Thread: Accutane. To Try or Not to Try.....

Hey,
I took accutane a few years back. It was not worth it at all. The doctor closely moniters you, each month you must go in for blood tests to ensure that the Accutane is not harming your liver, and you must take a pregnancy test every month to b/c of the possbile birth defects, even if your on the pill. It helped my acne for a short period, but it came back later. i had no side effects on it, i think b/c my skin is so oily from the excess adorgens from my PCOS. Anyway, yes, it did clear up my skin for about a year AFTER I stopped taking it. while i was on it i broke out every where possible on my face, which created a lot more scqars than i had before the Accutane, and i may have screwed up my liver. NO NO NO, I say DONT take it! If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask me.

I took it 3 different times (when I was a lot younger and did not know I had PCOS) and it always worked while I was on it but then when I went off it, the acne came right back. It's really not good for you either. I would not waste my money on it unless you have a special occasion coming up (like your wedding or something like that) because, more than likely, the acne will come back after you stop using it. I don't mean to be discouraging. My cousin used it and it cleared her acne for life but she does not have PCOS or any other hormonal disorders.

Personal experience aside, there are a couple things that are definitive about Accutane. You will have to be on reliable birth control during treatment. Unless you have had a hysterectomy or something similar, or the manufacturer has changed the requirements, you must sign a paper committing to being on at least two forms of reliable birth control at all times. Granted this was my experience in 1989, things could have changed, but I wouldn't think Roche would want to increase their liability. Your skin will be MUCH more fragile and scar much easier and more severely while on Accutane and for up to a year afterwards. Ask your doctor about this one and they should tell you. I have horrid scarring thanks to two ineffective rounds of Accutane and being in a severe car accident while I was on it as well. My severe acne turned out to be relatively temporary (as in 20 years, but still), but the scars are forever.

Those are things that aren't even up for debate, except for perhaps the first. My experience also included permenantly losing half of my hair volume, having such severe body aches I couldn't take gym class for a semester, and experiencing such a sudden and severe bout of diagnosed clinical depression that I went from being a great student to dropping out of school. This was years before Accutane was connected to depression, so I had no idea what was going on and still don't know for sure if it was the Accutane or not, but it sure was awfully sudden and coincidental. To add insult to injury it didn't even dry out my super oily skin, even a second round, let alone touch a zit. The cysts downright laughed at it.

I do believe in choice, and I'm not totally against the use of Accutane. But when one has a hormonal issue that often brings acne, such as PCOS, I do have to wonder if it may be futile. I wish you luck in whatever you decide!
Dana