they don't grow or hurt. My pores, now empty, don't look like the craters I use to have on the apples of my cheeks and sides of my nose.

Winter. My skin is lovely today. No actives, no noticeable red marks, and no noticeable scarring.

I got the dry eyes, nose, and lips they talk about in the packet. I got the rash on my hands. My healing slowed to a halt (you can still see a purple mark from a blister I got in November). I'd get stiff if I sat in the same place for too long, and my fingers would hurt if I spent too much time thumbing away at the video game controllers. I was always thirsty, my face flushed easily, and for some reason I became really sensitive to cold weather. Weird. So I had a handful of side effects, and when I write them out, it looks like a big fat paragraph...but I didn't find them upsetting or surprising, and I was never in enough discomfort to think about stopping the course. In fact, I thought they were kind of interesting. It was a nice excuse to pay attention to my body and really take it easy.

My main issue was being tired. I started taking what I call "Accutane naps," which is when you lie down for a 20 minute nap and you're completely gone for 3 hours. I was always tired by midnight, which for a college kid is embarrassingly early, and I felt like I could sleep and sleep and it would never be quite enough.

Results

I started out with severe cystic acne, the kind that hurts to the touch. On my first dermatology appointment, she counted literally hundreds of lesions on my face and took a "before" picture that would frighten children. I also had shiny, oily skin and a lengthy list of antibiotics and topicals that hadn't worked.

My skin is lovely today. No actives, no noticeable red marks, and no noticeable scarring. My skin is even and smooth to the touch. For someone who wanted clear skin as desperately as I did, this is an unspeakably wonderful gift. I haven't been this happy in years.

I was fortunate to have a knowledgeable and sympathetic dermatologist. She was very cautious about my dose and always made sure I was feeling ok. I was also fortunate that my body handled Accutane well throughout the course. I'm hoping for continued good health and gorgeous skin in the years to come.

Erino. My skin is now smooth and clear without a blemish in site!

Hello! I want to add to this post because before I started Accutane, I was excited, afraid, hopeful and reading other people's posts about their experiences really eased my mind. I am 29 years old. I started suffering from severe cystic acne at 20. I had perfectly clear skin through my teen years and was suprised when I started breaking out as an adult. I tried everything from over the counter products to monthly skin peels and micro dermabrasion. The peels seemed to work. I wasn't completely clear, but at 26 (when I started the peels) it was the only thing that had an effect. I had laser treatment, which my doctor said would smooth my scarring and erase the red spots the acne had left behind. It only made my acne flare up worse than ever and after shelling out thousands of dollars, my skin was now to sensitive to undergo my peels. As a last resort, I begged for Accutane. I underwent a 6 month cycle of Accutane. 40MG twice a day.

My skin is now smooth and clear without a blemish in site! The only side effects I experienced were dry lips (eased by an over the counter miracle in a bottle called Aquaphor), slight mood swings during the first 2 months, and some hair loss. Ok, so the hair loss does seem kind of scary. I had what seemed like tongs of it coming out in the shower, but it wasn't noticable to other people.

Was it worth it? Absolutely! For the fist time in 9 years, I can go out without makeup and feel confident. The 6 months flew by! At first I didn't see a difference. My acne wasn't better, but it wasn't worse. At month 4, my skin started to clear. By month 5, my acne seemed like a bad dream.

Good Luck on your journey. I am so grateful for this medication and I hope that it works as well for you as it did for me.

Lilly. I love Accutane.

I'm a 15 year old girl who took accutane because i had extremely persistent acne but not that bad at all. (it was very easily covered with makeup and i never had too many just a few smaller ones)
I LOVE ACCUTANE. it worked wonders and i am so happy i did it. the 5 months went by soo fast and the only side effect for me was the dry/chapped lips which i could keep under control with alot of chapstick. i took 90 mg a day. if your wondering whether you should do it, DO IT. its so worth it. my skin is beautiful now. it may get tough and my acne got worse in the beginning but it really cleared up amazingly in the last month. one again, its soo worth it.

Alan. I suggest if your acne can't be cleared any other way then use Accutane.

