While nobody should judge someone just on how they look, society hasn’t quite mastered this ideal. Acne definitely qualifies as something that takes more of a toll on us than it should, but with modern medicine it’s becoming easier to treat. After years of struggling with acne in high school, my senior year I finally succumbed to Accutane (or Isotretinoin for the offical medical term), the closest thing there is to a “cure” for acne. Sounds great right? Sure. I mean we all want to be that girl in the commercials, gracefully splashing water up on our faces, but there’s a lot you should know before making the commitment to this serious drug.
1. Qualifying is harder than you think
For me personally, my insurance company wouldn’t cover Accutane unless I had tried two other prescriptions in the last year and had my dermatologist attest that they didn’t work.
2. Birth Control
I had to be on birth control for three months before actually taking Accutane, which depending on the person can have positive side effects or not react so well with your body. Because the medicine causes severe birth defects, your dermatologist has to make sure you won’t become pregnant. Technically you have to use two forms, but for the other one most people just use condoms.
This won’t count for your dermatologist.
The packaging really enforces the message by putting an icon of a pregnant women crossed out on every single pill slot. In order to really make sure you understand how not to get pregnant, you also sign up for the iPledge program and each month take a quiz on birth control methods and safe sex. Super fun stuff.
Okay, Okay. I get it.
3. You better not be afraid of needles
You also have to get blood work before the first prescription to make sure you’re healthy enough to take the medication, because it takes quite the toll on your body, as I’ll explain later. You must continue getting blood work done every month that you’re on it and the month after you go off of the medication.
5. Staying Eligible
Since Accutane is such a hardcore medication, each month I had to go to my dermatologist to make sure I was A-Okay. Your bloodwork and iPledge quizzes also have to be timed super precisely so that you can pick up your prescription. If the quiz, dermatologist approval and blood work are too late the pharmacy can’t fill your prescription. If you miss getting a prescription in time, then you have to start all over.
6. Side Effects
Accutane works by reducing the size of oil glands and reduces a majority of the oil produced by these glands. In effect, your skin becomes dry. Like the Sahara Desert x1000 dry. For me things were not so swell. I got dandruff for the first time in my life and would burn with SPF 50 when I used to wear SPF 8. Probably the worst part was the chapped lips, which even became infected. The dryness can cause other problems like nosebleeds and hair breakage too. Simply put, for those six months you’re def not your most appealing self. It can also cause joint, muscle and back pain, but for me this subsided after the second month. There’s also a debate on whether or not it causes depression, and so they warn you to go off of it if you feel depressed.
100% necessary.
Here is a longer list of possible side effects.
7. The finished product
I’m mainly writing this because recently I’ve been breaking out a bit and in my head I’m like “I thought I was cured?!” Unfortunately, Accutane isn’t 100% effective for everybody. For me personally, I’ll say it cured most of my acne. Some people go on two cycles, which I’ve considered, but then I think about my dry, dry skin, cringe and shake that thought from my head.
Keep in mind, I’m by no means a doctor, so you should really just take a doctor’s advice and then make an educated decision if you’re considering it. Just know that, yes, it may make you feel prettier, but you can be a beautful person without Accutane…and chapped lips.
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