User Reviews for Accutane oral

I went on Accutane from January to August (one month I had to take off because of vacation). I weigh 130 lbs and was given 30mg to take day and night. After getting off of it, my skin was the clearest it had ever been but it later came back two months after :( I was incredibly disappointed. Now, my dermatologist and I are discussing potentially going on round two. The worst side effect I experienced was INSANELY dry lips!! I always had to keep applying my medicated lip balm every hour of the day or else my lips would flake and dry out. My face and my scalp was also crazy dry but I actually appreciated it because they were incredibly oily prior to taking accutane (Because it took out the oiliness from my nose, it gave my face the illusion of a smaller nose which I liked haha). As for my mental and physical health, nothing really changed! Even if it did, I barely noticed anything. Read More Read Less

This drug changed my life. At first, I thought it was for the better. As time goes on I am wishing more and more that I could go back and never take this medication. I haven't been the same since. My dermatologist liked to repeat how the "acne curing effects of this medication are permanent"! But, somehow, none of the side effects are permanent? Soon after my course I started feeling just slightly off. I would start to feel more and more off until I'd begin to have panic attacks. I have never been anxious in my life but now I'm having panic attacks while sitting at home? I initially don't make the link between my symptoms and Accutane, until a friend of mine mentioned she was going through something strikingly similar (also took 'tane). I then made the connection and went down a rabbit hole of delving into the medical literature and investigating online communities where people claim to have been damaged by this drug. I can save you the countless hours of researching it yourself: this drug is slow-acting poison. It kills the cells in your body. This drug kills your sebaceous glands, and it doesn't just stop there. It kills cells in glands of the brain and cells in your gut. Dermatologists prefer to use the term "shrink" to make it seem somehow less damaging. If I can stop one person, or even convince someone reading this to reconsider taking this, then this review will be worth it. Read More Read Less

My son was on accutane for 6 months. Dr insisted on 80 mg. I said I wanted only 20 mg. I knew this medication had many side effects. Dr was angry with my suggestions. I agreed upon 40 mg . A few months later I noticed white patches around his lip. I called the Dr and told him my concerns. I thought it was vitiligo. Took my son to see him. He said I was right he has vitiligo. I do not recommend this medication to anyone. The vitiligo spread to his eye and his wrist area. Find a holistic way to get rid of acne. I wish I would have said NO to accutane. Please listen. My son is very self conscious about the white patches on his skin. He lost color to half his lip area. It’s not worth it. Read More Read Less

This medicine, Accutane was a game changer for my 14 year old son. He had extreme cystic, acne all over his entire face, and after six months on Accutane, his skin is as clear as it was when he was a baby. Nothing else worked, but this..

It is such a shame that my body didn't react well to this medication as it has treated my acne incredibly well over the past two months, but I have decided along with my dermatologist that I should no longer take Accutane. Symptoms including dryness of lips and hair are manageable for the outcomes but since I started the medication in August, since then I have been having random spurs of panic attacks and severe chest pain which spreads into my neck, ribs and arms. I have no history of mental health and have never experienced anything like this before, to the point were I was rushed to A and E for an ECG and blood test because I was convinced it was my heart. I have trialed coming off the tablets which has worked, but after re-taking them it started again. I had to pull over my car recently because it was that bad. I'm really devastated that this tablet hasn't worked for me, as my friends have had no problems with it, but for what it's worth I'd rather have bad skin that experience these symptoms again. For anyone feeling the same, please consider stopping for a couple of weeks, as previously mentioned I've no history of mental health.Read More Read Less

I used oratane when I was 16 to treat my severe acne. However it turned out to be the worst decision of my life. The acne kept getting worse and worse and did not get better at all, it formed septic..my whole face was a gigantic big sore.. I had cracked lips and depression. Then I developed an illness called sacroiliitis where I had extreme pain and was bound to a wheelchair for a month.. please be careful when using this medication!!!! The time I took it, it said it works for 1 out of 7 people but it's a great risk to take.Read More Read Less

took for 3 months, no side effects and cured my really bad acne that i had for 4 years 19 yo i do bodybuilding and hae a strict healthy diet 70% carnivore GOOD LUCK and trust yourself!

One of the best decisions of my life. I was loosing my self confidence with severe acne and that’s when I started accutane. Face was clear in 6 months!!! It’s been 7 years and my acne never came back!

