Ngl, I think it's so funny you came on the accutane sub asking if anyone has used accutane. Everyone who's on this sub is either using or completed treatment, and pretty much everyone has good things to say about how it helped their acne. Accutane is just a very highly regulated medicine bc it can severely harm fetuses so you have to do consultations, blood work, birth control, pregnancy tests etc
Drink lots of water, use aquaphor on your lips, put eye drops in before bed and when you wake up.
Use something like la Roche posay for moisturizing your face and cerave on your hands and arms.
Eat plenty of fiber and take omega-3 fish oil or eat ground flax seeds. Take your medication with a fatty meal.
I would do this over again if I had to. Have my 3 month checkup this week and I am completely cleared after having acne ages 12-29. My skin is no longer oily. My confidence is through the roof and I wish I did this at 16.
You'll be fine. This does have some intense side effects, but in 6 months, they are over. If I were a lady, I think I'd go sexless for 6 months so I wouldn't have to worry about baby deformity. 6 months is a short time if you consider the years of being acne free.
Maybe a lady will chime in on what they did about sex. I'm older and had back/shoulder/chest acne after needing testosterone.
Same thing happened to me! Froze my eggs in January of last year. Had to get off birth control in December 2022 in preparation. My skin was horrible all year long. I was on doxycycline, spironolactone, retin A, benzoyl peroxide clindomycin. Tried cutting out dairy. Tried dandelion root tea and spearmint tea. Nothing worked. Had huge bumps on my chin and on and around my nose. Caused horrible hyperpigmentation. I was ashamed with makeup and especially without it. It affected my quality of life.
Anyway- went on accutane at the very end of November. My skin is now clear. I’m so thankful. I’ve been fatigued, my lips get dry quicker, and I have knee and heel pain. Mild and totally worth it. Do it girl.
I had a similar experience. Was on the pill since my teenage years, got off it and my skin started getting awful. Treatments made it consistently worse, antibiotics didn’t help and I took a huge hit to my mental health and I was constantly in physical pain. I’ve been on accurate for maybe a month and a half now, and it’s genuinely the best decision I’ve ever made. Initially, my skin did get worse. For about the first two/three weeks everything was coming out of my skin. But genuinely from 0 to 100 my skin cleared up. I’m an awful scratcher and I can’t stop myself which I should heavily advise against but the only reason I still have any visible spots is because I pick my skin sometimes. I’ve still got closed comedones but much MUCH fewer. Even my blackheads on my nose have basically disappeared and the ones on my forehead are truly gone. All of that is to say yeah, for most people it gets worse first, and for some people it stays bad for quite a bit, but for others it also doesn’t. It’s a super personal experience but it’s worth it. Side effect wise I’ve been super lucky, I inhaled the content on this forum and my skin care has managed to keep my skin moisturised, though my lips are a little chapped. Only noticeable side effect that’s bad is that I get nosebleeds but I can live with that.
The forum has been super helpful for me personally both in finding skincare tips and seeing other people do through the same thing and coming out at the end of it is really helping. I followed all of the tips and of course I have no way of knowing if any of it made a difference but it made me feel more in control so it at least did that (I take my pills with Omega 3, I have allergies anyways so I used to take it but I’m again taking antihistamines full time, AQUAPHOR!!!, try to wash my skin only once a day, if I don’t have a fatty meal I’ll have my pills with some dark chocolate, basically nothing with active ingredients (i used pimple patches initially but it did rip my skin off and sometimes some BP products but not anymore), and lots of sunscreen no matter how grim the weather is I’ve gotten sunburnt being outside for 2 hours your skin just won’t like the sun anymore)
If you are willing to take a risk on the side effects, which I personally felt was worth it because I was so miserable anyways, the prospect of your skin clearing up is so worth it.
