Our Accutane experience

  • Thread starter Thread starter orangedaisy
  • Start date Start date
O

orangedaisy

Guest
The percentages my dermatologist gave were something like 95% of the time, the first round of treatment works and you don't need to go on it again in the future. If you do need to do another round, 90% of the time the second round of treatment works. (Round of treatment = 5 month course of Accutane) Also, as far as the side effects go, she said in the 20 years she's been prescribing Accutane, only once did she have to take someone off of it because of an increase in triglycerides and she only witnessed a few cases where patients became depressed or became more depressed than before treatment.

I am really hoping for the best for him...what he went through emotionally and physically because of acne, well needless to say, as his mother, it was hard to watch. His self esteem and confidence were so low, and he was avoiding social activities all the time. It's hard enough being a teenager without having to deal with something like this on top of it. :(

We are in our 6th week and it continues to get better. :D
 
After almost a year of antibiotics, topicals, 3 step kits, etc. we went to the dermatologist because my son, who is 16, was having his worse breakouts ever over the summer. He got full blown cystic acne. He was miserable, erabarressed, upset, you name it. Our family doc, who had been prescibing his antibiotics, took one look at him back in August and referred him to a dermatologist. The dermatologist took one look at him and suggested Accutane. I was worried about side effects and long-term effects, but every medication has serious side effects, that doesn't mean they happen to everyone.

Anyway, he just finished his 4th week of Accutane and his face is nothing short of a miracle. I am not exaggerating - I wanted to take pictures week by week but he wouldn't let me. I wish he had because if you could only see the amazing difference this drug has made for his face, I just can't say enough about it!

At first, he flared up really bad in the first 1-2 weeks. The 3rd week he got terribly dry but the flare ups were diminishing. He had some swelling of the lips and eyeliRAB, but nothing unmanageable. Then suddenly, in his 4th week, his face seemed to totally calm, almost overnight. I was so amazed to see the sudden difference in his skin. He is SMILING again!!! That is the best part!

We had our 2nd visit to the dermatologist on Tuesday. They are extremely pleased with his progress. They did the lab work and actually increased his daily dose from 40mg to 60mg. When I asked why, she explained that they need to give a certain amount of medication within a certain timeframe, so they bump it up slowly as they go along. I was just curious because his face is so much better, it didn't make sense to me to give him a higher dose. But her explanation made sense since it's only supposed to be a 5-month treatment.

So that's where we're at. His labs were fine - no increase in his tricglycerides, etc. The worse side effect he has had has been the dryness and even that has improved. He also has a small swollen gland under his chin, but that's a normal side effect as well.

I just wanted to share our story because if you are suffering from acne severe enough that you can't even look at yourself or face the world, I want you to know that there is hope!! My son can look in the mirror again, he can go out without feeling self-conscious, he is so happy! :D
 
Great news. I forget what the % is, but a fairly high % of people who go on Accutane never have acne problems again. So, hopefully this does it for him.

I'm one of the lucky ones who did get acne again, but not nearly as bad as before.
 
It's really up to your dermatologist. I think the general idea is that if they think it's severe enough, they'll prescribe it.
 
I did find an online article from the Arizona Republic, where the derm interviewed said 85% of Accutane users never get acne again. That's a higher % than I remeraber hearing when I took it 9 years ago. I wonder if it's really that high?
 
Most dermatologists will make you try everything else first. The side effects from Accutane can get pretty gnarly, and for females, there's an awful lot of hassle before you finally get your script. I personally have had to change my entire diet for the past two months (and hopefully only 2 more!) because it made my cholesterol skyrocket.

Bottom line: if you want to go on Accutane, you have to try a bajillion other products first. I used pretty much all of my over the counter products, plus duac and differin, benzacline, Retin-A, Retin-A Micro, some weird medicated paRAB, hard core benzoyl peroxide wash for my back, plus two different kinRAB of oral antibiotics...and only then did my derm start the Accutane process. Once I started the process, I think it was about 2 months before I actually got the prescription. Every month now, I go get blood drawn, then go to my monthly appointment. My derm enters the information in the iPledge program. Then he gives me a prescription. I then go home, answer a set of comprehensive questions online, and then I'm authorized to get my prescription filled. I bring my iPledge card to the pharmacy so that they are able to get my information and authorization to dispense the medication...

It's a last resort.
 
Accutane's been around for 25 years... I have a hard time believing the 33% divisions... too semetrical... like it's made up...

Any proof of that...?
 
As I said, my son was on antibiotics and tried everything else before this was prescribed. Our family doctor finally referred him to a dermatologist because she knew it was time to step up treatment. His acne flare up was severe and this was the ONLY thing that made it stop.

Everyone is different - some people may experience more serious side effects depending on other health conditions, etc. The statistics presented to me by our dermatologist were promising so we took the chance. Luckily, my son has not had any serious side effects and Accutane has been a goRABend for him.
 
Hi..... just curious re: your accutane experience - were you happy with the results and would you recommend it to someone else?......tx....
 
Back
Top