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for me, Accutane has been great. I did have some side effects like dry lipsm bleeding nose and extremely dry skin. But overall, my face looks good! I don't have the constant oiliness on my face and do not have new blemishes. I am up to 120mg once a day. I have some joint pains as well. No mood changes here.

Accutane was practically a miracle for me! In my twenties I suffered from moderate cystic acne and had no relief with any other prescription topical or oral medication. After spending time and a lot of money to try laser acne treatments (which didn't work at all and hurt extremely bad) I finally decided to try accutane. Other than dry skin and chapped lips, I had no other side effects. Within a month I experienced a significant decrease in my number of breakouts, and after four months I was acne free. It is now five years later, and I am still cyst/acne free (with the occasional black-head as the only exception)!! People will try to scare you about the side effects, but if you are psychologically stable and medically cleared, I strongly recommend this treatment.

I had accute cystic acne as a teenager and went through all the treatments prior to roaccutane.I had thumbnail size cysts on my face neck chest and back. I also had larger "dormant" sebacious cysts on my back.These were obviously inherited from my father. I went on 2 courses at 0.5mg/kg.Within days I had a flush of red on my face and a highly increased sensitivity to sunburn(8-10 minutes to burn in 10am sun in Cairns in spring). The facial cysts gradually decreased in size over 8 to 12 mnths. My skin became dry around the cheeks near the nose and on my forearms.It took 4 years for the worst of my chest lumps to subside and another 4 for the back ones to dissappear. About 10 years after taking roaccutane I experienced depression and it still happens on and off.I still suffer from the occasional chest lump.During the height of my worst lump years the pain from them was like a bee sting if brushed against.I still sunburn very easily and have very bad scarring on my face and neck.Throughout the life after roaccutane I discovered if you moisturise it can make things bad again or the same if you wash too much with any soaps. I reckon the oil glands go-"oh gee the skin is too dry" so they try & produce more oil again which then builds up in other areas or the skin is too moist so i'll stop it altogether for a short while resulting in very dry other places. Roaccutane was a godsend for me in these critical teenage years but damn you must be on the ball with it.

To everyone who is starting accutane or is thinking of it, Each person has a different reaction to any medication. Many side effects are common to all, and others are less common, yet there is a certain percentage of people who will be affected. That said, at 35 years old (and a nurse besides) I couldn't fathom why I still had acne- and it was getting worse not better. I tried everything, proactive, antibiotics, creams, washes- natural remedies, to no avail. I can't say accutane has been a "miracle", but it has crtainly helped. I have had many side effects, namely the dryness and itching. For my lips I alternate between vaseline moisturing lip therapy with SPF 15 and Chapstick naturals avacado oil with SPF- they have helped. The best thing is to get something with sunscreen in it. The accutane makes you more sensitive to the sun. For your hair I recommend any leave in conditioner- I use infusium 23- but I'm sure any would do. The body itching is the hardest for me to deal with. This is my 12th week on accutane (80 mg) and I itch so bad on my hands and wrists, I think I'll scratch all the skin off- topical caladryl helps and baths with aveeno are good too, but they don't offer lasting relief. If you take a benedryl at night it helps too, but do not use it at the same time as topical caladryl.
Another BIG issue for me was mood changes- not as in depression, but anger- I had a big incident at work and it nearly cost me my job- but I showed them I was on accutane, and it was written up- (they can't fire you if the problem is due to a drug side effect)- however- make sure to tell your derm if this happens- he changed my dose to 60 mg.
Along with the mood changes is since accutane users are more sensitive to the sun, we stay out of it. Well, duh, we need sunlight to convert vitamin D and the effect of too little vitamin D aside from bone effects is depression and irritability. So I have been putting SPF 50 on and going into the sun for 10-15 minutes per day (mid- moring or late afternoon- not the high noon burn your face off times)it has really helped the moods- not so great for the rashes tho- but if you cover your arms with a light shirt it does wonders.
As for ANYONE who is contemplating getting pregnant. Accutane is not for you. I am very sorry to read of those on here who've had that unforunate experience. Because there is no fixing the defects caused by accutane, the only decision is to abort- that is why there is DO NOT GET PREGNANT labels all over the med and why they make women agree to using two forms of birth control.
The red spots everyone is talking about when the skin peels is actually a good sign- it is "new skin" and is replacing what is peeling away. Don't pull the dead skin away though. Use a very mild exfoliator. I also use the skin repair cream from bath and body works and find alot less dryness and peeling on my face.
So, there is hope to all out there who, like me hate the looks you get from people when you have acne. I am happy with my results so far. After 12 weeks on this, my face is mmuch clearer (I only have 3 new skin patches right now and no new breakouts) and the texture is much smoother. I know all the side effects are hard to deal with, but you can always ask for a lower dose and treat each problem symptomatically. Talk to your derm too. They have alot of tricks (like the aveeno and benedryl before you go to bed) that can help! Good Luck everyone!

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