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Accutane - Is it Worth it?
As a teenager and all throughout adulthood, I always had acne breakouts. They were mostly located on my chin and under my nose. When I went to college, I always assumed that acne breakouts were a “teenage” thing and they would eventually go away. But they didn’t.
Fast forward 10 years, and at age 28, I was still dealing with the same breakouts. I felt like I had tried everything - special lotions, face wash, ProActiv, Retin-A -you name it. Everything under the sun that had promised clear skin never worked for me. Like clockwork, every week or so I would find another huge pimple on my chin or under my nose. I always tried to cover these up with concealer, but it always ended up making my face look even more greasy.
In the summer of 2016, I finally decided to see a dermatologist. After hearing about everything I had already tried, my dermatologist recommended Accutane. I felt like I had heard a lot of bad things about Accutane, but he promised me that Accutane would be successful, and he had over 1,000 happy Accutane patients. So I decided to give it a shot.
Accutane is a more serious commitment than any medicine I’ve ever taken. You cannot take Accutane if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant - it will cause birth defects. As a result, you have to take a pregnancy test 1 month before you start, each month you’re on Accutane, and 1 month after you complete Accutane. You also need to take a monthly blood test, commit to a monthly dermatologist appointment, and fill out an online questionnaire about birth control every 30 days before you are able to refill your next 30 day prescription. I was on Accutane for 5 months, so the entire experience was about 7 months in all.
The number one thing you will experience on Accutane is the DRYNESS. I never imagined my skin could be SO dry. The inside of my nose was so dry, it was constantly clogged with boogers. I quickly learned that applying Aquaphor to the inside of your nose helped alleviate the dryness. My scalp was so dry that I only needed to wash my hair about once every 8-9 days. This was probably the one nice thing about Accutane, because who likes washing their hair everyday anyway? The rest of my skin was dry too - particularly my hands, face, and lips. Having lipstick stay on was a challenge. I developed a couple dry skin patches/rashes on my face and hands which was very unpleasant as well. I wasn’t happy about my skin’s dry appearance, but I was hoping it would be worth it in the end.
However, after about 2 months on Accutane, I noticed that I was no longer experiencing my routine breakouts. The skin on my face was dry and almost scaly, but the pimples were gone! I didn’t want to get my hopes up, and of course completed the 20 week cycle of pills. But when it was over, I still did not have a single pimple. My skin was completely clear for the first time in years - maybe ever. It was an amazing feeling.
I have now been off of Accutane for 4 months. The side effects of the drug linger for about a month, and then your skin returns to normal - except for the breakouts. At 4 months post-Accutane, I still have not had a breakout! I never thought I could actually be free of the constant pimples and redness.
If you feel like you’ve tried everything to clear up your skin, I would highly recommend Accutane. It was definitely a commitment, and the side effects were not always pleasant, but the end result was everything I had hoped for.
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| Left: One month before starting Accutane Right: One month after completing Accutane |
