accutane
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free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:09 pm

ok, if it works so good, why is it so bad for you?

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:40 pm

You know Jessica Simpson went on this and she never really had bad acne, just some zits here and there (you can tell from her before pictures). Accutane is what cleared up her skin, not proactiv. It seems she didn't care about the risks and got a doctor willing to prescribe it for her moderate acne. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of other young stars went this route.... it really does seem to clear up moderate acne perfectly doesn't it. If I was able to get it when I was younger I probably would have taken it not caring about the risks.

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 2:46 pm

I'm in my late 20's and never had acne until this past year. I live in moscow now and think that is the problem. It has been horrible for the past 2 months on my chin and nothing is working to get rid of it. on my second week of antibiotics and was hoping this would help. you basically can get anything here without a perscription so I was considering accutane as a last resort.

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:18 pm

canadagal Accutane got it's bad reputation because if a woman happens to get pregnant while using it her baby is just about guaranteed to be severly deformed. Aside from that it is a serious medication and it does have serious side effects. Even if you could, you should not get Accutane without a prescription!!! When you are using this you need to be visiting a doctor on a regular basis so that you can be properly monitored. It is not something to mess with by yourself!

BTW you need to use antibiotics (or any other acne medication for that matter) for longer than two weeks to see results. You may even need to wait two months to see results. Some even say three months but I don't agree with this.

Whatever you do, don't get Accutane without seeing a qualified doctor first!

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 3:52 pm

I used to take them even though I only had some minor acne problem. Just only before that time of the month so that it would be able to help clear up the skin and that there wouldn't be too much acne in that period.

My mom is a dermatologist and she prescribed Accutane to one of my friends who had serious acne problem. He took it on regular basis and it really did clear up his skin. The result was fast and obvious. The major effect he found was the dry lip and face. Other than that there wasn't any obvious one. But what my mom told me was that, if he didn't have that kind of serious acne, she wouldn't give it to him since it has too many side effects. One thing that she said to him was that never ever give out blood and if he notices any negative effects, stop it immediately. Rolling Eyes

Well.. that was probably the first time I heard she said something so serious, usually the regular creams for treating acne that she has at home and I give some out to my friends, she wouldn't care that much. From what I know, it can stop make you grow taller, can cause you some mental problem and yes .. pregnant woman definitely cannot take this.

My mom said in treating acne, Accutane is probably the last thing she will prescribe unless it is reasonable.

Thu Jun 08, 2006 5:06 pm

canadagal wrote:

you basically can get anything here without a perscription so I was considering accutane as a last resort.

Uh, NO, don't do this, sweetheart! Shame on you

Accutane is a very, very strong drug, and systemic retinol can be very hard on one's kidneys and liver.

DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE!

Topically, there are products which can help your skin too: Obagi is an excellent skincare system to consider.

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:21 pm

Caspers Mum wrote:

canadagal wrote:

you basically can get anything here without a perscription so I was considering accutane as a last resort.

Uh, NO, don't do this, sweetheart! Shame on you

Accutane is a very, very strong drug, and systemic retinol can be very hard on one's kidneys and liver.

DO NOT SELF-MEDICATE!

Topically, there are products which can help your skin too: Obagi is an excellent skincare system to consider.

Totally agree! accutane is a very serious drug which has its merits but you should inform yourself as much as possible before you take the decision(working with a qualified doctor) Shame on you

....You will find people at both extremes when it comes to accutane. It can make your skin very dry(which is a minor thing and you just have to be diligent with lotions), your hair fall, your mood depressed, your healing very slow, your liver damaged etc etc.....yes all this doesnt happen to everyone but these are very real risks affecting real people and on top of all that Acne might relapse after few months or years........All said, It certainly has the power to put acne into regression for very long time and even for life . Another truth is that you wont hear nearly as many success stories on the net because once someone gets rid of acne they just forget about it and wont go on acne sites anymore....So think very hard and decide whether your acne is so bad that it is worth the risk!

Sorry I rambled but I came '' this close to taking it and I spent many months thinking and reading about it and had my acne persisted i would have gone for it(yes, it was so bad that i was losing it, so it was worth it for me)....so please dont take it lightly and remember knowledge is power!

free skin care · Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:25 pm

I took Accutane a few years ago and can share my experience with you.

I had very bad acne in my early 20s and after a few different medications, nothing helped and the doctor decided to prescribe Accutane. The drug was well-packed and with a long list of warning. When I read the list of warning, I was quite surprised. I never saw a prescription that warned the users so seriously. I remembered that the doctor first prescribed a week of medication only and wanted me to see him again at the end of that week.

During the first week of the medication, it was the most difficult time for me. My bone was very pain and my skin was completely dry. If someone sat next to me, he probably could see some dead skin on my skin. At that time, I really understood why the list of warning was so serious and why the doctor wanted to see me again in a week. Trust me, Accutane helps but the experience is not good. Most importantly, you have to understand the possible side effect and are willing to take the risk before you take Accutane.

