Has anybody taken Accutane, and If so did you experience any of the terrible Side affects? I just got the okay from my Dermatologist for it, but am a little put off by the Side affects. Also I have done further research on the Drug and Found out that it was originally prescribed as a drug for Chemotherapy Patients and people with Brain Cancer. So I am a little worried about this. All and Any Input is Greatly Appreciated. 
Hey Jabez how you been man I don’t know if you still remember me…
Yes, I did take accutane before and had to stop it because it was overworking my liver or kidney after 2 months usage
Being son of a pharmacist and after lots of research, be prepared to get very dry skin. Your face will be peeling off from how dry it is so moisturize and chap stick is essential especially if it’s cold outside.
My friend experienced rashes sometimes as well. Accutane also affects brain, so if you find higher depression, then stop it.
You must do your monthly blood work to monitor how it affects your body.
I was on 40mg a day which, after personal internet research, I think is too much. I don’t know your body weight neither do I know how much you should take because I’m not a professional. NEVER double up dose to make up for what you missed.
On the positive side, I think my face stopped significantly clearing up since I’ve used it. If it works for you, it’s going to be amazing. Don’t use any other acne products just make sure to use non-scented soap or Clearasil facewash or something.
Accutane is not researched well and does not target acne directly to heal it… it lessens oil synthesis to a great extent that eventually your pimples and acne clear up (acne = dirt + oil)
Hope that helped
I am assuming your thinking of taking it for acne. I strongly suggest not taking it unless you have explored every single other option to clear it up first. Its highly dangerous.
80% of acne is caused by diet.
20% is from soaps, cosmetics, detergents, toiletries, sugars, and stress contribute
I suggest an elimination diet. Give up gluten, daily, wheat, citrus, alcohol, caffiene and sugar. I know I know whats left LOL Meat and veggies.
Your not going to give these things up forever though. Just until you find the culprit. You can either give them all up at once see if your skin begins to look better and heal and then slowly week by week add a lot of that that particular food group and see if you have a flair up.
Or you can just elimanate one group a month and keep track of how your skin looks.
For instance my nephew knows if he eats citrus he will begin to break out. As long as he stays away from it his skin is perfect. Now that he hasnt eaten it in a long time he can sneak it here and there but if he ate it a few times a week his skin would be red, blochy and pimply by the end of the week.
Usually its dairy or high glyemic foods that cause the problem
What do you use to wash your face and how often do you wash it ?
Tisha
Tisha I use just a light amount of baking soda in the shower to exfoliate and I pat my face dry I use a Sulfur Mask when I go to sleep. I moisturerise during the day with Cetaphil Oil free. I drink about 100 ounces of water a day( half my body weight). Eat a salad every night 3 hours prior to bed. I do not eat Any Dairy( had some on my mothers Birthday was sick as a dog for two days). I do not eat glutten very much, I try to avoid it like the plague. I do not eat Peanut Butter. I recently started eating Almonds like a handful a day. I eat about a bag of carrots a day. I avoid foods high on the GI. MY diet consists of majority of Lean Chicken(hormone free), Lean Fish, Lean Turkey Very Rarely do I eat Pork or Red meat. Fruits, Vegetables, Apples(Granny Smith, Oranges,) Tomatoes, Corn, Peas Green Beans Etc . I do not eat chocolate, candy, fast food, Pizza, none of that garbage. For Carbs I eat Brown Rice. Cook it myself no oil added. I Feel like my acne could be caused by Eggs, Everytime I have a few eggs the next couple of weeks the acne on my neck and Back is Bad. Also I do believe the shitty weather we have in wisconsin is affecting it to. I also take Zinc 50 mcgs a day, a multivitamin, Vitamin D3 2000 IUS a day, and fish oil twice daily. And I drink my green tea in the morning without anything in it. I wonder if Oatmeal could be causing it? Sorry for the Long Post. I just hate Acne with a Passion. It is what is holding me back in my game, my career , I just need to overcome it. I don’t want to get Crohns Disease or IBS, or Be depressed or have muscle aches from accutane though.
Pharmaceuticals may fix one problem but to often they cause another set of problems and only you can weigh if its worth it but I would say with accutane its not.
