Has anyone ever been on accutane?

So, for the past 7 years (since high school, basically) I have battled my acne. I don't even remember how it started, but it was a gradual progression of small rough bumps that eventually covered my entire face. I also have rosacea (reddening of the face) that I don't know if it was caused by the acne or vice versa, and I also have to deal with that on a daily basis.

I have tried literally every acne product on the market. Over the counter creams, combination therapies, proactive, skin clearing makeup, they all do nothing to really do anything significant. I have been on antibiotics (both topical and oral, clindamycin and tetracycline), am currently on birth control (which has not really done anything) and I have been on several of the most recent prescription acne creams to come out, including Differrin and Retin-A.

I have just entered grad school, and I am sick and tired of dealing with my face. I'm kind of coming to the point where I feel I am too old to have acne, and I am so frustrated with the years of bombarding my skin with these harsh chemicals and probably doing more damage than good.

So, my question is, does Accutane work? I know there are some terrible side effects, and I have yet to decide if I would want to put myself through that. But, I have reached the end of my rope here. I hate looking at myself in the mirror and seeing the bumps all over my face, and I hate meeting new people thinking that they're grossed out by my face.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Have you tried the oil cleansing method?  May sound out there but it works wonders for many people's skin, mine included. It's worth a shot before you try the script stuff.

I use tea tree oil in my mix.  That was always worked better for my skin than any other otc pimple med.  It's amazing what that stinky liquid can do.

I find that on the rare occasion that I do get a bump, an aspirin mask takes the red out.  Mix a two aspirin tabs with a little water and put in on your troubled spots.  If you use a bit of honey and/or aloe it'll stick better.  Leave it on for 20 minutes and rinse off.  Follow it up with a splash of tea tree on the spot and blamo, the pimple will be gone by the next day.  For me, obviously everyone's skin is different.

If you're keen on making your own stuff a great toner is tea tree and witch hazel.  Inexpensive and effective.

I've actually heard that tea tree oil is pretty effective.

Of course, I would agree that it sounds pretty counterintuitive. I have extremely oily skin; it seems like I only have an hour after I wash it before I start getting all greasy, sometimes less if it's hot outside. Would you still recommend it for my skin type?

I read the thread but I don't know what proportions of which oils and in what concentrations would be effective. What is your procedure? How often do you do it? And, how long does it take to be effective? Thanks!

If I remember correctly tea tree worked better than 5% benzoyl peroxide (usual dose of the common med) in clinical trials.  The stuff is amazing. 

I have combo skin myself; very oily around nose and chin, dry forehead, and normal to oily cheeks.  I use about 60/40 olive to castor and I wash with it once a day at night.  In the morning I use just water.  Sometimes I do it twice a day (morning and night) if I feel like "pampering" myself.  It is very calming but it can be time consuming. 

I haven't found that I'm more oily.  It actually seems to balance my skin out.  Forehead is flake free, nose and chin are neither oily nor tight, and cheeks feel normal.

I have mine premixed now but when I started out I mixed each batch in a measuring spoon.  I use around a teaspoon and a half to two teaspoons for each application.  I never really measured the tto I'd add, but 5 or six drops per 1/2 teaspoon seems about right for me.  It should be pretty stinky.

Pour into hands, rub together and start massaging it in to your face.  5 minutes should do the trick.  Then apply a warm/hot towel to face and let it cool for a moment.  Then wipe oils off.  Repeat till you can barely feel a tiny bit of oil left.  You can't remove it all with just water and a towel.  If you're used to regular face washes it may feel weird as the skin doesn't feel "clean."  It is though.

Your face should not feel tight after.  If it does you've used too much castor oil.  You can use a drop of your oil of choice for a moisturizer  If you feel too oily, use a bit more castor next time. 

I haven't regularly used a commerical moisturizer with this method so I can't comment on it.  I don't really need one anymore and if I did I'd just use the extra virgin olive oil.

You can use whatever carrier oil you see fit.  Extra virgin olive, grapeseed, sunflower, jojoba, and sweet almond are common ones.  I use olive because we have that in the house at all times.  I don't recommend hard oils like coconut, coco, shea, etc.  From what I've read they don't seem to work well.

