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To Susan - Ice tea machine should be find. Don't add any sugar, drink it hot (not warm - but don't scald your tongue ^_^). To Susanne: Most people here, contrary to your assumption, either like reading long posts or don't mind flipping past them. If you would like to join the latter type, there is an interesting window control called a "scroll bar" next to your window which you can use, operated by the "mouse" (a cursor pointing tool). I was helping my parents put in screens the other day, and I wore a visor and a t-shirt. I got a mild burn on my neck in about 20 seconds. The solution: "coolie" hats. Named by members of the US military stantioned in Asia, because it kept peasents "cool" who farmed rice in the sun all day, not only do they look quite pimp, but they shade your entire face, neck, and the upper portion of your back. Most large hats like this are either straw things made for ladies to garden in, or heavy cowboy hats. These things have kind of a samurai aura about them - and they're cheap. Just a suggestion. To whoever mentioned it - don't eat margarine. It's really bad for you. Check out a modern book on nutrition if you don't believe me... Finally, to whoever suggesting drinking tons of water - THANK YOU. I feel a LOT better - all of the time - and my Accutane side-effects have decreased substantially since I started. Of course, I wizz like a madman, and during my commute to work I can get more, um, anxious to arrive, but it's all worth it. If you take calcium pills, it's also a really good idea to drink a lot of water because it decreases the risk of kidney stones later in life... Later.

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Thought to share this with you all:3 kind of food for great skin: water--eight glasses/day or soups and juices, vitamin C--10mg to 30mg/day(guava, papaya, kiwi are good sources) and fruits and vegetables. Food to curb(i.e bad for skin): caffeine, sugar, f ied food--limit to 2 servings/week). Tomatoes and apples are good too and strawberries change people's mood for the better+ resulting in a good complexion.Remember to put on moisturiser,UV block, get more sleep and steer clear of cigarettes and alcohol!-- source: a local magazine in my country.P.S:people who feel depressed and self-conscious over acne(i feel this way too),let's not think too much about it.Immerse yourself in daily stuff and try to have a good time. Forget about your acne and let's the medi ine does its magic!

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opps sorry about the last one, my hand slipped. Quick question, I'm on my 3rd week of Accutane, ist time, getting lots of little blackheads, trying not to touch but how do you get rid of them, I don't want to use any harsh soaps or astringents? Other th n that things are going ok, healing slowly, looking forward to a good summer. thanks beth

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Hi to everyone! {:0) Aaron and A I took my 11th dose today and feel frustrated, not so much because my skin is breaking out but because the scars for someone seem so obvious, maybe because I'm focusing on my face more. I don't have pitting just a rough texture...my skin is still oily, just came off a 12 hour shift and ewww I couldn't wait to wash my face. I'm flaky (lol) in some areas and now my lips are drying and the skin on my fingers and palm seems to have started to peeling a little. I wish this ould be over for all of us even though we know it's just the beginning. I can see the junk under my skin and expect to wake up with it all above ground some day soon. Sorry for the negativity today. This medication is making me tired too...I felt sick ll weekend at work. I've got today off so hopefully I'll get re-energized. Any strange side effects for you?? I had a sore throat and one of my glands became swollen and tender-maybe I've been sick with something else too. Well, take care all. A. I a glad you spoke up, it feels good to have others sharing the same experience. Aaron...I'm sorry I haven't e-mailed you, I'm a lil hesitant and it's no reflection on you. You've been a great support. Please continue to keep in touch. Talk later {:0)

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THought to share this with you all:

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in regards to cysts..some1 was asking what they are..i believe they are the worst from of acne..i had them but after i beleive the first 2 or 3 months of taking accutane for the 1st time they went away and never came back..so i am glad for that...they al ost feel like some1 put a marble under your skin but only that they are alot softer than a marble ..and if you squeeze them it only makes it worse.i remember 1 time i had a huge 1 on my forehead..right in the center..it wa at least as wide around as a qua ter..and it popped it..all this stuff shot out on the mirror(sorry i know its gross)..and i felt like i was gonna faint..i felt terribly dizzy..but funny thing it never left a mark wierd..well anywasy sorry the whole marble thing was the best i could come up with to compare it..

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Hi there.. I have Been on Accutane on 3 seperate occasions,,,at this point its my 3rd time on it..and i just finished my treatment i was on 5 months at 60mg a day...i dunno...i cant help about what people think about me...it hurts to walk around and see other people that dont have to go trough this...they cant even begin to imagine how i feel..i wouldnt mind trading thier skin for my skin for 1 day..and see how they feel after they lived with it for a day..i dunno maybe i am just going through a lil down period..its ike..i have some spots right and its like they are coming to a head..ya know where you get the white part inside..but i dont want to pop them because i heard that makes it worse..and some are healing i suppose cause the red is starting to go away...i just pissed me off to go from great to crap in less than a week..when i was in highschool some 7 years ago i had it bad i would think...i had cystic acne and plus i ended up getting chicken pox when i was 16..i have some light scarring on my right cheek becaus of it i think i may have picked at it..i couldnt help it..but i never knew about accutane or eventhought about seeing a dermatologist..i did when i was about to move down where i live now..but it just sucked..if i would have been able to get accutane rig t when i started going through all this at the beginning maybe everything could have been avoided i relly dont know...i believe that if i had a clear complexion i could be a model..i am a good looking guy its just that this holding me back stoppin me from being the person i should be...it makes me a recluse ..and i never want to go out or do anything..i feel horrible around people ..i feel very inadaquete(if thats a word to use)...i think if there is 1 thing that i know accutane has changed on me beleive it is under my eyes...i am very pale there..its like i have no piment there..i can see lil tiny veins there..i really think it changed the skin under my eyes...i dont think there is anything to reverse that..then again maybe its just cause i real y dont sleep as much as i should..maybe thats the problem..but anyways if you want to get back or any1 else feel free..i wouldnt mind hearing from you..email or just on here is fine..thanks..i will let you people know how i feel ina week from now...heh th nks

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Hi all. I've been on roaccutane for 6 months. I stopped taking it about year ago, and everything's going fine now...wel sometimes some spots (one, two) appear, but they 're not big and they disappear within 5 days or less. There are some experiences i'd like to share with you. When I stopped taking roaccutane, new little spots appeared on my face during two weeks. i thought it would start all over again. but after those two weeks it disappeared and never came back. I also discovered (like some others already did), that the food i eat has effect. no matter what doctors or dermatologists may claim, food DOES influence acne. maybe not everybody, but it certainly affects me. products that worsen acne in my case, in order of severety: chocolate, sugar, butter (>80% fat). so, what did i do? i totally cut down on eating sugar, and i mean TOTALLY. i'm doing this for about a year now. in the beginning (first two months) it's prett hard not eating any sugar. but after a while you get used to it. i even never feel the need to eat products with sugar anymore. so now that i'm clear of acne, i take my time to experiment with food. like if i eat real butter (not margarine or other diet butter), within 3 days new little spots appear. if i stop eating butter, they heal, disappear and don't come back. if i start eating some cookies, the same happens. then what do i eat? lots of fruit :) fruit has a positive effect on acne. yes, it does contain sugar too, but it's a NATURAL sugar called 'fructose'. everything that's 100 % pure nature is allowed and has no negative effect on acne. actually i eat just everything but products with added sugar, that's all. i do eat french fries, hamburgers, etc.... . they also may have some effects on acne, but compared with sugar it's like 1 to 10. just a little warning to girls/women : be careful with cutting on food, as some people may be sensitive to develop anorexia. i can imagine that some people can get paranoid after a while and don't want to eat anything anymore to cure their acne. i don't k ow of anybody getting anorexia due to cutting on food for their acne, but it might be possible! be warned to end this, i have a little question, which may not be so easy to answer: "Is acne a disease of the 20th century or did it exist in 14th, 15th, etc... century too?" IF it's only a disease of the 20th century....then our lifestyle or pollution must be the cause of it. to end i'd like to wish everybody who takes roaccutane or any other anti-acne product good luck and wish for those who are not so lucky with the results much strength, coz i also know what it is to have acne. cya

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Has anyone had Roaccutane prescribed as a cure for ROSACEA alone? May everyone be blesssed with clean skin eventually, but man, I get worried about all these people I read about that are on third and fourth courses of Roaccutane!

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hey all. I'm very disheartened by the nature of some recent posts. we're all going through some difficult times dealing with acne but perhaps we should save this guestbook as a place for positivity and constructiveness. so... a little over a week into treatment. yesterday my skin was horrible, today my skin is fantastic. what a schizophrenic little medicine this accutane is. my skin has dried out a bit more, my lips are becoming far more cracked than before. the fatigue is STI L bothersome...hoping that will go away soon. take care all, talk to you soon.

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Cysts are the big painful mothers that feel like they come from your very soul!

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I feel for you...we've all been there and asked ourselves why????? It just seems so cruel doesn't it, as if your own body is trying to hurt you. But on a practical note, have you thought of trying to get a topical antibiotic? (Dalacin T or something) ecause even if the Accutane has not cleared you yet (and it's supposed to carry on working for a while after you finish) it's meant to make your skin respond better to other treatments. Well I hope you beat the evil acne and please post to let us know ho you are. Blue XXX

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Carry I feel sorry for you dont worry why cant you go on Accutane again you shouldnt be feeling like this people dont really care if you have pimples they just want to look. How long have you been off accutane cause i herd it can come back in 6 months whi st stop taking medication

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I'm sorry, I maybe stupid, but I'd like to know what exactly qualifies as a "cyst". I just call them pimples/zits/spots. Are cysts something worse?

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We have all heard about the risks of women taking roaccutane and falling pregnant. However, is their any known associated risk of a man taking roaccutane causing birth defects in the fetus? Regards, Andy

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I finished roaccutane a year ago, and things have been going quite well. My problem, although it probably seems trivial to many of you, is the remaining scars. If anyone has any info on getting rid of scars, preferably involving dermatologists, PLEASE E AIL ME AND LET ME KNOW!!! Although not near as bad as acne, it's a constant reminder of a past I would rather leave behind. :) thanks heaps p.s. jo, about the hair thing - trichologists are good :)

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Just wanted to add my sympathy to all those out there suffering - especially those who have already done accutane and didn't get 100% results. I finished in Feb. and my skin is breaking out today, not as bad as before but its still enough to annoy me, plu it seems like its just getting worse all the time. I started Retin A again last week, I know one of the side effects is it can make you worse in the beginning, maybe that's it? Plus I switched from Minocycline to Doxycycline, maybe that's not for me? Pre ty frustrating!!! Trying to figure out what's going on. I've been debating about going back on accutane but for me, it caused major hair loss and my hair still doesn't look like its growing in entirely, a bit receded on the sides (that's attractive on a oman!). I am looking into spironolactone, a hormonal therapy, as an alternative. Also - at the end of my accutane treatment I suffered major, major suicidal depression, it was definitely a side effect because I feel much different now. Even though I'm ag in depressed because of my skin, will the madness never end?! But I'm not suicidal, just feel like crap!!! Just wanted to add my voice to those venting, seems like a theme tonight!

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Hi, I was wondering if anyone had used the products outlined on this page: http://www.scar-reduction.com/ for scar reduction, and what results if any? This page is designed and developed by skinbio.com, which I have heard a lot about and seems to be rep table... the page is very long adn explains in great detail how the product works... if you have tried it or have an opinion let me know :) Thanks!

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Hi to all! Please read!!!!! For those of you contemplating suicide... or those who are in a deep form of depression.... PLEASE SEEK HELP!!! One of the side effects of ACCUTANE is Depression/Suicidal Thoughts... You must speak to your doctor/ family about his!!! IT IS VERY COMMON!!!! I and my brother were on accutane and went through the same thing! This medication is very powerful and hard to go through treatment.... I beg of you all to seek medical attention!!!! TELL YOUR DOCTOR... It doesn't necessarily mean that they will take you off the medication.... maybe just lower the doseage.... or they might try to put you on another medication..... Also, to KEVIN.... Please do not raise your dosage without medical supervision... This is VERY TOXIC.... and could result in your death.... Which is never better than having acne!!!!!!! Speak to your doctor.... Maybe they can put you on another medication at the same time as the accutane.... TO ALL OF YOU... PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH ACCUTANE.... IT IS SUCH A POWERFUL DR G WITH STRONG SIDE EFFECTS... Read your pamphlets with the side effects throughly!!!!! I had the headaches, chapped lips, depression, red marks, etc.... STAY STRONG AND POSITIVE... And please speak to your doctor and family if you are feeling depressed!!! You are all so very special and we must all keep together and stay strong!!! Acne is temporary... Suicide is permanent.

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To Blue: the book is by two Aussie dermatologists, I think one of them was called Malloy, but I'm not positive, obviously you might have some problems finding it in the UK, I'll try and find out more, sorry about that. I wrote it in the Archives, so I'l have a search

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Hi there.. I hope everybody is doing well..but you know what..i know feel like "****** ****"..i cant stand this F'ing acne any longer..i have F'ing had it with this Bull****..this is my 3rd treatment of Accutane..60mg a day..and i just finished my treatment..and las week i looked great..but today..Oh no..i just had to look like **** again...This god damn disease is controlling my pathetic exsistence...because that is what my life is now to me..a damn pathetic exsistence..every freaking day i have to go to work and o this trip to work i get to look around and all the people with flawless complexions..and i then feel like rubish insidelike today is my day off and i wanted to go out and do some stuff like go downtown... o rollerblading ..stuff like that..but not now cause my face (to me anyways) looks shitty..i constantly walk around the house doing nothing...and whenever i walk past the bathroom i make myself look at myself in the mirro...checking to see if my face look better...but nope it doesnt...last week i looked great no spots or anything..but today i have like 3 or 4 on my left check..2 small 1's by the corner of my mouth..i have like 2 on the right corner of my mouth and 1 on my lower right cheek..and add to tha i have dry skin...and last week i had none of this ...like what the hell did i ever do to deserve this disease..why di I have to get it...No strike that we did WE have to get it..is it a curse..did we do something horrible in a fo mer life or some like that...Maybe God decided he would give certain individuals this disease and see how they cope with it...see if it makes them a better person because of it..well you know what god..it sure as hell didnt...i hate people...i hate b ing around them , i hate talking to them ,,i can never look at some1 when i talk to them..i am pretty much always in a crap mood..and if this is somehow amplified because of the accutane then oh well..because its not the drug that makes me feel thi way is this disease..sometimes i just wanna grab a gun in shoot myself in the head...sometimes i wonder what people would say when i died...what they would think of me...i would like to have an outer body experience and be able to look at myself nd see if i really look as bad as i think when i see myself in the mirror...i get girls and all..but i never have 1 for long because i always get frustrated being with them...at the beginning its cool and all then i just start hating myself which in turns makes me unable to like any1 else.... if they know what gland it is that cause acne why dont they get a pill or something like that ..that will destroy the god dammed sebacous gland or whatever its callled...like why the hell do we need that gland anyway all it does is produces Grease...Yeah like we need more of that in our god damn bodys anyways...we eat enough of that sjit everyday as is...like come on i want surgery that can be performed and have that stupid gland zapped from my system..man i am so pissed of...but you know what it feels good to vent my frustration and its also good because i know when you read this post your are going to know what the hell i am talking about..so please dont get mad at me for wearing i just find it good for venting..i guess it could be worse i could actually live up to the "shot myself in the head bit" ..but you know what ..i wont do it...i will just carry on ..suffering with this day in and day out..walking around outsid carrying a portable mirror around with me so i can check to see how my face looks...you know what....my face better clear up by the time i take my vacation ..because if it Dont i am gonna give alot of people a thing to cry about because i am pers nally going to assassinate GOD.. well sorry for this being so long..but i feel a bit better now...oh yeah please feel free to email me if you want to talk ..if you need to vent aswell. bye all,,

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this is so unbearable!!! i woke up feeling like i wanted to not exist. i've been on accutane for 5 weeks and i'm breaking out with really really painful cysts all over. i currently have three really big ones on my chin and a few on my cheeks. it hurts o move my mouth. plus i'm getting itchy patches of dry skin all over my face. what's going on??? IS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCING THIS???. the third week, my face started clearing up so beautifully. now it looks and feels like again. i got so frustra ed i started picking like a madwoman. now i have gashes all over that will take a lifetime to heal. PLEASE FOLKS DO NOT PICK YOUR SKIN NO MATTER WHAT. i didn't go on my interview because my face looks so damn ugly at the moment. i know for a fact that f i didn't suffer from acne, i would have a career by now. instead, i'm a depressed adult who can't even look straight into her own family's eyes due to shame. my family are at their wits end. they try to sympathize with my pain but are getting frustra ed at me too. sorry for venting. i'm angry and sad at the moment and need somewhere i can tell my story before i go insane =(

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hey all. I just finished a course 2 months ago but its starting to comeback slowly. Before accutane I used erithromycin topical solution on my face and i think it burnt my face. My face gets red really easily now and when i go out at night it gets REAL Y hot and red, anyone else had this problem, any reply's or e-mails would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

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Kevin if you look through the archives, lots of people have little or no reaction at first. It affects people differently. Why not ask your doctor...he or she might agree that you should raise your dosage. It must be gutty to make the decision to go fo it...then nothing. But hang in there it will work soon. Good Luck XX

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I hate this. I'm sick of all these posts like "Ooh.. I cleared up completely after 2 weeks blah blah blah" For me, it has been 8 weeks so far and the acne is exactly the same as I started, no inital breakout or anything, just the same horrible breakouts e ery single day. What worries me is that my skin is not very dry at all, my scalp is not dry, I've had no rashes, no nosebleeds, no cracked lips. IT'S NOT DRYING ME OUT ENOUGH, SO HOW CAN IT BE WORKING!!!! I'm gonna take a higher dose today than prescribed and see what happens. What can it do, kill me? Ha! I'm already dead inside, this disease has ruined my life.

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i only have 4 weeks to go!!!!!!!!! the past 12 weeks have been the best 12 weeks of my life by far!!!!!!!! on a scale of 1 to 4(4 being the worse) my derm said mine was 3 but 2 in some places, well now how many zits, pimples or anything do i have? NONE!!! !!!!!! god this is just freaky!!!!!!!!!! i could never ever dream of this happening but it has. my parents say my face looks just liek a 'normal' persons face!!!! i love accutane!!! the only thing i dont like about it is the hot flashes you get...your fac just goes bright red and you just cant stop it. good luck to you all!

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hi there! I finished my course of Accutane three months ago. My skin totally cleared up at the end, but now I´m getting small pimples again. I´m just hoping it won´t get any worse. I´m feeling much better now when my horrible cystic acne is gone, and I´m ust waiting for the red marks to disappear. During my treatment my skin got a little dryer, and my lips too. My eyes got dry, and I was afraid to use contact lenses in case I would damage them. Otherwise I dídn´t have any problems, and the medication has urned out really well, so far. I just want to tell people who are asking about the sun. Sun light will cause irritation to your skin, making it dry and red, and might even make acne problems worse. Use a good sun blocker, factor 30, and don´t forget to ap ly a thick layer for maximal effect. Love, Sandra

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Bec thank you so much for your helpful reply! I'll definately look out for the Good Skin Book. Do you happen to remember the author's name/publisher? Thanks again, Blue XXX

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hi everyone
Its great to see so many people using this site! I know it really helped me! reading all the messages on here i thought i would take the time to add what i can.

i am 2 months from finishing my 3rd (40 mg a day) course of Roaccutane (lasting 7 months) and i am hopeful that this will be the last time i have to take it as my acne is almost gone at this point. naturally i tried everything before i started on Roaccutane but to no avail. (numerous commercial products, antibiotics, benzac W etc).

Which is the ist thing i want to say to others- if you have cystic (REALLY BAD!) acne, then dont waste your time with a thousand different commercial creams and lotions, see a doctor. I wasted years on creams and washes, but these products are designed for people with regular, controllable acne-not cystic acne.

Another thing i want to mention is that I think Roaccutane may be causeing me to feel "artificially" depressed, however initially this was hard to recognise because i was already depressed because of my really bad acne anyway. So if you are going to take this drug or are already taking it- please realise that you MAY feel additional depression because of the drug, and if you are seriously depressed, seek help and tell your doctor. I became very isolated, reclusive and depressed during my time with bad acne and did not seek help, and although i am recovering now it was not the best way to handle things!

in regard to make up or anything else you may want to put on your face, my experience is to LEAVE YOUR FACE ALONE! it is trying to deal with a your acne and the effects of a powerful drug- it does not need to also contend with make up, moisturisers or anything else unless reccommended by your derm. Here in Australia doctors told me to wash my face with clean water 2 or 3 times a day, apply moisturuser to my lips and nose, and do nothing else.

i noticed that a couple of people asked about getting pregnant while taking roaccutane, and the infomation that we are given in aust is that ROACCUTANE CAUSES BIRTH DEFECTS- and that it is vital you do not get pregnant while taking roaccutane. i do not know if it is OK for a male on Roaccutane to get someone else pregnant. I have been "unofficially" advised that this can also result in birth problems.

Sorry if this posting is a little morbid! But if you are going to take the drug then you should be aware of the whole package from the start. Roaccutane has CLEARED UP MY ACNE!!! and im starting to feel better about my appearance and feel alot better about myself. To anyone out there with bad acne- ive bin there! keep your chin up and look past your acne and try to enjoy life as much as you can, regardless of your acne.

by the way-STEVE, your story is a sad one which i think only promotes the incorrect and self destructive message that you are the person you see in the mirror. I would like to urge you to get out of your room, consider ways to cure your acne and above all, stop promoting the message that the way to deal with acne is to lock yourself up in your room and try to increase your bank balance. This message is utterly wrong and i am very dissappointed to see your negative input on this otherwise fantastic site.

hope this is some help

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why no sun with accutane, we are outside all day with thekids, I try to cover up most of the time, I am only on 20 mg day, some dryness, my skin seems to be getting better, a few more blackheads but only week 3 so far, stay happy everyone, beth

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TO BLUE: sorry I probably should have been a bit clearer about the periodontal dermatitis, I've also searched on the net and there isn't a lot of information. Basically it starts around your mouth, chin, jaw and mostly leaves your mouth area clear, if ntreated or incorrectly treated it will spread to other areas and also lead to the development of acne on top of the dermatitis ( I never had any spots on my forehead or on my cheeks but all across my chin jaw line and down past my ears and I mean heaps). For me it looks a lot like acne, pustules, whiteheads, I had a lot of those spots that you can feel under your skin, they were really aggravated by benzoyl peroxide, and at its worst the only thing that calmed my skin down, (it was bright red and I was no on roaccutane!) were ice packs. A couple of months ago I wrote about a book a friend gave me, The Good Skin book, basically the emphasis was on treating acne and dermatitis in older people, and the main elements were cooling down and moisturising correc ly, I have since been doing this and I'm sure it has aided a lot in my recovery. Again if you have any questions just write to me, do you live in Australia? I'd be more than happy to copy some of the book for you and forward it on if you can't find it, (having said that a friend who was having some problems borrowed it, so I couldn't make copies for a couple of weeks , If I can get my dodgy scanner fired up I could e-mail it to you) anyway hope it helps. Bec

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A MESSAGE TO EVERYONE: K.I.S. - Keep It Simple. Who wants to read those loooong entries!!? I for one don't. HOLLY - I found minocycline much more effective than doxicycline, just for info.

