|
|
Post by Lady Sarah on Oct 19, 2003 1:39:34 GMT -5
Howdy,
New here and I thought I'd start off a conversation on Acutane. I have severe cystic acne (so I'll be stuck with this all my life, it doesn't go away after puberty) and it get's worse because I pick at it.
The dermatoligists have tried everything, creams, birth control, pills and all kinds of stuff. It just doesn't work.
So I've seriously been considering going on Acutane. I just can't stand the horrible boils on my back, arms, and face. Not to mention they hurt all the time and I'm always picking at them making the problem worse. I use a variety of acne products, including oil free makeup that has salysilic acid in it to reduce the acne.
So Acutane is starting to sound pretty good. But I guess there's some downsides to it too...
So has anyone taken this? Have any opinions on it?
|
|
|
|
Post by Butterfly on Oct 19, 2003 10:24:38 GMT -5
hi Lady Sarah and welcome I had severe acne back when i was in high school. Big spots hurting and itching. I tried lots of stuff as well. Nothing did it for me cause the main cause is inside the body (excuse my simplistic words, i'm foreign and cant bring myself to write in a scientific way lol) and not on the skin. So creams dont really help. I had two chemical peelings, very strong ones. Again, the problem insisted. Wont go into details about how acne ruins your self-esteem cause i'm sure you've been there A plastic-surgeon friend of ours prescribed me for Roaccutane. It saved me. I mean really saved me. It does wonders A little info. You have to run blood tests to make sure your body will handle it- roaccutane causes tons of side effects so have to be careful with that. I remember i took it twice for a 6-month period. A break in between is necessary i think cause you have to do a blood check up again It might cause an outburst at first- which is reasonnable, all spots meant to appear are now forced to break out sooner (ok this is my theory  ) i had to gather all my strength to resist picking when this outburst showed up. But it was worth it I no longer get big spots. little pimples and black heads yes. But they're out of stress and facials can help with those. my skin is clear esp when not touching it! my back is totally clean now Hope i helped you a bit. I highly recommend it thought it's very strong. All people i know were able to get it and didnt have any health problems as a side effect Final although it may not apply to you, YOU MUSTNT GET PREGNANT good luck with it it's hard to fight sp but it's even harder when temptation is on your skin every day (i so know how it feels-hugs) xxx Butterfly |
|
|
|
Post by Lady Sarah on Oct 19, 2003 13:51:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice Butterfly  And I'm thinking about getting an appointment with my doctor just to discuss the possibilities of getting it. I know when I was in highschool I had the chance to get it, but my mother refused (she big into herbal medicines). And now that I'm in college I can do things for myself. Which I plan on doing, taking care of myself. Yay! |
|
Iceman
New Member
Excuse me while i break my own heart tonight
Posts: 26
|
Post by Iceman on Oct 20, 2003 1:58:07 GMT -5
Hello Sarah, I'm new too, just registered on the 19th. I can see you're right where i was at when i decided to take Accutane 10 years ago. Struggling with bad acne on my face and back i found a dermatologist who recommended Accutane. I ignored the blatant warning labels and against my parents wishes i went on a treatment of 60mg Accutane daily for 5 months. It turned out to be the single worst decision i ever made. To make a real long story short, Accutane triggered a chemical imbalance in my brain leading to disabling OCD, panic attacks and terrible skin picking. My fairly normal life was turned upside down and i've never been the same since. Accutane has very dangerous side effects and that danger increases with you being female b/c of the effects it has on women. Check out Michigan Congressmen Bart Stupak's website concerning Accutane at www.house.gov/stupak/accutane.htm His son committed suicide after being on the drug and many suicides are now being traced back to Accutane. Trust me, it's much safer and wiser to continue trying topical products rather than risk your health on internal medications. Have you tried ProActiv? If you haven't then you must, i think it will change your life. It works period. Unfortunately, I ignored their infomercial for a long time but finally gave it a shot and it's the real deal, no hype, no b.s., this stuff works. Also they have a catalog with other great products for acne on your body and makeup for women that is safe to use on acne skin. Contact me if you want to know more about Accutane or ProActiv and i will gladly fill you in. This ran long but i wanted you to have the facts so you can make an informed decision. John |
|
|
|
Post by totalchaos on Oct 20, 2003 19:21:29 GMT -5
Lady Sarah,
Which brand of birth control pills have you tried? Ortho Tricyclen is supposedly the only one approved to help control acne. I've been on it, and although my skin isn't perfect, it still is much better than years before.
