Isotretinoin and Acne: What Users Say (Page 2)

• xem...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2015

Isotretinoin for Acne "I am 14, and I am beginning year 10. Over summer break, I decided from years of acne and expensive spot products I wanted to make a change to my confidence by taking Accutane. I'm only just finishing the 1st month of the drug, and I was expecting fast-working treatment but don't be disappointed if it doesn't work in the first few weeks because mine didn't. I get painful spots across my chin and on my back and chest, and I wouldn't go out of the house without a face full of foundation or a top that covers my chest and back. Since I have been taking the drug, I have noticed the redness on my chin has calmed down. And the spots on my back are practically gone! I hope this helps :)"

• Dkr...
• October 20, 2013

Isotretinoin for Acne "I've had moderate, treatment-resistant acne since I was about 14. I am now 21, and I started Claravis 14 weeks ago. I noticed my breakouts have been slightly worse for these first few months, and I breakout around my mouth particularly bad, and it looks like herpes, and it's very embarrassing. However, my back/chest are completely clear (they had mild acne before), and my cheeks have been clearer than usual. I'm hoping the pimples on my mouth will go away soon."

• MrP...
• July 3, 2011

Isotretinoin for Acne "I am finishing up my final month on Claravis. The first two months, I have to say, were the worst. I broke out so bad that every time I smiled, I felt nothing but throbbing pain all over my face. Now my face has started to clear, but slowly. I have dark spots and redness all over my face, plus some blackheads to go along with it. I don't break out as bad as I did back in month 2. Hopefully, I will be able to see a clear future."

• Anonymous
• December 1, 2010

Isotretinoin for Acne "I took the max strength two times a day for 5 months when I was 17, and it was well worth it. Around the 2-month mark, my acne got worse, but then around months 3 and 4, it was completely gone and has never returned. The only time I get a pimple now is when I have an ingrown hair. My suggestions are to keep a tube of Vaseline with you for your lips, stay out of the sun, and make sure that you don't give up early on the treatment because you think your acne is getting worse."

• You...
• March 30, 2017

For Acne "I took Accutane 10 mg for 8 months, and the mood was just ups and downs. During the first 2 months, nothing happened to my skin, no breakouts, just chapped lips, and I thought I'm the special one with no breakouts. Unfortunately, during my 3rd month, I had 10 cyst breakouts every month. It definitely made me lose myself as I'm experiencing different results from others. I felt miserable every day, and time passed so slowly. Hence, I just accepted my fate and continued taking until month 7, where my acne finally stopped breaking out. I felt so happy and nervous at the same time, thinking I might breakout anytime soon, but it did not. Now my skin has improved a lot, although I still have small pimples like 1-2 a month. Trust me, it's still worth it!"

• Ali...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2016

For Acne "I was quite skeptical when taking it at first because I noticed no difference in my skin in months. The whole treatment actually makes your skin and acne worse before it gets better (100% worth it and the only way to cure it). This is completely normal and is just your skin releasing all the horrible greasy toxins to get them out of your system as they cause acne. While on the drug, admittedly only the last few months did I see improvement, and I expected instant overnight changes, but in the real world, this isn't the case. After I had been discontinued from the drug, I was completely cured of my acne a month or so later, with minor scarring which will soon fade! Couldn't ask for more, it's brilliant."

• Ali...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 13, 2016

For Acne "I was quite skeptical when taking it at first because I noticed no difference in my skin in months. The whole treatment actually makes your skin and acne worse before it gets better (100% worth it and the only way to cure it). This is completely normal and is just your skin releasing all the horrible greasy toxins to get them out of your system as they cause acne. While on the drug, admittedly only the last few months did I see improvement, and I expected instant overnight changes, but in the real world, this isn't the case. After I had been discontinued from the drug, I was completely cured of my acne a month or so later, with minor scarring which will soon fade! Couldn't ask for more, it's brilliant."

• Mar...
• June 4, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "Review part 2) Took this medicine for 6 months. No side effects until I was off the medication and ended up with acne returning and a dry scalp and face. (Really bad) This medicine was not worth it. Never was. Believe all the warnings, and this is coming from one of the lucky ones. Best believe, at 17, I had everyone asking me what I was doing and saying my skin was equivalent to that of a toddler's. But now I'm 22, and this has gone away. Little reward for a high risk with long-lasting effect... MAKE ANOTHER DRUG THAT DOESN'T KILL YOU IF YOU WANT GOOD SKIN."