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Does anyone have any advice on how to handle white-head spots? Because I've got more of those and they don't seem to be budging!

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I have been on various courses of antibiotics for the last year, but more recently I was taking erythromycin and minocycline. I found that it made me break out big time on my chin, but it cleared up my forehead. I'm going to be starting roaccutane next mo th, but until then I'm taking erythromycin still and now changed to doxycycline. But on this new course I've broken out on my forehead and cheeks. Is it normal to break out on new medication at first? For the past 2 weeks I've been taking sleeping pills b cause I've been a bit of an insomniac and I've had exams and so have needed my sleep. It was about two weeks ago that I started the new course, so is this perhaps why I've had a bad reaction? When I start roacc will taking sleeping pills have an effect to ? Hopefully I won't need them but it's useful to know. Thanks everyone. (Great site by the way!)

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Ok Here it goes. My breakouts started when I was 14 and I started using all the traditional "remedies" from not eating chocolate to really hard to get medicine. After 3 or 4 trips to the dermatologist, he told me that there was this drug which could clear severe acne as if it was a rash, he told me that if my acne did not diminish in a month, he would put me on the treatment (Roaccutane). So, it didn't, I got blood tests to check I was not diabetic and the Dr. explained some things about Roaccutane: --> At first I would peel all the time,and as the skin is really sensitive, no sun. I could use lip balm. --> Cholesteron regulation. The ammount of cholesteron in the blood has a direct effect on how long the drug's propierties last and how fast. --> The effect would last about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years --> I had to follow a diet, which was: No milk derived products but light milk and cottage cheese. 1 egg a week. No lobster,shrimp or crab. Moderate consumption of meat. No fried food. -->Drink LOTS of water. -->A friend of mine who was on treatment told me that she could not become pregnant while she was on the treatment. So, I followed all the rules and after 3 months, I was dazzled by the results. I had no more acne and I had not suffered any side effect but the dryness. Of course I got a pimple every now and then, but who cared, I didn't feel like my face was going to explode. I had a perfect 1 1/2 year. After the time mark passed I took notice that my acne was starting up again, so I went to see the Doc. He told me that a period of at least two years must be between dosages and I had to wait. Since then, I have been using the alternate methods, but, on monday I have an appointment with the dermathologist, because my acne is getting worse. Now if I was asked to recommend Roaccutane, I would, I've seen many cases worse than mine become memories thanx to this drug. What the drug does is this: It inhibits the ability of cells to create lipids (grease) which block pores and clog the exit way of toxins and dead cells, thus ending the simptoms of acne. Read ya later! Hope the info is of use!

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Hi! I am on my second month of accutane. Things are going great. my skin doesn't get oily at all anymore, I still like to put make up on but it lasts all day and I never shine. Its wonderful but my scalp is very very very dry. It itches all the time and I had been getting really embarrasing dandruff. I went to washing my hair only every 3rd day (when I had been washing it every day) and I only use shampoo once a week. All the other times I "wash" my hair I only wet it and put tons of conditioner on it. Thi has helped immensely with the itching. Also I never get peely skin and I wash it with oil of olay soap and put on oil of olay moisturizer/spf 15 along with some vitamin E lotiong I got from the Body shop. I bought that since so many of you had recommende it and its great I also started taking Vit. E pills today so I will see how that goes. A lot of you give great informtion and I go out and try it! Thanks everyone!!

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anyone know aprox. how much a laser surgery or face peeling or whatnot to remove scars runs?

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To Ed... I also had hot flashes. And when I was I was stressed or embaressed, I would turn really red. It was difficult because I work with the public, but I would just smile and say I am on medication that gives me " hot flashes ", or it really makes my ace hot. That seemed to work. Just try to get through it, they go away when you finish your course of treatment.

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The blood tests are to check for pregnancy, cholesterol and liver function. Most people (especially women) have to get tested every month for the duration of their treatment

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Here I am, obsessing about my progress on Accutane when it has been only a week and a half on the drug. Ah, well. I have a few pimples emerging now. I don't know if it is the "big breakout" at the start of accutane, or just the way that my skin acts no mally. So far I'm not having too many side affects, but my eyes are kind of dry and I think I'm more tired than usual. Jade and Aaron, I have been reading your posts, and since we all started around the same time, I'd like to track my progress and side ffects with you two, if you don't mind. Have a good weekend everyone.

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I just started Accutane 3 days ago, and I was really happy to find this board. It's really helpful for me to read other people's experiences. I haven't had any problems with dry skin or lips, but i have tiny bumps on my arms and back that are itchy but earable. The thing I'm worried about is the initial breakout that some people get. I'm visiting friends in another state soon, and I don't want my skin to look worse than the last time I saw them. Does everyone break out at first? Thanks

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My acne scars has left shallow pits on my face. I have consulted a specialist doctor. She has recommended Laser surgery. I have heard from my friend that Roaccutane can eliminate the pits . Is it true ?

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Hello all, well iv been on accutane for 5 weeks now and I got a summer job where im in the sun all day long but on my accutane presciption it says now to be in direct sunlight can someone tell me why the sun is bad for you while you are on accutane. Pleas e mail me thank you

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hey again. the last message i wrote, i misspelled coiled. anyhow, another questions for all you lucky accutane users. did it clear up your scars too?

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i have a question for all of you who have used accutane. i don't really have a acne problem but i'm totatly bummed because i have this really bad skin condition called keratosis pilaris. my dermatologist said it's related to acne. how does it look like well, it's like these red spots usually with a hair colied inside each bump. it's kinda bumpy and appear commonly on the outside of the upper arms, thighs, and butt. looks kinda like goose-bumps that are red. anyhow, my question is... for those of you who have had keratosis pilaris, did you find that accutane helped to clear it as well as your acne? i'm like desperate to know, cuz i think accutane will help my skin but i'm not sure. ok. help me out guys. thanks!

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Hi all,

Just wanted to advise that the Acne Support Group in Cyberspace Forum is now back up and running again - however (sniffles) Voy Forums seem to have lost us our archives - which I am in the process of putting back on the internet (it's a long process). I didn't get to save the last current page - if any one of you out there saved it at all, I'd be really grateful if you could email me a copy to Sou LightBeam@aol.com. I'm also in the process of accumulating all the links that have been used these past few months - again a time consuming process which I hope to complete before I go into hospital for an op on Monday.

Nite! JM

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sob =( sob =( i'm on a month of accutane and my skin was clearing so beautifully. it was like a miracle. but all of a sudden. BAM!!! i woke up today with three huge and painful cysts on my chin and one on my left jaw. stupid me got frustrated, went sychologically crazy for 2 minutes and tried to sqeeze them all. bad move. now my face is throbbing in more pain than ever, the infections have spread and i have an interview tomorrow. make up will not help at all! life sucks at the moment!!! anyway T STEVE AUSSIE. i feel you. although i won't take you up on your offer, to me, your post came as sincere and not hurtful. i have an interview tomorrow and in my business, looks either make or break you. i wish i could just hide in my house until my kin cleared up. hopefully, accutane will save us from this meloncholy. lee.

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Has anyone had swollen glands and a sore throat early on in their course of accutane???? My throat is killing me and I'm wondering if this is normal.

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Your unsolicited sales pitch is unwelcomed here. If you care to discuss skin health and explore avenues of treatment then by all means share your situation otherwise I don't care to read your posts. ATTENTION WEBMASTER

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To Steve, You were right, you're gonna get flak for your post here. If you are being totally honest about your story, then I am sympathetic to your situation, but you make 2 big mistakes in your post. First, you describe your acne experience without telling us what you have tried or what you might try to alleviate your suffering. If you have attempted all possible remedies to no avail, then I am truly sorry. But if you just holed up without a fight, hen you should get out of your house and go see a derm. Try everything! There may be a simple treatment out there that works for you; if not, then ramp up your attack and try some of the stronger medications. Second, your sales pitch is both unsolicited and unappreciated on this board. If I were the moderator, your post wouldn't last. The only way to make any decent money using the methods you infer, is to do it ILLEGALY! I challenge you to post EXACTLY how it works so that everyone here can judge for themselves, rather than let you prey on a few naive users individually. Fair enough?

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Well, here goes. I know I am probably gonna cop some flak for posting this here, but hopefully you'll understand why. First, some background. I worked 10 years as a self-employed financial advisor and in my eigth year I developed cystic acne. I had su fered from a milder form in my teens but this bout was so severe that, in essence, it cost me my living. My face and neck were so ravaged that, as many of you would understand, I totally lost confidence in dealing with the public; not to mention that the public suddenly disliked dealing with me! Anyway, for the next two years I became a virtual recluse, having only my PC and internet friends to keep me company and surviving on unemployment benefits. My life had reached it's lowest ebb. My decision to shy away from society and spend so much time online probably wasn't the right choice to make, but ironically it was this reliance on the net that ultimately led me to the good fortune I am experiencing today! You see, my inability to accep and/or ignore my acne virtually ruled out the possibility of my ever returning to work as a "face to face" (for want of a better term!) salesman. And as I was not qualified for any other sort of work that could provide a similiar income level, any chang of career would inevitably involve further study and interaction with other people; the very thing I was most determined - rightfully or wrongfully - to avoid! So after months of depression and soul-searching I decided that I would try to earn a living rom the Internet. It was through my pursuit of this dream that I came across the whole "pay to surf" scene! As most of you would know, there are many companies that offer programs that are free to join and actually pay you to be online. For me they proved to be the ideal answer to my predicament. I now earn more per month than I ever did in "traditional" work and feel a lot better for it. Of course, I am not saying that you can ease your pain by finding solace in money. Nor am I advocating that the only way to deal wit cystic acne is to shut yourself away and stop talking to anyone! Not at all. All I am saying is that if this crippling disease is forcing you to devote more time to being online, then you might as well at least utilize that time to make some money as w ll! Not only has earning a living from the net enabled me to pay the bills - including those for the Roacuttane acne treatment program I am currently undergoing - but it has given me a sense of pride and achievement that has had such a positive impact on my self-esteem. I understand that money is by no means the road to true happiness, but I can tell you this. Whilst I would prefer not to suffer the scourge of acne at all, I would much rather be enduring it with money in the bank than without! So there you are. If you want any information on exactly how to go about using your PC to earn some additional funds or even a decent income, contact me at the above email address. And if you want to believe this is just some under-handed sales pitch, b all means do so. But in all honesty, it isn't. In fact, I don't even mind if, in the event that you decide to join one or more of the programs in which I am involved, you choose to join under someone else. I really couldn't care. I would simply be ha py in the knowledge that at least you have one more tool that just might improve the quality of your life - and make you a happier person because of it. Thanks for reading.

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I guess I belong to the one who resists to roaccutane. I've been taking roaccutane tree times during 5 months these last 7 years! Now my doctor told me it was possible to take only 10 mg everyday during 3 or 4 years and that it should be ok... but I'm get ing afraid because I'm thinking about the secondary effects. I'm losing a little bit my hair and I'm wondering if it is not a roaccutane's effect. In some other way, I don't want to stop that treatment because I'm fed up with acne... Is there somebody who knows something else than roaccutane or that can reassure me with my hair loss?

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I have used roaccutane for a week and my face is worst than ever. Is this normal? What can I do and What I sholudn't do ? I have not feel other effects

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Bec I'm going to seem really stupid now, but would you mind explaining what periodontal dermatitis is? I had a look on the internet, but couldn't find anything about it. Glad you seem to have beaten it, anyway! Thanks, Blue XXX

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Just discovered this site - I finished roaccutane about 2 months ago, and i am really happy with the results. The red marks are fading quite fast now and i can almost go out without any foundation and i guess those of you who cannot go out without it - it like freedom!!! I just wanna say those of you who feel you have pretty bad skin, i know so badly what its like, but now you are on the drug, don't give up hope if you see slow improvement, cos in the long run it is well worth it - so keep the faith - Oh somebody mentioned green tea - yeah its great stuff !!!! I drink it all the time and whilst on accutane - i felt it calmed down the redness quite alot and also helps with the dryness. Those of you looking for a light mosturiser, I found aqueous cream uite good cos its very mild- avoiding soap is a good idea as you probably already know, you can acutually use the aqueous cream like soap as well as a moisturiser. -Hope it helps alittle (o:

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Hey!! I've posted a few times over the past few months but like all of you guys, I read the board all the time. Basically I started getting acne in about January and it just got worse and worse, I'd previously had one or two spots every now and then. So basically I was pretty freaked out. It took about a month for me to go to the doctor, kept thinking it would jus clear up on its own. My GP was completely useless and totally unsympathetic, he barely looked at my file, I'm sure he thought I was about 16, I look quite young and unfortunately acne does make you look even younger. He gave me a script for minocycline nd basically told me to wear "pan-cake makeup" and get over it. Really upsetting experience, I went home started taking the medication and when 3 weeks later my skin got heaps worse, (it was only on the lower half of my face but was spreading rapidly), so after talking to friends and family I went back and demanded a referal for a dermatologist, I basically gave him a small dose of wrath (I still feel really good for having done that, hopefully it will help his attitude when it comes to other acne sufferer , "yes this is a legitimate disease and extremely distressing")I've since started seeing a new GP and dermatologist, my dermo gave me achromycin, a tetracycline, and a sulfur face cream, very traditional acne remedies (I'd read heaps on the internet and t ken advantage of medical student firends and pharmacists who are friend of the family;- so I knew this was the first line of attack for acne; I was really dubious). I am also taking Diane-35, he told me I could take if I wanted but that it wouldn't do any hing. I've got several friends who take it, who had really severe acne when they were younger and had great success on it, so I thought that I'd just keep on taking it. So basically I've been on tetracycline for almost four months and Diane-35 for six an my skin is clear at last (its been a tough haul though and I really feel for those of you who are just getting into your treatment; it can be so distressing waiting for positive change), I still have heaps of those darstedly red marks but hopefully they' l go soon. I just wanted to add that when visiting my family in another city I went to see my family GP to get a new script for Diane-35 and to talk to her about my skin and the marks. She was so great to talk made me realise again what a useless fool my first GP was. She asked my so many questions about my skin, how it started and where on my face. She felt that from where the marks were on my face that it was pretty obvious that I have periodontal dermitis, which can look a lot like acne and if not t eated correctly can spread. Periodontal dermitis she said unfortuntaley seems to effect many women my age and some in thier 30s, Diane-35 and tetracyline are used to treat it so at least I'm on the right medication, she said to avoid anything that overhe ts you, spicy food, alcohol, quilts, heating (as in air conditioning)any steriods and also toothpaste with flouride in it, she said it was not discovered why flouride is an irritant, but as I've discovered there are herbal toothpastes that are fine (also he said that periodontal dermitis always responds to treatment by getting worse, mine did that's for sure). I just wanted to get that in, because I keep reading posts from women around my age whose cases sound similar to mine, in their recent occurance a d severity. So maybe it might be of some use. Finally my GP had some encouraging words about it, that periodontal dermatitis is not an ongoing problem, once you deal with it, it is extremely rare that it comes back. anyway sorry for prattling, write me f you have and questions good luck to all. *Bec*

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hi.....i just want to check the price of accutane in canada or usa. in hong kong, 30 capsules of 20mg is worth about HK$1,500 = US$200. my parents are going to canada and usa. i want to know that could they be able to buy the accutane without the "docto cert"???? Thanks !!!

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please feel free to email me if you feel comfortable doing so, I check my mail often and would love to hear from you.

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hey jade! my doctor prescribed a 5 month treatment. I'm not so sure if I could stand much longer...the dry skin and all would be fine but I'm flat on my behind tired again today. everytihng else seems ok...my forehead is absolutely perfect. I went all day without blotting the oil off of my face, it's wonderful. I have a huge concert to go to next weekend and I'm praying for a nice, warm, overcast day so I can go outside without hats/sweatshirts/etc. glad to hear that things are going well with you...I havent noticed any weight loss but I have been drinking a ton of water. seems to help. if anything I've found that my appetite has increased, probably because I've been in a really really good mood lately. I have to say that starting accutane has been a great decision. I was initially worried about depression worsen ng but I am so happy. as far as your feeling dirty and ashamed about your acne...DONT. I've been embarassed for years and I've felt unattractive for years, but if people cant see past my skin then I dont need them in my life anyway. perhaps I'm vain for t ying to cure such a minor ailment with such a serious drug but it's helping me get through life. hang in there...it's been great having you to write to. take care, talk to ya soon!

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Hi everyone i just started accutane and i dont have horrible acne but of course it is bad enough for me to get accutane. so my question is that if anyone has any tips i should know PLEASE tell me. Thanks

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xavier. thanks for the info on the tea. I think I still have a iced tea brewing thinger machine. that would work for brewing it right? should I add sugar?

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hi i have had acne for 3 years now and i apsolutely hate having it! i feel like im the only girl in the world that has this problem.I have just started accutane and i was wondering does anyone experience depression because i think i might be overdosing if anyone has a answer please write ive only been on it a week and im just wondering how long did others take before theirs started working? please contact

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***********TO ED ********** I had the hot flashes too. Usually around the middle of the day. As far as I know there is nothing you can do about it.

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Hi everyone, I want to ask a question and its quite embarrasing. But here goes: I am on roaccutane for 2 months now and my skin looks good but I'm dry everywhere. I have dry face, dry scalp, dry hair (which isn't really bad coz now I don't have to do much to it) but my lips are dried out so bad that they always hurt. And this is the embarrasing part whenever I give my boyfriend oral sex my lips burn like they are on fire. Its horrible . I know I should probably just stop doing it but I why does this happen My lips are so painful and are constantly peeling off. I don't know what to do, I put so much petrolium jelly and moisturizer sticks. I don't know what more I can do.!!!

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SARAH, your comment about women in their 30's being the main ones that suffer from hair loss was interesting. I wonder if those women also come from families where the older women experience hair loss? (Not a problem in my family.) I was concerned about t is side effect when I took Accutane last year, but fortunately I didn't have any problems with it. I just started my second course this week and once again I hope that I don't have any problems with hair loss. My hair is naturally straight and fine, and o ly. Before taking Accutane, I had to wash my hair every single day. During my first round of Accutane, I only had to wash my hair every 2-3 days, and after finishing my treatment, I've only had to wash it every other day. I also had no problems with color ng my hair while taking Accutane. Perhaps this was because my hair wasn't that dry to begin with? HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE AND STAY STRONG

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To whoever asked - Green Tea not only has lots of nice, good things in it (um...natural chemical things ^_^), but it tastes good - IF you buy a good brand, preferrably if you brew it yourself. Go to a Japanese restaurant and get some green tea (free refills! ^_^) and you'l know what good green tea is supposed to taste like. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it helped with the side-effects of Accutane. It's also good for a lot of other things. Unfortunately, a lot of grocery store bought green tea sucks quite hard. Beware if you see a bunch of other herbal things listed on the box - they usually make it taste awkward. I prefer to drink green tea straight, and take the few dietary supplements do separately. And if you can manage to find the stuff to brew it yourself, it's worth the time.

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Sarah, Thank you very much for your words of encouragement. It is good to know that I am not the only one going through this. I hope everybody has a very nice weekend and a lifetime of acne free skin after whatever treatment they are on is finished. I will be posting back in the next two weeks to keep everyone updated on my hopeful:) progress. Take care.

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Dawn, I hope this offers some hope for you. There were some before and after pictures that came with my prescription. The before pictures of this girl were truly horrible. Severe cystic acne does not even describe it. She did't even have what looked like skin. My heart truly went out to her. Her after pictures were fabulous. I couldn't believe it was her. She looked 100% normal. Perhaps she had reacurring treatments or was on a very high dose. Who knows, the point is,it worked! It may take a while but you will see results. So don't give up yet. Bye the way, I am truly bored at work which is why I've been visiting so much. But this page offers me a lot of comfort.

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Has anyone experienced hot flushes? i mean not just the redness left from past spots but the intense feeling of heat rushing to the face causing facial redness which looks awful!! if so what can u do!! any info would be great!! please reply thanks

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I have been suffering from cystic acne for over 12 years now have been on every medicine known nothing has worked:( Went to derm yesterday requested accutane told me he would not prescribe it to me but his colleauge is very good with accutane, so gave me the okay to get blood work done and in two weeks should be able to start. For all you suffering believe me I know how you feel I have friends who give me their advice on what they have used but none of them have cystic acne like me. I have a question wi h accutane the cysts that I have had for the last 10 years will they go away? I hope so I dont think I could go on like this anymore. Just saw pictures of me at my cousins wedding and was horrified at the close ups. Please someone tell me there will be an end to this torture. Thank you all for listening to me It is just some days I hate looking in the mirror and need someone who experiences the same thing as myself to talk to. Thanks again :)

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Hey all, well I checked my start date last night and it's now been exactly one month. It feels like I've been on this for much longer. I just can't wait until it's all over. Everthing was going great until yesterday I got that rash on the forearms I've been reading about. Very itchy. Plus my scalp is so incredibly dry. What have any of you tried for your scalp? It's worse than the rash on my arms. Plus, I've noticed that the older women(women in their 30's)are the ones that have experienced hair loss. The younger girls, teens and 20's have not seem to have gone thru this, even at high dosages. I wonder if age is a factor. Can hair thin as early as one month? I know I am extremely paranoid but I swear my hair is getting thin around my part. Is that where the other people experiencing hair loss have noticed it? As for Jen who was contemplating suicide, hang it there!!!!! Life still holds so much joy even if we have bad skin or go bald. Just think of your friends and family who accept you for who you are and don't care about your looks. Maybe you should try a higher dose. 40 mg seems low. I'm on 60 mg a day and my acne would have been labled moderate. The good thing I can report after a month, is my face is completely clear. I just have to remember that everytime I obsess over my hair!

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I've been on Accutane for 6 weeks now and beginning to see great results. I am very pleased! I experienced a small break out about week 3-4, but only a couple of small spots since then. The dryness is managable with moisturizers. I do feel more fatigue than usual and need to rest occasionally. My worst side effect is back pain, which I've managed to control with Aleve. I'm going to church camp next week and acutally looking forward to it now!!

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To SUNDAY.. no you should not use retin a cream because accutane is a vitamin a derivative and too much vit a can hurt you.... i advise u don't use retina a cream. Amanda

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I notice a lot of you mention green tea. anyone know why it might be beneficial and do you think it really works? if so im going to go get some. is it any good, taste wise?

