Well, I’ve taken the plunge and after trying everything under the sun for my skin, the derm has finally put me on Accutane.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this drug, Accutane is essentially a highly-concentrated form of vitamin A. Taking this drug causes your oil glands to dry up a bit and also causes your skin to renew itself faster. It has a high success rate (about half of the people who take it are “cured” of their acne) but also carries some rather unpleasant side effects.
I’ve been taking it now for a little over a week and have started seeing a few of the side effects already—primarily dry, chapped lips, mild nosebleeds and drying skin. Right now it’s not too bad, but I am a little scared that it will be much worse. I’m already pretty dry as it is.
I’ve stocked up my room and purse with everything that could help me; heavy-duty moisturizers for face, body and hands, Vaseline, special lip and nose moisturizers and even cuticle balm! I’ve started early too, in an effort to get good habits going and hopefully to give me a leg up on the dryness that is sure to come. Accutane makes your skin more fragile, and that worries me a little bit.
When I was younger (before I discovered the wonders of lotions and potions!) I would get really, intensely dry skin that would crack and bleed and never heal. My lips and hands were the worst, and I would get eczema everywhere else. It was not a good time to be me. Eventually I learned more and gained access to the proper creams and lotions and began a regular regimen to combat the dry skin. So far my regular maintenance has kept all the intense dryness and all but the smallest patches of eczema away. But will it hold up to Accutane?
I am also not looking forward to the multitude of blood tests and doctor’s visits over the next few months. Just to be considered for the drug I had to give an unholy amount of blood and urine to be tested, got an ultrasound and even a pregnancy test on the side. Just to be considered. Accutane is a heavy-hitter and not a drug to be messed with, so I appreciate the safety precautions around it, but they sure are annoying!
Because of the effect that Accutane has on your liver and the horrible birth defects it can cause (I have to use a minimum of 2 forms of contraception—ha! As if this boyfriendless gal is going to get preggers anytime soon!) I had to sign some legal papers to get the damn stuff and will also have to have blood & pregnancy tests and a doctor’s appointment every month.
It’s shaping up to be quite the investment. But after years and years of persistent and painful acne thanks to my Pops, it’s my last option. If this doesn’t work, I don’t think anything will.
Here’s hoping that all this pill-popping, blood-taking and lotion-rubbing for the next 4-6 months will pay off in spades for me.
Have you ever taken Accutane? What kinds of results did you get? Are you currently considering taking Accutane? (Good info link)
7 responses to “Adventures With Accutane”
My best friend in college had intractable acne for years until she started taking accutane. It worked wonders for her. She only wished she’d started it sooner.
One of my friends did and said it was slow-ish to kick in but really worked well for her, too. I wish it had been around when I was in high school, though like you say, the criteria just to be considered is pretty crazy!
I got my Hydralicious coupons today 🙂 Can’t wait to try them out!
A good friend of ours has the most extreme acne you have ever seen. Cysts the size of eggs – not exaggerating.
His doc had him start Accutane and although it hasn’t totally cleared things up, it’s definitely helping.
He gets worried about the side effects though too – depression, etc.
My friend has done it and says it works
Me, I think I’m okay with a lesser regimen like Proactiv… although lately I’ve been getting weird cysts
It’s heartening to hear that there are others that have had good results with the stuff. I really didn’t want to take it, but I’m at my wit’s end with acne.
I tried using Proactiv for a year or so, but my derm said that it was only good for people who have only occasional “uncomplicated” pimples, and that there was not enough benzoyl peroxide for it to be effective on people with acne. I love the sulpher mask though and still buy it!
The reason I decided to go with Accutane was because my acne has not gone away now that I am an adult, it is persistant and uncomfortable and really makes me self-conscious. It has also been changing into cysts and different forms which are deep, painful and ugly. It was time for some drastic measures.
My sister gets awful acne on her cheeks and her back and she just started on Accutane about 6 weeks ago or so. She’s tried everything else and nothing worked. Accutane has definitely given her dreadfully chapped lips and a mild rash with dry skin on her hands, but her face (which is normally oily) is now just normal (not so oily) and the acne on her back is definitely clearing up. She has not experienced any depression symptoms. If you’ve already tried everything else, I think it is worth trying Accutane and just stop if you are experiencing symptoms you can’t handle.
Wow. I just started too. Sounds like we are at the exact same phase.
I started a blog also. Perhaps we can follow one another and hopefully we will both have good experiences.
Best, T