I was on Accutane for 4 months about 13. I'm now 26, in the past 13 years I can say it's been nothing but a wonderful gift to have taken it. I had severe acne that apparantly runs in our family because my father and many of my cousins also had it. My cousins all were also on Accutane.

I have no side effects that I can attribute to Accutane, and am amazed at how unscientifically people claim Accutane caused this or that. I'm not sure how familiar people in general are with the scientific process but there's a lot of people trying to benefit from this drug, then assign ills to it through their own voodoo science conclusions. I had dry lips and dry skin while on the drug. I'm still active and exercise to this day. If I have any future side effects, I will post them here with the notice that a doctor confirmed this drug caused my illness.

My biggest complaint is that I wish I would've been assigned the full 6 month course because it seems my acne is returning. My body is still going through the natural aging process (growing hair in places I never had before like my back, fun) and I think my hormones are working overtime to recede my hairline and no longer making me taller and stronger. smile.gif

Now that I am no longer 13, and have a career which my acne is negatively impacting, with my acne returning I would like to finish up my last two months of Accutane all these years later. We'll see what the doctor says. The minocycline, differin, retinamicro and so forth never had any effect on me.

Get yourself a good dermatologist (one that hopefully isn't too conservative but not reckless like some here seem to have), do your blood tests every month and you'll be fine.

No one understands genetics enough yet to say if or what side effects you may encounter, but if you want to go down that road you have a lot of work to do researching as we consume many unnatural things (sodium benzoate which you came in contact with today because it's in most everything and also controversial), so I suggest if your acne can't be cleared any other way then use Accutane. Life is a gamble, just make the best decision you can and read read read to inform yourself but always note who the source is.

It's truly been a wonderful gift to me in my life and I have lived the last 13 years as a popular, happy, strong young man through high school and at my university because of how outgoing it enabled me to be. Main regret is not taking it sooner to prevent scarring and insisted on the full regimen.

Lion. I had a positive experience with a low-dose Accutane regimen.

I had a positive experience with a low-dose Accutane regimen.

I've had what I would describe as severe comedonal acne/mild inflammatory acne ever since I was 12 or so. I'm now 44.

A few years ago, I was able to rid my skin entirely of bumps and pimples using an over-the-counter retinol gel called Green Cream. My overall skin tone also improved dramatically. I still had somewhat oily skin though, and my pores still became congested with waxy sebum. This was annoying, but I was resigned to living with it.

Then I took a very powerful course of antibiotics to knock out a kidney infection, and my skin went haywire again ... this time with fungal folliculitis. One of the treatments my derm and I discussed was low-dose Accutane to reduce sebum production. I had read a couple of studies, and agreed to give it a go.

I took 10 mg/day for 60 days. During this time, all of the waxy sebum in my pores came to the surface .... I never got any actual pimples, though, probably because I'd been using GC for so long. I had mildly dry lips, one or two nosebleeds, and no other side effects. I continued using other topicals (mandelic acid and Vitamin C serum) during those 60 days, although I did not use the retinol gel.

Then my derm began reducing my dosage. Over time, it went from 10 mg every other day to 10 mg every 8 days, which is where I am right now. I use all of my topicals now. I have no side effects. My sebum production is that of a normal person ... I get a little bit of oil, but not the thick, waxy, pore-clogging junk that I dealt with all of my life. We are going to try to get my dosage down to 10 mg every 14 days and see if I can still maintain my clear skin.

Accutane has not completely solved my folliculitis problem, btw. It has reduced it quite a bit, but it's not a total solution. Acne and clogged pores, on the other hand, are entirely gone.

I do not believe that low-dose Accutane is the answer for everyone, but it has definitely worked very well for me.

Adrienne. All of my side effects have gone away and i am VERY happy with the results!

I had moderate to severe acne for about 10 years. I tried several antibiodics, birth control pills, retinoids, and every topical on the market... nothing ever worked.

I started accutane in October 2008 at 80 mg/day for 5 months (i weigh about 130 lbs, or 60kg). My initial breakout lasted 10 horrible weeks then all of a sudden started to clear up. My main side effects were dry lips, skin, nose bleeds, and "cloudy brain" feeling in the last month which went away a few weeks after stopping accutane.

