Should I Take Accutane?

I'm 19 next month and have had quite bad acne since I was about 13. Over the years its gradually gotten worse with scars and larger spots. I've been on dianette (contraceptive pill),face washes (zyneryte),benzyl peroxide (which burnt my skin) and antibiotics which have all failed to help long term. I have been on new antibiotics for about a week now (lymecycline) and i'm also using a vitamin supplement called skin accumax (2 tablets twice a day) aswell as using dermalogica to cleanse and moisturise my face. I have seen some improvement in the time that I've been taken the two tables together but I had a doctors appointment this morning and he is suggesting I go on Accutane. when he told me the side effects I was very concerned as I don't like the thought of my skin getting worse with a chance that it could get better 6 months down the line. Also the dry skin and lips concern me as i'm at uni and don't really like the thought of walking about with dry flaky skin and horrible looking lips. I'm now even more concerned reading some of the discussions on the forums as they have gotten really serious for some people. My question ultimately is, for those who have used Accutane how bad was the dryness? could you still wear make up with it? and overall was it worth it?

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I would suggest having your hormones checked! There are hormonal treatments outside of birth control. I would also look in to holistic measures, or light therapy.

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@Lindsay,

I completely agree with oli girl. I have personally taken Accutane and even though I didn't experience all of the extreme side effects (just very dry chapped lips), it did nothing for my acne. There are so many other ways to treat acne without Accutane, such as: essential oils, acupuncture, and other holistic therapies.

Personally, I've found that I react very badly to refined sugars and dairy- I break out if I do not eliminate those types of foods from my diet. Also, being dehydrated can really effect your skin (skin is primarily made up of water, like the rest of our body!). Once I started to check my diet and stay hydrated with only water (no soda or other sugary drinks) I saw a huge improvement. Acne can also be hormonal, many go on birth control for that reason and see great results! I've tried that method, but didn't see much improvement.

Throughout the years and my battle with acne, I've learned that having a healthy body is really the first step to having clear skin. The liver and hormones are the main systems to blame when it comes to acne. If your liver can't take care of all of the toxins on its own, it has to find a way to flush them out.. and for many people, the toxins get flushed out through the skin; the biggest organ. When it comes to hormones, they can also be regulated by making certain changes to the diet (or with the addition of birth control).

I know from years of experience that treating acne is such a PAIN, but you just have to listen to your body and do your best to eat clean and stay hydrated. A quick tip to make water "tastier", is to add real lemon or lime juice! The vit C can help to boost your immune system, and is great for healthy skin!

I hope you find my reply helpful! Please post back if you have any questions. :)

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