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 8:30 am

thanks for everyone's replys. i will continue the antibiotics for a month and see how that goes. and I was planning on being monitored by a russian dermatologist if I was to use the accutane

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:19 am

canadagal glad to hear the part about the dermatologist.

It is hard to believe that they sell stuff like Accutane without a prescription. You can gripe all you want about the US FDA but sometimes I am really glad that we have effective controls of prescription drugs!

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:44 pm

I had a friend who had very bad acne problem. He was taking it for a while. The medication is really bad for your liver. Also it causes your skin and mouth to be very dry. As well, it can cause birth defect.

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:00 pm

Yes, it really dries up the skin. Many ppl have such dry skin from accutane their skin starts getting really really flaky

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 1:45 pm

I just wanted to put in my two cents here.

I have had varying degrees of acne, and I have been to several dermatologists in my life.One did perscribe Accutane, and he said I had to be taking the birth control pill and sign an agreement before he would give me the prescripton. I was at a point where my skin had SEVERE acne, yet I did some research on Accutane and did not take it despite my desperation to have clear skin. I realized that perhaps there are other ways to have clear skin that are not as damaging to the body, as well as the fact that life is a long process, and I wanted to keep my body healthy.

If you have pimply skin I guarantee you external products can help to clear it up. IT may take up to 3 months, if you continue on thoes products your skin will stay clear. I used the Bioelements acne clearing system and in three months my skin was amazingly clear.

I now use the IS clinical products.

I think in your case you should seriously investigate the LONG TERM side effects of this drug. I have meant many people who have taken it and it bascially only really keeps the skin clear for up to 2 years, in which you may have to take it again. Some of the long term effects that will hit you when you are older can be a slowing of your metabolism (as the liver has been damaged/weaken), which is weight gain or a lack of ability to keep toned muscles. I have seen this in women late 20-40.

Something to consider is when your skin breaks out in acne, eczema or psoriasis - there is some internal imbalance. In Russia I am sure they have some really good herbalists, Naturopathic doctors, etc. Check that out as with good external products and some internal re-balancing you can have great skin...take my word for it.

I hope this helps you,

Fri Jun 09, 2006 3:49 pm

I took this, as i got pretty bad acne right when i turned thirty.

I tell you , it was a miracle for me. I would rather tke it for 6 months and be done, then take anti-biotics which i think have a far more damaging long term potential (decreased efectiveness when you REALLY need them,etc)

However
you need to have monthly blood tests and liver panels to make sure your body is tolerating the severly high doses of vitamin A. be prepared for more dryness then you could ever imagine...the insides of my ears were flakey! Oh yeah, Whole food lip balm was the only, and i mean only, lip balm that worked even a little!

your skin is more senstive, even if you burn yourself on a cookie tray, it is more severe.

But my acne has been gone for years, my regime is now focused on anti-aging (35) and clearing up the ravages the acne left behind.

if you get it from a Dr., take birth control (in the US you can't get it unless you sign a contract saying you use TWO forms) and maintain your health otherwise, it's out of your system in a few months when you are done taking it. No studies have shown negative long term side effects on the women or the babies they have after.

free skin care · Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:38 pm

I want to go on it! I had real bad acne in my teens now 23 I still break out not so much now cause I eat healthy and do alot to my skin! But I really getting tired of the perricone diet and taking 30 pills per day! I WANT ACCUTANE! my friends that have been on it! say it's the best thing! I've heard that celebs stay on the low 10mg to kept them from breaking out year around!

Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:37 pm

My mother,after 15 years of horrible acne, went on Accutane at age 35. It worked. 15 years later she gets occasional cysts (hormonal) and breakouts on her back.

So, I went on it at 16, for six months. It didn't work. I went on it again at 18, for another six months, it worked on my back breakouts, but not on my face.

What it did do was this: My skin is now highly sensitive and allergic to most make-up and skin care products. It breaks and peels easily. I have eye problems (they are very sensitive and dry now, with loss of night vision) and bone and joint pain (not as bad as when I was actually on it) as well.

I still get cysts, and regular breakouts. My skin has improved recently, however, by using a cleanser containing salicylic acid, olive oil at night for moisturizer, hazelnut oil in the morning, and mineral makeup (not containing Bismuth Oxychloride). A lot of my acne has been, I think, from all the chemicals I was putting on my face.

By the way, I have a friend I've known for years that was on Accutane in high school. It dried his skin out so badly, but got rid of his acne. Well, eight years later his acne is back. The problem is his skin is now sensitive and easily broken like mine, so any conventional acne products cannot be used.

