Laser for Acne

pants20

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if I'm in the right forum for this. I'm 27 and have been suffering with acne since I was 12. I'm now looking into various laser treatments and just wondering if anyone has any experience and is it successful

#15

Would you consider going to a dermatologist and going on roaccutane? Its meant to be the only way of really stopping severe acne.
Laser treatment can be somewhat ineffective I think but I have never got it so I'm not much help.
There are great forums over at acne.org and they can offer advice about all kinds of treatment.

Mazeire

Hi, I though that laser treatment was really only for acne scarring as opposed to acne itself?
Roaccutane is hardcore though. A guy I new took it and he actually arranged to take it over Christmas as he was worried about the side effects. It was just as well, as his eyes became so light sensetive, he could only come out at night (insert horror film quip here), and even then only venture in to dimly lit rooms. The results were amazing though. I would talk to your doc.

chrislad

#15 wrote: »

Would you consider going to a dermatologist and going on roaccutane? Its meant to be the only way of really stopping severe acne.
Laser treatment can be somewhat ineffective I think but I have never got it so I'm not much help.
There are great forums over at acne.org and they can offer advice about all kinds of treatment.

Seconded. My doctor told me that laser is risky at best. Roaccutane is great. Only side effect I had was some flushed skin but after 5 months, it was amazing. Would recommend without hesitation.

DetectivFoxtrot

If you're a girl try Dianette (brand of the pill) before you go near Roaccutane or Laser. If you have any sort of depression don' t touch Roaccutane - it can cause sever depression, even suicide. It also totally dries up you skin to the point where it can crack!:eek:

I took Diannette for a few years (I'm 28 now) and my acne is totally gone. (it takes a few months to kick in and produce results). I used it in conjunction with an acne antibiotic called Bi-Mycin (Bi-Mycin is in tablet form and you can get it in 50 or 100 ml doses) - you need to get it off your doc though.

Good luck, I know exactly what you're going through, but do it sooner rather than later, I had it about 5 years before getting it properly treated and I've some minor scarring as a result.

RedXIV

i was on Roaccutane too and got good results with no side effects that i can remember (amnesia possibly???). My GP told me before i was going on them that they were serious business and i was happy with the results. reinforcing what DetectivFoxtrot said, stay away from it if you suffer from any depression. that was the only thing that worried me when i was on it, the horror stories my GP had were awful

Dellboy2007

I was on roaccutane when i was around 16. It is, as others have said, serious business. You have to get monthly blood tests to make sure it's not doing any damage. I will give you the disadvantages i faced as well as the benefits.

Pros: Cleared my acne to a great degree (ie. 95% + remainder has faded), I think it has left my skin softer although i could never proove this. Also, my acne has never returned.

Cons: MEGA DRY SKIN! I mean to say my skin actually shedded, honestly! It's like if you ever had gel in your hair and the next day you shook your hair and seen all the white stuff fall out!! Sore nose and also sore mouth. Not only does it dry out the skin with acne, it also really chapps your lips. I can remember carrying around a tub of vaseline with me and even then they were still fooked!! The skin on the inside of your nose also drys, sometimes creating nose bleeds.

NB: When taking Roaccutane you are told to refrain from drinking. LISTEN TO THIS!!!!!! Even though i was 16, i went drinking most weekends (to the delight of my parents!!). This was a very very bad idea. Never before have i ever had any serious depression but, whatever the hell is in them tablets used to make me seriously depressed when drinking. I actually had suicidal thoughts, never would i be tempted to act on these but looking back it was scary to think these thoughts entered my mind. They gave me the king of all hangovers which have lasted untill this day

I often said if i had kids i would never let them take it but looking back if i hadn't drunk alcohol then maybe it would have been different. The end result can be life-changing and there is no denying how good it is but i though i'd let you hear my experience on it.

Good Luck

LegacyUser

DetectivFoxtrot wrote: »

If you're a girl try Dianette (brand of the pill) before you go near Roaccutane or Laser. If you have any sort of depression don' t touch Roaccutane - it can cause sever depression, even suicide.

Rubbish. It can not "cause" severe depression or suicide. Speak to any educated dermatologist and they will tell you this. A lot of people who take ro-accutane are usually at the end of their tether and are mentally weak to begin with...:rolleyes:

And to be honest, there have been more drink related suicides as opposed to "accutane" linked ones...:rolleyes:

I went on Accutane, i didn't have sever acne but it was acne and it was light and all over my face when I was 17. It absolutely wrecked my head. I went on this stuff and my skin is absolutely crystal clear and I get compliments about my skin. Not a single spot in sight. For that, I am eternally grateful to the man who prescribed me that drug because I had taken other stuff such as minosin (spelling?) and it was useless...Accutane was the ultimate stuff for me. Accutane for the win.

Dellboy2007

Is accutane similar to roaccutane or are they the same? I would agree with you that it does not cause severe depression but this symptom can occur.

It is true to say that someone with acne would be at greater risk of clinical depression than your average joe but to say they are mentally weak is seriously over-stepping the mark. I would not have considered myself, or anyone else i know with acne, to be "mentally weak".

Your statement that alcohol is more closely related to suicide then acctuane is a specious argument. One could just as easy say, "ecstasy causes less deaths a year then alcohol, lets legalise it".

Marksie

Cheesedude: this is not a medical forum. Are you qualified to make such statements?. and in particlular "mentally weak"
FWIW here is a summary of a 2006 study
http://www.irishhealth.com/?id=10223&level=4

OP if you are thinking of using drugs like this then a full consultation with you GP is important.

git_ireland

Dellboy2007 wrote: »

Is accutane similar to roaccutane or are they the same? I would agree with you that it does not cause severe depression but this symptom can occur.