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hello everyone, i have a question here. Regarding acne scars, is it better to treat them with vitamin e creams or lotions with salicylic acid ? is it true that one cannot use products containing retin A while taking accutane? i will be grateful if someone can reply to my questions.thanx. =D

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Hi everyone! I have been reading your posts for the past week and a half that I have been on Accutane. I got the really imp. Accutane info from my dermatologist and the packet that came with the medication, but this site is a great place for practical t ps. Right now I'm trying not to get discouraged because my acne is getting slightly worse rather than better, but I know that this process will take time. I have been putting on lip balm (Blistex or Philosophy-Kiss Me) since day 1, and I started putting in eye drops and taking Vitamin E this morning. Can you tell that I'm a little nervous? My panic of the moment is that my dose is too low, 40mg/day and I'm 145lbs. What do you think? I'll check back later. -A

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Hi I've been on accutane for 16 weeks, my skin is less oily but I have a lot more pimples. I had a very mild form of acne, maybe around 5 on my left chin that became worse for PMS. I had some really bad cysts a month ago. They're gone but my chins are covere with red spots. I visit my derm today and he told me to hang in there because it can take a while for such a low dosis 40 mg/day (60 kg). I'm experience hair loss and I'm afraid to loose more. Does anyone know if it will only continue or will my hair rea h an equilibrium, and stop to fall off? Has anyone been on Acc. so long without seeing any improvements of acne or is it just me? I think it is a hormon disorder and that Roaccutane will not help for that. Has anyone taken the pill Diane did it work? I'm really happy for all the people that Roaccutane has helped, and especially I want to say to the young people here that other peolpe don't notice it. I didn't notice it in my friends when I was a teenager. The problem is only within ourselves, I defini ely know that now. So go out and enjoy your life the acne isn't worth taking the best part of your life away. Carpe diem!

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Another question...
My mother and cousin have both gone on courses of accutane in the past. They started breaking out a little, after being off the drug. Two different derms gave them "maintenence" doses of like 1 or 2 pills a week. I have been reading this board for mont s and have never heard of this. Has anyone been told to take "maintenence" doses similar to above?

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I am up to 100mg/day now starting my 5th month. I am 130lbs and only had moderate persistent acne and very oily skin. The derm has slowly raised my dose each month because I am still breaking out a little and am not that dry. If nothing changes at the nd of this 5th month, he will have me continue for another month. Anyone have a similar experience?

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The company I intern for seems to have no work left for me to do, so I have plenty of free time to fill up the guestbook with my nonsense. ^_^ I didn't even know my nose was covered in blackheads they had been there so long - it was like a permanent fixture, I thought they were normal. That scares me. Now they are falling out in a stream of pus, which sounds gross, but my nose looks SO much be ter (although they look really strange when they first fall out - like a tiny red pinhole on my nose). The sides of my nose still have a lot, but on the front they are almost all gone. I hope the rest fall out soon. Anyone here use Dr. Bronner's soap? Oh, and thanks to the last person who wrote. We were the same age (I think), both going into Sophmore year of college, were taking the same dosage, and weighed the same, so it was really interesting to see if their results were the same\similar. Later.

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Aaron, I'm so glad to hear your spooky side effects are diminishing-you had me afraid for you when I read your old message. Please check with your derm to find out if the night blindness thing could be permanent-I just don't know if clear skin would be w rth it. It probably isn't but it's worth checking out. Well it's been exactly a week for both of us, hu? You started last Friday also??? My skin's texture is really strange. I've got lil dry patches like around my mouth and nose then oil everywhere else. Ugh, this is the beginning isn't it? I keep tellin myself dry skin will be better than oily. I work 12 hour days and couldn't wait to get home to shower after work. Acne has always made me feel so dirty and ashamed. I hope this medicine works for us both so we can move on with our lives. Have you not ced any weight loss? I've lost a couple pounds which I can stand to lose. It might just be from eating healthier and drinking plenty of water though. How long did your derm tell you that you'd be on accutane? Mine said 6-9 months which seems longer co pared to what everyone else says. And my acne is not severe since I was minocycline and only recently started building a resistance. I don't know if I could handle 9 months if I have to go thru rashes, dry eyes/lips, and bloody noses....I guess we'll kn w more after we go in for our monthly labwork etc right? Continue to keep in touch. It's nice to know someone is beside me step by step thru is strange process. Take Care. Talk soon. {:0)

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does anyone know if you can die your hair or have highlights while on accutane? im sure i read some where that you couldnt cause the hair is dry from the drug and the die just makes it worse and snaps off...is this true? if anyone knows if you can or not hen please post it up here thanks. good luck to everyone!

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Jenn, I am so glad that you no longer feel that you are the only one and have stopped considering suicide. I myself have had these feelings when I was in school but kept telling myself that my skin would not be like this forever. My parents could not un erstand and used to tell me that I was just being silly, it wasn't until they heard me crying every day that they became concerned and kept taking me to see my GP which has paid off in the end. On Roaccutane my skin was awful to start off with, I wear ma e up to cover my spots and as my skin was still extremely spotty it was also very dry so my make up looked crap basically, but this only lasted for about 2 weeks and from then on it got better. Please do not give up no matter how long it takes these tabl ts are powerful and your skin will improve.

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Hi, I've posted on here a few times but since this is a topic right now I thought I'd repost. When I started taking accutane, my dermatologist told me I HAD to take 1000 IU of vitamin E a day, and 1200 mg of calcium a day. I have done this from the sta t, and I think becuase of this I have not suffered either fatigue or dry eyes. The only real side effect I have suffered so far are slightly dry lips, and I am currently on 3 and a half months of treatment. Other things I do to help protect myself are t take Milk Thistle every day, this helps protect the liver and pancreas from damage. It can help repair damaged liver tissue. I also drink a minimum of 3 liters of water a day. I went out and bought one of those huge Aquafina bottles that are 1.5 liter and make sure to drink at least 2 a day, 3 if I can. I also have a glass of green tea in the morning and keep a glass of water by the bed at night, becuase I always drink some then. During the day I use a chapstick from mothernature.com that is mint an has lots of good stuff and a sunscreen. At night I put on a thick layer of aquaphor. I think becuase I do all this my skin healed quicker. I had pretty bad cystic acne, but my skin has healed so well that my derm already cut a month off the treatment. If you are scared of accutane, just remember that if you are prepared to take care of yourself and be aware of your body, you will do just fine.

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To Jenn, I heard that Neutrogena has this new line of makeup called skin clearing oil free make up that is actually helps prevent pimples and acne! However, sadly it is not sold in Singapore. But I believe it can be found in the states. Go find out more at their website http://www.neutrogenacosmetics.com/prod_foundation_skin.html Hope its helpful to you. Also another alternative is Physicians Formula which can be found in Pharmacies but I am not sure if its sold in the states. It is recommended by dermatologist and is non-comedogenic.

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hey!!! to jade and everyone: almost a week into the accutane. I've been taking 20mg twice a day, wondering if that's enough for my body weight... the dryness hasnt really hit me like I thought it would...my face has been alternately oily and kinda dry. it takes on a pinkish hue after I wash. what few cystic lesions I have are diminishing. I got hit with several small, almost negligible white heads yesterday but they're gone now...?!?! dizziness has subsided, light-headedness is noticeably better. maybe I just came down with a quick flu or something. still a bit uneasy in the dark. my nose is starting to dry out as are my lips but thus far everything has been extremely tolerable. I'm ve y happy so far. to jade...sounds like your experience is very similar to mine, I think my skin is going through the weird "starting to get rid of gunk" phase. keep me updated, sharing has really helped me stick this out. so far so good...talk to you all s on, take care!

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How much Retina A should be used on average or how long should one 45 g Toothpaste style lotion last? Is Retin A a medicine that prevents and eventually cures or is it just a temorary remedy and doesnt contain long term effects? If Retin A is stopped will breakouts reappear? Thanks for answering.

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Anyone know how one can tell if your hormones are beginning to reduce and level off? I believe one sympton is the reduction of oil produced, making the skin less oily and more dry. Are there any others?

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Hi everybody. I'm finishing up month 5 of a 6 month course of accutane, 80 mg/day (i weigh 140 lbs). i looked at this sight a lot in my first few weeks of treatment to see what products to use, what to expect, etc., and i thought i'd share what worked f r me in case anyone is looking for the same advice i was. first of all, i want to let anyone out there considering accutane know that it's not all that bad (at least it wasn't for me). accutane scared the hell out of me before i started it. i thought t e side effects would be a LOT worse than they have been -- and i'm even on a really high dose for my weight. i got the usual dry skin and dry lips, of course, but never that badly since i was already addicted to moisturizers and chapstick anyway, so i so t of prevented it by using those. i just make sure to always have chapstick with me, put it on even if i don't really need it yet, and put a TON on before bed. (use the oily, liquid kind of petroleum jelly -- your lips absorb it better than the stick ki d of chapstick.) the worst side effect by FAR was fatigue, especially since i started treatment as i started my second semester of college. not fun, especially during finals, but i got used to it. also, i was really concerned about contacts, but i haven't had a problem earing them most of the time (although my eyes occasionally get dry late at night, and they are always a little redder than they are without contacts). saline drops help if they feel dry. someone said in a recent post that vitamin E helps the eyes and i COMPLETELY agree. and to answer a question that person asked, i'm pretty sure it's safe to take more than one a day; i take 3 tablets of vitamin E a day, 400 I.U. each. i also take calcium pills to help joint and muscle pain (this was my only other majo side effect). as far as products go, i use a lot of cetaphil products (their antibacterial bar is great, and so is the SPF 15 lotion for day and the moisturizing cream for night). oh, and the inside of my nose got really dry about the third or fourth m nth of treatment, so i sometimes use petroleum jelly to prevent nosebleeds. people on this board seem to be very concerned with the depression issue. that made me nervous too, and although i haven't experienced any depression myself, i don't know if that is because accutane just didn't give it to me, or because i prevented it by taking st. john's wort. so i can't offer much info on that. Another thing that had really concerned me was the no-drinking thing. i only learned about that on this message board; my doctor never told me i couldn't drink. for five months, my blood tests have been fine, and i've definitely drank while on treatment however, i did try to keep it in moderation, especially since i've started to find that alcohol mixed with accutane affects me in weird ways. for instance, the last two times i drank a lot, i ended up with pink-eye, which i've never had before in my li e. also, drinking tends to give me that accutane rash on my forearms, dry out my skin more, give me worse hangovers, etc. basically, i think drinking just makes my body mad at me and cuts down my immune system a lot (hence, the pink-eye), so i'm trying ot to do much of it for another month. the thing is, if you do drink (and i'm not recommending it, but i know lots of other people on this board must drink or people would stop asking about it), be sure to drink TONS of water before and after. drink ton of water everyday anyway, as much as you can without puking (this is really the only way to ward off the nasty side effects), but especially if you're going to be drinking. (another tip: i hate drinking plain water, so i make a lot of crystal light -- t's basically the same as drinking water, and it tastes so much better.) overall, i'm very pleased with accutane. it didn't prevent me from doing things i thought it might, like working out, playing sports, and having a normal social life, and the side effects are annoying, but totally tolerable. i never had severe acne, but i had very, very oily skin, and accutane has completely cured that. i'd go off it now, but the longer you stay on the medication, the more likely it is that your acne won't come back, so i'd like to finish the full course. okay, i think i've said enough good luck to all of you. i hope your treatments go as well as mine has gone.

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Does anyone know about the effects of accutane on testosterone levels? Has anyone ever heard of loss of sexual desire as a possible side effect?

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SANDI - I take some other medicines besides Accutane: Claritin, Patnol, & Neonase for allergies; and Celebrex which is an anti-inflammatory drug that I take for my knees (I had bilateral knee surgery 3 months ago). I spoke to my doctor and pharmacist abou these prescriptions and they told me that they would not interfere with the Accutane.

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I've suffered from acne for the past 7 years, however, up until last year i was controlling it by taking Tetracycline on and off so that I only had one or two small spots that were barely noticable. Then, I assume that the bacteria became resistant to th drug as I seemed to be getting more spots that were deeper under the surface of the skin and came up like bumps, and if squeezed, produced nasty swellings that took days to calm down. I went back to my doctor and was prescribed erythromycin, then doxycycline and finally minocycline, none of which seemed to have any effect. My skin seemed to be alot more oily than it used to be; as if I was sweating, even on cold days. I knew I needed to go on roaccutane after I had spent time on the web searching for any cures that didn't involve antibiotics. However, waiting lists to see a dermatologist were 4 months, and after waiting for 2, I decided I would go privately so as not to waste any mor of my life which felt like it was being run by acne. I was not concerned about the purported side effects of roaccutane as I didn't care what it did to me as long as it got rid of the acne and I could return to a life that didn't involve me lying to my friends about why I couldn't go out, or staring miserab y into the mirror for hours. I've been on Roaccutane for three weeks now, at a dosage of 65mg a day (I weigh 75kg), and I am starting to see some improvements. My initial breakout was very bad, particularly on the sides of my nose and my forehead. However, since that has cleared I m now back to getting the usual 1-2 cysts a week and the odd small spot here and there. Side effects have been very dry lips and skin, but that is easily remedied with vaseline and moisturiser. Also my scalp became very itchy, so now I wash my hair ever day and have no problem. I notice slight pains in my ribs after exercise and my skin is slighty rosier. Anyway, I'll keep you posted on any future improvements/turns for the worse. The only thing that worries me is the number of people who have had to take this drug again after it seemed to have initally worked.

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One more thing-Does anyone else take alot of other meds in addition to the accutane? I am on the pill, Accutane, and 4 medicines for my asthma, does anyone else do this?

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Sarah-I have these blackheads all over my nose to and a few days ago they came out as these two huge cysts, but one is already alomost gone and the other one is healing. I am on Day 23 or 24 and I am starting to see a difference, but not a lot, I notice the big cycsts heal a little faster and my skin in areas where I don't have any bumps seems smooth and clear. I wish this would happen to my whole face. To the person wo dering about ortho-trycycline and Accutane, I take both right now, but I was on the pill alone for a month and it didn't help my skin at all, but the derm told me that birth control pills can take 3 months to improve skin. A good sun screen for your fac is Cetaphil face moisturizer with sunscreen, burns a little but it's good. Hope we all get our clear skin soon!

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some of you have recommeded clinique or prescriptives, but are there not any nonacnegenic makeups, sunscreens,and moisterizers that are not as expensive? Is noncomodogenic(does not cause comedones: blackheads and whiteheads) the same as nonacnegenic(Papul s,pustules,nodules)? this is not clear to me. Altough I use products that claim to be noncomodogenic I and afraid that they are not. ALso, is it necessary to wear a moisterizer? I'm on my fifth month of 40mg a day and have not improved much over this time I am very dissapointed. When I began my treatment so many months ago I had hoped to improve to the point where I could feel comfortable without wearing makeup. This had not happened.Will I have to go on this agian? Its sad to read how others have gone on several courses of accutane, I realize now that I will be one of them. I've been depressed and suicidal in my teens and I think now I understand that I will have scars, I have them now, and there will be more. This is not something to end your life over. am not happy now and havent been for a very long time, but I think , or I hope one day I may be. That's what gets me out of bed in the morning. Also, thanks to everyone for sharing there stories, with all may baby-faced friends its nice to know I'm not a one. Anyways, If anyone can answer my questions mentioned earlier, it would be much appreciated.

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Day 17 on Roaccutane. A few days ago I was all set to write about how happy I was with my skin but things seem to have taken a turn for the worse recently. I thought the texture was improving but it just doesn't seem quite as good now. There are some posi ives however: my skin is definitely less oily. I can wipe my finger across my forehead in the afternoon and it feels dry - for the first time in 20 years. My hair is less greasy too though I can't go without washing it every day. The side effects are mini al: dry lips mainly and I don't have a problem with wearing my contact lenses. I'm disappointed with the number of new spots that just keep appearing. I can't see how I'll ever get rid of the blacheads on my nose. Clear skin still seems a long way off.

Ed - 06/15/00 21:42:45
Age: 20
Country: UK

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I have finished a 6 month course of roaccutane (2nd time)and now i am scared because if my acne comes back i will be devastated. I would like to know if anyone has experienced good skin for a long time after a second shot with roaccutane and what treatmen if any they are using to maintain the good results of roaccutane!! if worse comes to worse i am just going to folk out loads of money and go on it for as long as possible, fuc the s/e. i know there are side effects but the side effects which i encountere were nothing compared to having clear skin!! i am sure some of u will agree!! I would like to know what the minimum time between treatments is if anyone knows? also has anyone tried homeopathy or traditional chinese medicines or any alternative therapies with any luck?? i am very interested! roaccutane does work i just wished it worked for longer!!!

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Hey everybody, first of all this is a GREAT site!!! I'm on roaccutane for 4 months now - and I still dont see improvment (we a little bit). Can someone please answer a few of my questions, because I dont understand much in this thing and my doc. dont tell me much. Will after my treatment the acne will come back? I understand that the dosage is by the weight but I read that many people take 80mg and stuff i only take 20mg 3 times a day - is that enough? IF SOMEONE IS GOOD KNOWING IN THIS THING CAN YOU PLEASE CONTACT TO ME BY MY E-MAIL - PLEASE!!! E-mail lronnie@ort.org.il

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Hi all :)

Just wanted to keep those who visit my Board, The Acne Support Group in Cyberspace Forum posted that Voy Forums are still working on a solution (grrr!). It's not all the Boards that have got a glitch in them. They tried to explain it the other day but it didn't really make sense to me - I've forgotten most of what they said as it was a little technical. A lot of Board owners are pretty peeved at Voy Forums Support Staff as they are not ans ering our questions much and most people's Boards have been down since Sunday and there are lots of people who haven't been able to post, discuss and share ideas on forums!

Thx for your patience and keep trying - we're all hoping that it'll all be fixed soon - that's what they promised us yesterday. ~~~ Hope everyone's skin is bearing up okay :)

L&L, Just Me

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Hi, I've been reading all your stuff for like, half an hour now (at work - of course :). It amazes me how many people write to this site, last time I wrote there were 2 new messages up since I started mine! Anyway, I've been taking Vitamin E since I started treatment. I've never had any problem with my eyes at all, and have worn contacts with extreme comfort several times, once for a 24 hour period, in the sun, while dancing\running\in air conditioning\in t e heat\smoking a cigar (all the stuff that can affect contacts, in general) etc. So I thought I was immune or something. I didn't get a chance to take my Vitamin E for the past 3 days, and now my eyes are very dry and warm-feeling, like when you first g t contacts and they are uncomfortable, and I'm just sitting on my butt in a cubicle at room temperature (perfect contact lens environment). So Vitamin E DEFINATELY helps the eyes (as I've read). Hopefully they get back to the way they were if I start tak ng Vitamin E again. And in response to a recent question, I've been noticing a lot of improvement relatively quickly while taking Vitamin E and in the past three days while not, so it doesn't seem to have much effect on the face. Also, I read somewhere hat taking 2 400 IU pills of Vitamin E can help even more. Anyone know how safe that is? I know that Vitamins A and D can harm you if you take too much, but C, for example, is safe in any dosage. Finally, my face gets dry during the day to the point where a white-ish residue (dead skin) appears on my cheeks, almost as if I had a sunburn (which I don't). Anyone know a good moisturizer to use during the day that doesn't make me look as if I have gr ase all over my face? Thanks to all of you, and good luck.

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I just have a question about Vitamin E. What are the effects of taking Vitamin E while on accutane, if any. I read that the body excrets the unused Vitamin E through the sebacous glands. And I know that Accutane slows down the production of the sebacous g ands. So I guess my question is ,will taking Vitamin E start making my face more oily again????

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November, are you still out there? Just wondered how your skin was!

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i used to have extremely oily skin. after 30 minutes of washing my face, the oil on the surface of my face would be tremendous and very uncomfortable. i tried everything out there. but it wasn't until i got on accutane that the excess oil stopped. for me, accutane is a miracle drug when it comes to stopping greasy face syndrome. however, the drug works differently on different people.

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great at last somone of the same sex and age, in the same country who started at the same time as me ... let's compare notes. I have just finished week 3 of 60mg per day ( I weigh 60 kilos) my side effects so far are also very acceptable BUT I have yet to see much improvement. I was prepared for it to get worse at first but now i'm getting pretty fed up as every time I think I've turned the corner new spots appear. I suppose I have about 5 on my forehead area and 7 or 8 on the chin area which i know doesn' sound all that bad but after 8 years of constant breakouts i am just so sick of it all. I also have a strange swelling on one big toe.. does anyone know if this is related? I can't help re: chlorine question because i haven't tried swimming yet but woul also like to know if it's a bad idea? has your skin started to improve yet? someone please tell me this will work eventually i'm getting desperate. jude

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I've only been taking roaccutane for 3 weeks, with an acceptable level of side effects. Could I ask UK users whether they have had excessive dryness following swimming (as a result of the chemicals in the pool)or any other directly related problems. Thanks for this page, it's been a good source of information.

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LAUREN: my experience with Ortho-TriCyclen was not that good. It didn't help my acne and it gave me Melasma (brown spots on my face), so now I'm taking Accutane. However, just because Ortho-TriCyclen didn't work for me doesn't mean that it won't work for ou, hopefully it will. As well, many many women take birth control pills while on Accutane; I don't myself because I have an IUD. I hope this helps.

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hi everyone... i'm 19...i've been to the dermatologist for years, and tried every kind of prescription that she's given me, which has been many...i've also used topical medications (which are pretty annoying to use, especially on the body)...i started tak ng birth control a month ago(ortho tri-cyclen) but i had to stop my prescription (minocycline)..since ortho tri-cyclen is supposed to be good for your skin, i'm not sure if i should wait and see if it helps or start accutane....there aren't any negative s de effects of taking both, right? the skin on my back is better than it was before i started taking it, but my face is still gross...i'm sick and tired of having disgusting skin...so should i just start the accutane? (i've discussed accutane with my derma ologist before)...or wait and see if the birth control helps my skin? any advice or encouragement would be appreciated...thanx :)

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What is the best thing to do with really greasy skin with regards to washing it? I currently just use soap and water about four times a day, is this excessive? Is it best just to wash once in morning and once at night? Also, I don't tend to use a moisturi er as it seems pointless with such greasy skin, however I have read somewhere that this can make more oil appear. I have not decided whether to go for accutane yet, but would be grateful for any tips in reducing oiliness. Perhaps accutane is the only ans er?

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Answer for AMANDA - according to my doctor, the daily dose or length of time on Accutane is not what you need to be worried about. Instead, it's the total amount of Accutane that you take during your entire treatment that matters. This means that some peo le may take a higher dose for a shorter period of time, and others will take a lower dose for a longer period of time. In both cases, the total amount of Accutane taken will be the same and that's what counts.

