Who tried accutane? Does it REALLY work?

Apr 6, 2014

Renae A.

I'm thinking about going on accutane but I really can't afford to get worst skin as it is. So does it really work? Does it make your skin worst before it gets better?

Apr 6, 2014

Jaden C.

It worked wonders for my skin.

Apr 6, 2014

Shiro M.

I have a family member who was on it, and he said that it made his skin super sensitive afterwards. It is effective, but there are some lasting effects.

Apr 6, 2014

Renae A.

Thank you everyone! I'm just really paranoid about it getting worst before better stage :/

Apr 6, 2014

Caitlin M.

With most acne meds it will get worse before getting better, so it really isn't avoidable in my opinion. I haven't done Accutane but I use prescription medication for my acne and when I first started it did get bad but my skin adjusted and improved. I waited years to do something about it aside from trying to treat it on my own. But it was so worth it. Obviously my stuff isn't quite as serious as Accutane but try to keep in mind that any doctor prescribes something because they think it will help you and that they think the benefits outweigh the risks.

But have you tried any other prescriptions before? If you haven't tried any others I'd recommend trying a couple less serious options and seeing if they work at all. I was sure my derm would at least mention Accutane but apparently it wasn't as bad as I thought it was because she gave me something completely different and didn't mention it at all. You may be surprised that something else might work. I use Aczone and Tretinoin and together my skin has cleared significantly. But I understand if you have tried others and nothing has worked, usually Accutane is a last resort.

Apr 7, 2014

Kitty K.

To shorten the 5 page explanation, Saw Palmetto is extracted from the fruit of Saw Palmetto and has been used for men over the years but it has also worked great for acne due to it's ability to block DHT.
It helps especially with reducing hormonal acne. There's not a lot of information on it. There is a saw palmetto based product called 'Clearogen'. Some of it's reviews are from users who wanted to discontinue the use of Accutane. I would personally look into it before taking Accutane.

Apr 8, 2014

Darcy W.

Different and Epiduo work wonders! They both treat hormonal, genetic, and cystic acne.

Honestly it's a life saver! It's the worst 6 months of your life. no fatty, over salted food. no alcohol. Skin breaks out like crazy then heals scars. The drying out process is what killed me. My lips would bleed. My bones ached and had to take vitamin d. It changes your vision, I could no longer see clearly at night. Honestly there's a lot of health risks and weird side effects. And yes only the most serious side effects are rare. This is going to be my fourth round. And yes sometimes you may need take several rounds depending on your skin needs. If you follow all the doctors instructions, takes as many rounds as you need there is chance you may never have cystic break out again. I only recommend accutane for cystic acne because it's not worth it if you only get white or black heads. It's a serious program. So research!

Apr 9, 2014

Kortney L.

I was on it for a period of about 3-4 months and my skin was so clear, like perfectly clear...but I had to stop taking it because it cause severe intestinal damage. The doctors failed to tell me the full range of side effects the medicine can have on someone. It caused me to be violently ill for 2 weeks and resulted in me vomiting violently, having explosive diarrhea and I became severely dehydrated and I lost almost 20 pounds...the doctors told me it was a fluke. So I did some more research into the medicine and I discovered that I wasn't the only one who had such a severe reaction to it. Yes it works wonders on acne but take caution because you might be one of the rare cases that reacts in this manner to the medication.