Shortly after my daughter started taking a variant of accutane, she became severely depressed, her mood and behavior shifted, and she had suicidal thoughts everyday. The drug itself is expensive and isn't covered by most insurance. You also have to jump through a lot of hoops in order to continue treatment.. Such as pregnancy tests due to birth defects it can cause, and blood tests each month to make sure your blood pressure is staying stable.. Also accutane has to be eaten with high fats and has a plethora of serious side effects.. some dermatologists will push it nonetheless, ours was trying to push it even after I told them it was making my daughter severely mentally unstable.. they say there is not enough strong evidence to support the fact that it may cause mood disorders and depression... Well maybe there needs to be more research then, because mental health and overall safety are not worth compensating! On top of the severe depression and suicidal thoughts, my daughter also developed bad eczema chapped lips that have not gone away 2 weeks after stopping the medication.. and back pain. I also found while doing some research, some of the side effects are long-lasting as people that were on the treatment are claiming 6 years post accutane and still experiencing some of the side effects. That scares me, and I'm so glad I took my daughter off of it! Please be careful what you take and do your own research, and always always consult with your regular healthcare provider. Read More Read Less

I came here because I saw negative reviews about this medication all over the internet and it almost scared me away from using it. So hopefully this will help someone looking for relief to get a more balanced perspective. I've had bad acne since my teens. After many decades of using antibiotics to treat the condition, I reached a point where nothing worked anymore. By this point I was in my 40s and every breakout was cystic, red and painful. And now I was getting scars all over my face. The dermatologist tried to talk me out of taking Accutane, but I insisted. You'll be required to take a monthly blood test to get your meds. My first test showed my cholesterol went up significantly, but it eventually calmed down. This is a side effect of the medication. Other than the monthly tests, I didn't have any trouble - no hair falling out, depression, etc. Now a couple years after the fact, I still have no issues. Every once in a while I'll get a couple of small insignificant bumps, but they go away and don't leave scars. I wish I had known about this much earlier because after spending thousands of dollars on laser treatments, I still have really bad scars. Medications affect people in different ways, so don't discount Accutane as a possible solution to your issues.Read More Read Less

I had severe cystic acne all over my face, upper arms, shoulders, and back. I had tried everything and nothing worked; it was physically and emotionally draining. Then, I went on Accutane and it worked amazing! Aside from slight muscle soreness in the first week or two of starting it (which went away as I adjusted to the medication and upped my water intake), skin dryness (which is less of a side effect and more of a given considering it's what Accutane does), and one minor nosebleed, I had no side effects. The skin dryness decreased over time, and entirely by the time the medication was out of my system. I've had no serious breakouts since (just the occasional pimple, only like one or two, and I've been off it for about 7 months) and my pigmentation is practically nonexistent! 10/10, Accutane was seriously life-changing for me; I couldn't be happier with the results!Read More Read Less

Please don’t use this medication, terrible mental side effects. My son developed psychotic symptoms, short after completed the treatment, these symptoms haven been irreversible. I don’t understand how is this medication still in the market, with some many documented cases of mental side effects. STAY AWAY from this medication. It will cure your acne but leave you with long life mental health consequences!!

I read so many of these reviews before I started, had to follow up with my experience. Currently 4.5 months in, 45 days to go to complete my 6 months target. Me: 27, male, very fit, acne was mild (compared to others probably reading this) but very relentless, small white heads on face/mouth (would always pop during day... nightmare stuff) and big cysts on the back. Tried every cream, gel and pill in my teens and hoped it would disappear in 20s. At 27 I had enough of having acne on dates, in the work environment, and hiding it while outside in summer. My stages - Week 1 - Noticed behavior changes, became somewhat irritable. Recognized it and dealt with it and seemed to adjust once used to the medicine. (In the long term well worth it) - Week 2-4 - Acne still hasn't really changed. (was still on half dose at this time) - Month 2 - Up to full dose. Noticed all my pores were starting to dry up and like beads of sebum would come up when rubbing skim. (gross but I guess it has to go somewhere right?) Skin and lips became very dry but moisturizer and lip balm did the trick. - Month 3 - Started seeing improvements but things were very inconsistent. Still had a few bad breakouts but some periods were should strong signs. Also got a bit of minor depression at this point, I fell off workouts a bit and just got a bit lazy as the medicine for sure tired me out. (It really becomes a mental game at this point, tired, not great results, and no end insight) I gave myself a few weeks to relax (focus on mental health) and do nothing then got back into my workouts. - Month 4 - Things cleared up very well, only a handful of pimples in total (used to be like +5 a day in an endless cycle). - Now - Haven't had a pimple (face or back) in like 3+ weeks. Finish up my 45 days and I should be done. Doc did mention on occasion it can come back, in that cause you need to jump back on for 2-3 months later. Recommendations for others: - If you're not already healthy, maybe think twice. I am in probably the best shape of my life (ran a marathon 2nd week of accutane), I don't take any other medicines, and I still had to deal with some mental irritability, depression, and skin dryness. - Be cautious about starting if you have dry skin (or if its winter and you live somewhere cold). I had neither, and I don't think I would handle much more dryness than I have. Very easy to like itch your skin off on this stuff, it just becomes very fragile. - If you have any joint pain, get on a quality turmeric supplement (high curcuminoids/absorption). Might find some relief there. - Drinking - obviously not a good idea, wouldn't recommend it, but do it at your own risk. If you do have an event or something and "have" to have one or two, I was told just don't have your meds that day/morning after. (Again, this was advice given to someone who was very healthy). At first it seems weird telling people your not drinking, but just push through it, actually is very nice after a while waking up feeling great on weekends (lol). Overall Reco - If you can handle the side effects, soooooo worth it! I was always super self conscious of my skin. It's such a mental relief now having things cleared up. No more checking the mirror, no endless night time routine, no insecurities, and it should (fingers crossed) be permanent. Read More Read Less