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This is my first time using Roaccutane and i am on day 14. My face and lips have already become very dry and i find the best thing for my lips is Blisteze and E45 for my face. But my face has become very red and itchy and feels very hot all the time. Has anyone else experienced this and if so what did they use to help it?

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Hi, Just me again, I thought I would comment on the fact that I seem to have more side effects the second time around than the first for example, My nose is incredibly dry, I am constantly tired, I have to keep taking Pro Plus (caffine tablets) at work to keep me awake, I have been suffering mood swings and my eyes are dry. The good thing is that my skin breakout was not all that bad and the dryness was bearable. But enough of moaning being on these tablets are totally worth it in the long run and that i all that matters.

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Just a tip: to help prevent nosebleeds, you can try using vaseline (petroleum jelly). Use a q-tip or cotton swab to apply to the inside of your nose...

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Jo, Thanks for more info on your side effects.Everything always seems worse to yourself. But it's scary when something like that happens because in the back of your mind you wonder if it is permanent. I've read that the side effects the second time are not as bad as the first time so maybe you won't have to experience that. Well Good luck if you do! Oh, today I receieved a compliment on my skin. It really made my day. Also, I was using carmex on my lips but it wasn't helping. I'm using blistex medicated cream now and it is like night and day. It really helped my chapped lips.

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Well I've been on accutane for a full week now. No dry lips (wow), my eyes are a little dry and my skin has now turned to weird mixture of oily and dry but also sensitive. I was drier my first couple days--i'm hoping the oiliness is the accutane push th gunk out of my pores. Has anyone else experienced this??? My face is near clear though I can see bumps underneath the skin waiting for me to believe I'm clear-lol! My nose was sore the last couple days like I was gonna get some pimples but nothing app ared. I'm just hoping my initial breakout is that way...all undergrounders. TO AARON: Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I hope you talked to your derm about the dizziness and especially the night blindness. How scary! What are you on for dosage? I can't believe my side effects are almost none right now...I absolutely ex ected the worst since I'm fair skinned. Though next week everything could turn on me.:( Are you going thru this oil/dry/sensitive thing with your skin too? Hang in there Aaron-it will get better. Take care {:0)

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This is to MJ. The best makeup is prescriptives. I've always used Clinique but I went to the prescriptives counter and their makeup is truly the best. The woman at the counter will match the conceler to your skin tone perfectly. No matter what I tried, you could always tell I was trying to cover up my lemishes. Also, they have this lotion called magic. They have it for dry skin too. You wear it under your makeup and it makes acne scars and wrinkles a lot less noticeable. I've always been a little embarrassed to go to makeup counters because of my skin, but these women have seen everything.

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I have suffered from acne since I was 12, I have been on every lotion and potion invented, eventually I was referred to my dermatologist in April last year and was prescribed Roaccutane (30mg). At first my skin was terrible, it became really sore with bi red, ready to blow spots but after 3 weeks my skin was really dry and the big spots began to fade. After about 1-2 months they had almost disappeared this lasted right up until the end of my course (August 1999)I woke every morning and there were no new spots, my make up lasted hours without needing to be reapplied every five minutes. I was happy and confident and bought lots of skimpy vest tops and strappy dresses because at last, after 8 years,I could show my back and chest off without being embarrass d. 1 month after stopping my treatment the grease and spots slowly returned, much to my dismay, I went back to my GP who referred me to the dermatoligist who refused point blank to give me another course and sent me packing with some useless lotion. Aft r 8 months I managed to see another dermatologist and they agreed this time that I needed another course of treatment, I was over the moon. I have now been on the second course for nearly 3 weeks and my skin is already looking clearer, the break out wasn t as bad as the first time and I have been using Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion which has kept my skin from becoming too dry and I have been using Vaseline on my lips at night. When I wake in the morning my skin is no longer heavy ith grease and I hardly have any new spots. I only wish they had given me this miracle drug during my teenage years when I was constantly bullied at school for having acne, it could have saved me from a lot of torment and crying myself to sleep at night. Good luck to everyone with their treatment, if you have not been prescribed Roaccutane don't give up, keep on at your GP/Dermo they will eventually listen.

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Hi, Everyone. I am on day 29 of Roaccutane, and I wanted to give some ecouragement to the people just starting. I had a break out after about 10 days, and picked at my spots, which was silly, but I couldn't help it. The urge was too strong for me to resis !! This meant they took a while to clear, longer than usual, and now I still have red marks where they were. So DON'T PICK!! But since then, my skin has improved slowly, and now I don't have a single spot on my face. I was a teenager when I could last say that, so as you can imagine, I'm slightly happy!! And with my blemish stick I can almost completely conceal the red marks. (Why was I not offered this drug before? I can't believe my (ex)doctor has let me go through 14 years of misery, and all the other e fects of acne). Anyway, I am the happiest and most confident I have ever been as an adult. Thank God for my wonderful derm!! I still have 3 months left, so I imagine there will still be some ups and downs. Fingers crossed for more ups than downs!! ;-)

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Answers: CARRIE, best sunscreen I can recommend that is oilfree is the SPF30 lotion sold by Clinique specifically for face. I never get a greasy look from it and it allows my face to breathe. AMANDA, my "dermie" explained that Roaccutane is designed to break a vicious cycle, which might be the reason why your doctor has put you on it for 7 months. The skin needs to be "reset" and "forget" where it was at. It doesn't have much to do with being ad or not that bad.

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Hi there everyone, I just found this site and its great. I've been on Roaccutane twice before and it seems to really work for about 3 years and then I'm back to square one. I'm really trying to get back on it, but I think derms in Australia are very opposed to its use unles you have really severe cystic acne. I just hate doing all the treatments day after day, and still having quite bad skin. The main thing I'm worried about are the nose bleeds. They are so embaressing and debilitating. Does anyone know of some common produ ts available to alleviate these? Especially someone in Oz would be good. But the feeling you get when you have clear skin and dont have to continually fuss over it and obsess is well worth the treatment I think. Good luck withe everyones treatments. Bye.

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Thanks Blue for the suggestion - well that's simple enough isn't it? I was worried I'd have to fork out loads of cash, but I suppose all that's important is that it's oil free and not perfumed? I should have asked this before but I forgot, but does anyon know of a good sunscreen lotion that again is suitable for oily skin and won't encourage spots? Thanks!

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Blah, I'm reading all of your success stories and I'm so jealous I'm not on roaccutane yet. I'm so sick of feeling ugly. Yes, I'll go wallow in my self pity now. Buh bye.

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Hi everyone. i've been taking accutane for almost two months now,and not much improvement yet. my lips are very very dry, my skin is itchy all over, and my back always aches. for one month i was on a very low dosage, 20 mg, cuz my derm likes to start you ut slow. then i moved up to 40 mg and i'm on my 3rd week of that. when will my skin show major improvement?? my maximum dosage per day is 50mg because i only weigh 100lbs. Would the small dosage have anything to do with it?? i'd appreciate some answers,be ause i'm starting to get worried and you all know more about it than i do... my back has cleared up slighty though and that is good. my derm said i would be on accutane for 7 months.. is that an abnormally long amount of time?? i didn't think my acne was HAT bad... thanks for you time. Amanda

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Can someone please tell me the actual formulae of roaccutane/accutane (what it is made up of)?

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I have just discovered this web page, so bear with me if I ask something that has already been asked! I am on my second week of 20mg Roaccutane per day and I have been prescribed the medicine purely on the basis of having stubborn Rosacea that has plagued me for 1 year with dark red pimples on my cheeks. Has anyone out there got any experience with this drug as a "cure" for Rosacea only? Also, am I allowed to use moisturizer that contain oil? If any Scandinavians read this, there's an EXCELLENT cream sold n chemists (Apotek) in Denmark called "Archiv". That is the only sure cure to dryness I have ever come across. Thanks to Greg for some positive words. I needed that after reading all the scary stories.

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Well thats it,I finished my last pill of accutane today! After 4 months I am extremley happy with the results. I havent had a pimple or cysts since my 3rd week horrible breakout phase. There is still some redness but I am sure that will go away. I conside what I had to be moderate to servre cystic acne and I cant believe its all gone. After 10 years of dealing with the pain and frustration of waking up wondering how bad my face would look,I just dont know how to act. I used to go out of my way to avoid mi rors in my house, now I can look at myself as I comb my hair or brush my teeth. My confidence to look at people in the eye while I talk to them is coming back too. I do have some scaring,and I will look into some possible treatments after 6 months or so. f anyone has any questions e-mail me and I will try to give some tips on what worked for me. I have been looking at this site since last December, started taking accutane in Feb. and have been on this site almost everyday. It has been a great help,thanks o Gill and to those who have posted tips an encouragement. My biggest piece of advice for anyone wondering if they should take accutane is to definitley do it now. I wish I would have ten years ago when this disease first took over my life. I dont want to seem ungrateful for my results,but I feel acne has taken the best years of my life from me by totally destroying my self confidence,my self esteem and my social life. Good luck to everyone, I hope you all have the same luck I did with accutane. Greg

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Hello I have been on Accutane for about 5 weeks now and my face is getting better. The left side of my face is doing really good except for the red spots, my left side is doing good but not as good as the left side. I am realy inperesed with what accuta ne has done i know im just in the begining. Ihope it countinues to inprove. Im on 60mg a day now. So if ur thinging about it go out there and get accutane cause when u get it u will wish u had it sooner. Ill keep u posted with myy situation. Good luc to all

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i'm on exactly 1 month on accutane and i see a really big difference in my skin for the positive. i love it! i went out yesterday and for the first time, didn't have to blot my skin or reapply makeup like 5 times a day like i used to before accutane. my skin USED to feel really greasy and oily and gross. but those days are behind me. yahoo! i'm not a doctor, but whoever is thinking of going on accutane, i recommend you go see a dermi and find out if this drug is right for you. to me, the side effects are way worth having clear skin. i used to wonder what normal skin felt like. now i'm getting closer to knowing and its wonderful. acne truly is a devastating disease. take care everyone. lee.

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I just wanted to say to anyone that is afraid to take accutane that it can really change your life. I had tried everything made to try and clear my acne problem, various antibiotics (pill and topical form), proactiv, retin A, differen gel, you name it Ive had it. So I finally tried to take accutane and it changed my life. My "friend" had taken it twice and she had beautiful skin and would always say how wonderful it was but I would never get it because my skin wasn't bad enough. But to me it was so when I old her that my derm. had mentioned it to me she tried to scare me off it and at first I was scared but then I thought wait a min. she took it twice and I later realized she just didn't want me to have it because she has this personal vendetta against me nd whatever. The point is; it worked!!! And now I look foward to getting up in the morning instead of dreading it. I get up and I see clear normal skin. Someone gave me the best compliment when I told them I had taken accutane. They said "why? you don't h ve a problem". It works. Don't be scared!! DO it!!! Good luck and I hope you all someday feel the way I do.

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I just started Accutane yesterday, and I was wondering if anyone could tell me a good makeup to use. Thanks!

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i agree it sure is worth hanging in there. im on wk 7, my face does look better than ever even though i still have some small ones on my chin since b/4 i started accutane but overall so much better. So it is worth the aches and all! Praying that i conti ue to improve. and yes i started of really good on 40mg then after 4wks swith to 60mg then skin started to get a bit worse not much more redness and a new pimple, but now feeling better and improving. so we all have different reactions but the end resul is the same, 100% improvement!!!

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Keep up the good work, you're almost halfway there! I know that this will seem the longest 5 months of your life (I was going crazy the last few weeks of treatment), but it will all be worth it. And remember, your skin will continue to improve after you s op taking the pills, so don't be disappointed if your skin isn't 100% flawless towards the end. I don't think I could have survived my treatment without the support of the great people here (although if you check the archives from then, there were a lot o skeptics and pessimists writing in, too). But it was the people who posted their success stories that really kept me going. So, everybody, once your skin is gorgeous, don't forget all those here who are still fighting the good fight; write in and give th m some encouragement!

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Hello!, I am at the end of my Accutane treatment(20-week) and I did experience some worsening at the beginning. It was that alot of the "crud" in the pores would surface. Thereafter everything was fine; clear skin, spots/marks disappearing and of course d y lips and inside of nostrils. But for the lase month or so my acne has worsened and I am worried now that my acne has gotton used to it...just like the anti-biotics. What should I do? I was on the 40 mg ...taking 2 in the morning and taking 1 at night... .total of 120mg a day. I was using some benzoyle peroxide too at night and some morinings to keep white heads dry and non-inflamatory. My doctor gave me clindamycin to clear up remaining white heads which are stubborn and are all over the face and forehea . It is not working either. Know of any topicals that work at the hair follicle to stop the inflammation. I think my facial hair is causing this and shaving makes it worse....folliculitis?...this is getting depressing..thanks for any input.

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Hey everyone. Well I am almost at 4 weeks of accutane. I have my first blood test since I have been on it. I take 40mg one day and 80mg the next day. I think its rather high considering I'm about 120 lbs and my acne wasn't really bad when I started it. In fact I only had one cyst on my chin when I started! (but it was being supressed with antibiotics but you can't stay on those FOREVER). For such a high dosage I am having what I feel are pretty wonderful side effects! I forgot how oily I was and thought it wasn't doing all that much but I used to have to apply an oil control makeup compact probably 10 or more times a day and now I don't use it at all during the day at work and I'm perfect. Just normal skin. Its wonderful. BUT my scalp is whats dry. VERY DRY this might sound gross but I went from wasching my hair every day to anywhere from every 4 to 7 days. Its SO dry that I'm afraid to. But it stays nice and clean and inbetween if I feel like getting it wet I just put some conditioner on it. But my face lo ks great, not a single pimple since Ive been on it but during the early second week I got this bumpy rash on my face near my nose but it cleared up in a few days. I am liking things right now!! Good luck to everyone.! Danielle

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Hi Melissa from the USA. I have a daily ritual of reading all the messages on this site and really enjoyed reading your positive experience on Roaccutane. I've been on for 9 weeks and my skin is improving in leaps and bounds but I'm just so impatatient nd can't wait for the 5months to be up and hopefully I"ll have the skin I've always dreamed of. I feel the exact same way as you do about when seeing someone with a face full of pimples I want to go and whisper in their ear about Roaccutane - can't belie e that people can not want to give it a try and maybe be cured of this dreadful "curse"! I know the cost involved is quite high but I'd do anything to be able to get rid of my pimples for ever!

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Hi again! Well, the hair loss for me occurred after week 14 - I took 20 mg a day for the 1st 4 wks, 40 mg up to week 10, some older clogged areas weren't clearing so I went up to 60 mg and then the hair started to come out. I went back to 40 mg for a wk r 2 and it stopped, then I went to 50 mg for a week and it happened again. After that I went back down to 40 mg but it continued at that point. Believe me, this is not something that happened to anyone else I spoke to. Also, I never looked like I was losi g hair, I was the only one who knew it when I washed it. And I'm now most likely going to go back on it at an extremely low dose, because honestly, its the best thing I've found for cystic acne and the closest thing to a cure. Even though I'm breaking out now, I'm much better than I was before, and I think in the long run its worth it to me to give it another shot. It has started to grow back, too. I'm of course nervous about starting it again, and I might wait another month, but mine is not a typical situ tion. When I was on 40 mg I was shedding somewhat, but it really didn't bother me at all. I don't know why in particular I received this lucky side effect! But its a very powerful drug, and it works wonders on your skin when nothing else works.

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Thanks for all your comments! I feel a little better now about the hair thing. Catherine, you made me laugh. I did the same thing. Everyone picks. My boyfriend always makes fun of me because he says I act like a kid when I do that. It's just so hard not o. I wish I hadn't though because I do have scars that probably could have been prevented. I read some comments about laser resurfacing and peels. I've had a few peels but decided to hold off until my after the accutane. No sense spending money when you are just going to get more breakouts. I know you get the best results with resurfacing but if it is not done right you can be permanently disfigured. A friend of mine had several peels. Although this takes a long time, one per month, her face looks great. Well, thanks for the info everyone!

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Hi. Has anyone tried 'Ketsugo', gel or spray from Superdrug? I have tried the gel and it really does seem to keep skin looking matt. It is £9.99 and apparantly with regular use will keep oiliness under control. By the way, I thought I was the only one ith really greasy skin, I am really pleased to have found this site. However, my acne (sixteen years old now, with a break of about a year on Erythmycin) is made a great deal worse by me constantly picking, and in fact making new spots. I can't stop, it pathetic. Does anyone else do this or am I the only one constantly moaning about having spots, but making most of them myself. I make great big spots and then spend half an hour putting make up on them to cover them up. Its not just my face I pick, its my chest too. Sad or what?

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Sarah, I agree with the previous person. Hair loss is very unusual and even if it does happen it grows back, apparently. My dermatologist told me that the side effects are usually worse in the first couple of weeks - then after that your body gets used o the drug and learns to deal with it. Good Luck!

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Hi all. Just wanted to let you know of my experience on Accutane. I was on 40mg/day from April 1999-September 1999. I had this site bookmarked and visited nearly every day, and posted occasionally. Hang in there, guys, it's tough, but I have not had one m ment of regret. My skin is the best that it has ever been, and it is really easy to take care of now. Cetaphil morning and night - that's all I have to do. No more wasting money on over-the-counter products that do nothing but make a dry, flaky mess of yo r face. In the 9 months since I "graduated" I have had maybe 3 of 4 very minor PMS blemishes, which only lasted a couple of days before disappearing. My oiliness has not returned and my red marks are history. I know that being on Accutane is no fun, but i is such a wonderful feeling knowing that you can skip the makeup and not scare anyone! I was just at the Gap today, and the poor guy at the register was covered with pimples. I felt so bad for him; I wished that I could have told him about Accutane. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!

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Sarah, this is my second time on Accutane. I too have (hopefully had)some acne, not that bad but noticeable. I am telling you, it's Worth it! I understand if you are losing a lot of hair and you are worried, that's one thing. In this case, talk to your doctor. Accutane, I'll admit is a scary drug, not enough is known about it and the side effects are crappy. Also, remember (not to sound all official) but, Accutane affects everybody differently. For example, the side effects I have had on this dose are differen than my first round of Accutane (I was 17) I had bad skin, not the kind that everyone is grossed out by, but it was flaming cysts, (acne is a terrible disease! ) I would give Accutane a chance Sarah. The results you will find are astounding. Your skin will clear up so good that you will be complimeted by complete strangers. Serously. Strangely enough, as bad as it can be for you, it makes your skin flawless. I am no doctor though. I don't know about men and hair loss, but most (not all ) men go bald. Cheer up, if you lose hair, call your doc.

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I am using Johnson & Johnson's Clean & Clear moisturizer which is very light and not at all oily. It's quite cheap, too! Hope this helps.

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My brother has psoriasis and has used the medicated vaseline to control it and it worked. However, he has tried to buy it in a number of places, as well as I. Could you possibly let me know if you have stopped making it or if not where can I buy it for hi . I live in Toms River, New Jersey 08753 and he lives in Iselin, New Jersey 08830. Thanking you in advance for you information. E. Skalski

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Sophie, So far I have not really noticed an increase. Like you, I always feel that I'm losing hair. I told all my roommates to tell me if they start to notice. If they do, I'll probably stop. Somehow I think losing my hair would be worse than acne. However, I've only been on it for about a month. My hair is pretty dry but the other side effects arent so bad. My lips are chapped and my skin is dry but not too terribly dry. I think I skipped the initial breakout everyone keeps talking about. I'm on 60 mg a day although I'm wondering if I should just be on 40. My acne wasn't severe to begin with but certainly noticeable and embarrassing. After a month, my skin looks completely clear. I had a few giant ones in the beginning but nothing I wasn't already used to. I don't have to wear coverup or makeup of any kind. I don't have to wash my hair every day either. These things are all a plus. My sole concern is the hair loss so I'm keeping my fingers cross. How come this problem only seems to affect the women who take it? From the comments I have read, it doesn't seem like any men have lost their hair.

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Hello there! Does anyone know of a good moisturizer that can be used on quite oily skin and won't encourage spots?! Because I need one!! Preferably replies from those in the UK (because that would make life a little easier!). Thanks.

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Sarah, a little hair loss, but nothing that really concerns me. I feel like I am always losing some hair even without Accutane. But I have noticed an increase. No bald spots...geez, knock on wood, and you any hair loss?

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Jo, Thanks for responding. Sorry to hear about those side effects. What dosage were you on and at what month did you notice the loss? Perhaps the lower dosage will be better. Good Luck!!! Sophie, thanks for the diary. Although your hair was dry, did you experience any loss or thinning? Also, jus wanted to say I really love this site and am glad to know that I'm not the only one going thru this.

