From a young age I’ve always struggled with acne. It’s been pretty bad since middle school. When I was younger my skin was a lot more sensitive so any topical creams would hurt and dry out my skin. I went to the dermatologist a few times from ages 13 to 15, but nothing seemed to help enough to be worth the pain or the money for all the products. So for the majority of high school through college I pretty much stuck to face wash and any cheap over the counter spot treatments that I would cave in and buy every once and a while.
When I started sophomore year at SCU I was pretty sick of having bad skin. I decided I should go see a dermatologist since I hadn’t been in a few years. I made an appointment over Thanksgiving break and I am so incredibly happy I did.
When the doctor came in she took a lot at my skin and said she thought Accutane was the best option for me right away. She said she didn’t really see any permanent solutions with any topical creams that could be prescribed and that Accutane would be my best bet. She really trusted the medicine and assured me that she wouldn’t put me on it if she didn’t.
Accutane has had some reports of more serious issues like depression and other awful side effects but my doctor did not see these as anything but very, very rare instances. She told me I would be fine and should feel completely like myself, only with the added need of chapstick every five minutes.
Pretty fed up with having had acne for years I was eager to start. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as a doctor filling a few-month prescription and having clear skin. Before you even start you need two negative pregnancy tests one month apart (some instances of birth defects have been reported when women used Accutane while pregnant and thus not getting pregnant is a very serious part of the medication-it’s written all over the boxes) and you also need two blood tests to make sure the medicine will not negatively affect your system.
So I did all this and was able to start my medication over Christmas break. My doctor started me on a low dosage so my body could adjust. Right away I honestly didn’t notice much. After a few days I sensed my lips getting a bit dry but nothing too bad. I think it was about two or three weeks in that I actually really did need chapstick multiple times a day. For this I use Aquaphor. It’s got a bit of a tacky texture so some people don’t like it but it does an amazing job of keeping my lips moisturized so I always keep it with me.
When I came back to school after break I actually had to transfer my care up to Santa Clara because I needed to proceed with monthly blood and pregnancy tests in order to keep receiving the Accutane.
About a month or so in I did notice that my skin was pretty dry but as long as I was good about moisturizing every day, it was manageable. The most frustrating side effect was probably the nose bleeds due to my nose being so dry, but this intense dryness stopped after about two months I would say. Month 3 was when my dosage was bumped up.
I am currently about to start my fifth month on Accutane (6 is custom). I need to moisturize my lips multiple times a day and need to put on sunscreen more often since Accutane can make you prone to burning, but other than that nothing has changed. I think my skin started to make a turn around about half way through month three. My skin does get better daily and it’s nice to be able to see some progress and hopefully by the end of all of this my acne won’t come back.
I know Accutane often receives a lot of negative press as it is considered such a serious drug, but for anyone struggling with acne who is frustrated that nothing else is working, I really recommend going to see a dermatologist. You should at least see what they say as far as treating your acne goes. You never know, Accutane might be the solution for you!