Cindy
|
|
|
|
Post by Janita on Oct 21, 2003 12:11:39 GMT -5
Lady Sarah, I have also heard what Iceman has told you about the ProActiv products. Two young women I know called it "nothing less than a miracle." I'd say it's worth a try. |
|
|
|
Post by phmichelle on Oct 21, 2003 16:54:21 GMT -5
I've tried Proactiv and for the money, size of product, and results, I didn't feel it was worth it. It actually made my skin a little worse. When I told the customer service agent that she said that that was normal for the first couple of weeks while the skin was being purged. I've heard this argument before with other products that never got better. I'm not bying it! Everyone has different skin though, it may work for some, at least there is a money back gaurantee. . .
|
|
firegirl
New Member
super girl
Posts: 48
|
Post by firegirl on Oct 21, 2003 23:42:47 GMT -5
with everyone's skin being different and whatnot, and since i've never tried accutane myself, i'm adding my friend's two cents... my friend christina bought proactiv about a year ago. she tried it for a month or two and noticed no changes- good or bad. a few years ago, christina tried "the accutane solution" (as she calls it), with great success. in her own words, though, (she's drinking coffee on my sofa right now), "accutane made my skin beautiful but it fucks with my brain. not enough to stop using it, but i definitely felt the side effects". this from a girl who hardly ever swears  ... her acne, in my opinion, was not really terrible before she went through treatment, but is very clear most of the time now, although she is not using anything currently other than noxema products to wash her face and back. she feels that the accutane helped her skin balance itself, she has had no troubles since she stopped it a year ago, and she would use it again if she felt she needed it. that's all i got tonite- sweet dreams. |
|
|
|
Post by Lady Sarah on Oct 28, 2003 0:42:27 GMT -5
Well with all the mental problems I have it's probably not the best thing for me at the moment.
And as for the birth control, for several years I was on Ortho Tricycline, and it didn't work. Now I'm on Yasmine and it's wonderful.
The Proactiv stuff I've heard about, but I've not tried it. And I'm still really iffy about trying topical things, the doctors seriously tried every perscription out there on me, low dosages to high dosages and nothing. And honestly with my budget (poor college student) I don't think I can afford any fancy skin care products.
What's pretty suprising though is I bought the cheap walmart brand of the nutragena facial cleanser. I think it's called Equate, and it is amazing! $1.95 for a bottle and I've been using it for two months now. I'm still having issues with blemishes but the actual skin feels very nice.
|
|
|
|
Post by Robin on Nov 17, 2003 6:01:52 GMT -5
Accutane cleared up my severe acne when nothing else would for years. My life has completely changed for the better. After six months, my painful cysts disappeared and I have nothing to pick. HOWEVER. The first time I went on it, it was disasterous to my mental health. I was already depressed and I nose-dived with Accutane. Fortunately, I realized something was way wrong and my derm took me off the medication and got me an appt. with a psych. The second time I went on Accutane, we started out with really low doses to see how it was affecting my mind. Things worked better the second time, with the only side affect being dry skin. Accutane works by reducing the production of oil glands. Only a year ago, I was miserable and in pain. Now, my skin is dreamy I still pick at things that really aren't there - a bad habit. I would absolutey recommend Accutane, but WITH SUPERVISION! |
|
|
|
Post by cnc on Feb 12, 2004 12:21:31 GMT -5
I was on two six month rounds of Accutane in college. Had very bad cystic acne on my back, as well. It completely cured it. I still get little pimples and blackheads, but nothing else. It was totally worth it. I wish that I had known about it in high school and could have taken it earlier before I had scarring on my back.
I think the suicide and depression stuff is not true. I have always had both depressive and OCD tendencies and never found that the accutane exacerbated them. I think people who have had problems on it, would have had them anyway. Only side effects I had were chapped lips and flaky hair and skin, invest in good dandruff shampoo while you're on it. Best thing I ever did! When I have kids if they inherit this. I'm putting them on it right away!
|
|
|
|
Post by Weirdo13 on Apr 13, 2004 22:42:20 GMT -5
I was on Acutane my senior year in college. I had pretty bad normal acne. I tried EVERYTHING, including ProActiv which didn't do crap for me! Finally I found Acutane and used it for about a year. It really worked and my acne hasn't been bad although I've stopped. There are only 2 bad things that I know of. The first is that you can't be on it if there's any chance of you getting pregnant. The medicine will deform your baby. The secind is the dry skin. Acutane dries the oil in your face to stop and prevent acne, but it dries you out everywhere else too. But I think it's worth it, especially if the acne is severe.
|
|
)
...