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Accutane Survey Accutane Updated List for the Five Months that I am Scheduled to take Isotretinoin If all goes well, I will be off Accutane on June 19 Week 1 (began treatment on Wednesday January 19 Jan 25- skin is a little itchy,and the usual: teeny bit dry in certain spots, oily in others, blood in nose, rib pain (association is not determined) corners of mouth, a bit dry and flaky (using Blistex) Jan 27-breaking out a little bit, nothing bad, corners of mouth still dry, still have rib pain, pressure on chest Well, tomorrow, Friday, Jan 28 is the beginning of WEEK 2! Week 2 February 3 Went to dermo on Tuesday, Feb 1, had a little break out, breakout better though, skin is dry, even moisturizer seems to sink in, have to reapply. Breakouts not so bad today, skin is really itchy though, not just face. Scalp not as bad today, as really itchy a couple days ago. Having a period, bleeding, tired and sore back. Lips are chapped, corners are a bit more dry. Using Lotrimin (for athletes foot) and something Dr. Kaplan gave me. Hair stays dry for like three days, it’s kind o awesome! It just doesn’t get nearly as oily! Skin is sensitive, though, and a little pink. Chin is dry, a little flaky. So far so good, I think my skin looks good otherwise, breakout under chin on left jawline, two pustules. Week 3 Feb 7 Knock on wood, but my skin has cleared up dramatically. I feel good about myself. Corners of lips stll pretty dry. Lip zit on Saturday, HURT!! It’s goin away though. Have a cyst/pustule in between eyes, friggin hurts too, otherwise, nose is a bit dry, been putting on Neosporin, and Vaseline @ night. Skin feels smooth, though, hope it lasts!! (update on Feb 9) so far, skin good, a little zit turned into whitehead overnite (on right cheekbone) lips are chappy, but not so bad, using Kiehl’s lip ba m # 1 (can find it at Neiman Marcus (only $4.50), liking it, too. Week 4 Feb 15 Skin stays pretty clear, a couple very small blemishes, except weekend pimple which has left it’s scar on my right jaw. Nose was dry but I realized that my blackheads were coming out of their shells. GLORY! My nose looks clear and is smooth. Sk n is exceptionally soft. Lips DAMN chapped, corners dry and uncomfortable at times. May have to do 80mg every 3 days, because 10mgs are backordered. Slight rash on left wrist. Will keep posted. Week 5 Tuesday, Feb 22 Yuck! By Sunday, I have three cysts on my left cheek. Sucky! Chapped lips, on and off, little teeny rash starting on hand. Trying to stop it. Not so great. Otherwise, skin soft.. Those three cysts were injected w/ cortisone this morning, by my wonderful doctor. He is such a support. Always telling me to RELAX! My left cheek looks like crap. Oh yeah, hair lookin great lately! I don’t have to wash it for like three days, I know that sounds gross, but it’s not. Trust. (update on dosage-st ll at 50mgs a day (40mg plus a 10mg) oh also, using Kiehl’s still for lips, also pure vaseline, and even moisturizer. Clinique Different Moisturizer is awesome, and soothing. Week 6 Tuesday, February 29 Skipped my Accutane pill last night, nurse (Jennifer) said it was okay, just keep going. Supposed to get my moon soon. Rash on right and left wrists, mostly left, and on right hand. Skin is dry, some areas are bumpy, very sensitiv , and easily irritated. Face is dry, somewhat, but not too bad, pimple wise. mid-week update: (March 2, 2000) got moon on Tuesday evening. (2/29) Heavy somewhat. Using Aquaphor on lips, which are usually dry, but not that bad. Skin seems under control. Still have rash on wrists and hands. Cyclocort helps relieve dryness of ras . Still there though. Oh well. Week 7 Tuesday, March 7 Saw Doc yesterday, gave me a precription for the third month! Wow,already! Told me to get blood test next week and that would be my last for the rest of the treatment. Rash on hands and wrists comes and goes, not bad today, corners of li s, dry and left one cracked, not that bad, but sometimes they bug, lips are chapped, bottom lip line feels chafed some nights. Week 8 Wednesday, March 14 Skin stays relatively clear, small persistent cyst on left cheek. Yesterday, I got a cold sore, I believe from a small cut I got on my upper lip a while ago. Taking Valtrex,(antibiotics), to reduce duration of cold sore. As a topical I am using Zilactin. Persistent rash on hands and wrists, not so bad, though. Comes and goes. Going on third month soon. Wow! Oh yeah, corners of lips, constantly dry, some days are worse than other, depending on what I use on them. Lotrimin (antifunga cream) seems to help. Week 9 Tuesday, March 21 Skin looks good, soft and smooth too (please stay that way!) Lips especially chapped for the past two days, peeling and dry. Otherwise, it’s fine. Oh yah, arms are dry, and a bit rashy. Hand rash comes and goes. Skin is dry, bu some parts are really smooth. Skin itches a lot! Still have a persistent cyst on left cheek. It is sort of drying up, but not quite. Seeing doc today. Maybe he can zap it somehow. Hair is quite dry too. Corners of lips okay today. Lotrimin seems to h lp. Dryness in corners comes and goes. Week 10 Tuesday March 28 Dryness in corners of lips comes and goes. Today it’s better than it was yesterday and the day before that. Just watching the results, dealing with the side effects and slowly but surely getting through my third month. Cyst on lef cheek Still persisting, but seems to be going down a bit. Doc told me to leave it alone. March 30 2000 moon Week 11 Tuesday April 4, 2000 Skin dry but not flaky. Dryness in corners of lips severity comes and goes. Cyst on left cheek still there, of course, getting flatter, but not completely gone. Arms are dry. Recrecflow. Also, nails turned yellow around Thursday of last eek. Doc says it’s cause of nailpolish. Week 12 Thursday April 13, 2000 My body is pretty dry, arms. And legs sometimes. Skin looks good, stays clear (knock on wood) I have received a few compliments. So far so good. Some dry patches, here and there. Week 13, Tuesday April 18, 2000 Little rash coming back on wrists. Skin looks clear. Using Cetaphil moisturizer @ night. Lips chapped. Corners are a little better. Week 14 Wednesday April 26 On and off again rash on wrists and hands. Skin remains clear. Corners of lips are doing okay today. Somedays my lips are all peely and the corners hurt and are sore. This round will finish about May 21 approx, and then it’s th last month of Accutane, yeah! Week 15 Tuesday May 2 Got a bad sunburn on chest and tummy on Saturday. Yuck it sucks. Turning white spots. Skin looks good. Right corner of lips dry and cracked and painful.

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Yesterday, I saw a new dermatologist and today I've started my second round with Accutane. Last year, I took 40mg a day for 4 months (August-December 1999). I had clear skin from November-February 2000, but then I started to get cystic acne again (but onl on my face, not on my body). The new doctor thinks that I wasn't given a high enough dose for a long enough period of time, based on my body weight (I'm 5'9" & 145lbs). My new treatment is to switch off taking 40mg & 80mg, every other day. Just like last time, I will do the following things to keep the side effects at a minimum - wash with Purpose cleanser twice a day; wear Eucerin sunscreen during the day; use Neosporin in the nose to keep it dry and to prevent nose bleeds; drink lots of water; wash my h ir every other day; only one shower per day with Dove liquid cleanser; Kiehl's lip balm or Aquaphor; Refresh moisturizing eye drops and oinment; Cetaphil moisturizer for the body. The other thing I need to do is buy new vitamins. While on Accutane, it's v ry important that you don't take any vitamin A (or eat foods loaded with it) and to make sure that your vitamins do not include more than 35mg of Niacin (as this may increase the redness in your face). It's also very helpful to take 400mg of vitamin E eac day. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE OUT THERE!

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Hi All! Tomorrow it will be 7 weeks 60mg/day. I am getting better! Peaople at work have noticed and I even consider wearing my hair up instead of hiding my face behind a curtain... The dryness is treated with Biotherms foaming face wash for sensitive (Biosensitiv ) skin and the calming regulating daily moisturizer. Nozoil for the noosebleeds and Repair cream on the lips. I found a great shampoo and conditioner in NYC that helps my dry hair and scalp, it's called Textureline smoothing shampoo and smoothing conditio er by arTECH, it can also be ordered from http://www.beautystore.com Drink LOTS of water, it helps the backpains, dizziness and dryness. /Nikki

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Just responding about the hair loss - it was really rough for me for a while there, but most people don't seem to get this side effect, or at least not as badly as I did. I guess some people just can't tolerate a very high dose. After I stopped, I though my hair would go right back to normal, but it took about 2 months for the hair thinning to completely die down. I was very, very nervous. It is back to normal though, and I have a lot of short hairs growing in which are mostly noticeable (to me only) on the hairline. When it was falling out I was terrified to wash it, and only did so once or twice a week. Now I'm happy to say I can again wash it like a normal person! However, I'm still considering doing the low dose, long term treatment because I have be n experiencing small breakouts, probably I stopped too soon. Its been clear for the last 2 days since I switched to Retin A, which perplexes me - I was using Differen before. The other therapy I'm looking into is spironolactone, which is a hormonal treat ent, cuts down on androgens which cause acne - from what I understand so far. I've heard some good reports. I am seriously leaning towards the low dose accutane, because I've tried so many different things over the years, and my skin was so great while I as on accutane, it was unbelievable. I'm just nervous about the big breakout in the beginning, and the hair loss. Both of those side effects were very difficult for me.

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oops..sorry..I was a bit quick pressing enter.. First of all I wish to thank the people who has written to me. I've been on Roacc for 16 week with no improvement at all, actually it is worse, much worse, than when I started. I have,or better had, a very mild acne.(I haven't had a history of acne before I had a perfect skin before...) But you helped me to hang in for some more time with Roacc. I really hope it will help me... For all the people thet has experienced hair loss. Has anyone experienced that it won't grow back? ...how long after the treatment will the hair start to grow again? I'd really want some answers to the hair loss problem because it's better to have acne th n to have thin hair or no hair at all. Thanks to you all

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-----> To Kelly, i am also on low dosage 20mg/day. i have taken for about 3 weeks. at first i feel my face a little bit drier and better. but this week, i start "broke out" and these pimples do not come out. (same as you)...nothing can do now......jus wait for the better day!!! : )

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My question is for Jo and for other females on accutane. Jo, did your hairloss stop when you quit the accutane? Have many others experienced hair loss? I have been on it for one month and am worried about what lies ahead.

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to aaron , what is your dosage? if it a high dosage maybe you should check with your derm to see if maybe if it can be lowered until your body adjusts better. and don't forget to tell him about the loss of night vision.

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just checking

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I have been on roaccutane for three weeks.My face have gotten worse instead of better and I am on a low dosage of only 20mg/day.There is the drying effect though and turned those zits into scabs that wont come off.Have any one experienced that?

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Hi, it's me again. Thankyou to those who emailed me in response to my last post. I went to my doctor the other day who then referred me to a dermatologist. Unfortunately, now I'm on a waiting list until a few months when I can get treatment. Then I have to go through the tests to see if I can actually go on roaccutane. Is there any hing I should do to physically prepare myself before taking it? And to those people who had blood tests etc before they could go on it, what exactly were they testing for? Is it just to see if your liver and kidneys are healthy and capable of the stress of the drug? Thanks again, Belinda.

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ps- started using cetaphil to nip the dryness in the bud. the dizziness is far more prominent when rising from a chair or getting out of bed...I've been lightheaded alot too, especially while driving or walking in the dark...my bedroom isnt that dark at n ght but the last two nights, despite the neighbors' flood light on their garage, everything was pitch black. spooky... took me quite awhile to adjust.

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hey jade! please drop me a line at my email address when you can, it'd be wonderful to have someone to talk to about this. so far not much of a change...my face isnt as dry as I thought it was going to get...I'm still pretty lightheaded and run down, I co ldnt workout the last few days. talk to you soon?!?!

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Jamie, I know!! I didn't have a problem til now(9th week).. now I'm getting dizzy whenever I stand up after sitting down or lying down. It's weird. What's up with this?

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Just wanted to offer some information to those of you who have recently started treatment of Accutane. I heard all of the side effect horror stories before I started and was as scared as many of you. I am now about 9 1/2 weeks into treatment of 40 mg a da . I never really had an initial breakout, though I feared one. I've never had a problem drinking off of it, though my fairly low tolerance may have something to do with it. My only real complaint is the dry skin,terrible chapped lips, headache, and backac es. A little advice: don't pick at or peel your skin too much. For some reason, it will make it much redder and worse looking than it would have if you weren't on the medication. good luck!

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I have been prescribed roaccutane for the second time. My acne is not as bad this time, but has not cleared up for a number of months. It returned when I fell pregnant with our first baby and has made no improvement. Last time, (about two years ago) I as on 40mg a day. It was Summer and very hot and I had nose bleeds, (which I'd never had before) and very dry lips. I didn't notice hair dryness, or a lot of dryness in the face. I weighed about 62kg at the time. I am now on 60mg a day, but weigh only 48kg. Does this seem like an extreme amount to anyone for someone so light. I am tall, maybe that makes a difference, but my brother was on the same dosage and had acne very severely, all over the chest and back. ine is only on the face, and there is really not a lot of it - I just want my skin perfect again. I have been on it for a week now. My lips are extremely dry and my facial skin a little as well. My hair seems a little dry, but nothing is too unbearable as yet. Hopefully being on it in Winter will mean the side effects are not as severe. I am hopeful that this will be the end of bad skin for me....

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I have been on accutane for four weeks and it is making me so dizzy!! Anyone else with this problem? Please respond

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I finished accutane mid-Feb this year, I stopped it short because I had a problem w/hair loss on the higher dose, it became ridiculous. Well, my skin was pretty good at that point, but I've been breaking out more now, not as bad as before but its creepin up on me. I got a 2nd opinion from another dr. today, both dr.'s suggest a low maintenance-type dose. My dr. is thinking 10 mg 3 x a week. I researched this and apparently its usually done with people like me who just can't tolerate the full dose. I wil probably be taking it for a lot longer than usual because its so low. My skin was great when I was past the 1st month, but I'm very nervous about the beginning period again because I broke out TERRIBLY - not quantity, but quality, the cysts were hideous. So I'm nervous about that and also still worried about my hair. Has anyone done low dose, long term? I've been told the side effects will be much more minimal but I'd love to hear anyone's input - feel free to email any info. Thanks!

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update I've been on accutane for about 7 wks. 1st 4 wks on 40mg, then uped to 60mg. my face from the start started to get better i felt dizzy, light headed, had headaches but within 2wks i felt better. once i started on 60mg started to get bad body aches, spec ally on the legs, back and on my heels! been taking tylenol and advil when it gets really bad. my face also started to get more dry and just different after the 60mg, more red. i got a big cystic pimple last thursday under my chin line by the side of my eck still there today, thank God its on the side, but overall my face still doing good. have not had heavy break out. the problem is that i suffer from acne rosecea which on top of acne makes my face really red and hot a times. since on 60 been getting more of this. my question i've hear on this board of the red mask, when you people get red does the redness also feels very hot! my ears also have gotten very hot! but today i am acutally feeling better from this hope and pray it continues. please let me know about the redness curious to know if its my rosecea or does everyone feel this with the redness. Thank you all!! good luck to all, and so far this drug is WORTH THE ACHES!!! My tryglecirin count was 210 and according to my doctor not derm it should be under 200, any info wuld be greatly appreciated, is 210 ok or should i worry!! What moistirizer is good to wear under makeup?

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AN Head & Shoulders for dry scalp will not make your hair fall, it has helped me with the itchyness also try not to wash you hair every day. if this shampoo does not work within a wk talk to your derm about prescription shampoo called nizoral. good luck!

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Regarding 160mg/day dose of Accutane: On the Mirkin website mentioned below, he says that if someone has gone thru one course of Accutane and "if the acne returns months or years later, I usually prescribe 40 mg of Accutane four times a day for one month." Interesting. It only says 1 month though, I'm not surprised that doing this for 2 months would be lethal...

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This is a reply to Christian Aged 29 from USA regarding 160mg dose a day of accutane. DONT DO IT! My brother was given the same information in which after just 2 months on that dosage it killed him. Through those months he was going through terrible pai s and adverse body effects...

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I've been on accutane about two yeaers ago and the acne has returned. There is a doctor that recommends taking 40 mg four times a day for a month for previous accutane users. Thats' 160mg a day. Has anyone heard of this. The doctors name is Gabe Mirki . He can be reached www.dr.mirkin.com Has anyone heard of this or tried it. Please give me some input. Thanks Chris

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Hi, does anyone use NeoStrata wash and lotion to treat and fade scars? My dermatologist recommended it. Any bad experiences? Thank you for any replies.

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DAN: I felt these EXACT side effects when I first started on accutane. The dizziness was really really severe in the beginning but I am now on my fifth week and the side effects are very minimal now. Every so often I get dizzy spells. So don't worry, these are commom side effects. I even called Roche Laboratories to make sure that these were side effects that other people had reported before. Good luck, and keep us posted on your pr

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Hi I've been on accutane for about a week and I'm so nervous abt the side-effects, esp thinning of hair, i noticed that my scalp gets itchy when i wash. I saw on the msg board that someone recommend head and shoulders but isn't head and shoulders medicate and will cause more hair to fall off? What else can i do to stop hair from falling off? school's going to start and i don't want to look like i'm balding!!! Please email me with advice thx :)

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Hi everyone, I thought I should share my "acne" story on the board. I’m a 21 I suffured severe acne for about 8 years. It had a big impact on my self confidence and in my relation with the others, especially with girls. Five months ago, I decided that, after trying about every traditional and non-traditional techniques to kill the "devil" inside of me, I had to finally try Roaccutane. We all heard those horror stories but I think that if you are in good shape and that y u are followed by a good doctor during the treatment, everything should go fine. I was on Roaccutane for 18 weeks/ 80mg a day. I started to see result on the 6th week and by the 12th week, my face/shoulders/top of my back were all cleared. Sides effects included chapped lips, temporary itching skin (especially after shower) and a bit of insomnia and dizziness. I woudn’t recommend taking high doses to someone who is currently at school. Here’s some quick facts: In Canada, 60 Roaccutane 40mg pills cost about 220$CAN. I know a girl on Roaccutane that asked her derm about hair removal techniques and Roaccutane. She was saying to me that you shouldn’t get waxing or laser hair removal for at least 1 year after the treatment. Electrolysis is safe for most people during and after the treatment but you should do it gradually and see how your skin’s reacting. I’ve finished the treatment 2 weeks ago, and me tell you, I’ve never felt so good in my life. If you have any questions about the treatment, just e-mail me. Best of luck to all of you! Francois

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Evi, it's best to wait 1-2 years after taking Roaccutane before getting pregnant. Hope this helps.

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hey everyone. Day 22 and still broken out, I have these two huge cysts on each side of my nose that has made my nose swell and people are asking me what it is from. I never had these cysts on my nose before. I want to cry...I look worse than I used to. On the good side my right side of my face is clearing up (except for the nose). This morning I woke up and my eye is all swelled, has anyone else had this? Hope we all get through this and end up clear at the end.

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I'm about to take the roaccutan pill, for 5 months according to my dermatologist's opinion. I need to know if there will be any trouble with the pregnancy if I stopped the pill and got pregnant. The doctor said no, but I need to know the truth.

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Aaron, we should compare results. I'm on my fifth day also of 40mg a day. First I began to dry up but the last couple days I've notice I'm oily as usual - could be the soap. My derm always recommended using an antibacterial soap before when I was on my antibiotic but now I've switched to Cetaphil to get a head start on the dryness. I haven't been breaking out though with those big honkers. It's actually been a couple of weeks since those. My face is nearly clear but I'm worried about that bad breakou everyone talks about and of course the dry peeling skin - yuk! Lets compare our results online and who knows maybe we can help others just like we are helping ourselves. {:0)

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To Sharon and any other aussies out there..... I recommend you get some 'ego QV cream' (repair for dry skin) rather than petroleum jely for dry/peeling lips. I have been on accutane for 6 months and tried lots of different lips balms and creams during my course. I found this cream to be the most affective at preventing them from getting too dry. It is available in chemists and comes in a blue and white tube. For the rest of your face.... I recommend using the 'cetaphil lotion' to wash with and then moi trising with 'fauldings vitamin E cream'. If your skin gets really dry cetaphil has a great moisturing cream as well, but I only used occasionally and mainly only on the really dry patches. Hope this advice helps some of you and good luck. Cheers!!!

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hey guys...after 5 accutane capsules I must say that I feel like I've been put through a wringer. I've been tired all day and a little lightheaded...nothing intolerable though. my oil production seems to be decreasing already, it's kinda freaky. I'll keep you all updated, later!

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oops thats tender_heart03@hotmail.com :o)

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Hi all! Well ive tried everything from clindamycin to differin to tetracycline and everything works for a while and then the zits come back. I have acne on my face (whice is barely visible) and on my chest, back, and neck (which is horrible). It sorta suc s because im very self conscious about wearing a bathing suit and its summer. Im on differin now and its not really helping much so i might try accutane. I was just wondering about the spots some people here were talking about & if anyone has any input ab ut accutane including if its worth the side effects id be happy to have your help. Ohh yeah everyone should give the soap fostex a try! It helps clear acne really good but is very drying...thanks guys!

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ANTHONY - isotretinoin works by shrinking the sebacceous glands, but unfortunately noone actually knows yet how exactly it works inside. They only know what it does.

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I'm just starting my tratement of accutane and I do feel the dryness of the lips. actually, I've been searching in the internet about the drug but the only things I found is what it does but i would like to know the components and how it really works inside. Please if you know any site about this contact me.

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Hi, I've recently started accutane at 40mg/day and would like to know if anyone else has experienced the side-effects that I have the past few weeks. I've had an extermely dry throat, with some ear-pain and dizziness,with light-headiness. Are these common side effects and will they clear up as the months progress? Any feed back would be greatly appreciated.

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Hey all. This is Jill. I'm an currently on day 13 of my second treatment of roaccutane. Things are going allright. My lips are extremely dry and my face is beginning to get extremely flaky. One thing that is different than my first course of accutane is t at I feel very dizzy often and have headaches. Also, my eyes feel very uncomfortable with my contacts on. I wonder why i am getting these side effects that i never really had during my first course...

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Just a quick question...Does anyone know if it's possible to continue wearing contacts while on Accutane?? I want to start on the drug soon but I'm really scared from all the horror stories I've heard and I don't know if I'm willing to wear glasses for th rest of my life!! EEEK! Can anyone help me out here?!?!!?

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Hi everyone. I happened on this page when I was doing research about Accutane. My doctor wanted me to speak with other people who have taken it to see if the risks were worth it to me. I began seeing a dermatologist in January. We started out with Ret n-A .01, an oral antibiotic (which made me really dizzy) and Cleocin lotion. In March we went to Cleocin gel and no oral antibiotic and Lustra. She said that we should wait until the summer was over to consider Accutane. The past few months have been retty good. People actually comment on the way my skin has improved. Although I'm going through a breakout now. At my last visit, she gave me Saban pads to help control oil. I AM SOOO OILY. She also said that The Retin A could stop working and that we might consider a stronger dose which causes peeling. She doesn't think I need Accutane at this point. Has anyone else gone this route? If so do you think this therapy will continue to work, or should I go straight for the Accutane?

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Hi! Well, you know what, the exact thing was happening to me too! It was really awful, I guess... And yeah, it has really gone very much better now. It doesn't happen anymore, only a very little, but unfortunately enough, it does when I'm working harder, .g. when I jog or doing gym. exercises... And I can say I hate that, coz for that reason I have neglected a bit my body... I really do hope this to end soon.... It's been a pleasure talking to you. C-ya later, bye.

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HELP!!! I got highlights put in my hair yesterday...should I have not done this? I saw a post that says you shouldn't dye your hair while taking accutane...What does it do? I'm on Day 19, and stilol broken out, my face is peeling and I have gotten cank r sores in my mouth, nose bleed everyday and lower back pain, but nothing that isn't bearable. Good Luck all

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hello ... just wondering ... but has anyone had any problems with in growing hairs, and has anyone ever used Skinoren ???? if you have, please let me know. ... thanks ... pleas pleas someone contact me paul

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I began accutane 4 days ago and would like to know when people noticed the "big breakout" - also have some skipped the breakout altogether???? My skin is beginning to dry and it feels wonderful. My family commented my skin is looking clearer already - f rtunately my face was starting to clear right before I began this new medication. Please help, I want an idea when I'll be free and clear of that initial breakout. It sounds like its the worst! Best of luck to everyone-may we someday be happy with our odies {:0)

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To Mom, when I was on my first course of accutane around four weeks into the course I began to break out in a few of these horribly painful spots that just wouldn’t shift no matter what, I figured they were infected or something so in desperation I went t rough my cupboards and found some old antibiotics “Erythromycin” (Which you can safely take in conjunction with accutane!) after only a few days the spots were gone!