• lui...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 7, 2015

For Acne "When I started Accutane 5 months ago, I knew everything about it from blogs, reviews, forums, etc. However, nothing prepared me for my initial breakout. It was wretched, and I basically looked like complete rubbish for 2 months. Despite this, I knew the effectiveness of Accutane and was willing to take the bad breakout, drying skin, and everything else that came with it. During Accutane, my skin had ups and downs, but now, by the fifth month, I have NO active acne. There is some discoloration from my initial breakout, and that will probably take months to go away, but I seriously cannot complain. If any of you are struggling with a severe initial breakout on Accutane, STICK WITH IT and HANG IN THERE. It'll get better if you let it."

• Tat...
• September 19, 2015

Isotretinoin for Acne "This drug is the best. I've taken it twice, stubborn acne keeps on coming back. That's the only thing, but to others, it never comes back. I want to go on it again to get cleared up again. I just started this birth control called the Implanon, and I think that it makes my acne worse. I don't have big pimples, just small looking ones that are annoying. I also have a lot of whiteheads because my skin is so oily. I'm going to make an appointment soon. Accutane works really well. It clears your skin like no other."

• Tat...
• September 19, 2015

Isotretinoin for Acne "This drug is the best. I've taken it twice, stubborn acne keeps on coming back. That's the only thing, but to others, it never comes back. I want to go on it again to get cleared up again. I just started this birth control called the Implanon, and I think that it makes my acne worse. I don't have big pimples, just small looking ones that are annoying. I also have a lot of whiteheads because my skin is so oily. I'm going to make an appointment soon. Accutane works really well. It clears your skin like no other."

• Anonymous
• May 2, 2010

Isotretinoin for Acne "I used Claravis for 5 months, and the results were amazing at first. However, I have been off Claravis for 2 months now, and I'm getting stubborn cyst pimples and whiteheads again. I don't know what to do because I thought this was a 'last resort' medication. I am going back to my dermatologist."

• ver...
• April 15, 2016

Isotretinoin for Acne "My son has severe acne from his Crohn's drugs, and now he wants to take Accutane. I see it as a death sentence of sorts, but I can understand what he is going through at just 13 years old. Has anyone tried Accutane when they are already wrestling with Crohn's? His Crohn's is in remission, and he is using Humira every two weeks now. We suspect Prednisone as the initial cause of his acne."

• Anonymous
• August 18, 2009

Isotretinoin for Acne "I have been on Accutane for a month and a half. I am not sure whether my acne was very severe, but it was bad enough. I was allergic to benzoyl, so my doctor put me on Accutane. Now, I am having a pretty bad flare-up of cystic acne, although I am clear on my back and chest. Lips are unbearably chapped, and I have bad back pains. Hopefully, it will get better."

• 16Y...
• November 29, 2009

Isotretinoin for Acne "Well, I'm just starting it, and so far it started working, but I now have acne on my head. I'm on 40 mg, and my acne is even spreading, but I use cream face wash, and it made me break out. It's only been two weeks, but it's bad right now."

• 16Y...
• November 29, 2009

Isotretinoin for Acne "Well, I'm just starting it, and so far it started working, but I now have acne on my head. I'm on 40 mg, and my acne is even spreading, but I use cream face wash, and it made me break out. It's only been two weeks, but it's bad right now."

• the...
• November 13, 2019

For Acne "I am currently on week 10 of my first round of Oratane (isotretinoin generic). There have been many ups and downs on my journey so far. Month 1 was mainly all negative, breaking out and 'purging' massively. Month 2, things started to look up, and I was seeing improvements. I started to feel hopeful that things would have cleared up by the end of month 2. Unfortunately, this did not eventuate! Lots of bad breakouts again at the end of week 8. The breakouts also seem to coincide with my cycle starting. Week 9 was manageable, but this week I feel I have taken a few steps back and I'm struggling to leave the house (again) because the breakouts are so bad. It's really disheartening to feel like you're making progress and then things flare up again. I keep telling myself that recovery is not a linear process! I'm hoping and praying that things get better in the next few weeks and I am one of the lucky ones who sees their skin drastically change at the end of month 3."

• Suk...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 16, 2021

Isotretinoin for Acne "I'm 55 years old and have always had issues with acne. As I hit menopause, my acne became cystic. I tried antibiotics and creams, but nothing worked. My dermatologist finally put me on Claravis. Within a month, my skin started clearing up. The side effects I got are super dry skin, my face started peeling. I used to get acne on my scalp, face, chest, and back. It did affect my depression and anxiety. My blood work showed my triglycerides high, so I'm stuck at 30 mg so they won't get higher. At this point, I've been on it going on my 9th month, and I'm still going to be on it till October. Side effects aside from dry skin are my face peels, some body aches, I'm always tired, and I've had lots of hair loss. I use Jack Black's intense therapy lip balm for my lips so my lips don't crack. No bloody nose. I'm still purging a little, so I do get a few tiny pimples here and there. I'm hoping that will stop when I'm done."

