Hi there,
I'm 37 with PCOS & bad acne. When I was 15 I took Roaccutane, as it's known in Australia. After being on very high dosage for 6 months, it cleared my skin for a few years. It slowly started coming back at 23. By the time I reached my late 20's I had very bad acne just on my chin, which is a very hormonal area. It was here that I was diagnosed with PCOS & put on Diane. The pill somewhat helped, but acne came back when I went off the pill so we could ttc. Skin was good during pregnancies & especially during breast feeding. But of course acne on chin came back after I stopped breast feeding. I should add I drink 2 litres of water, exercise, eat so healthy (low gi, gluten, wheat & dairy free), get acupucture to try & regulate my 35 day cycle to 28, have a naturopath, take good quality supplements & try very hard to stay positive. But still I have acne. So finally I gave in to Roaccutane Aug 07. My dermatologist put me on it for 4 months only at 10mg a day. My skin was clear & I had not one side effect, so he took me off it. I actually questioned him that I should stay on for another 2 months, but he said no. (I should add that b4 & after Roaccutane my liver tests were normal). So of course after 2 months it slowly started coming back & came back worse than ever after 6 months July 08. My acne was not only on my chin but all over my face now. I decided to see a better dermatologist who suggested Roaccutane again but for a longer period, however he was quite adamant that seeing I had PCOS my acne would return regardless. He said it might be less or the same. So I felt quite defeated & thought it pointless to go on such a strong drug that can cause so much internal damage for temporary clear skin (bandaid remedy I call it). In the mean time while I pondered what to do, I got my bloods done b/c acne was/is out of control & found that for the first time (to my knowledge) my liver function results were terrible & I was advised I have a fatty liver. So I'm wondering wether a)that's the cause of my acne spreading all over my face & b)could roaccutane have caused my liver problem, seeing that prior to roaccutane I didn't have this type of acne & liver function tests were normal & the drug is known to cause liver damage. To bring my very long story to a close, I'd like to know if any PCOS girl has taken Roaccutane/Accutane & cleared their acne never to return & if so how long did you take it for & what dosage, or did acne come back worse than ever, or did liver functions change....thanks for reading & sorry I took so long, but I would love to hear from you. Thanks!
Hey, I've taken two courses of Roaccutane (9 months then 6 months) over the past 2 years. After I'd finished each course my acne was back within a year. I have only just become aware of the fact that I have PCOS so it's so frustrating to know that I went through all that for nothing! I had really bad side effects on it as well, terrible mood swings, periods of depression...it was horrible. My acne hasn't come back as bad second time around, like you said, it's mainly centred around my chin and jaw line, which is what led me to suspect PCOS. It just seems so unfair, right?!
I was on accutane about ten years ago and had horrible side effects with little to no results. I only started TTC a year ago and I was nervous about the lingering effects that accutane could have on a fetus but was reassured that everything would be fine.
I know that I don't have an answer to your question, but after reading everything you wrote, just thought I would share.
My second round of Accutane was in the fall of 04. My skin was beautiful until April 06 and since I'm in the throws of pg and breastfeeding it's not an option right now.
This is how my face looks right now.
__________________ Stacey-28 & John-31 Married October 15, 2004 Dx 12/03
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Thanks for your replies ladies and your photo Tinkpatcherbell. My acne is similar to yours, but yours are much smaller, mine are cysty. I'm surprised breast feeding hasn't helped you, it did wonders for my skin. I would do it forever if I could. I've researched this topic so much & spoken to so many people that it's clear Accutane/Roacuttane is simply not suitable for women with PCOS. I know a lady who took one course at 19 & till this day (now in her 40's) the acne never returned & she has the most beautiful skin but she has no PCOS. It is so frustrating, they need to develop a drug that targets hormone related acne......
Accutane did wonders for my cystic acne! I took it over 25 years ago, I think I did two courses of it. I no longer get cystic acne, I do on occasion get a zit but nothing like the hard painful lumps I used to get. I really love what it did for me.
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I went on Roaccutane for 4 months in 2001 and it was the best I ever felt - the skin peeled and I felt nauseous at first, but the nausea actually made me lose weight, as did the way I started to look really pretty for 1st time with really lovely clear skin as I felt so happy I felt no need to eat comfort food. Acne did come back a bit, and so in 2002 I went back on it, on a lower dose, but still with great results. I met the man of my life, and around 9 months after coming off Roaccutane I conceived my son, without even trying. Perhaps it was just luck, being in love or perhaps it was the Roaccutane that somehow changed my PCOS. It may be another reason too, of course as it was not a scientific test, and I did also change some other things such as I started taking Chromium to cut sugar cravings and I took Red Clover, which may have helped, although I have no idea whether any of these are safe so pls get proper advice. My cycle was regularised and I even got rid of my vaginal dryness and chronic thrush through using aqueous cream to wash rather than harsh soaps. All those years later I am not a spotty person anymore, although my skin has somewhat coarsened with age (Roaccutane thins it which makes it look beautiful, but this would be dangerous long-term - sun damage). The one thing which I would advise is that you take a fish oil and evening primrose oil - the acne on my back which started this year has disappeared with this, and also cutting red meat completely and radically reducing sugar. My hairy chin is my main issue now but I wax, and exercise too really really helps in every way. Good luck!
I was on accutane for 6 months when i was 18.. Now i am 25 and although my acne still comes and goes it is nothing compared to what it was before.. I did not have liver damage with accutane but i will tell you that my liver functions went way down with metformin when i started taking it.. I was on 2000 mg a day and was brought down to 1000 mg a day and a natural supplement called cinnomed to compensate for the other 1000mg i was missing out on.
Could it be that a combintation of meds is doing this? Im not really sure if you are even on any other meds...
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Accutane helped my cystic acne, but I would still get terrible white head/black head/inflammed breakouts. They put me on spiro for my skin (before PCOS was diagnosed) and it worked WONDERFULLY on my acne and my dandruff... but I stopped taking it in October so we could TTC and was diagnosed with PCOS this week...
I tried roaccutan 4 or 5 times and always almost for 2 years each time (at the end i had 40mg) my skin was great when I was on it as soon as I stopped it, my acne was more worse than before roaccutan.
My badest skin started when I was pregnant and it was never getting better. I did so many times lasertreatments (smoothbeam) peelings etc...
The only thing that helped my skin is a new line which is called IMAGE Skincare, its the first time my acne gets better, not that my acne is gone but much much better.
I take the medicated acne lotion and medicated acne masque from the clear cell line and twice a week the total retional-A creme from the ageless line.
Bought it at my derm. doc.
Oh before i forget, my doc put me also on Zinc 30mg everyday.
Hormones are the underlying cause of acne in PCOS. To correct this, you have to lower elevated androgens which cause acne. Spironolactone, flutamide and Diane-35 can do this.
Spiro is really well tolerated. I've been on it for 2 years, keeps my skin clear.
Roaccutane/Accutane vs PCOS 
