michi

hi i am new here....
i am currently on accutane for my acne for 11 weeks already now.
I am wondering if anyone has taken accutane before and if it 's gonna be a permanent cure for acne for us girls with PCOS.

I had my acne under control using topicals for past 8 yrs and it kept my skin flawless but this yr, cystic acne plagued me so i had no choice but take accutane to prevent scarring. Now I am worried, if i can conceive after 6mthsof taking accutane and if during preganancy, will acne come back???

Anna L

I have been on accutane twice, and if you don't have your insulin and hormones under control, it will come back! Accutane will buy you some time (clear skin) afterwards, because it is so strong.

racheluk

Hiya,

hope everythings going well so far with accutane.

From my experience, its really effective!

Nothing worked for my acne.......spirolactone, bcp, antibiotics, creams, lotions, potions etc etc etc

My derm put me on 80mg of accutane for 4 months.
However, 4 months didn't seem to be long enough to get rid of my acne, and the spots did not dissapear totally, although my skin did improve a great deal!

I was put back on accutane for a further 6 months, then another 2! I know this was a very long time!

I came off accutane at the beginning of April this year, and things have been good ever since. I still get a few spots before my period, but nothing like I was getting before. It worked!
The side effects were nothing compared to what people were saying! Just got dry itchy skin on my arms, and cracked sore lips. But I would have put up with anything to get rid of my acne!

I have 2 spots at the moment, but thats because I'm supposed to be due on this week......we shall see

Good luck with your treatment.

The best thing you can do is at least try it! If it dosn't work for you, then at least you have tried it, and can move on to another treatment!
Let us know how its going

Love Rachel
x

michi

Hi Rachel.
I feel 100% better after reading yr positive results. acne suxs and I feel it takes over my life and i so badly want to have clear skin....i hope accutane will work for me......

i am at wk 12 now (3mths already)....i can see that skin is clearing ...just wonder at what week did u totally clear up, acne and marks and all??? I am definitely better than i was than at even wks 9-10 ...

I am at 30mg for 5 mths....mebe longer if need be but at thispt., my derm says to wait and see

Michi

racheluk

Michi............

I' m so glad that you have seen positive results after 3 months.
I hope this has given you a huge confidence boost.

I probably really cleared at about the 5/6 month stage. However, I dont think accutane will get rid of acne marks and scarring. It just prevents new breakouts. I'm still left with marks from previous huge cysts and risen scars which are pale but I can feel them. But, my derm says these should dissapear within a few years.

Once I cleared, my derm took me off the accutane. I came off it, and I broke out again on my chin (little white heads).
I went back, and he put me on 80mg again for a further 4 months, then as I still had one or two spots (not cysts) I asked him if I could just go on it again for another 2 months. He agreed, and I'm so glad he did! All I can do is thank my derm. Not only has he treated my skin, he's also given me my life back, and huge confidence with the way I look.

No longer do I have to spend ages covering up millions of spots with concealer, and foundation! it's so nice!
This holiday, I can actually feel confident by the pool with no face make up on! Where as before, I would even wear heavy foundation near the pool! My friends thought I was mad!!

Those two spots I was telling you about in my last post, were period ones, I came on this morning!

Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions!!

Some people say accutane will not work for women with PCOS, but I strongly disagree! It may be more resistent, there fore myself having to be longer on the accutane!
But everyones different and the way people react too such medication will depend greatly on their individual circumstances.

Good luck with your treatment

Love Rachel
x x x x x

michi

Rachel,
I am at wk 13 today....I had a rather clear wk 12 w/o any major zit but i had one zit this morning. Not the deep cystic kind but not small either. I am just praying it goes away real soon.
On the plus side, my marks are fading and i rather have all the marks fade with 1 active zit than no zits and tons of red marks!!!!
So far, other than the gross outbreaks during wks 1-9, my skin is now really smooth.....

Anyway, i was wondering if u r on anything else to keep the zits away after being off accutane. Like BC or any other type of med??
Or did accutane do the job for u and no other medicine is necessary....

I also wonder if when i get pregnant after accutane, will my acne come back? Do girls with PCOS get acne during pregnancy and after pregnancy? It will be so gross then because we wont be able to use accutane or retin A to even control these out breaks!!!! Do you know? I was hoping to conceive like next yr or something after about 6 mths done with accutane coz i am like 28 already. ....

Acne has ruined my life this yr...totally!
I have managed to keep acne away with topicals for the past 8 yrs and enjoyed clear skin but this yr, cystic acne came (really painful types, one even left me deep pitted scars but this went away after i did a laser) and i tried everything . In the end, I went to a dermatologist and was given accutane plus a whole set of skin care like clindamycin.....etc etc.

I really hope this works and send my acne into remission FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michi