I saw/felt results immediately.  It didn't unclog all my pores overnight or anything but my face was so so very soft after my first attempt.  It just got better from there.

I've read that some people experience a purging.  Their skin gets a bit worse before it gets better.  Didn't happen to me.  The recommended adjustment period is two weeks. 

It's something you have to play around with to get right for your skin. My best advice if you want to try it is to read the following - OCM.com check out the reviews page for more links about it.

If you do try it, let me know if it works for you or not.  You might want to do a spot test first to make sure you aren't allergic to the oils.  If you're pregnant or nursing talk to your doc before using essential oils.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I exfoliate once or twice a week.  I use sugar mixed with my oils or sometimes I use an old toothbrush (1st genereation Crest Spin Brush Pro to be exact).  Works great.

My son was on accutane for 2 years. His acne started getting bad in his sophomore year. We went to the regular doctor and the cream he prescribed did very little. I then took him to a dermatologist. When I showed the dermatologist the medication the family physician prescribed he threw it in the trash and kind of scoffed.

The dermatologist tried several months of different treatment first. He said he thought my son might need the accutane, but he wanted to try other treatments first. Accutane is powerful and can cause liver damage. My son's skin improved some, but it was still bad, so we had to do the accutane.

My son had to have blood tests regularly to check for liver damage. Accutane can cause serious birth defects. The doctor told us that if our child had been a girl that she would have to be put on birth control even is she were a virgin and then she would need a pregnancy test each month before the prescription could be refilled. That is Ohio law as well. The pharmacist can not fill an accutane prescription to a female without a negative pregnancy test.

My son had no side effects from the medicine. His skin cleared up very well. After he quit the accutane treatments he had a little breaking out on his back, but it was mild and intermittent. He did not get breakouts on his face or chest.

You need to make an appointment with a good dermatologist. They really do know skin much better than a general practicioner. I wouldn't go to a general practicioner and ask for accutane, because there may be other treatments that will correct your acne without the risks of accutane.

It is very powerful stuff and it works wonders. It gave my son a chance at a normal high school life. Without accutane, I'm afraid my son would have had a pizza face all through high school.

I was on accutane and it worked!  I am so happy it worked too.  I had horrible horrible acne when I went to college....well, I had it in high school too, but the stress in college made it even worse.  I had huuuuuuge boils on my face that made my face swell up and was soooo painful.  So I really know what you are going through.  I did not have the red face thing though, but I did because of the boils.  I stopped wearing makeup because it seemed to just irritate it even more, so talk about horribly completely wanting to hide myself away for eternity and then some.  :( 

Anyway, I was on it for 6 months and during that time my face got progressivly better, however, I did have super super dry skin.  AND!!!  you have to be super careful about the sun.  TONS and TONS of sunscreen.  Do not use a tanning bed either...really bad idea. 

Right now, I get the occasional bad pimple, but mostly because I have my hands on my face or when I go through that time of the month for myself. 

The other side affect is you have to either be abstinent or be on birth control and use a condom.  No BABIES!  For me I just did no sex because, well, back then I had never had it and didn't until I was well off of accutane until about a year later. I know, seriously I was really old compared to everyone else who lost it.  Anyway, back to your question of does this work, yes it does!  Oh, and my sister used it also and she was a sucess story as well.  So...there you go.  Your choice, just be super careful about sex because that's really really important.  And the lotion, keep it on hand all the time. 

I say you should try it out.  But maybe that's because I know what it's like to have the horrible skin that you just want to not be seen or touched or looked upon...I seriously had horrible self esteem back then.  I sound like a sales person. haha.  anyway, best of luck with whatever you choose!  <3

Tried accutane during college and got side effects so had to stop (blacking out).  I use the oil cleansing method now since I never did get rid of the acne.  It works really well for me!  I just use straight olive oil.

