Accutane for Acne User Reviews (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 31, 2019

"Acne has been apart of my life for almost 8 years now. There has never been a day where I did not at least have one break out. So, I finally decided to jump into isotretinoin (40mg) twice daily after trying antibiotics and multiple topical that did not help. My acne has for the most part cleared with one break out in my 6 month of treatment. Although, the side effects are brutal. I am talking peeling layer of skin of my lips daily while using medicated chapstick the entire duration of treatment. I am talking bloody noses and dried scabs from constant bleeding. I am getting my nose cauterized because of how easily my blood vessels break from the repeated dryness. My eyes hurt after looking at classwork or the computer for an hour. The last big side effect was dry eczema on my arms. All I can say is I am glad to be completing treatment. Although everyone seems to react different so please understand my side effects may not equal yours."

• Bailey
• March 11, 2018

"Four years ago I took Accutane for 5months. It worked for my horrible acne and I haven't had any breakouts since, but shortly after taking it I had side effects of hair loss and ingrown toenails to the point it was 1/2inch ingrown. Now four years later I continue to have ingrown toenails, I've had the surgically removed at least twice a year. It seems to be never ending."

• BW Mom
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 30, 2017

"Helped with acne, although not the "miracle" we hoped for. However, he did experience severe psych issues at month #4. A college kid with absolutely no previous psych issues , became very depressed. No specific incidents or issues occurred, just a depression over nothing. Tears and sadness with no links to anything. Couldn't eat or sleep.We immediately stopped."

• Jag_m...
• November 27, 2016

"within the first two months on acutane my acne got much much worse but after that it got much bettter although it did leave behind many scars due to the severity of my acne because of the medicine in the first two months ... if I knew this would happen I would've just let my acne play out without the acutane"

• laney...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 7, 2016

"I was on accutane for almost 2 months. About a month and a half in, my eyes started to bother me. They were incredibly dry and it constantly felt like I had an eyelash in them. They were burning like crazy and hurt to move. I was worried I had an infection, so I went to my eye doctor. They told me both of my optic nerves were swollen and referred me to a neuro opthamologist. I was immediately taken off accutane. It has been a couple weeks since I stopped the medication and my eyes have finally stopped bothering me. If I had continued the medication, I could've had permanent eye damage. The scariest side effects may be rare, and this drug may be a "holy grail" for stubborn acne, but is clear skin really worth going blind, etc?"

• sean...
• May 10, 2016

"I have have had mild/persistent acne for about 6 years now (I'm 22) and have tried several treatments. The most effective was doryx which I was on for nearly 6 months, it cleared my skin up completely. However, that clear skin only lasted few months, and by the end of the treatment my acne was flaring up again. That is when my dermatologist prescribed me accutane. I was assured there would be no new flare ups because my acne was mild. However, I am on day 12 now and I can say my skin was clearer when I started accutane than it is now. On top of that I am experiencing very dry skin and chapped/cracked lips. I am going to stick the full treatment out, but just a warning that more likely than not you will break out before it gets better."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 25, 2013

"Yes it did clear my acne once I was on it. I had cystic acne around my chin and forehead, and some acne on my cheeks. But I would say no less than a year later, it started coming back. Granted it was not as bad as before, but I was extremely surprised to see acne come back so soon. Now about 3 years later it is TERRIBLE. I am getting cystic acne again and a new pimple is popping up pretty much everyday around my chin. I really don't want to have to go on another treatment of Accutane. I had already been on 2 six month treatments in a row. "

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 19, 2012

"I went on Accutane when I was 18 years old. You have to be on birth control before and have 2 negative pregnancy tests before being prescribed Accutane. Then you have to be tested every month for pregnancy. It took me about 6 months to actually begin the treatment. You need to be very strict and diligent about taking it. You will NOT starting seeing any improvement for at least 6 months (I was on it for a year) and your acne might get a little worse before it gets better. My skin did clear up a lot after I was on it. However, 4 years later it all came back for some reason. Side effects include: very dry skin (face, hands, feet, etc.) I would recommend it for anyone who has moderate to severe acne."