I finished accutane in February 09 and have been off accutane for 1 month. I have been 99-100% clear for about 4 months now. All of my side effects have gone away and i am VERY happy with the results!! i would definitely recommend accutane to anyone who has suffered with acne for many years and other treatments have failed. it is important to research the drug and be aware of the risks before taking it.

good luck to anyone on accutane!! my only regret is that i didnt take it sooner

Maddy. Accutane changed my life for the better

I am an acne sufferer since 14 and during my teens had been taking antibiotics to control breakouts. It worked initially but when i reach 19, I broke out horribly which include back acne then went on different treatments including topical antibiotics, retinoids and birth control. By the 3rd month on birth control, I had the worse breakout ever, both inflame and non-inflame acne and my back wasn't getting any better. Desperate, I switch to a better dermatologist who prescribed me accutane after hearing that I have been on all treatments available. He didn't want to give me a high dose so we settled on 20mg/day for 8 months.

Side effects include: Initial dry skin and chapped lips as well as fatigue but they went away after a month on the course. I did not suffer any bad side effects at all after my course, I was the same as I did before the course minus acne.

Accutane pros: All my acne cleared up by week 2 into the course which was amazing and from then I never had a breakout ever again. Compared to what i was before, accutane changed my life for the better, I never had to worry about acne again and can put on makeup easily with less time. I can also go out without makeup and not worry about people looking at me. Before that, I was moody and afraid to go out- not yet depression but definitely unhappy. I do get occasional pimples which i can handle because I definitely cannot handle back acne

Siava. Accutane changed my life in a positive way.

I took antibiotics off and on during those 12 years. They started having a negative impact on my body and weren't keeping the cysts away. I was fortunate enough to start with a decent slate due to Solodyn before starting Accutane. Because of the antibiotics, Retin-a Micro, and Benzaclin, I did not experience the dreaded IB. I did experience a tiny one around my mouth with the dose increase, but it was minor.

Side effects experienced: dry skin, lips, and hair, eczema patches, extreme photosensitivity, joint pain, lack of concentration, fatigue, reduced night vision, brittle nails, thinned skin, moodiness, and flushing.

Side effects still experiencing: periodic flushing when hot, embarrassed, or nervous. Still photosensitive although not as bad as before.

I have to stress this: pay attention to your body and know the facts about this drug before swallowing that first pill. My first prescription was for 80mg. I knew that was way too high for my weight and did not hesitate to tell my derm. He listened and we both agreed I'd take 40mg that first month. The dose increase was mutual after that. Also, I was supposed to take a 5 month course, but the mood swings and joint pain were too much. I told my derm. He listened and we both agreed to stop the course. RESEARCH, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR DERMATOLOGIST!

Accutane changed my life in a positive way. I can deal with the flushing and photosensitivity 1000% times more than the bleeding cysts, pain, embarrassment, frustration, and uncomfortable stares. I no longer scrutinize my face every morning. I no longer fear hugging up against loved ones or letting my boyfriend touch my face. I wear my hair down. I'm not a crusty oil slick at the end of the day. I don't wake up with blood or pus on my pillow. I can comfortably leave the house without makeup. I love my skin.

Dustin. I have minimal side affects, and amazing results.

Suffered with severe acne, which was resistant to all other treatments. I have literally tried everything. At first I was kind of skeptical about all of the symptoms because they sound so severe, but DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE SYMPTOMS, THEY ARE VERY MINIMAL, AND SOOOO WORTH IT. I only experienced the chapped lips, dry nose, and dry skin. It is not even half as bad as people on here make it seem, just NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER forget your chapstick. The dry skin is tolerable without lotion, but not the lips. NEVER FORGET CHAPSTICK. Anyway, like I said, I have minimal side affects, and amazing results. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is considering it.

Danielle. Accutane has given me my life.

