Accutane Treatment

Updated

It has almost been a year since I finished my 5 month accutane treatment, and I could not be happier with the results. I took 80mg a day for 5 months. I find this to be more than the usual amount given (my friend only took 30mg for 6 months), but I believe this aggressive and short treatment was the reason for such success (that same friend relapsed only a few months later... I think because of her low dosage). During accutane, I experienced extreme dryness (I even got eczema on my hands and arms), I had really bad back pain the last month or so of treatment, my hair thinned a little in the front (it has all grown back now), and my personality was a little more secluded too (this is probably because I was ashamed of my worsening acne and not due to the actual drug). My lips were really nice on accutane because i took care of them... I took a damp towel and rubbed all the dead skin off, then I applied a thick layer of aquaphor (I did this in the morning and at night). When I started accutane, I had moderate but persisting acne and sometimes it would flare up and get really bad. Overall, I'd say I had bad skin but not anything too severely cystic. Accutane definitely made my acne way worse before it got better. For the first 3 months of treatment, my acne was still bad which was kinda discouraging. Once I hit the 4th month, however, I found that my skin was clearing and scars were fading! When I first ended treatment, I noticed small bumps appearing on my skin. I thought I'd be stuck with ceratosis pillares the rest of my life, but, thankfully, the small bumps cleared up. I'm pretty sure it was just my oil glands "reactivating" themselves after 5 months of accutane. It has been almost a year since treatment and I've only had a handful of pimples which is amazing. I'm so thankful for this drug because it has given me so much more confidence. 5 months on accutane is hard, but it is sooooo worth it. As for now, I use gentle cetaphil face wash, tea tree/witch hazel toner, cetaphil moisturizer, and I'm good! Aquphor is still a staple product too lol

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Thank you for your very helpful post! Many time sites such as this only receive complains, and not good experiences.

How are you doing. now? Are things still going well?

The FDA warns that one should not take this medication, if they may become pregnant, or are intend to become pregnant, while using it, since it could cause some severe birth defects.

I have not tried Cetaphil, how well does it work?

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Re: Verwon (# 1) Expand Referenced Message

I'm glad my post was helpful! I decided to make a post because I remember how scared I was reading all these online forums talk about how bad their accutane experience was. The truth is not many people go on to write about their positive post-accutane experience... they only write if they have had a negative experience, which is understandable but it goes to show how under represented positive accutane experiences are on the web!

This March will mark my 1st whole year off of accutane. My skin is clear and the symptoms I had while I was on accutane have mostly gone. The only thing that I've noticed is that I don't produce much oil anymore. Before accutance, I'd get super oily by the end of the day; Post-accutane, my skin and hair is no longer oily. The only lasting side effect I've experienced is facial flush. My skin blushes very easily when exposed to hot/cold weather or when I get nervous. I used to easily blush before but now the flush is a little more intense.

When taking accutane, you are required by law to have 2 forms of birth control to prevent any birthing defects. I chose abstinence and condoms. There are many other choices like contraceptives, etc., but since I'm not active I chose those 2.

As for cetaphil- I love their products! Their products are super gentle on all skin types. I used their gentle daily facial cleanser during accutane and I still use it now! Their body bar soap is also really good if you have any body acne. As for their moisturizer, it was perfect when I was really dry during accutane, but now I only use it during the cooler months of the year when my skin might be a little more dried out than usual.

Hope this helps!

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