Should i start accutane!?

[jeffsss]

so.. long story short.. I went to my derm yesterday. and yes i already know that going to a derm about hair loss is about as important as putting perfume on a pig.

but it was for my skin.. I had a mole that was "RIGHT" under my nose removed because i was sick and tired of knicking it while shaving every so often..

my skin is oily.. i mean.. i can wash my face 10X a day and it's still oily.
so i talked to my derm about it..

he said i have 2 options..
1. deal with it. I'll have breakouts because oily skin promotes that but i wont have many wrinkles throughout my life.
or...
2. Accutane.. it'll really really cut down on oil production and all my skin will be much clearer and cleaner..

upside of accutane.. clean clear oil free skin..
bad side.. could promote hair loss!? depression.. ?!?

now.. i dont need either one of the possible side effects.. but it'd sure be nice to have great skin especially when it's time to buzz my hair short.

what do you guys think?!

 

[Axon]

I took it and did not experience many sides beyond dry skin and lips. I'm actually considering another cycle.

However, there is a fairly large chance to experience more hair loss from it, yes.

 

[jeffsss]

I took it and did not experience many sides beyond dry skin and lips. I'm actually considering another cycle.

However, there is a fairly large chance to experience more hair loss from it, yes.

so it's a cycle? is it something that must be "cycled" thoughout your life?

i also heard it's hard on the liver.

 

[bgred90]

You have to have monthly blood tests so they can monitor the liver.
It can cause hair loss and depression. I took it but only experience VERY VERY dry lips, skin dries out bad for a couple months.
Remember, it will make your skin much worse before it gets better. But when you do get a breakout, they dont last as long. Its pretty good stuff, very strong.

 

[Axon]

Jeff,

It doesn't HAVE to be, but for heavy acne sufferers, it can be cycled on a need basis. While I've seen far less breakouts even some three years after my last treatment, I'd still like to really kill these things off.

Consult your dermatologist for more information.

 

[jeffsss]

Jeff,

It doesn't HAVE to be, but for heavy acne sufferers, it can be cycled on a need basis. While I've seen far less breakouts even some three years after my last treatment, I'd still like to really kill these things off.

Consult your dermatologist for more information.

I have consulted my derm... but you know how most docs are.. basicly you get a 5 min block with the actual doctor.

I dont have extremely bad acne.. I do have some on my shoulders and back.. but my face is fairly clean.. probabaly because of proactive.

It's nice to get other peoples opinions who ahve used it.

wonder if hairloss from accutane is temporary.. will it grow back when your off it?

 

[Siberian]

I had severe acne. I did one course (3 months I think?) of Accutane about 15 years ago. Haven't seen any acne since (beyond the normal occasional).

Your lips will crack and bleed, especially whenever you open your mouth a lot, such as eating.

I also got severe nosebleeds constantly. Going out to dinner was always delightul. My lips would start bleeding, I'd sneeze and start hemorragin from the nose... pretty sight.

And well worth it for me. If you're acne isn't severe, then it's a tough call.

There's also a very, very slight risk of brain lesions.

I don't believe the "it causes depression" stuff. It's like saying Paxil causes depression. Of COURSE people taking accutane are depressed... they have acne that's making them sad, not the dang medicine.

 

[Siberian]

Remember, it will make your skin much worse before it gets better.

This is a great point to remember. You'll probably break out with a horrible case of whitehead pimples for the first few weeks (I did). Don't freak out, it's normal. They go away.

 

[VWdude]

axon, i like your avatar.

 

[luke77]

I WOULD NOT go on accutane if you do not have severe acne. The side effects are rare, but they are potentially serious. I have permanent, ongoing hair loss because of accutane and wish that I had never heard of the medication. I won't bash the medication; it does great things for many people, but I would not take it just for oily skin. This is borderline irresponsible on your derm's part, imo.

 

[Aplunk1]

I have an experience with Accutane I'd like to share. Although, I've never personally used it, I've seen my cousin use it from about 15-16 years of age.

He had really bad acne, and some sort of skin disease where large cuts would happen if you popped a pimple (or something like that).

So his doctor put him on Accutane. He was on it for a while.

His lips started drying up.

Everything on his body became dry and he developed a lot of flaking/dandruff all over the body.

He was sick all the time.

He DID lose considerable hair volume.

He finished up treatment, liver turned out fine, and his skin was and still is SUPER CLEAR. Much clearer than his brothers.

However, to this day, he has the thinnest hair I've ever seen a 17-year-old have, and he's unlike his brothers, whereas they have full heads of hair (1 older and 1 younger).

I think that Accutane does have the possibility of irreversible hair loss, not to mention other disastrous things that could potentially happen. If you were to drink on Accutane, you might as well kill yourself by faster means.

I have had some acne myself, and found that dutasteride and a daily skin scrub have cleared it all up.

As far as clearing up oily skin, I DO NOT think Accutane should be prescribed for this purpose. It should ONLY be prescribed for serious cases of acne.

Maybe give dutasteride a try sometime in the future. Dutasteride has been known to be prescribed in treating acne, as well.

 

[Axon]

Jeff clearly stated that he has moderate acne, and if he's getting them on his head where the hair is, I can sympathize.

Jeff, I think it's worth a shot. But there is the potential for hair thinning from the use of the drug. As you can see from some of the other posts, everyone responds differntly to Isotretonin. For me, I didn't start accutane until my hair loss began. So I figured what the hell - I can either go bald with sh*t skin, or go bald with clear skin.

Now three years later, I'm again getting some very minor breakouts. I used to get it real bad right at the bridge of the neck and the shoulders, but that's all gone. I do have some pimples in between the shoulder blades, whereas when I just got off Accutane, that wasn't there.

Also, I get zits right under my hair, particuarlly at the back base of the hair where the barber squares it off. Also, I get zits "under" (no better term) my ears. These don't happen often, but they're f*****g annoying when they do. It was SO nice to touch the back of my head and not feel some rock-hard cottage cheese lump waiting to explode there, or put on my glasses or headphones without feeling the constant pinching from a zit.

For me, it did a lot for my confidence. It inspired me to go to the gym. I was hugely self-concious about my bacne for many years, and I would NEVER take my shirt off, even on 110 degree days at the beach. Once I cleared that sh*t up, you couldn't keep the clothes on me.

Now, I'm one of those guys that's rollerblading around with his shirt off when its 55 degrees out. And yeah, it's because I want to show off the pecs.

 

[Aplunk1]

Now, I'm one of those guys that's rollerblading around with his shirt off when its 55 degrees out. And yeah, it's because I want to show off the pecs.

Hey, I think I saw you the other day. Were you wearing a pair of blue and green speedo's, rollerblading, screaming, "Propecia, why hast thou forsaken me!?" with a tatoo of a lawnmower trimming the happy trail down to your ***?

Man, I'm so bored.