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hello! This is the first time I've posted anything. My question concerns Retin-A micro and Cleocin T. I started using Retin A just to ensure that my skin stayed decent, but then I have really started breaking out even more than when I wasn't using anyt ing. I realize that initially you do break out with Retin A, but this went above and beyond any "normal" breakouts. I desperately called my doctor who prescribed Cleocin. At first it seemed like it helped a lot, but all of a sudden (after 12 weeks of R tin A and 2 or 3 of Cleocin) I've started breaking out like crazy, with huge cysts and other large zits. Does anyone know if Retin A can sometimes go through a second cycle of breaking out before it finally starts to work? I'm going to make an appointme t with an actual dermatologist, so hopefully that will help. Thanks.

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Hi Bill, whenever I danced my face would go really red but around my eyes would stay white.This continued for a while after taking accutane but it is gradually getting better.I really appreciate that you were thankful for me answering your question.Speak to you soon.Bye

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Can someone please write a website where accutane is sold prescription free, besides www.pharmagroup.com. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it!

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I have been on Roaccutane for 8 1/2 weeks, and most of the pimples have gone although they have been replaced by these terrible red marks. My derm says they wont fade until after the treatment is over, even then it will take a year. Is this true? or will hey fade whilst I am on it or is there something I can buy to make them fade faster? Thanx

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i haven't posted for a couple weeks cause i've been really busy, so i thought it was time for a quick drop in. first off, i'm SO PHUCKEN PISSED OFF right now. Now that my first year of college is finally over, and since it is the beginning of summer, al my friends and i who separated during the college school year were planning on having a re-union this saturday. This event, which is supposed to be a really big reunion party, was planned a month ago, and i WAS really looking forward to seeing all my ol friends who i miss. The operative word here is WAS. A month ago, i thought i'd be able to clear up by now, hoping to have some shred of confidence and self-esteem. As of right now however, i doubt that's going to be the case. You would think that aft r 13 weeks of 80mg/day, i'd at least be clear enough to show my face in public with SOME dignity. Well, it looks like for me that ain't gonna happen, unless some MIRACLE takes place between now and next saturday. And to top it off, i grew a big, nasty, COLDSORE on my upper lip 2 days ago. I immediately went to my derm, who presribed something called VALTREX, which is another pill i have to take to treat yet another type of HIDEOUS marking on my face. I thought that having a nasty col sore, on top of a red, blemished face was the worst of my problems, but THAT'S NOT EVEN THE END OF IT!!! I get my final semester grades later on today, and there's a good possibility that i did not pass a class. If that is the case, then this will undo btedly be the LOWEST POINT IN MY LIFE. After 3 months, which is just half of my 6 month treatment, i'd say that i've cleared up a miserably disappointing, 25 percent. SO WISH ME LUCK EVERYONE ON MY 2ND HALF OF TREATMENT. AND TO EVERYONE ELSE, GOODLUCK O YOU TOO.

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Hi all

Rianne, I did as requested (sniffles) and yes, there is an internal error of some sort and I got that message ie Internal Management has been notified etc ... so I guess the site is out of action for a few hours (hopefully). Oh this is just typical!! We l the real time chat room should be useable (though it's not quite the same). The URL for that is:

Have a great day!

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Dear Mom Perhaps you should take your daughter back to the doctors to discuss treatment of her pimples prior to the prom. One thing that I do know about Accutane is that it gets worse before it gets better and your daughter is probably experiencing an initial flar -up which may settle down prior to her prom. Make sure that she is vigilent with her moisturising and doesnt squeeze her pimples. A little beauty tip is to put a little bit of green concealer on the redness when she puts on her make-up to go to the prom. This will reduce the redness. Tell her to go feeling good about herself. To smile at everyone and make eye contact and forget the pimples and have a ball. She would be more aware of her pimples than others are who are there to have a good time and are more concerned about how they loo ! Good luck

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Anyone know how one can tell if your hormones are beginning to reduce and level off? I believe one sympton is the reduction of oil produced, making the skin less oily and more dry. Are there any others?

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I've had acne for about 13 years and have tried everything.I am definately ovit it... I started the Roaccutane 11 days ago (40mg). I have had a few pimples come up on the sides of my face and forehead. My face feels like it is burning at the moment, when put on moisteriser the burning is even worse. I have had a constant runny nose and around the edges of my nose it is peeling and a little sore.I have woken up a couple of times with puffy eyes. I have been using blistix on my lips but after reading your tories will buy petroleum jelly. Apart from all that i feel that my skin looks better already...

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READ THIS F.Y.I http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/1cf06e.htm

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Hope someone can help us out. My daughter has been taking accutane, going into the fouth week now and her skin is absolutely terrible ( the worst it has ver been)She gets very painful pimples filled with pus. She is having her grade 8 graduation coming up in two weeks and we were wondering if there is anything to put on the pimples to speed up healing ? Maybe an topical antibotic or ?? She is very concerned about this and getting very down. Please, is there anyone with any info???? Thank you!!!

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I took accutane from last October through February of this year - I stopped in week 19 because my hair was coming out quite a lot and I couldn't take it any more. It was really linked to the dosage, the more I took, the worse it got. Well, now my skin is radually getting worse. Its been breaking out every day, smaller than usual but persistent. I eat a low salt, low fat, sugar free diet, doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm considering going back on accutane, my dr. says I can do a low dose, long term ourse - for God knows how long, I guess - I am nervous though, because in the 1st month of accutane I broke out horribly, then my skin was great after that, but it was frightening. The ending wasn't so hot either, I couldn't stand losing my hair. But I eally want to be through with this disease. Any suggestions/thoughts on the low dose idea, and how it might be better for me regarding my hair and the initial breakout period?

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Hey everyone! I've been on accutane for only about 2 days. I was really scared to have my blood drawn for accutane at first but now it doesn't seem so bad. Do all of you have to have your blood drawn once a month also? Do you think its wrong not to be on he birth control pills? My mom convinced my doctor out of them because I'm definately not planning on being pregnant soon. See ya! Kara

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Sorry I forgot to say, could you try and post a message on your own board Just Me? I see there haven't been any new postings since early last night so it looks like there is actually a problem. Good Luck! Love Rianne.

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Just Me - I've just tried again - for about the 10th time this evening!! It says something about "Internal Error, The Management Has Been Notified". I don't know what's happened to the board. Anyway Just Me, it's late now so I'll try again tomorrow. L ve Rianne.

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DON'T BE SCARED OF MY E-MAIL ADDRESSE PLEASE !! I'M 22 AND WENT ON ROACCUTANE FOR A THREE MONTH COURSE ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO.THIS MADE MY FACE SPOT FREE FOR 3 - 4 MONTHS. SINCE THEN I'VE GONE THROUGH STAGES OF GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD DAYS. I FIND THAT DRINKING LOTS OF WATER AND NOT HITTING THE BOOZE HELPS. ON NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN CAN CASUE ME TO HAVE BAD SKIN THE NEXT DAY FOR SOME REASON. A MAJOR SETBACK FOR ME WAS THAT 3 MONTHS AFTER COMPLETING ROACCUTANE I HAD A NOSE OPERATION TO HELP ME BREATH MORE EASY. AS A RESULT MY NOSE HAS BEEN STRETCHED AND I SUFFER FROM CONSTANT SPOTS AND OILY SKIN. THIS HAS A VERY BAD PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT BUT I LOD ON, ESPECIALLY ON MY GOOD DAYS. IF YOU ARE STILL SUFFERING AND HAVE NOT SEEN A SPECIALIST I WOULD SAY TO YOU " GO TO YOUR DOCTOR AND DEMAND TO SEE A DERMATOLOGIST " SADLY AS A RESULT OF MANY ANTIBIOTICS BEFORE MY ROACCUTANE ( DUE TO DOCTORS NOT UNDERSTANDING ) I HAVE A STOMACH ULCER AND MY PILLS TO TREAT IT MAKE MY SKIN WORSE BY MESSING WITH MY HORMONES. THE ONE THING THAT HELPS ME THROUGH IS THE FACT THAT ONE DAY I'LL ACTUALLY GET A SPECIALIST TO HELP ME FIX MY ULCER PROB AND THEN I'M GETTING MY NOSE FIXED. I'TS NOT ALL BAD THOUGH AS I'M GONNA GET SORTED. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DON'T GET GROUND DOWN !!!!! P.S FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL JOHNY

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Hi Rianne

I don't think anything is wrong with the page. I checked things through and if you try again you should be able to post fine. I got kicked off my computer with an error message a few mins ago - ooooh, think it's still suffering from after effects of the lightning strike the other day (smiles)

L&L, JM

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JUST ME - I've just posted a REALLY long message but can't seem to get it through! Is something wrong? Love Rianne.

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ugh. i've been on accutane for about a month, it's helped a little the bumps have gone downand it's mostly scars now...i'm just waiting until it all goes away. I broke out in December which was really wierd because i've never had more than a few casual pi ples. I've gotten somewhat used to people coming up to me asking me "what happened to your face?" It used to hurt a lot and i'd be lying if i said that it still didn't hurt when people give me looks. Ugh. I just need to vent a little, feeling really down n myself for the past month. I don't know if accutane causes depression or not, but the emotional baggage that comes with people's comments could be a factor. I'm on 50mg per day, birth control, and various other drugs in between, so those could be factors too. Well, just glad to have a place to come and write at knowing that there maybe other people out there like me getting the same wierd looks and comments. wish that after my treatment my skin will get better. I swear, having acne, (this may sound strange) has given me a new perspective on beauty and has let me see how utterly shallow and insensitive people can be sometimes. Maybe it's a blessing in diguise who knows?

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Starting today I'm on three weeks of accutane and the results are amazing. I haven't broken out at all yet since I have had it and my skin looks great. I don't get greasy at all and I don't even reapply makeup, I am so amazed I don't know what to say. But I'm worried about that breakout that everybody gets when they first start taking it. My skin wasn't really badly broken out when I started taking accutane I was going through a good phase so did I somehow escape this or is it still waiting to come and get me?? I'm so happy but don't want to get too happy in case I get a bad breakout. does anyone know if there is an estimated time or is it different with everyone? do you have to breakout really badly at all or does it just happen to most ?? I wish I knew!!< r>

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For Jayne (40+) who wrote. I really sympathise with you Jayne - acne at any time is a horrible thing but when it continues like this into 30's and 40's it's a nightmare. Rowena (40) who wrote about the Chinese herbs. Are you taking anything else apart rom the herbs Rowena? I'll leave my other messages on Marcus and Just Me's site, meanwhile good luck & love to everyone in their struggle for clear skin. Rianne.

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the red marks i mean are from where spots were. i would have called them scares but i think they are going. if you have any questions or anything just ask and would greatly give any help i can. when i was about to start on roaccutane i was very worried bu as long as your having the blood tests and you dont drink you will be fine so give it time and im sure you will have a clear face from spots :-)

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It was so reassuring to read about your results. I'm about to start on roacc in a few weeks and am concerned about how long it will take. What are these red marks? Are they from where spots used to be or have they newly appeared?

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Hi everyone! I only have 4 weeks left!!! For weeks out of 16 :-) I am so so HAPPY! I would say my face is 100% better than what it was like. It stsrted to clear from the first day of treatment(i dont know if the first few days had anything to do with the rug but thats what happened. maybe it was cause i was so up beat about it all and wanting to get better and not all depressed like i usually am) by about 3 to 4 weeks into it i got the red marks. They have faded away now and you cant really see them much, they are still there but you cant really see them. But i still like get the 'red tinted' look, kinda like a flushed look. This must be the drug cause it comes on at just different stages of the day and then goes. Does anyone else have these? The other thing is i heard someone saying that dieing your hair while on accutane was a big no, no. Is this true? What about highlights? Can anyone shed some light...THANK YOU ALL!

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Hi... Please read.... I had written earlier about being careful of depression.... I was not even mildly depressed before accutane... And went through depression during it... So please tell your doctor if you are feeling depressed.....I have been on accuta e twice.. because my acne came back.... and the results were better the second time... Things I used to make the treatment easier were Cetaphil cleanser (cheap and works great...) Clear Eyes .... and Carmex.... I had hair loss, dried eyes, flaky skin, red marks, dried lips, headaches, etc.... As stated from other posts... don't drink! Your body is going through so much with the accutane.... My advice is to also keep busy! Go out with friends, do sports, attend events, etc... The busier you are the less tim you have to think (focus) on your acne and whether Accutane is working for you... Again, I wish you all the best...

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Hi everyone, guess you guys might not know me. i have not visited the site for ages. I was in here very often last year this time but since I got off Roche, I seldom come in. Sadly, it's been 9mths since I've stopped Accutane. The oilness and ance has co e back. Though it's not all over the face but still pretty bad. Well, just want to let off some steam. One year has passed and I wonder to myself, when can I have pimple-free skin? Usually when I go to work, I will use liquid foundation to cover up. But d ring weekends, when I want to have a make-up free day, I look pretty crappy. My boyfren still loves me a lot but thing is I don;t feel good when I look myself in the mirror.I have tried chemical peels, it didn;t work at all.Well, I have decided to stop go ng to my derm coz i think after spending so much $$, I don;t seem to be able to stop what grows on my face every morn. Maybe I should wait to outgrow it.Arghhh!!...sigh! Nevermind, just want to release my frustration. I hope that by next time this year, I will no longer have pimple problems anymore. Looking forward to then...:)Anyway, Have a great week ahead for everyone! Life goes on!!

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Beth, my son's aqueous cream is called Diprobase Emollient. It's manufacturer is Schering-Plough in Belgium, so maybe they distribute worldwide. Hope this helps. XXX

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Hi there, only a week or so on Accutane and fairly pleased, seem to be getting dryer and less breakouts, still a few but to be expected. i am tired though and today feel yuck, probably the flu though as I work with kids and germs. I like all the positive feedback and really feel it is important to educate people about the pros anc cons from our experiences as a dr. can discuss the medical end but only someone who has had had( past tense) acne can really share their experience both good and bad. Stay happ and does anyone know another name for the cream Aqueous that I read so much about form the people in UK. thanks Beth

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What does Retin-A cream do? It sometimes works miracle on my face, but sometimes it doesn't help at all. What exactly does it do? Thank you.

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Hi all :-)

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hi everybody. regarding accutane-related depression...I have just started my first course of accutane today. after studying profuse amounts of literature on accutane, I have come to the conclusion that a high percentage of accutane users who suffer from d pression are inherently prone to such depression and that the drug probably has little effect on it. I have been mildly depressed for about a year and have found that after taking my first few days of accutane, I feel that progress is being made in the tr atment of my acne. it's actually elevated my mood thus far. if anyone could share their experiences, please email me, the more support we all have, the easier we'll get through this.

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Hi, i've been on roaccutane for 2 weeks (13 days). My acne has got a little better since getting worse originally (as i was told it would do), but it is still quite bad. I am on 40 mg per day and i weigh about 60 kg. my skin is extreamly dry and peeling, 'm having to use moisturiser a fair bit (which i hate!), my scalp has become dry and itchy, which i am trying to help with a new shampoo (without success yet). My lips havn't become dry at all, so there is one positive point. Could somebody PLEASE email me at smitty687@hotmail.com or smitty687@yahoo.com to tell me how long should it be until i start seeing the pimples go, and what to do about my itchy scalp! Also, what kind of moisturiser is best for the face. Thanks, Matthew smith

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PLEASE if you are going to go on accutane you must not drink. Do you have any idea of what you would be doing to yourself? I think a lot of people are too uneducated to go on accutane. Accutane is really like a toxic form of vitamin A. Vitamin A is one of the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, & K) are all of them. When you get too much of them the rest is a toxin in your body or a harmful substance that your liver takes care of so that it doesn't harm you. While on accutane your liver is working overtime to d just that..if you take alchold you could really damage your liver. And you don't want to do that, it protects you from so many things. Plus that is a very horrible, painful, and PREVENTABLE way to go. If you can't not drunk that you aren't responsible or mature enough to take accutane. This is a serious thing, don't take it lightly!

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Hi, firstly thanks for all the support. I come to this site everyday so that I don't feel too depress. I am on the fifth day of Accutane, nothing's happening yet. Sigh....why does time passes so slowly at times like this? When is the fastest anyone saw re ults? Also has anyone heard of Adorer Collogen Gel from TV Media? Its supposed to help prevent acne and heal scar. Anyone who tried it please let me know. Thanks.

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I'm about to start taking Roaccutane after I have finished my exams, in about 3 weeks. Can you really not drink when taking it? Would it be quite serious? Also would it be dangerous if you took anything else while on it? It really does seem to be pretty s rong stuff! I hope it works! Replies appreciable.

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Hi, I'm going to see a doctor this week, because I'm so sick of feeling disfigured and judged on my appearance. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I suffer from mild depression. It hasn't been professionally diagnonsed, but believe me I know I suffer from it. I haven't taken any medication for it (anit-depressants), but IF I'm put on roaccuntane would it make this worse? Should I tell the doctor how I'm feeling? Also, I have been using RETINOL for about 2 years now. I know that using Vitamin A and roaccuntane is really bad. Will I be able to quit using Retinol and start using roaccutane? Will that matter? Yes, I know I could ask my doctor these things, and I know they will probably put me on something milder to begin with. I'm just curious/worried. If anyone could email me and share their advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

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I am on a second course of Accutane. I have moderate acne with scarring. I have had great reseults with Accutane everytime i take it. I ussually have immediate results. Will anyone please e-mail me and let me know about your experience on Accutane. I would love to hear from people who have had to take it a second time around like my self. I am a little dissapointed that the results did not last as long as i thought it would. Your responses will be greatly appreciated. :o)

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Hi there. I don't normally write anything but just read everything everybody writes but OH GOD I must write today. I am on accutane for 1 month now and my skin looks amazing. I never thought the day would come where I would get out of bed and look in the irror and almost not even need makeup. But today i went out with some friends to the beach and I recently turned 21 in april and find that it sucks not being able to drink since I just recently got the priveldge. Well today I decided not to take my accuta e and have just one beer and I don't know whether its what I ate or probably because I took beer but I got extremely ill, I got nauseous and (not to gross anybody out) but I got reawlly bad diarrhea. SOOO DON'T drink and use accutane. OH it was not worth t adn I didn't even take my dose today! Also to whoever was asking about side effects and siad she hasn't heard of any of them. WHAT THE HELL (Excuse my language) kind of dermotolgist do you have. Mine sat down with me for a good 20 min and first talked about horribly deformed babies and then o each little "booklet" of accutane is a list of all the side effects. IT doesn't mean that all people will get all or any of them but if they occur in a significant amount of people they have to be listed as possible. If you derm. didnt really go over tha stuff with you then I would be worried to. Plus what kind of package of accutane do you have? all that I have seen print the warnings on every single package! Good luck to all!

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Try ProActiv...It's done more for my face that Accutane.

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hey just wondered if anyone has been on this drug a second time, as am seeing the dem on monday, and I might have to go on it again, it working fine, but came back after 3 happy months .. anyone . ?!?! cheers paul

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Hi... I have been on accutane.... so as my brother... Just a note.... Please let your doctor and family members know if you feel depression..( suicide, loneliness, etc. It is common!!!!.... Be careful of this.... Also, be careful of combining accutane with any ther prescription without your doctor's okay.... It will get better! I have had the dried out lips... flaky skin... red spots... etc.... Be careful of picking at your skin... the red marks stay for awhile (personal experience).. also you can create more s arring... Most important though... be careful of depression... consult your doctor... I and my brother have gone through this depression.... and while the results have been alright... Looking back on this... I am not certain we would have gone through all this... It is important that you have a good support system and talk out your feelings with your family and your doctor... Let your family know of the warning signs.... It is important that they know what the side effects are to this so that they can help you if you are unable to help yourself... Best of luck to you all...

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Thank you a lot Elle. You really helped a lot. I too have some scarring but it does fading away with time. For a short period of time my redness was quite a lot and it was indeed really annoying. Anyway, that's past and gone now. I stopped taking Roaccutan on March and till that time I get even better day by day. (I started it on September). However Elle, I still want to ask you another thing. When you get tired (i.e. when you jog or doing gym. exercises etc) do you get red? Coz t at's what happening to me and it is really very annoying.

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Well after several years of suffering from acne i have just recently been prescribed Roaccuatane ifact about two weeks ago i actualy started taking the drug on wednesday of this week and already i can see things starting to work.I was somewhat worried abo t taking it because i have heard the stories of what it has done to people but after coming on the site i have realised that it is no problem. Luckily for me i have alot of real close friends who have been supportive over the last couple of years since my skin got bad and are all prepeared to stick by me even if i am being a complete arsehole because of the mood swings which hopefully won't be a bad as i am thinging they are gonna be. In four months i will kow if it has worked properly but hopefully the resluts will become apparent over the coming weeks anyone who wishes to talk further about it or anything they are going through feel free to email me.

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Hi,it's been months since i've visited the site and i'm pleased to say that my skin is getting better everyday.Actually i have one tiny spot that i wouldn't even have looked twice at before!BILL my redness has gone away it took about four weeks at the mos ,but i have a little scarring that is fading more and more everyday.AN,I never suffered from hair loss whilst on Accutane so no it doesn't happen to everyone.I did get very tired which was noticeable because i dance.Apart from that i had dry skin which I sed Simple moisturiser and it helped alot!It sounds alot worse than it is.Just hang in there and hopefully it will be worth it in the end.Good Luck to all.

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I would like to ask, if that redness that happens to your face after taking Roaccutan stays or dissapears in time. And if yes, after how many months? Thank you!!

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I would like to ask, if that redness that happens to your face after taking Roaccutan stays or dissapears in time. And if yes, after how many months? Thank you!!

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I was delighted to know there is a wb site devoted to Roaccutane. Like so many people, I too suffered very badly from acne. Eventually I was prescribed Roaccutane, and I've never looked back. As far as I am concerned it is a miracle worker. It took a long time, but my acne cleared up really well. I am now off Roaccutane for 3 months,and any spots I get now are minor. I look back at photographs of me with terribly bad skin and wonder why it took me so long to realise Roaccutane was the only treatment for me I highly recommend it. Although it is a steroid, but not one that will give you muscles, it sounds alot more frightening than it really is. Go for it all of you who are tired of having spots,the results are well worth it.