I took this back in 2015, high schooler at the time who dealt with awful acne that wouldn’t go away no matter what cream or acne treatment I used, blackheads, red bumps, the whole 9 yards, i had it all, i started accutane and while it didn’t get rid of my acne completely, it reduced it from severe breakouts to just tiny bumps here and there on my face so I would say it’s worth it. the only thing i didn’t like was the monthly blood drawn to make sure it isn’t affecting your liver but other than that, I give it a 9/10Read More Read Less

I told myself if this worked for me, I'll write a review. Accutane has hands-down been the best thing I have ever done for myself. I've had cystic and non-cystic acne from age 14 to 23 and after 6 months on accutane, I am so excited to be done with dealing with it every day. I finished treatment 5 months ago and I haven't had a single breakout since. I started in June 2021 and my last breakout was August 2021 and I have been clear ever since! I broke out a bit initially, but nothing more than usual. I feel so lucky that my only side effect was chapped lips; I tried everything under the sun but regular carmex actually was what helped! Before Accutane, I think I tried about every cream/retinol/face wash, I tried 7 different forms of birth control, spironolactone and antibiotics and nothing worked until accutane. If it ever comes back, I would absolutely do it all over again. I know everybody has different experiences, but it was so incredibly worth it for me!Read More Read Less

It works. Accutane can be life changing for so many people and it has been for me. Yes there are side effects but none of it compares to the pain that people with severe acne deal with everyday. my side effects were only dry lips and dry skin. i am so grateful to my specialist for prescribing me with this. before i took it i had severe acne. it would hurt and I became so depressed and isolated. I cannot express how happy i am that i took this amazing medication. I am telling you this is worth it. Read More Read Less

To start, I have had acne since I was 12. I am now 26. I reached out to my primary care provider with complaints of my acne in late March of 2020. My provider prescribed me topical Clindamycin in hopes that it would clear up my acne. I used it for about 2 months and saw absolutely no improvement. My roommate even went so far as to buy me Proactive - no such luck. I saw a new provider, who prescribed me an antibiotic and additionally wrote me a referral to a dermatologist in August of 2021. I finally was able to get an appointment with the dermatologist in October of 2021. When he walked in the room, he asked me to pull my mask down, looked at my face for about 3 seconds and asked if I ever heard of accutane. As debilitating as that was, I was relieved to hear that I wasn't crazy when I would tell people that my skin was horrendous. What they don't tell you about accutane is the IPledge program. In my personal opinion, IPledge is the worst part of accutane, I would take the side effects 5x over than have to deal with IPledge again. IPledge is the middleman that allows an individual to get access to their medication for the month. The IPledge website requires one to take a short quiz every month to prove knowledge about the medication as well as provide the two birth control methods that will be taken before they allow dispersion of the medication to the pharmacy. There is also a seven day window where one is allowed to obtain their medication, otherwise, you have to wait until your next doctor's appointment for reassessment. My advice is to have your doctor's appointment on a Monday if possible so if a prior authorization is needed, or if your main pharmacy doesn't have your medication in stock you can call your provider during the workweek to avoid missing your medication for the month. I was meant to be on my last month of medication as of this month (April 2022). Due to my pharmacy not ordering my medication on time one month, and the IPledge website being down another, I am on month 4/6. In terms of side effects, I find mine to be slightly annoying, but mild in the grand scheme of things. I have had about 5 bloody nose incidents. My eyes have been moderately dry, not enough to need eye drops. My overall skin composition; however, has become incredibly dry. My lips especially. You absolutely need to have carmex on you at ALL times. I even wear it at night. I find that if I do not constantly have it on, the corners of my mouth will crack severely and will take weeks to heal. L-Lysine is a good supplement to have handy (you can get it at Wal-Mart for $4). I take it in conjunction with my morning accutane dose to prevent my lips from cracking. It really does work. My hands and arms developed a pretty decent rash - again, I'll take the rash over acne any day. I mentioned it to my dermatologist and he prescribed me a pretty generous sized tub of Triamcinalone to use twice a day and the rash goes away - it comes back about 4-5 days later if I don't use it consistently. My dermatologist was very up front about all of the side effects I could potentially have. There are a lot of side effects he mentioned that have not caused me any problems. I think having a knowledgeable provider really is half of the battle when it comes to this medication. My overall takeaway is that I highly recommend trying this medication if you're at all interested. Having said that, this isn't a medication to take if your acne it light or if you haven't trialed less harsh options first. ASK QUESTIONS to your provider, that is what they are there for. Most importantly GIVE THE MEDICATION A CHANCE. Accutane DOES NOT work overnight. It is a strong medication that takes about 4-6 weeks to truly start making a difference. I am so grateful I was able to take this medication, it really has changed my life. Read More Read Less

