Has anyone taken Accutane?

RusBus01 · 08-19-2005, 07:57 PM

Wondering if anyone has taken accutane did it work...was it worth it.......side effects....ect...... any info on it would be appricated

andyo · 08-19-2005, 08:02 PM

Yep I took it about 10 years ago and here is pretty much a summary of what I experienced on it.

Skin: Total, and utter dryness, scaling and flakiness, especially in the scalp and lips. Keeping a tub of Carmex or lip balm is essential at all times for max comfort.

Eyes: Watery and sometimes extrmemely sensitive to wind and excessive moisture.

Mood: Stable, no effects reported on my end. Just miserable from the dry skin pain all the time.

Overall results: First cycle worked great, but they came back.
Second cycle got rid of my acne and got rid of it for good! I have a bit of skin irritation shaving once in a while, but it saved me totally!
Go for it man, Itworked!

laz · 08-19-2005, 08:09 PM

Took 3 times for it to totally go away but well worth it.

Sides: chapped lips for the rest of my life, high liver enzymes, moodiness.

dp13368 · 08-19-2005, 08:11 PM

100% worth it. The only reason you see such a hype about it on the news is because people didn't realize that your skin actually gets worse before it gets better and since accutane is a "last resort" med, they thought they were done and decided to end their lives.

Most of the people who have problems are the same people in the "average america" who don't watch what they eat/drink, don't exercise, etc.

You will experience dry lips/skin/eyes and maybe a few occasional minor nosebleeds.

WahooLIFTER · 08-19-2005, 08:13 PM

I took it two times too, highest dosage they prescribe, but it all went away for the most part. Really chapped lips was the worst side effect i had, but definately well worth it.

Frank Rizzo · 08-19-2005, 09:57 PM

i have used benzamycin with great results. i have heard some amazing success stories about accutane though.

jhferry · 08-19-2005, 11:23 PM

Accutane was sent down by god. I took it. I had a bad case of adult cystic erupt. One round of tane cleared it up. I still get breakouts but the cysts have not returned. No sides other than dry lips.
Oh yeah, my triglycerides went whacky but hitting the fish oils and the south beach diet fixed that. You dont want to be pounding fast food everynight while on.

armz_ha · 08-20-2005, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dp13368

100% worth it. The only reason you see such a hype about it on the news is because people didn't realize that your skin actually gets worse before it gets better and since accutane is a "last resort" med, they thought they were done and decided to end their lives.

they suidcide because of that?

XPinion · 08-20-2005, 02:34 PM

Took accutane, developed arthritis-like pains in my knees, took 4-5 months for them to go back to normal. Couldn't work out.

Not worth it, there are better alternatives. That is unless you realise acne's normal and nothing to stress out about.

CaGray88 · 08-20-2005, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XPinion

Took accutane, developed arthritis-like pains in my knees, took 4-5 months for them to go back to normal. Couldn't work out.

Not worth it, there are better alternatives. That is unless you realise acne's normal and nothing to stress out about.

Acne is very annoying and there is no cure for cycstic acne because it is actually under the skin. I'm buying accutane tomorrow.

GeordieArtois · 08-20-2005, 02:43 PM

I took 5 courses of Accutane combined with prednislone. I would highly recommend it, it's the only thing that eventually cleared me.

As for sides, I was affected badly which is rare.

Skin, very dry and flaky.
Dry eyes.
Dry lips, lip balm is a must.
Nose bleeds and very dry inner nostrils, petrolium jelly is advised.
Aches and pains in my joints and muscle pains.
Sleeping patterns were messed up.
Mood, I was very bad tempered, violent and depressed.

These extreme sides are rare in the vast majority of users, but the dryness I mentioned is common. Even with my sides I would still recommend it.

Peter LeDrew · 08-20-2005, 03:03 PM

Didn't anyone have hair thinning? Anyways, I would only recommend it for serious, cystic acne. I has minor and my derm gave it to me anyways. I had hair thinning and wasn't on a real high dose or anything and only 3 months.
There's no doubt it is extremely effective and dries you out.

Peter LeDrew · 08-20-2005, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeordieArtois

I took 5 courses of Accutane combined with prednislone. I would highly recommend it, it's the only thing that eventually cleared me.

As for sides, I was affected badly which is rare.

Skin, very dry and flaky.
Dry eyes.
Dry lips, lip balm is a must.
Nose bleeds and very dry inner nostrils, petrolium jelly is advised.
Aches and pains in my joints and muscle pains.
Sleeping patterns were messed up.
Mood, I was very bad tempered, violent and depressed.

These extreme sides are rare in the vast majority of users, but the dryness I mentioned is common. Even with my sides I would still recommend it.

Do you mean five months? OR five courses as in five courses like 3-6 months each?

MISTERDUDE · 08-20-2005, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter LeDrew

Didn't anyone have hair thinning? Anyways, I would only recommend it for serious, cystic acne. I has minor and my derm gave it to me anyways. I had hair thinning and wasn't on a real high dose or anything and only 3 months.
There's no doubt it is extremely effective and dries you out.

I've never heard of hair loss as being a side effect of accutane. Are you sure that was definitly the cause?

GeordieArtois · 08-20-2005, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter LeDrew

Do you mean five months? OR five courses as in five courses like 3-6 months each?

5 courses as in 3-6 months.

Peter LeDrew · 08-20-2005, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MISTERDUDE

I've never heard of hair loss as being a side effect of accutane. Are you sure that was definitly the cause?

