For anyone suffering from severe acne

I had acne pretty bad and it started to develop at age 11-12 in me. By age 13 (I was in 8th grade I believe) I had tried every topical and oral med and over the counter availble. None worked.

Thanks for sharing your story.

I had a somewhat similar experience except my acne didn't start until I was almost out of high school.

I took 80mg/day of 'tane for 6 months and have been very clear since my last pill in late 2004.

Congrats! :)

I started developing acne when I was 16 years old. Up until then I had perfect skin, no pimples, blackheads or anything. Then all of a sudden my face just broke out and I began to develop severe cystic acne that was blue-purple in color. Every time I went to a dermatologist, they tried to pressure me into taking Accutane. They always suggested that first - they never tried to put me on any other medications or try out any creams first. I was really scared of the side effects, especially because a friend of mine became so depressed from it that she had to go to a psychologist for therapy. I didn't take it and now almost 6 years later, I still get pimples and I have horrible deep acne scars on my face. :( slatka2010-02-22 17:44:59

slatka- I'm shocked that they tried to put you on Accutane before trying anything else. It's really strong stuff. Not to be rude, but was your acne a lot worse than most people's acne?

If you did have very very deep cystic acne, the doctor probably knew nothing else would really help you.
Creams and antibiotics would have been kind of pointless.

Accutane is the only thing that worked for me, and I had moderate acne. I'm sorry to hear about your friend's depression. However, there are some studies that show people with severe acne are more likely to be depressed in general. So the depression might not have been caused by the Accutane itself.

It's worth looking into, it really helped me. Maybe you could get a second opinion from another dermatologist?

haller2010-02-23 15:42:49

It really can be dangerous for people who already suffer from depression though.My sister took it only a month or two and not for the full cycle because she said she felt crazy on it and wanted to kill someone.

My dermatologist recommended it to me the last time I saw him on the condition that what I'm using now didn't work (Differin 0.3%,10% Benzoyl peroxide wash and 2% salicylic acid wash) but thank God it has worked for a year so far cuz I wasn't sure I wanted to go there.
I also got a Zeno for the occasional  pimple that gets through and that works well.Often they don't even form they just disappear after one use.

I'm glad to hear other people's good experiences with it though.
It is encouraging in case I ever have to go on it.

Acne is a common inflammatory skin disease that mainly affects the face, neck, chest and upper back. It is caused by an interaction between Hormones, bacteria and sebum produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Symptoms show as comedones (pimples), pustiles (lessions filled with pus) and occasionally Cysts. Acne is traditionally thought to developat Puberty but many women have acne throughtout life or it may develop in adulthood. It can develop premenstrually or may be associated with the talking or stoping of Oral Contraceptive Pills. This is possible caused by changing hormone levels.

Treatment for acne depends on severity. Mild cases may be eased by washing the face with a gental toilet soap or by drying agents such as benzoyl peroxide. Severe acne may need oral treatment with antibiotics such as tetracycline or hormone therapy such as dianette, which also act as a contraceptive.

emmawatson2010-06-11 23:32:49