Pharmaceuticals should always be the last option because they dont cure they just mask problems. Its always best to try to find the root cause of it and eliminate that. That is what cures.
Your diet is not half bad. You dont seem to eat a lot of junk. Already you suspect eggs. I am looking at the citrus including the tomatoes. Try leaving those off for about 2 weeks and see if anything changes. If not go back to eating them.
Oatmeal is only gluten free if it says so on the package. Most places process using the same machines as the wheat products so I know people with celiacs who cant get oatmeal because of this. Bob Mills brand is gluten free. Steel cut oats are the best kind.
Your not getting enough omega 3 though. Acne is not caused by dirt. Its caused by inflammation. Our bodies produce certain fatty acids. Omega 6 causes inflammation we get that from certain foods that contain oils. You also make more naturally in the pubescent years when your hormones are fluctuating all over the place. Men are in puberty till around 19 and I know your 22 but your hormones still may not be totally settled yet which can contribute to acne.
Omega 3 helps reduce inflammation. Your not getting it in meat unless your eating grass fed or pasture raised meats. You didnt mention eating fish so your not getting it there. Your not getting it from a handful of nuts. I suggest you use flax seed on some of your foods. For instance in your oatmeal. Sprinkled on your salad. Get good quality flax. I know you take fish oil but its hard to find a effective brand. The EPA and FDA have found the top brands are sadly lacking in good Omega 3 because of the purifying they need to do to remove mercury. Eating foods high in it is the best solution. Flax, grass fed meats, salmon, or other fatty fish, nuts and seeds.
Add coconut oil to your diet as well. Its very good for the skin and unclogs pores from the inside. Great as a lotion to but cetaphil is good to.
I also suggest tea tree oil. Dont apply it neat to the skin but if your making some kind of baking soda mixture to use in the shower then add a drop or two to the mixture. Baking soda seems harsh on the skin to me though. Find some natrural soaps. We use bubs and scrubs right now which get at the healthfood store. They have a website though.
These are all suggestions to try before you take accutane. You may find you end up not needing to take it.
Tisha
I will try to start eating more fish. I just wish it wasn’t so god awful expensive. And Tisha what is your opinion regarding starches, Red Potatoes to be exact. At my house we eat a fair amount of these, I am cutting these out for 2 weeks along with the citrus to see if this makes a difference. I am supplementing them with more Brown Rice, how about Cereal, Like Corn Squares for instance? They are Gluten Free and Lactose free. I just want to beat this acne, Its frustrating as hell. Do you think winter can cause acne to worsen as well?
Well its not that starches are bad really its just we tend to eat way to much in the way of starchy foods and like gluten it clogs up the works.
Starches are complex carbohydrates that are broken down into simple carbs when digested in the body and turned into glucose, a sugar. All plants have starch but you want to eat more of the low starch veggies.
Now the whole health view…
If your eating potatoes, corn cereal and rice all in one day thats a whole lot of starch but eating those food occasionally and not on the same day is not bad.
Corn syrup on the other hand is the devils sister. Stay away from it.
Both gluten and starch are now being linked to many illnesses. Inflammation auto immune diseases especially arthritis and well as some other illnesses. Some people think just because they don’t have celiacs that eating gluten and starches wont hurt them. In the long run it does. Its like eating glue. In fact back in the day its how they made glue. Now think about what glue does to your insides.
I would give starches a 2 week break just to see if there is a difference in your skin however if it doesn’t help with your skin I am not saying never eat starches again. Just limit them. I will say personally corn is one starch I rarely eat in any form. There is a reason corn comes out looking the same as when it went in. Its not really food and your body doesn’t know what the hell to do with it.
Box Cereals… Most are high in starch, gluten and other crappy things.
I rarely eat it but when I do I like Ezekiel sprouted grain which contains no flour and is full of protein and amino acids or Ezekiel golden flax cereal.
Rice is starchy. Brown is better of course but still starchy. I am not saying not to eat it. Complex carbs are important fuel for the body its just people eat to much usually. For instance (and maybe you know this) One serving of rice should be 1/2 cup cooked. Your meat and veggies should take up most the plate but when I see peoples plates usually the starch is taking up the plate and there is hardly any veggies or meat. Of course they are following the USDA food pyramid which is total bull crap. Ever notice when they came out with that damn pyramid the obesity epidemic in the US soon followed.