I think when I took it the listing was 5% or so of people. Now it is 10% I believe? When you think about how the drug reduces the process of keratinization then there is no reason not to think it would...keratin is the protein that makes up skin, hair and nails.
Because of the hair cycle growth, it might take many months before you see the new hair being thinner or any loss. Many people have had this side effect if you search like on hairsite.com or wherever, but many either do not notice this, do not realize it was due to the drug or are lucky to avoid it. Maybe dose related.
Drug companies know more than they let on and should be well aware that accutane does affect hair significantly. During a drug trial when they report side effects Roche can list hair thinning/loss as 10% or whatever, but long after the trial is done and this side effect is noticed, along with any other sides that don't come up immediately, it is not reported. I would say hair thinning/loss should eventually occur in most accutane users in some degree or another.
Accutane affects peoples health way more than they realize.

ADG · 08-20-2005, 03:23 PM

I took it for about 7 months, been off for about 1.5-2. I did it because I had bad back acne, and nothing worked on it, there is still red marks on my shoulders, but no big painful zits anymore.

For the 7 months, i just used lotion, and dry skin wasn't a problem, and also always had some form of lip moisturizer by my side. I tried to shower every other day or every 2 days to keep my skin from drying out too bad. It is a miracle drug. I have been getting a few zits on my face lately, but nothing like what I used to get.

I didnt think it was working that great until probably the begining of month 7, that's when the few zits I was still getting totally stopped.

If you have bad acne, and its effecting your self-esteem, GO ON ACCUTANE. IT WILL CLEAR YOU

OrangeNBlack · 08-20-2005, 03:36 PM

i kno muscle soreness is a result of accutane...and im getting ready to do a cycle of X-Factor and within a month be put on accutane.....am i going to be screwed????

how mad was the muscle soreness for those who have taken accutane...

Peter LeDrew · 08-20-2005, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADG

I took it for about 7 months, been off for about 1.5-2. I did it because I had bad back acne, and nothing worked on it, there is still red marks on my shoulders, but no big painful zits anymore.

For the 7 months, i just used lotion, and dry skin wasn't a problem, and also always had some form of lip moisturizer by my side. I tried to shower every other day or every 2 days to keep my skin from drying out too bad. It is a miracle drug. I have been getting a few zits on my face lately, but nothing like what I used to get.

I didnt think it was working that great until probably the begining of month 7, that's when the few zits I was still getting totally stopped.

If you have bad acne, and its effecting your self-esteem, GO ON ACCUTANE. IT WILL CLEAR YOU

The red marks are very common and due to reduced keratin and thinner skin which is why skin becomes more sensitive and scars more easily for a long time post accutane.

DieNamicz · 08-20-2005, 03:46 PM

I finished my Accutane treatment about a month ago!... the drug is a blessing.. cleared me up completely... recommended for sure!!

thicketman · 08-20-2005, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyo

Yep I took it about 10 years ago and here is pretty much a summary of what I experienced on it.

Skin: Total, and utter dryness, scaling and flakiness, especially in the scalp and lips. Keeping a tub of Carmex or lip balm is essential at all times for max comfort.

Eyes: Watery and sometimes extrmemely sensitive to wind and excessive moisture.

Mood: Stable, no effects reported on my end. Just miserable from the dry skin pain all the time.

Overall results: First cycle worked great, but they came back.
Second cycle got rid of my acne and got rid of it for good! I have a bit of skin irritation shaving once in a while, but it saved me totally!
Go for it man, Itworked!

13 years ago...similar experience w/ one cycle...had BAD chapped lips. It DOES work.

Holmesy · 08-20-2005, 04:27 PM

i took it my senior year in high school 3 years ago, i also had chapped lips and got 2 nose bleeds and i was running up around 80mg i had bad back acne a little on my chest the the occasional couple on my face i've been virtually acne free since that one cycle....i didnt have any mood swings or anything like that...i would def. reccomend it it was a real self esteem booster having that **** gone....i use to never like taking my shirt off now i wear a shirt as little as possible....

kendog · 08-20-2005, 06:00 PM

What severity of acne is this for? I have about 20 zits on my face at all times, all varying in size. They don't seem to leave permanent scars though. There are rare ocassions the acne nearly completely subsides, but usually not for long.

GeordieArtois · 08-20-2005, 06:10 PM

I'd only recommend Accutane as a last resort, for cystic acne etc. For anything less you should probably try a range of antibiotics.

OneBetter · 08-20-2005, 06:11 PM

Two questons: does it clear up all your skin.

And people who took it, do you still need to wash your face often (with a prodcut i mean) or no?

aceman0920 · 08-20-2005, 06:13 PM

did they commit suicide because they thought there was no hope left when the acne initially got worse or did the 'tane actually mess w/ their head?

XPinion · 08-20-2005, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aceman0920

did they commit suicide because they thought there was no hope left when the acne initially got worse or did the 'tane actually mess w/ their head?

The latter, I've experienced the depression firsthand. It went away after stopping though, and was only from time to time. Never have it now.

Peter LeDrew · 08-20-2005, 08:12 PM

There's no doubt accutane can affect the brain... just weigh the risks and be aware of possible mood problems while on and stop the drug if it gets bad.

thicketman · 08-20-2005, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneBetter

Two questons: does it clear up all your skin.

And people who took it, do you still need to wash your face often (with a prodcut i mean) or no?

1) YES. It clears up all your skin. It worked for me by drying it out.
2) YES. You still need to wash your face to clean your pours. However, you won't have to use some oil-fighting solution. Your face will be extremely dry. I distinctly remember scratching zits off my face when they dried up.

RusBus01 · 08-20-2005, 08:33 PM

Thanks you for all the feedback im definetly pumped to take accutane. Cant wait to have clear skin. Acne has been a real problem for me. I dont remeber a time where i never had a pimple. Acnes not holding me back from doing the things i wanna do. Again thanks.. grateful for all the responses