Okay! So my Accutane story. All my friends and fam say i should make some money off this story for the company lol... be there spokes person because of my personal testimonial. Just an FYI.. Accutane is a BIG decision. It is not all fabulous and has some HORRIBLE side effects. You have to be committed to not waste your time or your doctors time and know from the beginning that you will not give up on ACCUTANE because of the temporary side effects. At least in my case, no side effects have been noticed since less than a month off of the medication. I want everyone to know that I'm not going to sugar coat this story at all. Know what you're getting into and then make an educated decision.
So I had acne since I was 11. It was mostly secluded to my T section and were tiny red bumps. As the years passed, and derm appt after derm appt, no medication helped, the acne became more severe, and more severe yet, and spread pretty much everywhere. I was always active and loved meeting new people and stopped because of my acne. I wish I wouldve done this during highschool then i wouldnt regret never playing sports or skipping out on the swimming part of gym class. Acne doesnt just look bad, it ruins your confidence and stops your life. Anyway, so at the age of 22 I talked with my derm about Accutane after hearing about it from an acquaintance. We had to try antibiotics first, which of course didnt help, begin to take 2 forms of Birth control a month before starting the medication, and do some blood tests. Its a chore to get into the program. Due to the side effects the government requires that the doctor who prescribes the medication needs to see you once a month, females need to take a monthly pregnancy test due to horrible side effects it has on fetus', and you need to answer a questioniarre each month before picking up your prescription that proves you know the dangers and proper ways of taking this medicine.
So I started taking this medication mid-Aug 09. Immediately my face and lips became chapped. Mostly my lips severely. The doctor gave me little samples of this lip "healer" that you cannot buy in stores called "Dr. Dan's" It works amazing and when I ran out I was miserable. So dont run out! So beside the regular side effects that everyone gets, I also had some more severe side effects that only some get. Sorry I dont remember the statistics on that though. I'm sure that can be googled though. For all of 2009 I didnt see a huge change and was starting to think this wasnt going to work for me. Most of the difference that was seen probably didnt start coming until december but even more drastically during my last month in March. But in October I had blinding headaches that were so painful and would wake me up in the middle of the night. Some nights I didnt know if I should go to the ER and be seen, they were so bad. But I didnt. I noticed I was shedding a lot of hair and my already thin hair seemed to be getting thinner, not noticibly to other people though. In December I realized I had gained 10 lbs, started calling into work, not wanting to get out of bed or be seen by people, and having crying spells even at work for no reason at all. I had no energy was very angry or sad constantly. I had to go on antidepressants and see a psychologist by doctors orders, in order to remain on the medication. That did seem to help alot but still wasnt my usual self. I did have to cut the dose down for that month until the new medication started working. Then in Feb I wanted to start losing weight and training to run a 5k marathon. I paid for a physical trainer and started working out. The day after my first training session I woke up and my ass was a huge black and blue purplish bruise. I went to the doctor that day and did some blood tests and found out with the medication and intense physical activity, my PCK levels (I believe thats right) were 12X the usual number. So instead of building muscle it was more like my body was eating away at my muscles and causing them to bleed. But because I only had a month left of the treatment, I promise to limit all physical activity to remain on the medication. It took a lot of persuasion to have my doctor allow me to continue to take it. But like i said. You need to be determined before taking this medication. The last month my skin cleared completely with no new breakouts.. FINALLY! My lips were horrible up until I stopped taking it. About a month after stopping the medication, I stopped my second form of Birth control and the anti depressants. The side effects stopped, the reddness in my skin went away and I havent had a regular pimple since. I have had a few tiny little bumps about the size of a skinny needle point that i can only feel with my fingers and that are not visible to the human eye. My blemishes and scarring is fading tremendously. I have been getting compliments on my skin all the time which i have NEVER had. I went swimming this summer for the first summer in a long time without fears of how horrible my skin will look. I dont have to worry about not having concealer on, or meeting new people. My confidence at work has gotten me a promotion, which consists of meeting new clients and promoted my facility. I play sports without fears of my makeup melting off. I got my life back and if I had to relive all this all over again I would do it in a heart beat. Now, I just got married and my skin looks flawless in my wedding photos. My older daughter (4) says to me all the time, Mommy you dont have any more pimples. Whered they go? lol.. Accutane has given me my life. I love meeting new people, taking pictures, I get to really be the outspoken me. It's amazing! I would tell anyone just live through it and you'll never regret it after. My way of simply describing it to people is that it is the chemotherapy for acne, yes its not the greatest thing to put up with but it really does save your life. It def. did mine!

Brian. My son had severe acne and we tried everything incuding those miracle cures on tv like proactin or whatever. Nothing worked.