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Hi, after reading all the msg I feel even more confused and afraid of this drug that I've never heard of before until now. When my doctor prescribed me with this drug all she mentioned was i will experience extreme dryness of the skin and lips and of cour e no anti-biotics and pregnancy. Now i feel so stupid for not asking more, maybe because i was so excited about havign a cure for my recurrent bad skin that i didn't ask for more information. I have been on roacc for a week, my skin has cleared up conside ably except for a few spots taht came up because it's that time of the month, and generally I'm qutie pleased with the results except for the stories of rashes and hair loss which i was never told about! How long exactly will I have to take roacc if my sk n has improved noticeably already? Has anyone been cured in a span of 2 months on roac? Does everyone have to go thruogh hair loss? What kind of rashes will I experience? and will I be able to wear contact lenses if i use eye drops regularly?? Please help

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thank you so much for taking the time to write all that stuff. it was very interesting and had a lot of useful information some of which i related to a lot. I certainly am a person who thinks too much, i find it hard to slow my mind down and operate at 10 miles an hour always. even when i'm relaxing my mind works overtime. the interesting thing is my father is just the same and he suffered terrible acne when he was young (he's 65 now) he was so desperate he read every medical text book he could find and d scovered that huge quantities of vitamin A would cure acne. he took these vast quantities and cured himself only finding out later that he risked damaging his liver. Now we have Roaccutane and I am currently in week 3 of a 16 week course. I'm going to fin sh the course but will also try a lot of the things you suggested. Will it be ok to use the proactiv stuff whilst on Roacc or should i wait and use it as a maintenance programme? I intend to throw away the mayo but coffee which i drink a lot of will be ha der as i'm seriously addicted. I think you're right about the animal hormones there has to be some explanation why so many of us are suffering. at 38 years old i am well and truly sick of it although i have to say my problem only really started at age 30. please could you tell me what your exact skin care regime is now and how often you are spot free? I find it impossible to leave my face alone and i realise that this is aggravating the problem. what you said was 'spot-on' whenever i get a spot and of cour e am fiddling i then get loads more in the same area. am going to make an effort to STOP! thanks again jude

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Hi There..I have a Question. Has any 1 ever used the Product called "scar so soft" i was wondering cause i am and jusrt started using it yesterday,,it says to use it at the least 3-4 times a day Minimum..but i just got home from work and i put it on..This stuff is supposed to be ver very good stuff for repairing skin tissue..i read up on it and every1 even doctors say its is very good..and i think i have an idea of how it works...it says to spray some on your finger tips and massage into the skin in the affected area...after doing t is for a few minutes i noticed my face got extremely red..like it was burned...so the only conclusion i can come to is that there are little granuals in the oil when rubbed into the skin slowly tear away the surface skin allowing the skin underneath to su face..there are 3 different layers of skin and it says that this oil penetrates all 3..my only concern is that because i am on accutane this could go overbad...what do you think..please if any has used this product please give me some feed back on it..it says you should see an noticeable improvment in 3 weeks or so..hopefully it works.. take care and i hope everybody can become totally happy someday d:)

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Hi, this is to Sarah and all those with extremely chapped lips... make sure that you DON'T use whitening toothpaste! I was surprised at this, but it does make sense because toothpaste has various peroxides and bleaches in them for the whitening that can eally hurt your lips and strip layers off them. My lips got way better after I realized that I was using some and stopped.

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Hi this is to Xavier. I started accutane 2 weeks ago and a few days ago I came down really sick with a cold. I went to the doctor and I needed antibiotics but they had to run a check of what I could and could not go on. He said absolutely no minocycline ( hich I was on previous to accutane) and no tetracycline. He prescribed me erythromycin which when I first took it for my acne at 18 worked wonders along with proactive. I would go to your doctor but since you are already on accutane and you want to go on n antibiotic for your severity it may work when it didn't before since you are on a very powerful drug. I actually like the fact that I'm on both because if I get any that surface (which hasn't happened yet!) I am hoping that the antibiotic will kill the urface bacteria and I think I'm going to have wonderful results. Good luck!

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First of all I would like to say hello to everybody there, like a new member I am. Well, my story? Pretty much just like everybody's elses... But I guess, I have some good news to say, which I hope to work as compassionate for those that are right now getting into the program of taking Roaccutan. I used to suffer from acne 2 years now. I had undergone to various treatments, with (of course...) very less results. I was kinda disapointed and also tired from all this situation and I really didn't know what to do. That was, till, out of nothing, I was suggested of a dermatological doctor. She then suggested me of taking Roaccutan, emphasizing me of the real bad symptoms I would be facing of, but, ONLY at the start of the whole program. Well, to cut a long story sho t, here I am now, 9 months after my taking Roaccutan (no, lies, my face started to clean-up at exactly the sixth month) with a real better face I can say. However, I would like to post a question here, referring mostly to the older ones. (I mean to those that had taken Roaccutan in the past!) Although my face is clear from spots, I can observe that when I get tired (like when I'm jogging or doing other kinds of exercises) my face gets really red... That's I can say, is the only complaint I have from Roaccutan. I really don't know what to do. Because of that, I can say I have neglected a little my body, because I really am ashamed to go to a gym. as, at doing the exercises, I will turn real red. Please, if anybody has any help to give me, I would really appreciate him a lot. Also, please tell me, if this is going to stay or leave in time. Thanks for your time given...

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I've been taking Accutane for about 3 weeks or so - there's definate improvement, but I still have a ways to go. Or at least, that's what I hope, because there's still redness that I'm praying isn't scarring. I have a question for everyone and one sugge tion... Question: Does anyone know if it's ok to use Minocycline while on Accutane? I had very so-so results with it, but I want to throw everything I can at the problem - IF it's safe. I read somewhere that anti-baterial medications (not topical though) and Ac utane are often prescribed for severe cases. I'm a severe case. Suggestion: I found that the China-Clay mask thing that Proactiv sells works really well on problem spots overnight and such. I would thus assume that any China Clay type of thing is pretty useful, if you haven't already tried it before. I leave it on a problem spot overnight and usually it's dry enough in the morning to look MUCH better after my morning shower. I've used ProActiv treatment for a while, and at one time it did WONDERS for my skin - I used it with Tetracycline, which turned out to be pretty much useless for me (and which carries the risk of permanent teeth discoloration, which in my opinion is much more horrific than the more common Accutane risks, albiet rare), and things were good for awhile. Then I went to college and stress caused my face to explode. I was tired of already. One comment made to me by a less than sensative fellow student on my all finally made up mind - "Your face is BAD WORD up, man. You're too old for that NAUGHTY WORD." So here I am, with incredibly dry - but clearing up - skin. Also, can anyone suggest a good suntan lotion for the face and\or body? One final thing - it seems that my acne doesn't look nearly as bad anymore but it tends to hurt more, especially if I acc dentally smack it or something. Anyone else notice this? Oh yeah, I work out every day and I haven't noticed any joint aches. Hopefully that stays the way it is...=-/ Later.

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OOH MY POOR LIPS!! thats all I have to say! I'm in my third week of accutane and for the first week and a half I noticed absolutely NOTHING. I wasn't dry, in fact I was more oily then ever but I still put on moisturizer and applied vaseline and then out f nowhere,..today my lips feel like they are burning on fire. they are peeling in layers and they hurt like anything. Nothing is helping to sooth them, not vaseline, vaseline for lips, blixtex severe lip treatment, chapstick. NOTHING AAOh I need help. So bit of advise, and a warning..just because you don't see results don't try and put anything else on your face because you are going to get hit all of a sudden and its going to slam you! I'm now seeing dryness around my nose and mouth for the first time t day so I know I'm about to dry out and I'm worried that nothing will be able to control it! I think I am going to need some prescription help with dryness; is there any specific things people used that they know of? Thanks everyone ..bye bye for now!

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This is the second time I have posted and I have to report that I have now finished my fourth week of Chinese Herbal Medicine and there is such an improvement that I can hardly believe it. I don't want to take any more antibiotics as they are strictly sh rt-term solutions but this seems like a much better treatment which is also good for other parts of the body at the same time. My skin over my whole body has benefitted from taking this stuff and I hardly get any new spots at all. Blackheads take a litt e longer to clear but they are going!! I really recommend this course of action to anyone who can get to a Chinese Herbal Doctor. PS. message to Jude: I agree that you can get oily skin and acne on skin which is really dry. I over-cleaned my skin and stripped out all the natural oils as a teenager and this really made my problem worse. didn't realise that I still had to moisturise my skin as well as cleansing! I know better now that spot-prone skin still needs a good moisturiser (whatever else you're putting on it).

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I totally agree with Gwen, for some people those products just don't help, as for me they even made it worse, Proactiv burned my skin and even caused some scarring (no the acne didn't cause the scars, even derm agreed I had a severe reaction to the chemic l in Proactiv) I've seen Proactiv work great for others though, and would defintely urge them to try these types of products before they try Accutane. I have also tried supplements and eating right, I was vegan for a long time, with no improvement. I th nk it's great that Ellen can find a regimen that keeps her clear, I wish I was that lucky. I don't think any of us like the idea that we are pumping such a dangerous med (accutane) into our bodies, but the risk is worth it to all of us who are debilitate because of our skin. SOme great info though, Ellen. To the person with itchy eyes, I get them too and I use Visine TEars, not the kind that gets the red out, just the pure tears one, i let it kind of run into the corners because the skin in the corners of my eyes gets very itchy and this seems to ease the iscomfort. Good Luck All!

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Hi I just wanted to say that sites like this are a really great way for people to realize that they aren't alone. I had just finished reading Ellens post and I think you have given a lot of really great information. I actually learned in one of my college classes how doctors make lots of money off of every prescription they write--not to say that all of them only write prescriptions jsut for the money but it certainly is tempting and does happen. But for you since you are a little older and are 31--did you ever think that the reason you can control your acne is because you have been on accutane so many times and you are a little older now. I have used all the products you have used with only slight improvements. Even though some people have to go on accutan several times each time they get off of it their acne is not as severe as the first time. I am very happy that you have found things that work but since you have been on accutane several times and are a little older now it could be and probably is a comb nation of using effective products, being a little older and then watching your body. I am just saying this because I am on my first course of accutane and am very early on in the treatment and if I were to just get off of it and use over the counter prod cts I know that it wouldn't be strong enough for I've tried everything that is made. In fact I wanted accutane months ago but my doctor would not give it to me until I tried some stronger antibiotics. I used those along with proactive, and tons and tons o topical medicines (prescrition and over the counter) and it took nearly 40 min to slab all that crap on my face just to wake up in the morning with a painful acne swelling. So again I'm glad you've found something taht works but people that actually have a bad or persistent problem they might have no hopes of clear skin if they don't first get their sebaecious glands shrunk down to a size that can be controlled!! Good luck to all!

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The rash will come and go for as long as you are on your treatment. Sometimes it will be worse than others. Yes I get the rash on the underside of my arm, right around my wrist. I have gotten it a couple times during treatment. I am just finishing up my ast month, (about 2 more weeks to go) and I am still experiencing dry and irritated skin. The rash isn't around now and I've noticed that it was worse during my early months of treatment. Cyclocort (hydrocortisone)! It really works. Another tip for Accu ane users: Try to avoid washing hands frequently as it makes that pesky hand rash appear more often. My dermo told me that. Bye.

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For the person that asked about the rash on your hands and forearms, this is normal while on Accutane. My derm prescribed some stuff for it, but I dont remember what it is becuase I've only used it once. I have found that simple Lubriderm..the lotion... works great...the rash is sometimes gone by the end of the day if I apply it a few times throught the day...Good Luck to you all...Accutane has worked for me so far.

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I was wondering if any of you out there has any idea how to get rid of acne scars? I don't pick on pimples and I was wondering why I have unsightly scars on my cheeks. Is there any way to get rid of them?I tried chemcial peeling but it can only be done once a month.I was hoping for a faster way? Does anyone out there knows of any way to get rid of small reddish scars? Btw..My acne was trigerred by using a facial mask for longer than instructed...IT just broke out and lasted abt 4 months. Thankfully my skin is quite clear now except for the scars which are really afffecting me. In the period where my skin was at a moderately bad stage, I felt really terrible and had low self-esteem..It was like I wanted to hide from the world and even skipped school a few times...bcos everyone around me just had pure,clean and clear skin. I felt inferior too..So to everyone out there who felt the same way...Hope your skin clears out soon..in the meantime try boosting your confidence by reassuring yourself that looks are only one part of life

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Has anyone experienced itchy eyes while on accutane and did you find a remedy? Thank you in advance for your reply! Have great day!

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Yes at 40+++, I'm still getting spots. Had Roaccutane twice - now there back again - Help - Why me - what did I do in another life? I suppose I could try it for a third time, but no alcohol again!!!!

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It was recently recommended that I start accutane treatment and like everyone, I'm concerned about the effects. What I would like to know is should people who don't consider their condition severe still consider accutane? Does not having a severe problem to begin with decrease your chances of the acne returning? Also, is there anyone out there who can tell me about the long term effects. Is it really a cure? Thanks! Nancy

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I used to have fine skin up until september '99. I mean I used to get a few spots, but nothing serious and nothing that required make up. However in sept I suddenly broke out on my forehead, and since then they've gradually become more widespread over my ace. During the summer I spent 10 days in France with 13 of my friends, all staying in one villa and I have never smoked as much as I did then ever in my life. I was smoking literally about 25 cigarettes and at least two joints a day. It was when I got back th t my skin started to get bad. Do you think this had anything to do with it? But if did why do I still have bad skin now? I don't smoke anymore. Another question is what should I do about going on holiday this summer. I'm going to Greece in 3 weeks and am really worried that my skin is going to ruin it. I have to wear make up when outside the house because I'm too embarassed to be seen otherwise, ut I can't be wearing make up down at the beach or by the pool. It'll all come off in the water and then I'll look even worse. Does anyone find that the sun does their skin good or does it just make their spots even redder? Has anyone got any make up tips When I booked this holiday I was so excited. Now I'm kind of dreading it. It's meant to be a really fun girlie holiday after just finishing our A'Levels. Typically of course my 3 friends I'm going with all have perfectly smooth skin. It's so unfair. If a yone has any useful advice for me, I'd really appreciate a response. Thanks.

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Ellen I found your post really interesting and agree with lots of your points. If there IS anything good about getting older it's that you're more confident about not blindly following doctor's, but getting to know your own skin and empowering yourself t treat it your way. Please try to look at the above site because many of us there treat our acne with the use of food supplements. Also some of us are seeking scar treatments so might benefit from your advice! Thank you and good luck XXX

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I'm sending this to a few of you via email and posting it also because I'm hoping that if anyone reads this, maybe they won't have to go through some of the stuff I went through. I'm sorry this is incredibly long but I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw ow many people there were on the posting board that are STILL going through the same problems I suffered through as a teen and young adult suffering with acne. I'm in the middle of writing an article on this so that's part of why I tend to write so much. I just thought I should explain his so you're not wondering, who is this person and why is she writing all this?! After battling acne since I was 14 (I'm 31 now), I've discovered some things about acne that I really, really wish I knew as a teenager so I'd like to share them with anyone it could help, as the biggest thing that "taught me" about acne was experience and 17 years of trial and error. When I was younger I was so busy I didn't have "time" to see a l t of things about my own skin that later became obvious, only because after so much time I noticed the "recurring patterns." Reading all your postings possessed me to spend an hour writing this in the hopes that I can spare you some of the pain I went through, as I know through my own expe ience there is nothing more humiliating and emotionally painful than having acne. I felt like everyone totally judged me on it and I can't tell you how depressed I got because of it. I felt dirty and ashamed and like it ruined a lot of my life and now I've found some solutions I rea ize could have spared me a lot of that pain so that's why I want to share them with you. It really bugs me to think that a lot of it could have been prevented if I knew what I know now. I cringe when I think of anyone else having to go through what I did hen there are so many better options and products now than there were when I was younger. Some of you may not know about some of these things so I'm hoping you may learn something helpful if I write this. A lot of these things you may already know, but th n again maybe you don't (as I didn't). It took me years to find out some really important things that no doctors ever told me. I know everyone is different so not all of these things may work for you, but then again if even one of these things works as we l for you as it does for me I think it's worth the time it's taken me to write this. Penny, I saw your posting about how you're taking oratane, and it's side effects and I really feel for you. I had severe cystic acne as a teenager and in my 20's. I took Accutane (which I'm guessing is related to Oratane)when I was nineteen and though I was totally happy with my skin, I wound up totally spaced out and depressed. I was one of the "few" people who had to take it three times - again wh n I was 22 and then again when I was 25 (though I am shocked to read this posting board and see how many people say it came back!!!) Even after those rounds, I still broke out enough to cause scarring. I even break out now if I don't treat it with other t ings. I'm writing because I want to tell you there might be other options that work extremely well that could help you, none of which involves accutane. My skin is still very succeptible to breakouts but I've discovered products that TOTALLY keep it unde control when I use them regularly, with NO side effects. When I was in my teens and mid 20's, the only thing available were alcohol-based acne astringents which burned my skin terribly, and high-potency benzoyl peroxide medications. Now they make some great stuff which I think, if I'd taken it ten years ago I could have spared my skin, which now has enough acne scars so it will cost me almost $9,000 to restore it MAYBE 70-85% to normal (for anyone who has acne scarring or winds up needing to treat this problem, th re is a doctor in San Francisco who performs laser resurfacing, and I've talked to two women who've had it done by him and raved about the results. His name is Dr. Michael Kulick and supposedly he is the best in the business. His phone number - in America - is 415-956-2550, if anyone needs it. The only reason I haven't had it done yet is the cost. Laser resurfacing is usually around $6000 but it's extra if you want the maximum results, including scar revision therapy and collagen injections). Another thing I want to say, which I didn’t know as a teenager, is that doctors make money every time they write a prescription. I AM NOT SAYING DOCTORS ARE NO GOOD or not helpful (of course we all need them) or that they’re just writing you a prescriptio to make money. But I do think this factor makes some of them overlook a lot of other effective alternative treatments that could work equally well for you, so it's good to at least be aware of this. I used to be the kind of person who believed a doctor as like God, and you should listen to every single thing they say and I followed all their advice blindly and I can't tell you how much money and time I spent on them when there are other things that helped me way more than their advice or prescriptions. I have since discovered salcylic acid, which works amazingly well on my skin. It's like that stuff "dissolves" the crud in my pores. I use Clean and Clear deep cleaning astringent for sensitive skin, made by Johnson and Johnson. Also, there's a BIG differ nce when you use the right cotton pads. In high school I'd use regular round cotton or synthetic 'cotton' balls, which don't work HALF as well as these great round, 100% cotton textured pads I've found at Walgreen's under the brand name "Sentinel." They're awesome for "getting out all the junk" from my pores without hurting my skin at all. They are available through drugstore.com - you can get the value pack - 160 pads for $2.99 - I don't know what shipping costs for other countries but the cotton pads themselves would be less than 2 cents each. (you can also get the johnson & johnson clean and clear astringent here - it comes in different formulas, I've found the sensitive skin one - the blue one - is best for me because it doesn't burn like the regular formula) Here's a cut and paste of the page address I found the cotton pads on: http://www.drugstore.com/brand/default.asp?brand=16028 and the clean and clear astringent is on this page: http://www.drugstore.com/cat/40/tmpl/default.asp?catid=10210&cmbProdBrandFil They also make really good "zit zapping" products called Persa-gel (watch out it's VERY strong stuff but good for if you want to get rid of just one zit, like before a prom or something) and invisible blemish treatment, which one of my friends raves about. I don't use it that often but have found it is actually working well to take away a wart that I found on my hand! (sorry if that sounds gross - I hate even just the WORD "wart", but thought if you ever get one that might be of help. I looked at the ingredients in compound-w nd the main ingredient is high potency salcylic acid). Anyway, the page address for those two things is: http://www.drugstore.com/brand/default.asp?brand=8214. One thing I'd like to mention, though, that I don't like about Johnson and Johnson is that I've heard they test on animals. If this bothers you like it does me, you can call their toll free number at 1-800-526-3967 and tell them so and maybe they'll find other methods. Anyway, I can't believe how well the combination of some of these simple over-the-counter things works, compared to what was available when I was a teenager. The sentinel cotton pads with the sensitive skin formula clean and clear astringent TOTALLY unclogs my pores. I've heard the reason accutane works is a person with acne has the kind of skin cells that "stick together," and when you take the drug they don't get sticky and your skin doesn't get all "plugged up," which is what causes us to break out, so I guess that's what salcylic acid does too. Another thing I use regularly is ProActiv Solution, which I've been using for five years. I first saw it on an infomercial, and have since recommended it to three friends who love it. On the infonmercial, all these teenagers were literally in tears talking about how miserable they were with acne, and then after they tried it they were like different people. So much happier. So I ordered it and it works amazingly well. It's a three-step program, a combination of glycolic acid and v ry low amounts of benzoyl peroxide. It makes your skin totally soft and smooth. I think the reason it works is it's gentle to your skin, so it doesn't "freak your skin out" and make it overproduce oil. It also makes it so smooth and soft that it keeps you cells from being able to be a "breeding ground" for acne, because it's so smooth your pores just can't get "clogged." You can order this stuff through www.proactiv.com. By the way, I swear I'm not some kind of proactiv or drugstore.com representative or anything, I just want to tell people about it cause it might save them the cost of acne scarring like I wound up with. Using proactiv is cheaper than seeing a dermatolog st. I wish so badly that some of this stuff had been available earlier in my life. I should also mention, the only reason I use Johnson and Johnson clean and clear astringent is if I'm out of Proactiv solution. It's also cheaper, I can get it at almost any drugstore, and doesn't involve 3 steps. But I like Proactiv better because the "r pairing lotion" (there are 3 steps: cleanser, toner and repairing lotion) is great to use under makeup and it also lightens any small spots that may have occured while I got lazy and didn't use the stuff. I used to think that the more I cleaned my face, ike with soap, the less acne I'd have. I learned that was not necessarily so, and using the right kind of moisturizer can actually prevent my skin from breaking out. Using Proactiv solution totally takes care of this. Anyway, when I was on Accutane I got really depressed. My nose bled. Now that I'm older I've noticed decreased night vision (though I'll never know for sure if that's related to accutane) and definitely my eyes are drier. But again, that could be genetic, as dry eyes run in the family, BUT I seem to be the only one (and the only one who's taken accutane) who's actually seen a doctor about the problem three times and even had surgery to correct my dry eye problem. I've read recently that accutane can even cause depression so bad that it can make some people suicidal! Reading this recently made me think of how, when I was 19, I saw a movie about a schizophrenic woman and became CONVINCED I must be schizophrenic also. I've heard lots of people think this after they hear about what schizophrenia is, but being as depressed and out-of-it as I was, I REALLY believed it. Also, I got toxic shock syndrome when I was 22 and just started taking my 2nd round of accutane. They told me that because I was so dry ("everywhere...") I was more succeptible to infections, etc. from tampons (sorry to gross out any guys, telling you this). I as in the hospital for three days. And, not to get too personal here but I think you should know - another "dryness problem" that can show up, which I suspect is related to accutane is, you can get really dry really fast while having sex. This can also ca se other problems like bladder infections, which are NO picnic. The thing that scares me the most is knowing that on the accutane box, it was printed that "minimal bone changes have been detected in persons taking accutane and the long term effects are as of yet unknown." This scares me a lot. I don't know what's going to "show up" when I'm older. I also want to mention I've finally realized that there are certain foods that make me break out which I had no clue were MAKING me break out, for YEARS. I think everyone's skin sensitivities and allergic reactions are different, but I want to share these because for almost 10 years I had no idea that certain foods were making me break out so badly. MAYONNAISE is a huge culprit. Now when I eat mayonnaise I can see a huge difference, it's like instant acne for me. I can't believe I didn't notice this when I was younger. I think it's not only because it's soooo oily, but certain kinds of mayonaise I believe contain animal hormones that get passed onto us. They give lots of animals steroids to "beef them up" to make bigger eggs, and make them produce faster, etc.. It makes sense that these things get passed onto us. But no doctor ever told me this. Many, many doctors, I've learned through experience, are all about prescriptions. I am not saying they're all bad. But often, after spending soooo much time and money on medical school, they can be very hesitant to agree with anything that doesn't relate to pre cription medication and what they've read in textbooks. A lot of doctors think they know everything and if you believe it -like I did - you could be closing your mind to a lot of other solutions that could work for you. Doctors had a way of making me believe that other alternative solutions were a bunch of hogwash. Though some of them may be very, very helpful, a lot of them don't know everything. The dermatologist I saw when I was16 years old told me chocolate didn't make me break out. He was supposedly the "best in the business." But he was wrong. I am one of those few people whose skin DOES break out from eating chocolate, but he had a way of convincing me it was all in my head. My skin broke out considerably less when I went vegetarian for 6 months at 26. This made me realize that there are all kinds of things in animal fats that were making me break out that I didn't realize. I also notice now that when I have certain kinds of meat, I get those huge cystic bumps that I suspect are from the animal hormones. Caffeine is also a culprit, particularly from coffee (I don't notice it with tea, or even sodas, usually). Too much coffee can give me huge, cystic bumps. And most of my friends - even the ones without bad acne - will agree coffee makes them break out too. They may not all get the cystic bumps, but they usually do get some kind of acne from coffee. One more regret I have is that I took so many antibiotics like tetracycline. I still wonder what kind of effect they may have caused in terms of my body’s long-term ability to heal itself. I also wish I didn't look in the mirror so damn much. I've talk d to another girl who got acne scars and blames it on spending hours in front of the mirror picking at her face. I know it's really irritating to see a zit and tempting to pop it instead of watching it sit there, but believe me, that's the last thing you do. If you can just wait it out, it'll be gone before you know it and the zits that "come to term" all the way and get past the gross part are the ones that heal just like that. I didn't realize, when I was a teenager, that you can spread soooo much bacteria all over your face by touching your face all the time. I didn't realize how serious this was when I was younger, cause it's something you can't "see." And another thing I l arned is that when one part of your skin breaks out, the whole "area" is more succeptible to breaking out. It's as if once the germs are in your skin, they can spread to other parts. Smoking cigarettes can be HORRIBLE for your skin, and I can point out specific, large acne scars I got from smoking cigarettes in my 20’s. Many cigarettes contain all kinds of additives and chemicals that can totally irritate your skin. It made my skin i ch and swell up. And smoking makes it VERY difficult for your skin to heal, so whatever scars you get are worse than they normally would be. Another thing I learned is, "thinking too much" also made my skin break out. That may sound wierd but let me tell you this story. I am the kind of person who's always "overthinking" about things. It's as if there's always some kind of "noise" in my head - like my brain is just so packed full of thoughts it's hard to "shut it off." Well one day, when I was about 26 (5 years ago) I was headed to the laundromat and I felt like I was going to go nuts. I was thinking about too many things at once. There I was, t the laundromat, not thinking at all about my laundry but rather, worrying about how I was going to pay my rent, worrying about whether or not a particular guy I was dating would call me, worrying about getting 10 other things done. Well, it suddenly hit me. I was thinking about 90 percent more than I needed to. I suddenly realized hit me that I only really needed to be thinking about doing the laundry, because no matter how much I thought about the other things, it wouldn't change anything or help me any. So for the next hour I just "focused" on the task at hand: putting in the detergent, folding my laundry, etc. It was amazing. Suddenly my head seemed "quiet." I felt so much more relaxed. The effect lasted for days. And my acne went away!!! Mind you, I was not on accutane or any other kind of acne medication. My roommate even commented on my skin and how clear it suddenly was and asked if I was using anything new. You know how your skin feels totally soft and s ooth and "not bumpy" while you're on accutane? Well, that's exactly how my skin felt for those three days while I "cut back on my thinking." Now I want to tell you that the reason it only lasted three days is because I didn't like "not thinking so much." am a musician/songwriter and also writing a book so I'm one of those people who really LIKES thinking on overload (and writing, as you can see). But the experience really taught me a LOT about what how my body works. Just knowing this helps me keep things unde control when I find I'm thinking way, way too much and need to chill. I should probably point out that I’ve also been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, which runs in my family, so that could be part of my “thinking too much,” but a lot of it wa anxiety. I saw a psychiatrist years ago who prescibed ritalin for ADD, and it is helpful to know I can take it if I need it, but I usually don’t need it. Just thought I’d throw that in there in case any of you may suspect you have ADD, cause that is an ther thing no one “knew about” while I was in high school, and it made my life very frustrating in ADDITION to having acne! If you for any reason suspect you might need to "talk to someone" about your problems, I’d like to say you shouldn’t ever be embarrassed about "getting help." Not feeling good about yourself just weakens your immune system in general and can make it harde to clear up acne. I didn’t see a psychologist when I was a teenager because I felt embarrassed, and then later found out soooo many people see shrinks and there’s nothing wrong with seeing one if you think it could help. Just don’t get too dependent on hem. They’re good to talk to, but sometimes you have to search around to find the right one. I’ve seen some that I thought were worthless, and then I’ve also found a few who I thought were great. I didn’t realize it in high school but later realized I as probably actually seriously depressed, and could have really benefited from seeing a psychologist. It’s nothing to ever be embarrassed about at all, and seeing one is way better than walking around school crying all the time, like I was. I also found out that certain things can alleviate depression a lot, without seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist. Drinking black tea helps me a lot. It's also got a lot of antioxidants and is good for you. And when it’s wintertime and I get Seasonal Affective Diso der (from not seeing sunlight for too long) I turn the lights on really bright and get really involved in a project and that seems to help. It also helps a lot to keep a journal. Now I really hope this doesn’t sound “preachy” because when I was in high school I hated when “graduates” would try to “tell me how it is,” but the last thing I want to say is, if any of you who are in high school feel depressed because you feel like you hould be having sooo much more fun than you are, believe me, most people I talk to now agree that high school was rough in a LOT of ways, and once you get out into your own after graduation things just get better. If for any reason high school seems to s ck now, then your life will seem just that much BETTER by comparison once it does start to get better. It’s really hard being thrown in with hundreds of other students you didn’t get to choose. Some other students can be outright JERKS, and they may not reat you very well. But they’re probably just as confused and frustrated as the rest of the student body. They may just be good at covering it up. And if they are jerks, trust me, they’ll get theirs. There is nothing more depressing than feeling like y u should be having soooo much more fun than you’re really having, so I just wanted to say that if you feel at all “alone” because you’re not having the blast of a time you thought high school would be, then believe me, you’re not alone! It shouldn’t be T TALLY depressing of course, but if it’s not a huge thrill I think that’s normal. I hated so much of high school, though of course it had its good points and I’m not sorry I went! But my life just got so much better once I graduated and got to “pick who was surrounded by,” you know? Of course you can’t TOTALLY control that but you can a lot more than when you’re in high school. I hope that some of this information may be of help to you. When I think of all the things I wish I knew about acne when I was younger, it makes me really sad and makes me want to spare anyone else from the pain I went through, and still have to go throug now that I've been left with acne scars. It feels totally unfair that people can still "see" I had acne, even though my skin is no longer breaking out. It's really a painful experience I'd like to put behind me but having acne scars makes it just about impossible, unless I have surgery, and even then it won't totally go away (though my friends insist that they do 't notice it, it still bugs the heck out of me) I hope you can see that this is why I'm writing all of this. I believe that there are so many other solutions to acne that really, really spare a lot of people from going through a lot of what I went through, and I hope some of you will find some of these things work as well for you as they do for me. Good luck to you all. Ellen

