bad acne, depressing me

LegacyUser

I'm taking isotretinoin at the minute (roaccutane) and its so hard. It doesnt seem to be working and my acne is as bad as ever. I'm about two months into my treatment, can anyone tell me if this stuff definitely works, sometimes it doesnt seem worth it.
Mods I'm not asking for medical advice but i really need support or advice from people who have taken this stuff before, thanks.

Ainekav

my brother was on roaccutane too and it is really hard- he had a red face and extremely dry skin..but now his face is completely and i mean completely cleared. he wanted to quit it loads of times but mum made him continue it and in the end it did him the world of good. i think stress can sometimes make it worse.. so try not to.. however hard that might be. be patient.. it takes a while but its worth it in the end. good luck xx

pookie82

A mate of mine was on it for eight months or more a couple of years ago. She had a tough time with it too as it's not the easiest of drugs to be on cos of the side effects. let me tell you her skin was really bad and this was a last resort for her. She had acne not only on her face but on her back and chest as well, sometimes so bad that it scarred her. Again, she found this took a long time to take hold but when it did.... you'd never think now that she even had a skin problem. She went from having spots and boils to perfectly clear skin - even her scars have disappeared. Like you, she really considered coming off it as she found it badly effected her moods, but she stuck it out and now she swears it was worth every minute. So stay positive :-)

LegacyUser

I myself went through years of problems with spots/ acne. i went on Minocen for around 1 year and it didnt work at all. i then went on Roacitane which was hard on my skin. its irritating having to go back and give blood samples every 4 weeks. But it is worth it, it took a while but my spots cleared up. But sometimes i feel my spots cleared up due to my age (they cleared up when i was 19/20) i know you feel everyone is looking at your acne but in 5 years you'll look back and say "it actually wasnt that bad". its more important for you to be happy with yourself. Just keep taking your meds and i hope they work for you. sorry if my point got lost along the way. Roacitane can work but sometimes the person cant notice their acne is clearing up, i wasn't happy until my face was clear. But it will get better but i just hope your happy with the results.

Galway North

First of all I'm sorry to hear of your acne problem but I was also on Roaccutane for ten months and even up until the fourth or fifth month there were days when I felt it wasn't working.But by the time I was on it about seven months I didn,t have as much as a blackhead although I did have to return to antibiotics after about a year as the acne returned in a less serious form.

Bottle_of_Smoke

think it took me 6 weeks before any noticeable difference, and i still had spots, were just "drier" looking.

Give it a few months, roaccutane's wonderful stuff

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies. I have acne on my forehead, chest and back. I hacen't gone swimming in about 9 years and I have missed out on so many things (nigvts out, concerts, festivals, holidays etc) all because of this stupid skin problem. I know there are much worse problems to have but its soul destroying to be afraid to look in the mirror every moring, or to look someone else in the eye.
Your replies have given me some hope that this drug will work. I have a few months left yet. I'm praying that it will work soon.

RedXIV

had the nickname "pizza face" before i was on this stuff.

it works, i promise you. Anyone that has met me now would not have recognised me 5 years ago, Trust me it works

cuppa

was on these when i was about 16-17.I had bad acne form around 13 ,on face,head ,neck,back,chest and legs (still have the scars) greasy skin ,im still full of black heads.
Think i went to Dr Sarha Rodgers in Hume street.

i might of been the early people on it ,1986-87 .i remember they were really expensive ,but i had a medical card (think 600 pound for a month) .

Think i was on 120mg a day ,cant remember but i was 94-95kilio,s 5'10"

Well they worked for me,,It was hard nostrels and inside of mouth dried out,,, but i was bald totaly by the time i was 21.

Black_Knight

Went through the same myself. Not the depressing part, but Id acne and went on roaccutane for about 9 months I think it was. Doctor told me id have to be patient etc.
But yeah, after about 2 months I was asking myself whens this gonna kick in? Eventually it did, had to go on a second course of the stuff, in total lasting 9 months but in the end and since then, pretty much clean as a whistle or as clean as whistles can be. Thats near 2 years ago now I think.

Solarball10

Hi OP

Are you a guy or girl? If you're a girl, I would suggest Dianette (although maybe stick with roaccutane for another while, as people here think it's good)

I didn't really have bad acne on my face, I did on my back and shoulders though, and I felt soo self conscious, couldn't wear strappy tops or anything like that....I started on Dianette a couple of months before my Debs, and it was starting to improve, I still felt really embarrassed though and covered my shoulders with my shawl for practically the whole night......my skin had completely cleared after about 4 months, it's absolutely amazing! I do know some people have problems with it, but I didn't have any...I've only come off it recently, was on it for 7 years, so my doctor thought it was time for me to change back to a normal pill - on a different one now, I felt "safe" when I was taking the Dianette, now I'm kinda paranoid that the acne is gonna come back again cos I'm off it! Fingers crossed though....and good luck! Acne is awful and it wrecks your confidence - other pointers would be:

-drink lots of water (I drink about 6 glasses a day)

-eat healthily (easier said than done, and I don't do it alot myself to be honest, I love my choccy bars wayyy too much - but try get your 5 fruit/veg a day at least!)

-try get lots of fresh air (again, easier said than done here where it's rqaining most of the time!! But try walk to work whenever you can (if that's feasible) or go for a walk in the evenings...it really does do wonders for your skin)

-And I know this might be hard if you're very self-conscious, but try avoid wearing make-up all the time - my friend has pretty bad acne, and she makes it so much worse by wearing slap ALL the time - I wouldn't be shocked if she went to bed with it on!! It's just really bad cos your skin needs to breathe.

ShayK1

it works,
I had acne on my back too which I called "bacne"
Its gone now!! Stick with it

LegacyUser

I'm a guy, so the pill isn't an option. Antibiotics have made me worse. They clear up my face, but not my body. Then as soon as I stop taking the antibiotics, the facial acne comes back worse than ever. Its happened three times now, where it has come back worse each time. I suppose I'll just have to keep waiting. My skin is so fragile now, I have three or four real dark red spots, like blood spots. Then I have all my pimples. I haven't left the house in 5 days, I feel like a freak. Did anybody else feel like things got worse before they got better?

djruane

I’m so sorry to hear your having a bad time with acne! I had it too and I know how it can take over your world. I used to said to people how bad it made me feel but of course they would reply by saying its not that bad or nobody cares and that my have been the case but im sure in your eyes you see it completely differently. I try many different types of meds but can promise you roaccutane will definitely work for you! Yes it does get worse before it gets better but once you finish your course expect to see results within a month to two months. The main thing to remember is that it takes time but you will be so glad that your acne cleared up that it will be worth the extra big spots, the red face the dryness and everything else that goes with it.

LegacyUser

acnesuffer wrote: »

I'm taking isotretinoin at the minute (roaccutane) and its so hard. It doesnt seem to be working and my acne is as bad as ever. I'm about two months into my treatment, can anyone tell me if this stuff definitely works, sometimes it doesnt seem worth it.
Mods I'm not asking for medical advice but i really need support or advice from people who have taken this stuff before, thanks.

Hi OP sorry to hear you're feeling so bad, I'm sure you're aware that depression and mood alterations are known side-effects with Roaccutane - hopefully your dermatologist has talked through all the issues with you. Please please please ask for help if you feel it's all getting too much for you, don't suffer in silence.

It's an effective drug, but hard on the body in so many ways. Fingers crossed it will all work out for you and in a few months your skin and your soul will be feeling better!