Hello all,
My 18yr old son is on Accutane, he's been on it for about 8 months now he is down to only 1 pill left. I had read that you should only take the meds for approx. 6-7 months and then have a break in between. His acne is basically clear now, but my son is so afraid if we take him off of accutane it will come back. I'm insisting on taking him off for awhile, so my main question is, have others used accutane and after you are off, what happened with your acne?? I know accutane is a very strong and can be dangerous drug, so I'm leary of keeping him on it any longer than need be. At our last dermo. visit I told the doc. he had been getting several nose bleeds, so he started taking the pill every other day, and now I've got him down to one pill every 2 dys. Like I said, he has 1 pill left and we have an appt. with the dermo. this Thursday. I'm going to insist he remains off of it for now, but please I'd love to hear other people's experiences. Many thanks!
Thanks to everyone for your advice and suggestions. My son did try proactive before Accutane, that was acutally a last resort. He is going to continue to use Proactive. I have decided to take him totally of the accutane and see what happens. He took his last pill last night! His face is almost totally clear so there is no reason to keep him on it any longer than need be, and we'll just hope and pray the acne doesn't return. We've been lucky he hasn't had any major side effects, and hopefully none will pop up in the future from the drug. It is a miracle drug, but needs to be used with extreme caution, and I don't believe it's right for everyone. I'm thinking the drug gave his system a boost, and now hopefully he can keep it controlled with Proactive, or I might try the Arbonne one. The Mary Kay we did try and didn't work for him. Thanks again for everyone's responses.
Hi N.,
My 16 year old was on Accutane, but when I found out it could cause her to become sterile and increased her risk of breast cancer I took her off immediately. We now use Arbonne's Clear Advantage system. It works to heal from the inside out and her skin has seen such an improvement we are putting her on a regular skin care program.
Hi N.,
I took Accutane when I was about 18 and it was very successful in treating my acne. I honestly don't remember how many months I was on it, at least 6 months. I too had some nose bleeds (which they told me was a common side effect), but this stopped once I was off the medicine. When I stopped taking the medicine my skin stayed clear. I would have a few pimples come and go through the years after I was off Accutane, but I think that is due to female hormones. I never broke out like I had before the medicine. I am 34 now and I have not had any side effects because of it.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions feel free to e-mail me!
L.
I do not know what to tell you about the Accutane, however my daughter had acne as well. After trial and error with several other products we came across Mary Kay Velocity. I know it sounds like a "girly" product, there is no scent and it does not come in a pink container. She used the cleanser/moisturizer, toner and acne treatment gel. My daughter used it twice a day (a must)until her face was clear enough to not be red and hurting and now she uses it once a day. Maybe it would be worth a try. Good luck.
Hey N.. I am an estetician, which is a skin care specialist, however I cant diagnose anyone. But I know products like accutane, proactive, and others are vary harsh on the skin and the immune system. If your son is having success on accutane while that is great now, it may have some long term effects if on it too long. I would try an upkeep skin care regimen of an all natural soap that is antiseptic. I can recomend one, and a great moisturizer. With the intake of tons of water, he should be able to upkeep his clear skin without being on the drugs. If you more info on the soaps and moisturizers I can get those too you... hope this helps!
Sorry no previous accutane use but, Have him take a break from the meds for now and see what might happen. Have him take extra care of his face, keep it clean and lightly moisturize, to prevent dryness. He can always get back on it if he has to with a short break, he should have periodic lab work to have his liver checked, as well. Good Luck!
Two of my six daughters have used Accutane. Both had to go through a series twice, as the acne returned for both of them. One had to do "two-a-days" for a few months. Acne in our family is a hereditary problem. One daughter was not left with any scaring - the other has quiet a bit that we have had to treat with peels and laser treatment.
Each treatment round the dr. prescribed usually lasted 6 months. I felt good about that, because side-effects really escalated after six months.
Accutane is a nasty - but miraculous drug - and very scary. The side effects are many, as you may well know: night-blindness, headaches, lower back pain, dry skin, etc. My girls' grades also suffered and they both needed to be taking anti-depressants during their treatments.
It is good to take break between rounds of treatment - because it may well be cured with one treatment series. If it comes back, attack it again. Usually two treatment rounds do the trick. I hope your son does not have to go that route. But bad acne can be so debilitating socially and emotionally that at times I have looked at Accutane as a god-send.
Hi N.,
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I personally was on 4 rounds of accutane when I was younger. Two times when I was in college (~22 yrs old) and then again when i was about 30 yrs old. For me, acne returned about 6-8 months after I quit taking the pills, each time. I loved what it did for my skin during the course of treatment, but afterwards was disappointing. And now, that I'm 33 yrs old, my skin is VERY sensitive to sunlight and I think this is somewhat due to the accutane treatment (I have not asked a Dr about this...this is just my opinion). If I had to do it over again, I would not have done the second round of treatment because I do think there is a law of diminishing returns and potential down-sides. :)
I don't have experience with accutane, but I have a 17 year old son who had terrible acne. We found the website acne.org, and the advice changed his life. Having had acne myself as a teen I had wished I had the same advice. My brother and I had been to dermatologists who helped some but not as much as my son's been helped. Basically they explain a regime that is much more gentle than we ever would have thought, with the key being a very MILD benzoil peroxide very generously applied. Usually with bad skin the strong stuff is encouraged. My sons skin was clear in weeks and no one would ever think he has problem skin now. He read the suggestions for how to cleanse, etc himself and I buy loads of the mild benzoil peroxide for him, but it's worth it.
Hi N.,
I never took Accutane myself, but two of my friends did. One friend (guy) took it for 6 months and when he stopped, it never came back and he looked fantastic. My other friend (girl) took it for 6 months and her skin was clear for a long time, but then very mild acne came back, but her skin is still WAY better than it was. I would be careful on it, like you said, though.
M.
try a system like proactive, it is the reglarity and the whole package that helps.
I have never taken it, but my friend's whole family did for years and it stunted all of their growth severely. They were all so terrified of acne that they insisted on taking it the whole time they were in high school. (this was 10 years ago) They boys growth was affected the most. I'm sure your son has some growing left only being 18, so I'd be cautious continuing it.
Acne probably won't be as big of a deal now that he's almost out of high school. Good Luck!
