Roaccutane; What's your story?

Hi Sips, I finished a 4 month course of roaccutane last November, and it has changed my life. I have suffered with 'bad skin' since I was a teenager, I always thought I would grow out of it but never did. Over the years I have spent ridiculous amounts of money on every brand of spot treatment, organic face washes, vitamin tablets, antibiotic tablets and creams prescribed by doctors, it was such a deflating experience and I became convinced there was no 'miracle cure' and I would be looking at my reflection in glass rather than mirrors (can't see skin flaws in windows!!) forever. My self esteem was rock bottom as I felt the blemishes on my face were disgusting and I felt uncomfortable with people standing close to me.

Anyway fast forward 10 years and at the age of 30 I finally decided this was something I had to deal with, as it was making me REALLY depressed. I noticed my new doctors had a dermatologist so I booked an appointment with her, she tried a couple of tablets on me before referring me to the dermatology department at my local hospital (and obviously saw my medical records stating all the treatments I had tried previously).

I had a similar experience of roaccutane to you, starting on 30mg and then going up to 60mg. I suffered very little in the way of side effects; my skin became dry for a while but then became perfect, so smooth and flawless and soft (my derm told me this smoothness would be temporary, and it was). My lips were really dry but I used loads of vaseline, I got cuts in my nose from a cold and that took ages to heal. I also sweated excessively, like the smallest hill would make me break into a sweat, particularly my face. I didn't suffer any emotional side effects, but I had weighed up the risks beforehand and decided that an improvement in my skin would more likely help my depression rather than hinder it.

Anyway, 7 months on I finally think my skin is normal-I have the occassional spot but to be honest it impresses me that there is only one or two at a time now rather than a whole family of them. I am loving my new skin and my new look-in-the-mirror confidence. I have lost 3 stone in the last 7 months too, and I really think that is because of an increase in self esteem. 

Roaccutane has been one of the best decisions I have ever made, if I relapse and need another course, I will be down to the doctors for a referral in a heartbeat. 

Hey Guys , 

Just want to let anybody considering starting taking roaccutane a little bit about my story ... 

My names Troy , I'm 19 and was 18 when I began my course . 

Firstly I highly do not reccomend it , and I have several reasons why .. To begin , I am a very bubbly , happy and outgoing person , and everybody notices that about me . Back in January 2017 my acne was beginning to really affect my confidence so I decided to begin a 6 month course of accutane . Just one month into the treatment , I was having severe issues , being in university and not being able to breathe or focus on my work , distancing myself , being cold with people , shallow , and just not the person I am .. i honestly considered really bad things in my head ... it felt weird , and although I was able to acknowledge this new strange persona coming over me , I just couldn't change it ... I was brought into hospital as my breathing became too difficult and they said I had developed really bad anxiety , something I had never suffered from prior ! It then occurred to me that much the same thing happened my childhood friend , who had took his life earlier in 2016 .. i recalled how he also took accutane and in his case it really took a drastic toll ... and I felt myself coming to that stage , only after a month ... I also experienced problems with erectile distinction and loss of drive/libido (very out of the ordinary?) ... Undoubtedly it affects people differently , I have another friend and he came out the exact same before and after treatment , but if I could go back in time I would've never had taken out , and I'm sure I was just like you , "worried , anxious " , hating my acne , feeling ugly in my skin , and thinking oh it says serious side effects are rare and suicidal thoughts are <1% but I don't agree with that statistic , taking me and my friend who passed as an example .. so please guys , take in everything from this and I'm sincerely writing this to help you guys/girls out because this treatment is extremely severe , and not to be downshadowed of its side effects ... it can change lives , both for better and for worse ... one more thing is that although they say it's a 6 month course I had quite bad acne , like blisters under my skin , I took one month and it got to a stage of me feeling more comfortable and now 6 months later it's stayed like that ... it makes me think that perhaps you don't actually need 6 months and it's all just a way for producers and dermatologists to make money , so if you feel you have to resort to accutane , keep that in mind , they say it comes back worse , mine didnt. I hope this helps you out , and best of luck with your decision ..

Troy