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Accutane Anonymous
I'm starting Accutane later this month and was wondering if you /fit/folk had any experience with this medication. I've heard of crazy side effects, but as much information as possible is always a good thing.

I am currently on tretinoin and doxycycline, which did very little to my acne problem (it's not terribly bad, it's just NOT going away)

Any horror stories?
>> Anonymous
That shit worked magic. My acne disappeared FAST as fuck. People were shocked, and I felt awesome.
>> Anonymous
ro ro, fight the powah
>> Anonymous
All the psychological issues are only happening to people with existing (dormant?) fucked up issues...

Fuckin pussies needs to shape up
>> Anonymous
dude.. once again i say...

moisturize! your gonna dry up like a...well something insanely dry.
specially the lips. like really dry.its how the shit works.

oh and anyone you got depressed off this shit is a pussy.

if your feeling down... stay down and gimme 20!!!
>> Anonymous
>>482031

Thats actually not bad advice. I'm usually in better spirits after pounding out some pushups.
>> Anonymous
Eye drops and chap stick are a must.
>> Anonymous
My 3rd month taking these now. Lips get dry.. fucking dry. Depression? nope. No crazy story. Take them 3-4 times a day.
>> Anonymous
I used Oratane/Roaccutane about 13 months ago. Treatment ended this March. My lips still get dry and cracked but that isn't helped by the amount of coke I drink.

Everyone has already said the obvious, moisturise and lip balm/chap stick but you might also want to stay away from salty snacks and drinks because they won't help you one bit.
And as for depression, its easy to avoid so long as you have people you can talk to about it.
Go to it.
>> Anonymous
what about all the joint issues
>> Anonymous
Moisturize like crazy, invest in some GOOD lip balm, stuff that actually hydrates, drink a shitton of water and get a good exfoliant that won't dry out your skin.

I never had any joint problems, and I've never even heard about depression as a side effect. Just don't be pregnant and don't get hammered 24/7 and it'll go great.
>> Anonymous
i used it for about half a year, had extremely dry skin all over, my finger“s skin used to rip while tying my shoes and had barely manageable dry lips and flaky facial skin.

also had pretty intense joint aches, I was even unable to run for a while. I had no depression but in the later stages of the treatment when my skin was almost perfect I felt really paranoid about the tiniest little red marks.. feels ridiculous in hindsight.

It could also fuck up your liver, by the way.. but it works really well, so if your acne is worth all the hassle go for it, but be careful.
>> Anonymous
I took a 9 month course or something. My mates cant believe the change it had. Some tips:
1. For joint aches - take fish oil as an off the counter solution. Consult your physician if the problem is severe
2. for dry lips - use a lip balm
3. dry skin where acne doesnt occur (hands) use some sort of moisturiser. I would also wear gym gloves if your a gym sort of person
4. Alcohol issue. I didn't stop drinking but I really toned my drinking down. At worst I'd be tipsy at parties and I'd skip the roac for that night/day to follow.
5. Depression. I didnt get it so cant comment

Long term effects? Well I still have to use lip balm from time to time. Dryness was the biggest issue. I wear glasses for driving/reading and I pretty much cannot get contacts because my eyes are too dry. So looks like im just gonna have to wait until im 25-26 and get laser surgery or something. But in the whole scheme of things it was quite worth it

Basically make sure you have a good dermatologist who sees you every 2-4 months to track your progress.

Gl
>> Anonymous
I went on it, the clear face will come at a price. Different people get different side effects, it's like gambling with your health.

here's a pretty acitve board dealing with accutane:
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Accutane-posts-f46.html

-Of course, dry skin and lips. I was putting lip balm on my lips every hour and I was getting sick of the taste of lip balm. Even if you put on lip balm your lips will hurt
-I had no previous symptoms or feelings of depression. After the first week of taking accutane, I don't know how to describe this, but I felt weird. I felt like I was disconnected to everything, and it was really easy just to daze and daydream, kind of like if I was on a buzz 24/7. I would procrastinate all the time. Nothing mattered, I always felt.. nothing. Feeling nothing is worse than feeling pain or happiness, it's like you don't even exist. My grades fell, but notthat much. It just felt like a daily chore to live life everyday. It was horrible. I didn't feel like myself.
>> Anonymous
-I also had no energy, it was like I was constantly on a chemical haze. On the weekends, I would go to bed at 8am and wake up at 2pm. And If I took a nap, I would wake up the next day and be all freaked out. I felt exhausted after coming back fro a day of school
-Joints hurt, especially if you work out. I only discovered omega-3 fish oil near the end of my treatment, which helped the joints alot
-My hair felt like hay because it was so dry
-It's really hard to see in the dark when you're on accutane, when I got out of bed I couldn't get to the lightswitch because I couldn't see. Driving at night was a bitch too
-Light sensitivity---- I always got headaches because even the florescent lights at school seemed bright, and it sucked to be outside without singlasses

I think that's about it. It really made my life miserable for 9 months, but it made my face sexy haha. I'm still deciding if it was worth it or not. Pretty much all the side effects are fading away, but some people aren't so lucky and they stay with them forever.
>> Anonymous
I experienced no side effects, not even dryness. I was put on a 6 month course of 40mg a day.

I went from having severe cystic acne, to clear skin.
If your doctor wants you to take more than 80mg a day, convince him not to. There is plenty of data out there that supports low-dosage versus high-dosage.
>> Anonymous
OP here.

Thank you guys a lot. I had been reading some stuff on it, but it all felt very "Hi I'm a doctor, buy my product" to me. These are all nice real life stories for me to work with. Thank you!