My son had severe acne and we tried everything incuding those miracle cures on tv like proactin or whatever. Nothing worked. We used accutane as a last resort and with great reluctance. It worked. Yes, there were some side effects. Nosebleeds, sore joints, vision issues at night on occassion and of course chapped lips like you would not believe.
When my son had acne he was teased at school to a point he did not want to go anymore. When he got chapped lips kids would ask him why.
The thing to understand is that it does not follow a course you would expect. Typically you think that on day one you have severe acne and as you take it it gets less and less. We noticed after a month he would get outbreaks and we wondered if it was working. The dermitologist said to wait. It went away a bit and came back and in month 5 it came back. We were seriously wondering at that point if we had made a mistake. He had it back a little bit, sore knees, nosebleeds and those chapped lips.
AFter 6 months it was gone = all of it. Within 3 days after he was done his lips cleared up as did his nose bleeds. He had sore knees for about another 2 weeks and then he was fine.
It has been a year and a half and right now all his friends are breaking and his skin is clear.
TO this day my son says its worth it.

Chicoz. I have been on generic accutane for almost a month.

I have been on generic accutane for almost a month. I have already had wonderful results. I only had acne on my back, not my face. Within a week my back stopped breaking out and has cleard-up a great deal already. I have dry lips but no other side effects at all. I know several people who have taken Accutane with amazing results and also very few, if any side-effects either short or long term. I think, as with any drug, some people may experience varying degreees of side-effects. But, like I said I know several people personally who have had great results with no side effects other than dry lips.

Gianna. Ive had acne for 4years and have tried everything.

Ive had acne for 4years and have tried everything. I'm almost done with my second month of accutane. The process was very annoying in the beginning, especially being a woman and having to answer IPledge questions every month. If you are about to start just know that you must get blood taken every month, go to the dermo, and then they will approve your prescription to be picked up at the pharmacist. My face only got worse around my chin area, this is because i had originally taken birth control for my acne prior to starting accutane. I am in my second month and couldn't be happier with how my skin looks. My only problem is the side effects. REALLY DRY LIPS (even worse in the winter)buy the giant tube of aquaphor and buy small ones to keep in a bag. THIS IS A LIFESAVER. I find myself more tired then normal, taking 2 hour naps almost everyday. As an athlete, i also get tired in the sun. Biggest suggestion, do not start in the summer and wear enough sunscreen. Good Luck, its worth it!

Ian. I am on my second course of roaccutane.

I am on my second course of roaccutane.
I went on my first course about 2 years ago...when I first started my skin dried up but I had major break outs but it got better after the 2nd month or so.

But anyways...when I finished the first course of 6/7 months, my skin was flawless and oil free and it stayed like that for 1 year with just odd pimples once in a while....but about 4/5 months ago, my skin started to get oily again and I started to get a least 4/5 pimples every 2/3 weeks...I have just started on my second course now, on a much lower dose (10 mg/day) and my skin is already a lot better and it didn't become worst before it got better this time around...

I am a toxicologist ( well in 32 days I will be after I graduate)...and I have done a bit of studying on acne and roaccutane...most of the cases of acne can be genetic, if it is genetic, accutane will help you for as long as it is in your system, once it leaves your system, your pimples will come back, because it is in your genes. Accutane can cause severe side effects wehn taken along side other drugs( including alcohol) ALCOHOL IS A DRUG!!!( but legal). Alcohol can affect liver, CNS and kidney and with accutane it can worsen these damage...So I think accutane is as bad as any other drugs if not monitored during treatment.

Gabriella. Accutane is the best thing that ever could have happened to me.