• noa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 23, 2017

Isotretinoin for Acne "My son was on this drug for about 4 months, and the worst things happened. He went from mild acne to the worst acne one can imagine. It was horrible, huge cystic acne. We went to the doctor month after month with disgust in how bad his face got. Eventually, I pulled the plug and brought him to another doctor who agreed, after showing him pictures, that this drug was detrimentally ruining his skin. He switched him to Clarvis, and within a couple of weeks, it was clearing up. My son's self-esteem was detrimentally affected along with his skin. He will now need to have some type of resurfacing done to get his skin back. We have pictures to prove what this did to his skin!!"

• Eli...
• December 20, 2016

For Acne "I was on a pretty huge dose of isotretinoin to start off with, and I was taking one pill at night and one in the morning. I can't remember the exact dosage, but it was pretty high. Before being on the pill, I had acne pretty much since I hit puberty, but I never really had cystic acne. After about 3 weeks of being on it, my face broke out TERRIBLY, all cystic pimples on my cheeks. And I experienced severe breakouts like that for about 5 1/2 months. My face and lips were so dry that it hurt to even touch them or do anything. I took the medicine for about 8 1/2 months. I now do not get more than a few pimples a month and have pretty nice skin, but I am left with terrible scarring on my cheeks. Overall, the medicine did its job."

• sea...
• June 9, 2016

For Acne "I'm on my 6th week of Accutane. I suffered from mild, persistent acne for about 6 years. I am now 21. The first few weeks, I saw absolutely no results, just dry skin and chapped lips, which progressed to dry skin and bad breakouts by week 3 or so. But by week 4, I started seeing my skin clear up. I saw my face completely clear up by the end of week 4 (minus scars). However, after 3-5 days of no new acne, I had a flare-up, which didn't last long. Now, going into week 6 and coming off another acne-free week, my acne is flaring up, but not as bad as usual, though. I'm on day 40 or 41, and I'm hoping soon these small flare-ups go away, but for now, all I can do is stay positive."

• Nam...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 11, 2019

For Acne "Used isotretinoin (40 mgs) for 6 months consecutively from May to October 2017. I cleared out after my first 3 months. In July 2019, I began to have a few breakouts, which ended up being major breakouts! I went back to my derma in October 2019 and he prescribed isotretinoin (40 mgs) for one month. I’m almost through, and acne cleared, but just two days before I finished my dose, I began to get a few breakouts, and this is because I’m about to get my period. I’m not sure what to say, but I’m going to see him for a review so that he can advise."

• tom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 15, 2016

For Acne "I had cystic acne all over my face, chest, and back since I was a freshman. I was a junior in high school when I first started taking Accutane (March 2013). I took it until August 2013, and my acne was all gone. A few months after completing Accutane, I noticed that I would get occasional breakouts on my face but none on my chest and back. Then when I started college fall 2014, I noticed chest acne and breakouts on my face but none on my back. I went to a couple of dermatologists, and they told me to take antibiotics (minocycline), benzoyl peroxide, and clindamycin, but it never worked. I just finished my sophomore year, and I'm currently on my second regimen. I'm taking 40 mg a day, and I'm on day 6. I really hope this works."

• Amb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2016

For Acne "Into my second month of Roaccutane. I started on 40 mg for the first month. My side effects were low to begin with. My lower back ached for about 5 days and then went away. I have mild dry skin throughout the whole first month. The things that I found hard in the first month were the 4/5 nosebleeds a day, extremely dry eyes, and the worst breakout I have ever experienced. I went to see my derm two days ago and she increased my dose to 60 mg per day. I am now on the second day of 60 mg and I haven't really noticed any difference yet, but I'm not expecting to for about a week. I woke up today with probably fewer new spots than I have been, but the worst part for me is the really bad clusters of acne right next to either side of my mouth."

• Lar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2019

For Acne "I have had acne for the past 10 years and don’t know the exact cause, but I think it’s the environmental factor as I moved to another city. I’ve been to numerous dermatologists, even one of the top dermatologists in the country. Treatments helped only as long as I was taking the medication. As soon as the course was finished and I stopped taking medicine, cystic acne used to appear. Being young, I thought doctors didn’t recommend any severe medicine. With the passage of time, I gave up and stopped looking for ways to cure my acne. I came to know about Accutane with the help of the Internet as a last treatment for acne. With hope, I decided to go to a doctor after 4-5 years, and he gave me ISOTIN gel (isotretinoin) for a month with antibiotics for 5 days. It was effective as long as I was applying the gel, and after my course was completed, abruptly cystic acne began to come back and it turned out to be like the rest."