• appx
• April 25, 2012

"Well, it worked well for me. I took it back in the early 90's as a young teenager with moderate acne. The side effects are bad though, really bad. My skin was so dry, as were my lips and scalp. I was sick, had a lot of pain and anxiety and then depression. I took a 6 month course and it was recommended that I take a second about a year later but I couldn't face the idea of the side effects. It did, however, do miracles for my skin, it has remained clear some 20 yrs later."

• Anonymous
• December 9, 2011

"This is my honest experience. I convinced myself that I would take the medicine and the moment I should notice side effects I would stop. While on Accutane, the worst the side effects got were chapped lips, dry skin on my hands and elbows, and sensitivity to sunburns (never had a sun burn in my life before then). Accutane worked like a charm and my skin became perfect, but it wasn't until two years after coming off it did my hair start to thin. "

• Ash
• July 15, 2011

"When I took Accutane, my acne did clear up after a couple of months. But the side effects were very annoying, including excessively dry face and lips and back pain. It actually came to a point that I couldn't continue dancing because of this back pain. I was glad to be finished with it after the allotted time I was prescribed, but then 6 months later my acne came back in full. My doctor said this is normal and usually goes away within weeks, but mine didn't. I'm still struggling with acne despite having taken Accutane."

• Anonymous
• January 6, 2011

"I am 15 and a half, and I have been on Accutane for about one month now, and I have noticed my acne has gotten terribly worse. I'm breaking out all around my mouth, which was not my problem area when I was not on it. I have had bad back pains, but I am a dancer, so I don't know if its from that, or the medicine. I recently went to the dermatologist, and he upped my dose from 40 mg to 60 mg. Besides dry lips, I have not had any other side effects. My skin wasn't even drying out, which is one reason why my dermatologist upped the dose. I really hope my skin starts clearing up soon."

• learn...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 23, 2021

"I took accutane a year ago and I want people to know that skin maintenance after can be very complicated to find what works for you. I've been taking adapelene 0.3 percent since then to treat acne scars and potential new acne and this leaves my skin very very red, dry and sensitive. It took me a year to figure out a moisturize that would work for me, and that it was alright to use the moisturize right after applying the adapelene. I've tried many many products and "Rugged AND Dapper Age and Damage Defense Facial Moistuizer" on Amazon finally does the trick (I'm a man). Good Luck! Share your own tips!"

• Kyr
• November 23, 2019

"I am currently a week into my third month of treatment And have suffered from acne since the age of 19 I am now 24 and have finally decided to bite the bullet and go on accutane My derm initially prescribed me 40mg of accutane once daily she upped my dose to 60mg and when I say my skin has become beyond dry and sensitive to the touch I mean it Not to mention the initial purge is something am dealing, with breaking out on parts of my face that I normally don’t breakout. There are red inflamed bumps that take weeks to dissipate. At my last appointment she lowered my dose back to 40mg She stated that I am just one of the patients of hers that she needs to ease into the process with I was on prednisone during month two as well because my skin had flared up so bad. I am really hoping there is a light at the end of this nightmare of a tunnel. If anyone has gone through anything similar to this with their treatment I would love to hear your experience because I’m losing hope and am trying to be patient"

• steph...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 6, 2019

"I am currently on this for the second cycle I did a 5 month treatment in 2018 and on it again because after I was off it started coming back. It is distressing at 25 years old and seeing girls with clear faces and me I'm still dealing with acne and stressing over it. I am doing it all over again I'm on the 3rd week of taking the pills and I'm breaking out really bad but all I get is super dry lips, my moods do change but I try and maintain. Hopefully my acne does clear up and is the last cycle I have to do but I asked the nurse how many time can someone do this and they said as many times as you need so I am guessing acne does come back for some of us which sucks."

• zoe
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 27, 2019

"Accutane completely cured my acne for 6 months but then acne comes back progessively after taking the drug. I have now taken it twice (Two 6 month courses of very strong doses). Now waiting for my 3rd referal to a dermatologist after 9 years of acne and really losing hope."