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thanks. Have been on the internet and found lots of web sites and info re: acne/roaccutane. the best bit of info i found is that apparently roacc works partly by shrinking the sebaceous glands great, hope mine shrivel away completely! anyway slight improv ment this morning, not quite as oily and NO NEW SPOTS!!! I am forcing myself to moisturise with E45 as although it seems daft to moisturise oily skin it seems to actually soak up everything and ultimately become dryer. wondering if part of my problem was ever moisturising enough so body trying to compensate any ideas? Also question to anyone who can help.. my friend wants me to go to aqua aerobics classes with her.... will the chlorine irritate my skin? and will the exercise cause muscle aches that so far i haven't had? grateful for any feedback. thanks.

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Although I am sure this has been discussed before, has anyone tried Diane 35? If so, what are your experiences with it? It's not available in the States. Are there any health concerns that anyone knows of -- other than the usual associated with birth con rol pills?

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Hello everyone!I have suffered from acne since I was 14 yrs old. My acne has never really gone away. My derm has put me on all kinds of antibiotics (dynacin, tetracyclen...etc) and topicals like retin A, benzamycin, differin. Nothing has worked! I'm sick an tired of getting pimples all the time, especially at my age, i shouldn't be getting any more acne. My doctor has recommended Accutane. I'm a little leery about it. After reading all kind of stories, on how your acne can come back, i wonder if it's wo th trying. Can someome please give me their opinion. Should I give accutane a try? Please respond.

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Liz: you and some other people mentioned taking prolonged courses of Accutane (like 1 year). Why were you on it for so long? As I understand it, the usual course is between 16-30 weeks. Were you on an unusually low dosage? Taking it for a entire years at time just seems kind of strange; I mean, it just makes more sense to me to be on a high dose for a shorter period of time instead of drawing the whole process out forever...

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hey all... well i've been taking a drug that's exactly the same as roaccutane, it's called oratane. i've been taking it for 10 days now, but my derm. didn't give me a starting dose. I only weigh 55kg (which i think is 8 stone) and i'm on a 60mg dose!! Tha 's way more than anyone else i know has haad to take! Just straight up, and the side effects are really bad. I have REALLY REALLY dry and itchy skin, sore muscles and severe depression. I'm not coping too well with it, and it's messing up my school work nd social life too. i don't wanna go out anymore. if anyone has any tips of advice they could give me it would be much appreciated. thanks!

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John, here you go: http://www.medicapharma.com/Acne/acne.html You can order here without a prescription.

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I was realy glad to find your site as I have been on two 1 year courses of Roaccutane, the first when I was 14 and the second at 16. The acne went away for a while and it was great but unfortunately it returned and that was dreadful, especially with me be ng a self-concious, vain teenager. Although i still have acne it is milder than it used to be and it seems to have shifted areas - from by back to my face, which is quite annoying. However, the only side effect i have experienced so far is the dry skin wh ch went away when i stopped the medication and i'm glad to say that the painful, sore acne that i used to suffer from has gone although my skin is still far from perfect - and i am a perfectionist i'm afraid. After finishing the treatment i thought no mor about the side effects until now. If there's anyone who took roaccutane at quite a young age like me - i don't know if there will be as they said i was put on it when it was still very new to this country - i would like to know if they experienced any si e effects later in life or not. The site is great. Perfect skin is attainable ..... Somehow??? Liz xxx

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Hi, everyone! I had my first course of Roaccutane when I was 18, a 50mg dose for two months. I experienced the usual dry and flaky skin, redness and dry lips (not if I made sure I had Nivea lipbalm on them 24 hrs a day!). I also lost a lot of hair, but it went back to normal after 3 years or so. The worst side effect I noticed (who knows what else it did to me!) was ocassional bouts of diarrhea that got worse and worse and carried on after the treatment. This was later diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome which is sort of 'under control' now. YES!!!, my acne disappeared completely for about two years. But then it gradually came back, and I tried different antibiotics (and of course, any topical treatment available). Minocin MR caps (minocycline) worked wo ders for about 2 years. But concerned about the effects of long-term courses of antibiotics, I came off them gradually and I tried homeopathy. It did work for 6 months or so, but then I had severe breakouts and went back to Minocin. This time it did't wor , so I have been prescribed Roaccutane again. After 4 days on 50 mgs I got red and flaky skin with even MORE spots. After discovering this wonderful website three days ago and after reading a lot of your postings, I decided to cut down to 20mgs, see how i goes and then go up to 40 or 50mgs (I weigh 55 kgs.) Aqueous cream, both as face wash and moistouriser, works very well. Any of you have had a second course of Roaccutane and reacted differently from the first time? I am really scared of the side effects Has anyone had any success with Chinese herbs or allergy testing for food? Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

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sophie, forgot to ask, does the rash ever go away while on accutane or do i have to finish the treatment before it completely goes????

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Sophie, Thank you so much for answering my 'rash' question, i shall give it a try... did you ever experience that on your arms, i thought that it was a reaction caused by the sun and accutane..? my skin is clearer and i thought now, i have to deal with a ash prob...

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Hi there. about where I read about accutane I went to an internet search and I typed in isotretinoin (the proper name of accutane) and there is lots of information on it and all the other vitamin A derivitives. It even said the same thing about retin A wh ch also was called a form of isotretinoin and it said the reason that you break out on it at first is because it brings to the surface breakouts waiting to happen that just haven't surfuced yet. So...the internet is every informative give it a try!!

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JUSTIN-- Just be careful using so much hydrocortisone. It is a steroid and could cause depressions in the skin. Maybe you could substitute it with something else?

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hi everyone - it's day 14 of Roaccutane and i'm pretty hacked off as the acne is worse than ever. doing the school run is a torture. no really bothersome side effects other than dry lips which are not too uncomfortable. Catherine I hope you're right about the old stuff coming to the surface 'cause it's the only explanation that makes sense to me. wher did you read that? does anyone know when the turning point might be or is there no rule of thumb? I'm organising the school barn dance on the 17th and can't face facing 200 people with this face. hoping for a miracle! my skin is so oily now even where i wasn't prior to starting the drug. why this terrible rite of passage? please oh please let it be worth it. any words of encouragement or advice greatly appreciated.

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Hi to everyone who reads this message board! I am currently on week 13 of a 16 week course of Roaccutane at 40mg/day (I'm 11stone). I have already gained some comfort from reading about people in situations similar to mine and have found some answers to q estions that I have always been too self-conscious to ask. I have had acne on my cheeks, jawline shoulders and back to varying degrees since the age of 16. I recently just got fed up with having to deal with it as none of the other antibiotics (such as minocin) had any significant long lasting effects. Basically want to tell you all of the side effects I have experienced with this drug and how I have dealt with them. I have experienced dryness of the skin, particularly the lips. For the lips and any other particularly dry patches I have used a tube of HYDROCORTISONE CREAM (1%) which I apply before I go to bed at night and every morning. This is available from any chem st. It is recommendable only though for especially dry areas. For dryness of the inside nose I rub VASELINE (also known as PETROLEUM JELLY) on the dry area every night before going to bed and first thing in the morning. You can get this from chemists, supermarkets and loads of other places that sell toiletries. I f gured that the hydrocortisone cream should be avoided on this sensitive area. I have been very concerned about scarring since I have it on both cheeks (as well as shoulders and back). I find this difficult to talk to people about - I suppose because it reminds you of your acne and of being adolescent. I have been washing my face tw ce a day (morning and night) with VITAMIN E CREAM CLEANSING BAR. This is available from The Body Shop at around £1.70. It also acts as a moisturiser and so helps prevent dryness. I have found that it helps soften and smoothen the skin and is non-irritable to the skin (although I refer to the effects of my OWN skin). Also, I wash my face using a facial scrub (a type of sponge) rather than just my hands. I have found that this helps to remove the outer layers of dead skin cells. This possibly encourages the kin regeneration process - which I believe also helps heal scarring. Be careful though not to rub too hard as you DO NOT want to aggravate your acne any further by breaking open existing cysts, spots, lesions etc. This will probably make things worse - so use your hands or facial scrub depending on your own personal case. After this, I moisturise with VITAMIN E BODY LOTION which is said to be (on the bottle) a 'light moisturiser that conditions and protects the skin'. This is available from The Body Shop f r around £2.50. It is recommended that you use these two together for optimum results. I have found that my skin is significantly softer and smoother and not in the least bit dry as long as I keep using it all the time. And get this...since using the VITA IN E BODY LOTION the severity of my scarring is starting to improve, albeit fairly slowly. The depth of the pitting has reduced and the red marks have started to fade. I have thought about treatments like dermabrasion and laser resurfacing but if this imp ovement continues I may well not bother about these after the Roaccutane treatment finishes. Other side effects I have noticed are hair loss. I have agonised over this since I am unsure as to whether this is related to the Roaccutane treatment or is genetic baldness! I am positive that my hair has thinned all over my head and is particularly noti eable at the front. I can see no change or receding of my hairline so I am puzzled as to which is the cause. Has anyone experienced this - I notice that some females have but have any of you males? I have also noticed a slight browning of my skin (I am white skinned). Also, I have experienced dryness of the eyes. I have just started using OPTREX FRESH EYES (eye drops - available from chemists and supermarkets - around £3/bottle) which seems to be he ping. I am suffering from clinical depression at the moment and I'm starting to wonder whether this has been aggravated by Roaccutane and not the acne - since things have got better. If Roaccutane is causing mood changes then I look forward to finishing my trea ment when the effects I expect will disappear but it's bloody tough at the moment - but this site helps. Thanks if you have read this excessively long entry but I feel that the self-help treatments I use have been painstakingly found so I hope I save some ne the hassle thinking about things they can do to help themselves. I still feel slightly embarrassed going into The Body Shop for stuff - I think it's a bloke thing but you guys out there - don't give a monkey about anything apart from helping YOURSELF. OOD LUCK EVERYONE - I think we can become more understanding about life in the long term. EACH and EVERYONE of you is BEAUTIFUL and I wanna hug you all NOW and say DON'T WORRY - IT'LL BE ALL RIGHT. Justin

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In case anyone is wondering, you CANNOT buy accutane ANYWHERE online without a doctors written prescription. If you think I am wrong, I would love to see you write an web address that sells a person anywhere in the world accutane without a prescription. Thank you. Good luck.

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Hey, person with RASH after a month of Accutane...DON"T WORRY!! Everyone gets a rash on Accutane. That is so normal. I can't believe your dermo didn't tell you that! Geez. Ask her/him about hydrocortizone, or even better, a cream called Cyclocort which c ears the rash up almost overnight. What kind of derm do you have anyway?!!!

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Hi everyone. I am on my third week of accutane and I have been reading up on it to see a little bit how it works. It says that you normally break out at first when you take it and this is because it brings to the surface anything that is "hiding" under yo r skin and I can definately see that. My skin is pretty clear but a few months ago I got this cyst that was on my chin and it never went away. You can't see it but it was still there and now all of the sudden its resurfaced on the surface again and it loo s like its about to dry up and go away. So to everyone just be patient I'm sure you will see results

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This message is for John from Australia. i just finished a 5-month course of Accutane 2 days ago. during the 3rd or 4th month i started to get breakouts around my nose and cheeks (whereas i used to only get breakouts on my forehead and chin). according to my dermatologist this is TOTALLY NORMAL. now, after 5 months, my breakouts have almost completely ceased. i have some red blotches on my face where the acne used to be but i'm told those will clear up soon. hope i've been of some help! Ivy

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I took Roaccutane and had a healthy baby 3 years later. Apparently it is best to wait at least 2 years after taking it before getting pregnant. My dermatologist suggested its an idea to have your family first and then have the treatment. (Of course you now the most important thing is not to get pregnant whilst on the drug!) Good Luck XXX

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what happens if you sun tan while taking accutane? i know that accutane makes your skin more sensitive to sun, but what exactly happens?

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NEED YOUR HELP!!!, I have been on accutane for a month now, and for the first time, there is a RASH on my forearms and hand, and don't know what to do? i haven't spoke to my derm since my appt is next week, CAN SOMEBODY HELP??!!!! WILL IT GO AWAY??? PLEAS HELP!!!

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Hi. I have suffered from acne for about 12 years now (I can't believe its been that long!) and for ages have tried to ignore my acne problem. I attempt to cover it up with makeup, which probably just maks it worse. Its not dreadful, but I do have a lower d self esteem from it and I sometimes stare (discreetly) at other people with good skin and get so jealous! I would love to just stroll out of the house and not have to worry about spots and blackheads and oily skin! And forget the beach or pool I would ather be covered up. I finally decided to do something about it and went to see a dermotologist yesterday. He has suggested Roaccutane, which I was always a bit weary of. My dad is a doctor and had always scared me off it. But I have decided to go with it. My only concern is that I want to start a family in a years time - Does anyone know if there have been any reported cases of long term damage occuring after completing treatment with regards to pregnancy?

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RICKI- I swim like 2-3 times a week. It's no problem, but i would like to do it at least 4. I seem to get exhausted faster. so take it easy, especialy in the biginning. I couldn't work out or swim almost anything for the first 3-4 weeks. got soooo tired. Don't listen to all the horror warnings about people dying! GOOD LUCK!

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Hi again, Has anyone been on Roacc for about 15 weeks without seein any results measured by amount of pimples. I didn't have so many when I started and now it is actually 3 times of what I had when I started. My complexion is less oily and the skin is more tight, b t then the pimples are red and hurts. I also experience hairloss (a lot!) and I've heard that in some cases it will be permanent. Has anyone had that ecperience? Is there something to put on to make the hairloss stop? is there some cream I can use for the pimples to clear faster? I'm starting to believe that I'm among the 10 % that Roacc can't cure...

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Hi, i'm thinking on going on Accutan and i plased here a post asking if people have problems working out during the use of Accutan, the only replay i recived was from a person who said his friend used Accutan and now he cannot lift a finger and that he kn ws meny people who died from Accutan. can someone who really knows what his talking about please tell me if they can work out weekly and do waits during the use of Accutan. Thanks alot, Ricki.

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Hello. I have been on Roaccutane for nearly 6 weeks now and i have noticed that my skin is heaps dry, but i am still getting new spots. The weird thing is, they are not coming up in the same spots that they used to be. Can someone please post a message re arding when they started to see results and if it is weird for acne to come up in different places than usual. Thanks Heaps.

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Hello, I had a full course of roaccute (40mg day) approx 5 years ago to treat acne, successfully. However, 3 years ago I visited two very reputable dermatologists as I have slight dermatistis on my face caused by environmental allergies. Both advised that roaccutane in a very low dose form of 10mg every 2nd day has been shown to reduce, but not cure dermatitis, and this has worked. My questions for anyone that may have exerience with Roaccutane for this type of skin problem is: a) Are their long term side effects in taking a very low dosage for a prolonged time? b) Is there some form of alternative way of taking vitamin A as a substitute Roaccutane? c) Does anyone have a site for the manafacturer of Roaccutane (Roche) where they provide qualified feedback on these issues? Thanks, Andy

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