It is true to say that someone with acne would be at greater risk of clinical depression than your average joe but to say they are mentally weak is seriously over-stepping the mark. I would not have considered myself, or anyone else i know with acne, to be "mentally weak".

Your statement that alcohol is more closely related to suicide then acctuane is a specious argument. One could just as easy say, "ecstasy causes less deaths a year then alcohol, lets legalise it".

Accutane as far as i am aware is the American Brand of the Product. After trials in america the rebranded it for the european market and started selling it.I was on a fairly heavy dosage of it for nearly a year but it has worked wonders. I would agree with it making my skin softer. If i get a cut it seems to take ages for a scar to remove. I mean nearly 4 weeks. Where as before it could be gone within two weeks. But hey for what its done I think it is well worth it. Have a look at the roche website as i think it was them who produce it here in Ireland.

#15

One other thing I think it can cause bad initial outbreaks of acne when you start on the drug. Can anyone confirm/deny this?
OP I would at least see a dermatologist first before deciding on laser treatment.

asti_mivec

Hi OP,

I have a different suggestion to some others and I haven't seen it mentioned yet. My fiancé is a very good beauty therapist and is now working with a range of products that she claims to have unbelievable effects. I know she is currently treating several clients for acne and from pictures I have seen it does seem to work very well indeed.

The range of products are known as DMK (Danné Montague King - the name of the guy who developed them) and basically you will get a sepcialised set of products and treatment schedule depending on your skin type etc (my limited knowledge doesn't stretch any further I'm afraid.

If you google the DMK you should get plenty more information. This is not a plug for her business but merely trying to make people aware of another option worth considering.

If you need any more info please ask!

Cheers

Victor

asti_mivec wrote: »

unbelievable

QED.

DetectivFoxtrot

cheesedude wrote: »

Rubbish. It can not "cause" severe depression or suicide. Speak to any educated dermatologist and they will tell you this. A lot of people who take ro-accutane are usually at the end of their tether and are mentally weak to begin with...:rolleyes:

Cheesekake you Tosser.

It was an 'educated' (aren't they all?) dermatologist that gave me this advice. :rolleyes:

Recommend you go back to that doctor to whom which you hold eternal gratefulness and ask him to prescribe you some personality tablets. Good luck with the treatment..

strawberrybox

hey if your a woman i defo recommend the pill dianette, i have bad adult acne and have had it since teens (now 31) and i found the only thing to really have worked was dianette, i was on antibiotics and creams and that but they didnt really help, i also tried a thing called N-Lite this is light going straight under your skin to kill the cause of the infection and i found this great aswell,it is non evasive and just like being on a sun bed but without the bad effects, i got it done in a derma clinic in blackrock and the products to go with it are fab its a range called jan marini and its very good and very soothing.

well thats my experience anyway, i know how frustrating it is so good luck with what ever you decide to do

Marksie

detectivefoxtrot: abuse of other posters is not tolerated in this forum. Infracted

Sugarman: once again are you qualified to make statements about the side effects of drugs?

OP: if you are going to use roaccutane make sure you have sought the relevant PROFESSIONAL advice

SoupyNorman

Hi OP,

Im a previous user of Roaccutane myself. And as you may well guess from reading other posts here...IT WORKS. Well it worked for all here, however a GP is not allowed to Prescribe you the drug willy nilly, only dermatologists have the power and you'd need to have severe Acne to be put straight onto Roaccutane.

All I can do is offer you suggestions from my previous experience but every case is assessed individually(by a medical professional of course).

To me Roaccutane is a cure for Acne, I shudder to think what my skin would be like if I never went on it. I took one 18month course when I was 16 and as if by magic I was Acne free and still am 9years later.

I would view the likes of laser treatment as cosmetic and short-term, Acne needs to be treated from the inside if you ask me.


Whatever you decide I hope you're successful in ridding yourself of Acne.

Lemming

Roaccutane is seriously hardcore medication. My own experiences involved routine trips to a clinic to have my blood checked to make sure no damage was being caused to the internal organs.

Side-effects vary greatly from person to person and I was handed three A4 pages stapled together listing all the possible side-effects; ranging from the mild to the seriously "f00k that!! :eek:"

Personally I only suffered chapped lips (easily remedied) and drier skin. I also took the advice regarding drink and drank very little. Difficult considering I was in 1st year in college at the time and went on the stuff for 6 months. But it got rid of my acne pretty much although I still have some keloid scars

sportswear

why don't you discuss this with your GP and get maybe an oral antibiotic like minocycline (much better than topical)

its brilliant. clears them all up in about 6 months in most patients!


ACNE CAN BE CURED EASILY!!!!

DON'T DISPAIR!!!!

sonnet

Does anyone have any advice for getting rid of back acne scarring??

KnifeWRENCH

Hi OP
I'm being considered for Roaccutane treatment (my next appointment is in June) I'm currently on other antibiotics, but I've taken loads of stuff for years, even tried chinese medicine...nothing has worked.
I know the sound effects sound worrying, but I'm definetly willing to give it a try. Having read the previous comments, I feel more reassured.

One word of warning about the pill: I know a girl who took it, and her acne improved a lot. However, as soon as she went off it, it came back. And The Pill isn't something you can take forever because it'll play havoc with your oestregen levels.

I'm a guy, so the pill isn't an option for me now. But I heard they were working on a male contraceptive pill that could be used for acne. Has anyone else heard of this??