I've had severe acne for all my life. Back when I was 12 my dermatologist prescribes this stuff and makes me sign a release form & other medical blah blah paperwork just to use the stuff. (1st red flag) Upon using the meds I have to go get blood work done every 2 weeks and they collected A LOT of blood each time! (2nd red flag) Doctor says stay out of direct sunlight. (3rd red flag) New meds says my diet has to eliminate all dairy products. (4th red flag) First couple months this stuff starts to make my stomach hurt like im getting stabbed in lower left side of my stomach all day long. Also makes me extremely tired and irritated most of the time. I took this medicine for 2 years and it didn't do any good at all. I've accepted that I have acne and will not overcome this condition in this lifetime. Fast forward and I'm now 43 years old and I became permanently lactose intolerant from this stuff. And still experience abdominal pain all these years and yes I have had scans, cameras, xrays, tests and any scope, probe and possible exploratory blah blah done to find the cause.....but nothing. STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM THIS MEDICINE ! ! !Read More Read Less

Growing up I never struggled with any type of acne, and (didn’t often but) could go to bed with a full face of makeup on and wake up in the morning with completely clear skin. Once I finished my 2nd year of college, my skin completely freaked out. I tried literally everything from new face washes to apple cider vinegar to any medication I could possibly try, but nothing helped. It significantly affected my confidence and self-esteem. After a few years of struggling, and talking to a few friends who used it I decided to try accutane. One of my friends got every awful side effect possible, including swelling and bleeding underneath her nail beds (!!!) - so badly it hurt her to wear shoes- yet she still testifies wholeheartedly that it was worth it because she hasn’t had a single breakout since. I’m starting my 3rd month of taking it, which is supposedly the worst. Your acne typically gets worse before it gets better, because your skin has to purge all of the acne and infection to clear it all out. I have followed all of the advice I received from friends and their experiences for example I’ve been trying to drink a minimum of 64oz (1/2 gallon) of water every day which helps avoid lots of the side effects. I put Vaseline in my nose at night so I don’t get nosebleeds, and I was advised to put Vaseline on my face at night to keep my skin hydrated & I tried it but it gave me lots of blackheads so I just use the cerave dry skin *CREAM* (not diluted with water but the lotion is) morning & night. I also wash my face morning & night with cetaphil dry skin foaming face wash - tried the non foaming one for a while & didn’t like it so I switched. Overall, it has made a lifetime of a difference. I have so much more confidence and I’m so thankful for accutane!! 1000% recommend to anyone who has been struggling because it’s so worth it. The one side effect I have struggled with is that taking it makes me depressed. I am quite familiar with depression & have played around with the timing of when I take my accutane so I just take it around 5pm so that the depression hits while I’m sleeping & doesn’t affect me. Then I’m completely fine when I get up in the morning. This is totally doable and totally worth it for ~6 months being a little depressed sometimes for clear skin for the rest of my life!! Also you absolutely cannot get pregnant while taking this because it 100% WILL cause birth defects so you need 2 forms of birth control if you will be sexually active while taking this. One other side note, I started taking it in the winter & haven’t been in the sun much but apparently you burn a lot easier when taking this, even when skiing lol so be sure to apply SPF every day and reapply frequently if you’re out in the sun. Good luck buddy!!Read More Read Less

I took this drug clavaris 40 mg for only 17 days and I had to stop as the ringing in my ears was so bad. 2 years later my ringing is still happening. I wish the dermatologist never had prescribed this drug. Stay away from the drug! The side effects are way to risky I would not recommend this drug to anyone.