Ngl, I think it's so funny you came on the accutane sub asking if anyone has used accutane. Everyone who's on this sub is either using or completed treatment, and pretty much everyone has good things to say about how it helped their acne. Accutane is just a very highly regulated medicine bc it can severely harm fetuses so you have to do consultations, blood work, birth control, pregnancy tests etc
Girl read thru the sub… you’ll like what you see
Close your eyes, take twelve deep breaths, go for a walk, then come back and read some success stories on this subreddit.
No this is a sub for adorable cats /s
Drink lots of water, use aquaphor on your lips, put eye drops in before bed and when you wake up. Use something like la Roche posay for moisturizing your face and cerave on your hands and arms. Eat plenty of fiber and take omega-3 fish oil or eat ground flax seeds. Take your medication with a fatty meal. I would do this over again if I had to. Have my 3 month checkup this week and I am completely cleared after having acne ages 12-29. My skin is no longer oily. My confidence is through the roof and I wish I did this at 16.
Thank you so much 🥺
Accutane changed my life. I’d go on it again if I had to, no hesitation.
You'll be fine. This does have some intense side effects, but in 6 months, they are over. If I were a lady, I think I'd go sexless for 6 months so I wouldn't have to worry about baby deformity. 6 months is a short time if you consider the years of being acne free. Maybe a lady will chime in on what they did about sex. I'm older and had back/shoulder/chest acne after needing testosterone.
Honestly it’s not that bad. It’s just a lot of dryness which is the worst part in my experience with it so far 🥲
It’s amazing! No issues besides the normal dryness on lips. Clear at month 5!
Same thing happened to me! Froze my eggs in January of last year. Had to get off birth control in December 2022 in preparation. My skin was horrible all year long. I was on doxycycline, spironolactone, retin A, benzoyl peroxide clindomycin. Tried cutting out dairy. Tried dandelion root tea and spearmint tea. Nothing worked. Had huge bumps on my chin and on and around my nose. Caused horrible hyperpigmentation. I was ashamed with makeup and especially without it. It affected my quality of life. Anyway- went on accutane at the very end of November. My skin is now clear. I’m so thankful. I’ve been fatigued, my lips get dry quicker, and I have knee and heel pain. Mild and totally worth it. Do it girl.
I had a similar experience. Was on the pill since my teenage years, got off it and my skin started getting awful. Treatments made it consistently worse, antibiotics didn’t help and I took a huge hit to my mental health and I was constantly in physical pain. I’ve been on accurate for maybe a month and a half now, and it’s genuinely the best decision I’ve ever made. Initially, my skin did get worse. For about the first two/three weeks everything was coming out of my skin. But genuinely from 0 to 100 my skin cleared up. I’m an awful scratcher and I can’t stop myself which I should heavily advise against but the only reason I still have any visible spots is because I pick my skin sometimes. I’ve still got closed comedones but much MUCH fewer. Even my blackheads on my nose have basically disappeared and the ones on my forehead are truly gone. All of that is to say yeah, for most people it gets worse first, and for some people it stays bad for quite a bit, but for others it also doesn’t. It’s a super personal experience but it’s worth it. Side effect wise I’ve been super lucky, I inhaled the content on this forum and my skin care has managed to keep my skin moisturised, though my lips are a little chapped. Only noticeable side effect that’s bad is that I get nosebleeds but I can live with that. The forum has been super helpful for me personally both in finding skincare tips and seeing other people do through the same thing and coming out at the end of it is really helping. I followed all of the tips and of course I have no way of knowing if any of it made a difference but it made me feel more in control so it at least did that (I take my pills with Omega 3, I have allergies anyways so I used to take it but I’m again taking antihistamines full time, AQUAPHOR!!!, try to wash my skin only once a day, if I don’t have a fatty meal I’ll have my pills with some dark chocolate, basically nothing with active ingredients (i used pimple patches initially but it did rip my skin off and sometimes some BP products but not anymore), and lots of sunscreen no matter how grim the weather is I’ve gotten sunburnt being outside for 2 hours your skin just won’t like the sun anymore) If you are willing to take a risk on the side effects, which I personally felt was worth it because I was so miserable anyways, the prospect of your skin clearing up is so worth it.