Acne\Roaccutane advice appreciated

Bottle_of_Smoke

Hi,

I'm 17, been getting Acne for the past few years and it doesn't show signs of going away soon.

I've tried the minocin\zinnert combo but didnt work.

I know the usuals about cleansing, I'm pretty much a health freak - don't eat anything containing sugar, I do drink lots of water and get regular exercise.

What would really help would be advice from -

People who've tried roaccutane, I know it will more than likely work but could side effects affect leaving cert performance in your opinon?

People who've tried more alternative methods - sauna, sunbeds etc

Anyone who's tried b5, some sort of natural remedy I've heard good things about

Thanks

Gordon

I saw a thing on the news about that but I didn't actually see the article. It seemed to be some type of laser thing.

If anyone saw it - what was that "ground breaking acne cure" about?

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Rags

I've on my 3rd time atm and imo it would affect your leaving cert performance. Side effects can be a pain in the ass. If your doing your leaving cert this year maybe wait. But if not go for it.

There is no alternative methods, none of them address the root cause of acne. Ac****ane is the best and might take up to 3courses but it will improve your acne a lot.

Theboinkmaster

Before takinig accutane I'd check to see how back your acne is. If it's the type with large red spots which take a week to clear then only accutane will help. If on the other hand they are more pimples (come & go in a couple of days) then I'd try a few things first.

Benzamycin is excellent. It's an antibiotic cream which you apply at night and really helps. Or Minocin SA is good but it stopped working for me after 6 months or so. Benzamycin is both an antibiotic and a benzol peroxide cream so I've been using it for 3 yrs now and it keeps working.

Also try a home facial sauna, this really works. Fill a bowl with boiling water and hold your head over it with a towl covering your head for 5 mins.

If you need accutane note that there are serious side effects. I took 3 courses over 2 yrs and it really ****ed me up. Basically my life was on hold for those 2 yrs but it was worth it. I got rid of the proper acne so now just get a few little spots.

Accutane drys out your system so you need to moisterise every day and you can't wear contact lenses. You also cannot drink and it makes your face go quite red.

I also got quite depressed, only take accutane if you need it and have exhausted all other possibilities.

Best of luck, post any more questions and ill try to help.

Simon

xx

I've been off my 9 month course of Roaccutane about 3 weeks now (yayyy for me). Apart from a few scars that were caused from my acne, I'm completely clear. And mine was bad!!!!! Takes a while for your body to return to normal though, my lips are still prone to a bit of dryness. Apart from that, tickity boo.

speedfreak

i was on it too a few years ago.. It didnt affect me mentally but it did the trick (for a while). I started getting spotty again after a yr and i had to take another course of minocen (had been on it before Roaccutaine). The side effects were quite severe - face/lips completely dried up. It will do the trick for severe nodular acne.

eth0_

That new laser treatment looks pretty amazing, here's a story on it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2699149.stm

There's also micro dermabrasion but i'm not sure if that would be advisable on someone with bad acne, but it's very good for getting rid of the scars you might be left with, basically takes off the top layer of skin and leaves you with healthier skin.

seamus

There was a guy I was friends with in school, had relatively bad acne, just spots that came and went in a couple of days, he had good days and bad days, started taking roaccutane, and now he's a complete psycho. Not saying that caused it, but he was always slightly 'weird' and depressed, but once he started taking it, he became deeply depressed and paranoid. Did OK in his leaving, but when we see him out (I assume he's off the roaccutane now), he'll completely ignore us the whole night, then come up at the end and start a blazing row about how we blanked him the whole night. Total psycho.

As daveirl said, you can't have mush longer to go, if you're 17. Maybe just let nature run its course

Typedef

I take 60mg of the stuff every day and yes, it makes me slightly glum (ordinarily I wouldn't be even slightly emotional about anything... quite the opposite in fact), but, umm.... since I am aware of that fact that the medication can cause depression, I generally take no notice ,make an extra special effort to be a bastard and just get on with it in general.

Stiff upper lip and all that.

Edit: Oh, it works too, but, that said 'side-effects' suck, generally speaking.
A good description of the medication would be a lip drying medication that has the side effect of curing acene.

haw haw.

*monies in brown paper envelopes care of my 'Camen islands' account

yellum

Originally posted by seamus

As daveirl said, you can't have mush longer to go, if you're 17. Maybe just let nature run its course

I'm 25 and I still get spots on my face, back and shoulders. The only thing i take now is b5. I was on Minocin for years and it worked well enough but I think it ****ed up my stomach a bit.