This is what it should look like >>>
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DKsoZqN3NjM/T88oR9v_dFI/AAAAAAAAADA/40qzljwKdJo/s1600/paleo-diet_pyr.jpg
Can winter worsen acne >>>
Its just my opinion but yes more so for body acne. We tend to bundle up and oils and bacteria stay close to the skin longer. We also get dry skin that clogs easier. Its important to exfoliate in the winter especially. Use a loofa or buy a organic scrub. In the winter I like Dead sea scrub. I get mine here Dead Sea Scrub Jar | mindfulminerals.com
Dont use daily, just once or twice a week will do. I had to spank my hubby cause he was using it every day. You could make your own. Go to health food store get some dead sea salt and add it to your baking soda mixture.
Ok getting long winded now Its IO’s fault. 
Tisha
Maybe it’s the Cereal then and My excess of brown Rice, that I have been eatting?
Took it three times. that dry lip situation was quite horrid, and synthetic vitamin A leaves its marks upon the liver, if memory serves; and the liver has an intimate role with keeping shiats propur yo. Works, but my solution to acne; FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.. is raising L Glutathione levels, that skins cellular turn over.. and allow me to turn your attention now to those questionable bodily “rejections” with impressively lessened fits of squeezemspits greatest; time of course.
I am watching what I am eatting, and The Citrus seems to be making a difference, I have also started using a Neutregena Body Wash, I feel like it is helping. I am drinking about 95 ounces of water a day. I am going to start putting aloe on my arms and chest and back to help keep my skin moisturerized. I honestly do not have acne that bad, I have black heads on my chest and a couple of big ones on my back. I honestly do think it is due to the shitty ass weather that we have this time of year. Tisha do you think there is an emotional correlation to state of mind and emotional health and acne. I read on thelovevitamin that it is possible for acne to be Emotional too. What are your thoughts?
Ohhhhh Well thats a bit different. Blackheads can cause acne the trick is to stop them before they do. Basically a blackhead is oxidized oils that get trapped in pores. Its not dirt. People who have over sized pores tend to get them more or at least you notice them more.
Couple of things you can try.
In the winter when the body is covered more it cant shed its dead skin and your pores clog so winter plays a roll.
Now baking soda does exfoliate to some extent but I prefer retinol body creams for areas that are going to be covered. Retinols increase the amount of dead skin we shed and regenerate cells faster.
Best one to try …
Korres Natural Sugar Crystal Cream Multivitamin Skin Shield
Or ROC has a brand I use. There are others you can try but these are the only two I have experience with. Gets rid of that chicken skin some people get on there upper arms in the winter to.
Side note >>> If you use retinols on parts of the body that are not covered and will be exposed to sun get one with a sun screen in it.
The above is how to keep you from getting them first we got to get rid of the ones you have though. Sometimes washing with a good foaming body scrub will do it. If not get some pore strips to remove them. Now you gotta close up those pores so oxidation is less likely to occur again.
Witch hazel. Its a cheep little miracle in a bottle. Closes those suckers right up.
So after you get rid of them, you shower using your baking soda or forming body wash and loofa.
Get out, dry off and apply witch hazel all over areas your prone to get blackheads.
Then use your retinol lotion. Apply your mones (if you want) and off you go. Whoops get dressed first (if you want) the off you go… LOL
In the summer you wont need to exfoliate as much. The sun helps our skin do that combined with lighter weight clothes.
Hmm… well its just my opinion… Its possible but not likely. Emotions can cause skin conditions but its usually rashes or hive type conditions. Acne and blackheads are more about what we eat and how it makes the oils in our body react as well as our skin condition.
Tisha
I have been using the Neutrogena Body Wash it seems to be helping, I have to decently sized inflamed ones on my chest at the moment and one on my Shoulder. Seems like the Salicylic acid is purging out my pores right now, I Have been using it for about a week now. I am honestly over Winter, I cannot stand the Cold, Snow, the Breakouts, lack of sunlight. . Cannot Wait for spring and Summer to get here and my breakouts to go away again =).
Update, facial acne cleared using lerosett. Now battling neck acne just started using tea tree oil.