• Elise
• May 3, 2019

"Not gonna lie, this drug is painful. So many side effects. I'm in my 6th and hopefully final month today. I have experienced dry lips and skin, extreme eye irritation, headaches, bad scarring, and oddly enough abnormal hair growth. I think because the cells are turning over at a faster rate, the hair follicle is too. Therefore I am a hairy beast now. . YAY. It was not like this before accutane. It has mostly cleared up my acne, but the purge was so bad that it brought everything to the surface and now I have dents and bad hyper-pigmentation from pimples that I didn't even have before accutane. It looks pretty bad. I still get pimples too. Which stinks, but I guess at least it's not cystic ones anymore. I cannot wait to get off this medicine. I guess it works for huge cystic acne, but it was not for me. Also it was expensive. And I had pharmacy and ipledge trouble every time I tried to retrieve the medicine."

• pops
• August 14, 2018

"Accutane does do the job, it does clear your acne however it does take a while to do so, especially if you’re put on a low dose like I was. As well as this, although I am so happy I don’t have acne anymore as it was ruining my life and my self confidence, the side effects of accutane were horrendous for me. My skin started going scaly because it was so dry, literally everywhere. My hair stopped growing and got so dry damaged and thin to the point where I’ve had to pay a lot of money to get it fixed, and it also made my mood change quite a lot too. A few months later, I did notice that I was getting spots again, not as bad as my acne before but still. I’ve started using cepton skin wash and that works amazing. I guess you have to weigh up the side effects versus how bad your acne is. If you’ve tried everything else and nothing works and your acne gets you down, then I think accutane is for you. The main thing is that it does work but the side effects do have to be considered!"

• Anonymous
• August 10, 2016

"I've been on Accutane for 10 months on the higher dosage at 80mg. I've now had to wait two months to get an appointment with my dermotolagist and during these two months my acne is slowly, but surely coming back."

• JeniL...
• June 25, 2016

"This me's worked wonders for me when I was 24. After years of severe adult acne, this was the only thing that helped. Fast forward to my 40's, I tried 2 courses of Accutane for severely oily skin. When you have skin this oily and finally your makeup looks like velvet matte perfection , it's almost too good to be true. I developed 2 bad side effects that were NOT listed in my booklet. Hair loss and severe dark under eye circles . Nothing else was different in my life except the Accutane. I feel like I traded one issue( and it's only temporary, oil comes back) for two worse issues . I'm devastated. Had I been told this was even a small possibility I would never have done this. was a super fan but not so much now."

• Taj_6...
• March 1, 2016

"I took accutane for 5 months. My acne cleared but I still have discoloration. The side effects were horrible. The back pain for the first two months was almost unbearable. The mood swings, headaches, and dry skin were terrible too. It was effective, but I never want to have to go through that for 5 months again."

• Amanda...
• February 5, 2016

"I'm on my last week of accutane and have been taking it for 5 months. All of my acne has cleared up except for one or two pimples but I still have acne scars left. My only side effect symptoms at first included dry lips, dry eyes, back pain, and blurry vision, but now I'm experiencing mood swings and depression. It is not severe but I have noticed that I've been acting different for no real reason. I honestly can't wait to get off the drug just to return to my normal self and feel like I have more control over my emotions. Overall, I think the side effects are worth it for the results that I've gotten from accutane, but I am worried that after I'm done taking it that my acne will return."

• Floweer
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2015

"I'm on my second week of Accutane 40mg. So far no side effects or initial breakout. My lips are dryer but easily fixable with Chapstick. I've been using jojoba oil as a moisturizer as well. I've had extremely minor pimples appear and then go away immediately and no scarring. So far it's been great and hopefully continues to do so!"

• Emily
• July 30, 2013

"I've been on Accutane for almost 4 months now. My skin is getting better everyday and I'm really happy with the physical results. However, Accutane began to give me depression during the first week and it has stuck with me since. Although the side effect has not gotten worse (and won't, I've asked my dermatologist). It's definitely not good and I've read that it won't go away until a few months after I have finished my course. NOTE: I had already suffered depression before beginning the course & it is hereditary in my family."

• Anon
• June 14, 2012

"I have just begun on the Accutane treatment and am already drying out. I don't have very severe acne but no other treatments seem to be doing anything. I'm very careful to take especially good care of my skin and my body while on this treatment! Always have some sort of moisturizer on me, always lots of water, something to stop my lips from getting dry. I think its working already."