Ennazus

Thank you Barney Gumble for the Accutane info. I'm 37 and have suffered with cystic acne for most of my adult years. Antibiotic treatment has helped, but of course never cured. My dermatologist has recommended Accutane, but the side effects (and later the news of suicides) scared me off . I am going to check out the links you've supplied and try to drum up some courage!

Demosthenes

I get a few pimples on my face. They're easily taken care of and are usually caused by shaving irritation. My back though is another story. I got hit by a bad case of back acne a few years ago. I still have them, but it's gotten a lot better with my daily back skin care regimen. I still have red marks from past breakouts and I still get new pimples but they're easier to deal with than compared to a few years ago. I just hope that it'll keep getting better and better. It seems that it gets better and then it get all bad all of sudden then better and so on. A fucking pain in the ass cycle.

My skin is naturally oily, large pores and all that so it demands constant care. For me, red marks take forever to fade away so if anybody here knows of a good tip to get rid of those marks other than concealers, pass it on to me! I'd love to hear about it.

A site which's heaven sent and gave me a lot of useful information.

Healthboards-Acne

RevDahlia

Bears mentioning that Accutane is a very very powerful teratogen. Women should be extremely careful not to get pregnant when taking it -- some doctors won't even prescribe it to females of chidbearing age.

Barney Gumble

Indeed. When I took it years ago, there was even a graphic of a pregnant woman with a slash through it on the package for each pill. It's hard not to notice the warnings regarding pregnancy, I'm not sure if such extreme warnings were always the case.

I would seriously question a doctor who would not prescribe it to "females of childbearing age" though, as that basically eliminates the largest target female demographic from receiving the most potent acne medication available. I understand doctors can naturally be skittish about lawsuits, but cripes - you're basically telling a woman that because she can get pregnant, and the baby (if she takes it to term) might have birth defects, that she is going to be denied an effective medication that her male counterparts can enjoy.

Bear in mind folks, my recommendation of Accutane shouldn't be regarded as a belief that it should be an OTC drug. Far from it - it is very powerful, and needs to be monitored. I just see the suicide hysteria deriving from more emotive than logical arguments.

RevDahlia

I think the docs' reluctance to prescribe Accutane to young women is similar to OB-GYNs' reluctance to perform tubal ligations on childless women. May be caution, or a paternalistic attitude --- implying that the woman doesn't know what she's doing, has not competently assessed the risk, et cetera. "Oh no dear, you might regret it."

It is stupid. If people want the drug, they should have it, provided they are informed of the potential side effects.

Iluvatar

I got some sort of antibiotic a few years ago. I don't remember the name, but it had the most incredible effect during the time I used it. Sadly you can't use that stuff very long. I've never looked absolutely hideous, but I honestly don't feel comfortable without a shirt on. My upper arms and shoulders is what's bothering me now. My face has cleared up quite well naturally though. I've found that lots of sunlight helps, but I don't have the patience for that.

Fisheye

I was on accutane a few years ago. I don't think the possibility of birth defects is reason enough to deny a woman a prescription. When I was prescribed it, there were forms to read and sign notifying me of the risk if I got pregnant, and that abortion is recommended if I did get pregnant while on treatment. I was told to use 2 forms of birth control.

It did dry my face and lips out a lot.

Every couple of weeks I had to have a blood test done to make sure my levels were OK. They tested for pregnancy also.

I was on anti-depressants when I started. Accutane didn't affect my mood any that I can remember.

My treatment had to be cut short because it was causing something (triglycerides?) to rise to an unsafe level. It was still enough to have worked.

Also, I was told not to eat a lot of vitamin A or take pills with vitamin A while on accutane.

You can't give blood while on the medicine, either.

My brother went to the dermatologist to see if he could get a prescription a couple months after I finished, and was told the doctor would no longer prescribe it! (That was after the suicide scare) Too bad, he could really use it!

My dad has had acne forever, he was prescribed accutane when in his mid-40s and that took care of it.

Rusting Car Bumper

I had acne well into adulthood.

Your doctor can help.

Accutane can be pretty serious. I havent used it myself but the few people I've known said it was hell but it worked.

However, anit-biotics might work and might have fewer effects. That's what my doctor told me and my doctor was right. Anti-biotics worked without having to go through accutane hell.

Anti-biotics might not work for you but its worth it to give them a shot first.

DC

Defiant Heretic

Question: Why is acne considered such a big deal? It sounds like quite a lot of people have it for awhile; it's not dangerous; and it goes away on its own.

Ennazus

Acne can be extremely painful, especially cystic acne. I have had huge cysts around my chin and mouth that hurt like hell, contorted my smile and made it difficult to even open my mouth to eat. On tight forehead skin, a giant cyst feels like a tumor. For some of these huge ones, I've had 5-6 injections into the cysts to shrink them. I'm 37 and was hoping to have outgrown all of this by now, because it sure is miserable.


Yuck.. that's probably more than anybody wanted to know about my acne. Luckily, I have a great dermatologist and antibiotics have helped me. I just have to get up the gumption (and the cash) to start the Accutane.