Roaccutanes strong stuff. Friends had many treatments of it. Blood nose and dry skin were his only bad things from it. He's too frickin happy to be depressed, which is depressing at times.

ShayK1

ok i was on Roaccutane and it totally dried me out!! Lips, Face, Arms and legs!
It got so bad that i developed exzema(Spelling??) I got so ichy that i couldn't sleep! I was kept awake all night scratching myself!!
That will affect your leaving cert.......if you can't sleep you will be tired and if your tired then you can't concentrate!
didn't even work for me though! it eased off alright but it did not stop it!!!
I am off it about a month now and i still have dry patches around my nose and lips!
If you think that theres no other option and you really hate your acne and you can live with the side affects then go on it after the leaving cert!!
but i would under NO CIRCUMSTANCES go back on that cursed pill!! i hate it with a passion!!
side affects are really bad at the start!! Dry nose, face, lips, eyes so my advice if you do go on it is moisturise(SPELLING??) every single day and especially after a bath or shower!! and buy shares in VASELINE (you will use that much) and apply as often as you can!! don't worry about how you look while appling the vaseline cause there is no MANLY way to do it!! Believe me i tried! putting on vaseline looks gay and thats that!! however carrying a tub of vaseline with you may send out the "I am very well hug" signal to the ladies(joke)(Kinda)!!
best of luck which ever way you go!

Typedef

Sounds like you were over medicated mate.

Generally the ascription of dosage goes by weight, perhaps you were given a dose that was too high for you.

Lemming

Originally posted by daveirl
I know one guy who took it and it did **** him up. He says that it does that to most people. It can give you serious depression. On the other hand it does work.

You're 17 though. Surely you only have one or two years of it left tops. How about letting nature take it's course?

I was on it for 6 months (2 more than the "standard" treatment period), and it most certainly didn't f*ck me up.

I was handed a 3-page A4 list of all the *possible* side-effects (including depression) but the worst I suffered was chaffed lips (and the obligatory dry skin).

It really varies from individual to individual, and to say that it WILL give you depression is talking b*llocks and a very sweeping statement. It /MAY/ give you depression. Then again it /MAY/ give you any one/number of things listed on afore-mentioned 3-pages of A4 paper, ranging from hair-loss, to gastro-intestinal bleeding.

As for letting "nature take its course", acne doesn't always work like that. I'm 23 now and I still get the occasional bout, although nothing remotely like what I used to.

And, yes, I had ACNE rather bad (before anyone things I had it mild). Chest, shoulders, back, neck, face. PLEEENTY of scars to show for it too.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Thanks for the replys, I heard today you can do a 6 week course, I think this might do the trick for me, I would like to postpone it further but that would mean till end of summer probably due to the sun and all.

I see what people are sayin bout letting it run its course but to be honest its getting worse every day, spreading to back and chest now, if it continues I reckon I'll be 23\24 before it "runs its course" and scarring may happen in between.

Any more stories welcome.

Lemming

Originally posted by Bottle_of_Smoke
but that would mean till end of summer probably due to the sun and all.

As an aside, sun is good for acne. THE UV does the same thing that Ro-Accutane does in that it dries out the skin (albeit in a more natural fashion). It's not exactly a cure, but it would certainly help. I always noticed how my arms, upto the edge of the tshirt sleeves never got acne, but above that, game on.

daveirl

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Lemming

Originally posted by daveirl
No one said that

your mate did (granted, according to your post - so it's hearsay)

daveirl

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LegacyUser

Hi,
I was on a course of Roaccutance when I was 16 (I'm 24 now) and it did clear up my (quite severe) acne. However, it also caused me to develop a gastro-intestinal problem when I was 20. The acne returned at the same time too, though not as severe as before. Last year I managed to get rid of the acne again but through a combination of a strict diet (no yeast or sugar) and taking some homeopathic medicines for four months. My skin stays nice and clear now as long as I'm careful what I eat - I have to avoid things like Chinese food containing monosodiumglutamate.

So Roacc. definitely does work but its not a total cure and the side effects can be quite severe and long term. The list of side effects is huge so whether you get ones that affect your Leaving is pretty much down to luck. I think the alternative methods are the way to go first and Roaccutane should only be taken as an absolute last resort if nothing else works.

Placebo

facial sauna,

That makes the pores in your face really big . Its been recommended to do it once in a few weeks . so i heard .