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.
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Hey there, I know your post was in 2010. But are you still on accutane now or have you stopped completely? What was the lowest dose you went on and for how long? I hope you can respond.
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