Hi Everyone.
I'm 21 and have had acne since I was 9. Even my 3rd grade school photos are tainted with pimples. I was extremely scared to take Accutane. I heard stories of people killing themselves and debated on taking it for 2 years. I finally made the plunge into Accutane 5 months ago. Accutane is the best thing that ever could have happened to me.
Like everyone else, nothing helped my acne. I was afraid Accutane would be another false promise of clear skin, but it is more than I could have ever imagined. I still can't get over how perfect my skin is. No blemishes what so ever. So enough bragging, lol, I'll continue.
I was on Accutane for 5 months at 40 mg twice a day. While the results of Accutane were great, for the first 3 months, the side effects sucked hard core. I had constant nosebleeds (2-4 times a day) which lead to 3 sinus infections from clotted blood in my sinuses. Then there were 2 outbreaks of coldsores. I never had coldsores before, but when I had my outbreaks I literally had at least 60 on my lips at the same time in various stages. My lips swelled up like 5 times thier normal size, no joke. This was miserable. Then I had 3 outbreaks of eye styes, again never had this before. In my 3rd month I had achey joints, especially in my hips and lower back. And of course I had chapped lips the entire time. Besides the chapped lips and nosebleeds, all my side effects went away by the 4th and 5th months. As for dry skin, I really didn't get dry. It just made my skin normal. I still had to use proactive occassionally. I've had eczema my whole life, and I think the Accutane may have made it slightly better actually.*shrug* Accutane also made my cholesterol really high, so I just watched what I ate a bit. The worst part of Accutane for me was the monthly blood tests. I hate needles. My first blood test took 3 hours because I kept freaking out. Now I'm in and out in a matter of minutes. So I've almost overcome a fear I've had since I was little.=) Another plus!
So yeah, I had some pretty bad side effects, but it was all worth it and I would do it again it a heart beat.

Nikki. I've been on accutane for 6 weeks now.

I've had acne for 5 years and this year (my senior year no less) it got really bad. I developed the cystic acne pretty bad. I've been on accutane for 6 weeks now. I've only really experienced the back aches and some soreness in my ankles dry lips and dry hair.. my skin is somewhat dry but def. nothing to complain about. I had a little depression but that was because of my face not the accutane. I had an initial breakout that lasted pretty much my whole first month on accutane. Now I think im starting to slowly clear up..my acne is getting smaller and smaller everyday. I break out a little still but very few tiny bumps. My nose is completely clear of blackheards. I did notice that my scars are a little redder then they were a couple weeks ago..but its nothing horrible.

Jessica. I took Accutane for the full 6 months when I was 18-years old

I took Accutane for the full 6 months when I was 18-years old. I'm now almost 26 and my skin is still much better. I never really broke out until I started college and I had severe cystic acne. I had tried everything else and eventually settled on Accutane. I will tell you that it was probably the worst 6 months of my life. My acne was so extremely bad during the first 5 months that I almost quit taking it. Worse than the acne was my dry lips. I cannot over-emphasize the word 'dry'. I couldn't even open my mouth. I did suffer from minor depression while I was on the medication, but I think it was partly due to how my face looked at the time during my first semester away from home. All of a sudden, in my 6th month, I had absolutely no pimples. My lips were still awful because I was still taking the medication, but my acne was completely gone. I finished off the cycle and I was done. My lips healed and my skin never looked better. For an entire year after I stopped the Accutane, I did not have a single pimple. My face was impeccable. I occasionally break out for hormonal and stress reasons, but nothing to the extent that I did 7 years ago. My skin is still sensitive and I have to be careful with what kind of makeup and face products I use, but other than that, no problems. Accutane absolutely worked for me, but not without any pain. Accutane will not work within a couple weeks and it will definitely get a lot worse before it gets better, but trust me when I say to stick with it. It is all worth it in the end, I promise.

Jackie. I began taking accutane about a month ago...

I began taking accutane about a month ago. Im 18 and I've had acne for quite a while now. I dont remember the name of my acne, but it scars pretty badly. About two years ago I went to the derm and I was so frigtened by the drug. I ended up refusing to take it. Now a couple years later and trying everything under the sun, I decided to try it. I can't say that it has been the best experince so far. I have back pain, chest pain, chapped lips and a very dry face. My acne has stayed the same, but I'm hoping for the best. Oh, almost forgot to mention that I did have severe headaches every now and then, the first couple weeks. I then found that it was because I wasn't drinking enough. This medication makes you dry on the inside too! I recommend drinking lots of water. I also use polysporin lip treatment (its for cracked lips) and found that it works quite well. The only thing is that you can only use it four times a day, so I also use Aveeno lip chap (works well so far!).

Hope this doesn't scare anyone cause all I have heard are great things after the treatment is finished.