My advice is make Accutane your very, very LAST resort.

free skin care · Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:42 am

I was one of those people that never had acne as a teen and than developed it in my early 20s to my complete horror. I too once thought of taking Accutane when I felt hopeless and desperate about my mild to moderate facial acne. I had already tried switching to salicylic acid and glycolic acid products, cleansers, creams, toners, and all other kinds of medicated topicals but all they would do was burn my skin and leave it dry, itchy and inflamed resulting in even more sensitive skin than I began with.

Because most of my acne was hormonal my dermatologist suggested switching my birth control pill yet again. I was already on Orth Tricyclen for years which is supposed to help to no avail. So I went on Diane 35 and nothing. Then we tried antibiotics which I detest taking and, you guessed it, nothing once again. I was also diagnosed with PCOD by my OBGYN so I was told that because my acne was mainly hormonal I may have to accept it as a part of life and something that may always torment me. Well that wasn't a good enough answer for me.

I was feeling desperate so I researched Accutane and the warnings and side effects were just too much to handle so I decided against it.

What worked for me? A variety of things. Reducing stress is key but easier said than done. I suggest a relaxing fitness routine like yoga or pilates, or hiking. Exercise is so important as it helps to detoxify the body, oxygenate the blood and helps with healthy cell renewal. Another helpful tip - WATER WATER WATER. I can't stress that enough. It is soooo important to keep hydrated. I find that when I don't drink enough fluids I begin to get a pimple or two and my skin feels drier. My other tip is to not over cleanse which I found I was doing to relieve the outbreaks and help my skin feel "clean". But of course it was having a counter effect as I was stripping and aggravating my skin which lead to more acne. I also completely switched my diet to organic foods especially meats and dairy as animals are now being pumped full of steroids, and hormones as well as antibiotics and other drugs. My hormonal imbalance has finally worked itself out from this switch thankfully. I also began taking supplements like a B complex, zinc and evening primrose oil. I also switched my skin care routine to only high qulaity holisitc and organic products which serioulsy made an improvement in the qulaity of my skin. Lastly I just relaxed about it all and kept reaffirming that I had beautiful clear skin.

The result after all this? Beautful clear skin - so much now that people ask me how did I get blessed with such perfect skin. I never thought I'd see the day but here it is. There's hope - never give up and don't settle for something so harmful until you really try to change your own lifestyle, health and routine. The quick and easy way out is never that.

Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:35 pm

Can I say something on it ?!

At first I was astonished by Roacutan or Acutanne... I went to a doc that said I could take if I wanted to... So I did some blood tests and the doc said I could start taking it... The whole process of getting a prescription, doing the blood tests and so on takes a long time (at least for me) since it's a very very strong remedy... You have to sign a whole lot of stuff in order to get it...

Anyways, I started taking it, and every 2 months I had to do blood tests again to see how the medicine was reacting with me...

Botton Line: my face, my nose (inside), my lips and hair were DRY DRY DRY ! But my skin got a LOT better... Actually all the acne suddenly disappeared! All the oiliness went away as well, but complex was beatiful ! I had the Hollywood skin, simply perfect! I took Roacutan for about a year so did my younger brother... We both thought that was a MIRACLE! Little did we know that afer one year all the acne would comeback...

So it didnt work... And the lab that produces it (i think is Roche) claim to repay the treatment if it doesn't work... My brother retried the treatment for another year and the lab didn't pay because they said they couldn't trust my bro had taken the pills since he didn't have the boxes to prove (c'monn, who keeps 20 huge boxes of remedy ?! hahah!)

Anyways I decided no to take it ever again because your kidney gets tired of doing extra hours !! All in all is very bad for your body and my hair (oh boy) got so dry, but lips used to bleed...

Hope this helps!

free skin care · Thu Jul 13, 2006 12:44 am

In all honesty, I'm not totally certain about all of the possible side effects of Accutane. But just about every drug we take has potential side effects. I think the main reason Accutane gets such a bad rap for its side effects is because people don't expect something prescribed by a dermatologist to carry serious risks. Plus all the drama over suicidal teens.

Accutane worked for me. Literally perfect skin for years after I was done with it, and only minor imperfections now. I don't regret it for a minute. The only side effect I experienced is dry lips.

That being said, of course one should be careful. You absolutely should not get pregnant while on this drug. That is true of many medications, though. I don't know why that should deter people from using it. Dermatologists really stress this point. Many require you be on some form of birth control while using Accutane.

Depression is the other major side effect I have heard about. That is a pretty simple warning as well. Monitor your moods. If this drug appears to be causing mood swings, report to your doctor. It's a rare side effect, and, again, not one I would let deter me.

Things like effects on the liver, etc, I'm less certain about. I know when I started Accutane, I had to have my blood drawn twice a month for the first few months, than once a month for the last few month, in order to monitor my liver. It's not like it's something that goes completely unchecked.

Everyone's skin and bodies responds differently. Trying something new and extreme is always taking a chance. Personally, the misery I had over my skin before made the chance worth it.

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