Anyone here taken accutane? I'm about to start it in a few weeks. My acne is not severe but i've tried EVERYTHING else and nothing has held up so i'm doing this as a last resort and final solution. I think i'm the most freaked out about the drying of the skin that occurs...

Please tell me about your experiences. I want to know what to expect while i'm on it...

how fast did it start working? did your skin get worse before it got better? How bad was the peeling. DId you look like a freak while you were on it?

Tell me everything!

Thanks so much...

I've been on it twice; just recently finished my second course. Anyways, I think I was lucky because the only dryness I experienced was dry chapped lips. My skin did definitely get A LOT worse within the first two weeks of starting, but started clearing up really fast after the initial breakout. I did already have severe acne anyways, so the initial breakout didn't really bother me. I think it does depend on how bad it is in the first place to how bad the initial breakout is. I would recommend that you use good products on your skin whilst taking the drug, just to supliment everything I guess.
Anyways, good luck! I have had clear skin for about a year now, and it was definitely worth taking x

How much does Accutane cost if you don't have insurance?

I was on Ro-accutane for three months but it messed up my stomach and dried out my skin. At the moment i'm on these By-mycin tablets and have this skin cream agent that smoothes out the face and aids recovery of blemishes (Duac). Together they retail for €45.

Ro-accutane works but is only recommended by dermatologists in Europe for very serious cases of acne, and I mean for the kind you read in a magazine. I know cos my dad is a dermatologist.

Two of my really close friends were on it. In both cases, it cleared up their skin beautifully. One of them, who I was living with at the time, didn't even get an initial break out (she was very paranoid and did weeks of internet research before she went on it), her skin was significantly better in about three weeks and it had been really bad before. The whole drying out thing goes a lot further then you think- she had problems with dry skin as well as her eyes getting really dry, her skin getting sunburnt really easily and chafing quite badly if she carried a bag or anything and both friends on it had problems with their joints drying out- so it hurts to walk long distances or carry heavy things. Neither of them looked like freaks whilst they were on it- I think you just have to moisturise a LOT. I think they both thought it was worth it though and neither suffered any of the psychiatric side effects.