Oh, and I had to have monthly blood tests before they would refil my perscription.  This was to monitor my body, and to make sure I was not prego.  But, lucky for me I didn't have to mess with even the idea of being prego because I could hardly look at myself in the mirror much less anyone get that close to me to do that!  I know, I felt terrible.  Plus, I realised with my face that I was also gaining more weight because I felt terrible it was getting worse, and then as I saw my face clearing up over time, my weight started going down because I felt soooo much better about myself. I'm not sure if you have a weight loss or weight gain issue, but it helped tons with me.

again, best of luck and I hope you know that no matter what, you are beautiful and amazing no matter what! :)

Thanks for the replies! It helps to hear experiences (the good and the bad) about the treatments available.

pavlovcat - How are you liking the oil cleansing method? I will try it as soon as I get some of the specific oils, and I'm hoping I don't have to go on accutane, given the tight regulations of your liver and all that. I know it's effective, but I don't want to end up worse than when I started.

marsheroyth - I can agree that the acne makes me keep people away, and whenever I see a picture of myself that really accentuates it I can't even look at myself. I don't think it really affects my weight, but it stops me from going out sometimes.

pegamoose, have you been to a dermatologist? If not, go to one. A good dermatologist will try other treatments first before prescribing accutane.

how long have you tried tetracycline for? i also had severe acne, nothing at all would help, but i gave these tablets a whole year, and they worked..it took ages, but it eventually worked..just thot i wud tell u..incase you didnt try it for very long.

mmm, my 2nd boyfriend was on it & it kind of shrivelled up one of his balls. sorry for being gross but they traced it back to that. that was years upon years ago tho, not sure if they've improved it.

Original Post by pegamoose:

pavlovcat - How are you liking the oil cleansing method? I will try it as soon as I get some of the specific oils, and I'm hoping I don't have to go on accutane, given the tight regulations of your liver and all that. I know it's effective, but I don't want to end up worse than when I started.

 

I really like it.  I've been on every prescription and over-the-counter medicine you can think of for acne since it first made it's appearance when I was 17.  My acne was cystic and confined mainly to my chin.  I also had a bacteria that would cause the skin at the site of the zit to become hard and scaly and that would last for months.

With the oil-cleansing, my cystic acne has totally disappeared for the last two months.  I have had small whiteheads, but that's waaaay better than cystic.  And the whiteheads clear up pretty quickly.  If I do get a zit, I use Burt's Bees blemish stick.

Because it's summer I think my skin is more oily, so I'm considering adding some castor oil to my normal olive-oil only cleanse to help dry me out. 

Give it a try!  Cheaper than medicines and even if it doesn't work, there are no side-effects or long-term ramifications to worry about.

Original Post by moonikins:

pegamoose, have you been to a dermatologist? If not, go to one. A good dermatologist will try other treatments first before prescribing accutane.

Yeah, I've been to a few, all back in high school. The first one prescribed Differin, the second one Retin-A. There were some combinations of antibiotics too, but I hate the idea of taking antibiotics so casually. My skin would clear slightly with the antibiotics, but as soon as I ran out it always got worse.Of course, then the doctor would prescribe a new set so it looked like he was doing something of good.

However, my limitation now is that I moved to a new state (new coast, actually) and my health insurance expires in a few months. My new insurance won't really pick up until a month after that, so I have a kind of lag time before I could see a dermatologist. I'm thinking of trying the OCM method until then, and if I haven't seen any improvement I'll call a dermo.

It doesn't seem like you had a good dermatologist. I was lucky in that the first one we went to for my son was excellent. I'd try the OCM too until your new insurance kicks in. Ask around at your new location for recommendations on a dermo. If you don't like the first one, go to another one.

The dermo should ask about all past treatments and how they effected you and what kind of results you got. Don't be shy about telling the dermo that you don't like the idea of long term antibiotics.

I have a friend who went on accutane and the results were amazing! Her face completely cleared up.
I believe you have to get blood drawn monthly and have to make pledges to not get pregnant. Something on that idea.
I say if you're really really suffering, it's worth giving a try.

What I've been using, (which I love) is Desert Essence.  I have sensitive dry skin, that can get occasional breakouts. Their stuff has been really gentle, but still cleared up my acne. It's all natural, uses tea tree oil, and has no harsh ingredients.
You might want to check it out.

The Tea Tree Oil Blemish Touch Stick is awesome!

Ooooh! Really? I haven't tried it.
I was thinking about getting those sunscreen towelettes, because I hateeee the feeling of sunblock on my face. The reviews I read weren't too great though.