ACCUTANE Reviews (ISOTRETINOIN)Average Rating: 3.3 (746 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ACCUTANE with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 |
More on ACCUTANE: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ACCUTANE | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Acne | dry lips, very light and rare nose bleeds, joint pain (especially my back), moody and tired (but then again that may be from being a teenager), slightly dry skin, not any difference in sun sensitivity | For my first month, I was on it 20 mg twice a day. My second month, I was on it 20 mg three times a day. And now I am just finishing up my third month at 40 mg twice a day. At first, my skin started to get better with no cysts and only 2-3 new pimples each week. After that it got worse and since then it's been back and forth. Within the past few days, I've noticed that my skin has gotten a lot better. I have 2 cysts and no other new pimples (no whiteheads or blackheads). My skin feels very soft and smooth, and it is not that dry. I have scars on my cheeks, but I had them from before being on Accutane. It's been annoying when my skin got worse when taking it, but I know that it will get better eventually. Now that my skin has gotten a lot better, I'm so excited, because I know my skin will be perfect soon. The one thing that is actually annoying is that after I come off it (in 2 months), I'll probably have to get some type of scar treatment if the scars don't go away when I'm | F | 16 | 3 months | 4/7/2008 | 5 | cystic, persistant moderate acne | Dry lips. Wonderful soft hair, dry skin (in a good way), less oil, happiness! | Had horrible acne for over 15 years that got WORSE as I got older & into my 20's. Accutane is a miracle drug & saved my life socially & physically. It made me start on a new path, I'm now clear, lost weight & am happier & healthy because of this drug. Don't let people scare you out of taking this drug! People like to blame their own problems on everything but themselves & try to drag accutane down with them. | F | 28 | 6 months | 4/7/2008 | 1 | Acne | Dry bleeding lips, bloody noses, lower back pain, racing heart, borderline Diabetes, decreased night vision, and limitations on eyesight distance, depressed feeling, and change in personality. | I was administered the medicine in 1993 for less than 3 months and it still has my attention. I suffer from occasional back pain, decreased vision and occasional racing in my heart. I would discourage anyone from taking the drug. | M | 35 | 3 months | 4/7/2008 | 4 | severe acne on face, back, and ches | hair loss, dry lips, rectal bleeding, intestinal pain | Know that no matter how healthy you are before taking accutane, you are still at risk for some very severe side effects. I took the drug for 3 months and now 4 months later I am pretty happy with the result. I used to have very oily hair and skin but now they are both normal. I had some scary side effects, but for me the benefit of waking up in the morning not afraid to face the world was worth it. | F | 20 | 3 months | 4/6/2008 | 5 | Rosacea, Rhinophyma Skin Lesions | Skin and Eye dryness. | THIS DRUG SAVED MY LIFE! I developed severe rosacea and accutane helped to clear up the lesions that I developed all over my face. Ive been on 2 courses. One high dose for six months and the other was low dose (10mgs every other day) for about 3 years. After seeing many specialists and trying EVERY other drug out there I got a doc to prescribe me accutane. Almost overnight my skin lesions stopped! Once off accutane, they started coming back so i did a low dose regime to treat the swelling in my nose. THIS DRUG WORKS WONDERS BUT MUST BE USED WITH CAUTION! | F | 42 | 3 years | 4/4/2008 | 5 | Cystic acne | Dry lips,dry eyes,dry skin,vaginal dryness,sores in nose,nail growth,slight hair loss,slight back pain,extreme irritablity,increased anger,frustration,crying spells. | As bad as the side effects were, Accutane changed my life. I had cysts the size of quarters underneath my skin that have completely disappeared. I can now go out in public without feeling disgusted with my face and I would recommend taking it to anyone-but only if you research it and think about the potential side effects beforehand. I have been off of Accutane for 6 months now and have ZERO acne. The only lasting side-effect is my hair has thinned slightly, but I am so happy I chose Accutane rather than continuing with antibiotics and topical treatments. RESEARCH first, but it worked for me. | F | 25 | 6 months | 4/4/2008 | 4 | Cystic Acne | Some dry skin so far, but not too bad at all. Some joint pain in my feet and back, but again, not too bad. Dry lips. | I just turned 30 and can't take it anymore. I never had a problem until around 23...bamb. My cheeks were the main part and letting it go so long, I have developed scarring. I did try Accutane approx. 6 years ago, but didn't follow through with it due to the acne getting worse, but now, I sure wish I did! I have been on it for 10 days so far and am pretty happy. I still have some old ones that are fading, but no new cysts. I just can't wait to have my pretty face back!!! Acne has destroyed some good years. After treatment with Accutane, I will begin the treatment for the scars. Good luck to all. | F | 30 | 10 days | 4/2/2008 | 3 | persistant sometimes painful acne. | lips very dry. easily scratched up. dandruff/dry scalp. right now very itchy face (i think its from acne healing fast) | i'm almost 27 and i am so sick and tired of breaking out. on 40mg bid. only second week now. only thing bugging me most is i miss tanning and getting waxed so far but the trade off will be worth it right? | F | 26 | 2 weeks | 4/2/2008 | 2 | Acne | Dry lips, depression | I took this drug about 2 years ago for about 3 weeks and although by this stage my skin had completely cleared up, I had fallen into a deep depression that took me months to get out of. I believe that you need to be happy within yourself before taking this drug, because beauty can only be skin deep sometimes, well in my case anyway. Also be aware that this drug can worsen feelings of depression (that may already be present) to the stage where they are uncontrollable, as what happened to me. | F | 20 | 3 weeks | 3/28/2008 | 4 | for cystic acne | dry dry dry dry lips to the point of bleeding and open wounds. dry/scaley arms as well. middle back spinal pain (very painful). decreased night vision. depression and lathargy | it definitely cleared up my face. despite the side effects, i dont think i will stop taking the medication. it's benefit as been too great. | F | 19 | 6 weeks | 3/25/2008 | 1 | severe cystic acne | Dry skin, severe chapped lips, rash, moods,high triglicerides and TYPE 1 DIABETES | My 15 year old daughter was on accutane for 6 weeks. After 4 weeks they increased her dosage to 90 mg a day. Unquenchable thirst and frequent urination led us to have her glucose levels checked and she went to the Er with a reading of over 600! She has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and will be on insulin for the REST OF HER LIFE! Stay away from this drug! Anyone else develop diabetes? | F | 15 | 6 weeks | 3/25/2008 | 5 | Cystic Acne | Very Dry Lips, Bloating, dry eyes, very soft, sensitive skin. Flaking skin,Intial breakout at the beginning of my course. Slight Weight Gain | The beginning of the course is the hardest part, its like all the side effect hit you one after another. Carry around some chap stick because you'll need it! It was hard on me emotionally and physically but I stopped 2 months early from taking 80MG a day because the result turned out so well. I must say I THANK GOD for the creators of this drug. It was worth every bit of the struggle. To not have to wake up in the morning to a face full of cyst. Or the feeling of wanting to stay home and away from mirrors. Now people ask how is my skin so beautiful! Or how do I get it to glow! Its truely worth it if you're having problems with acne. | M | 20 | 4 months | 3/24/2008 | 3 | Acne | Very dry lips, dry skin (very dry on face, rest of body is dry too), rash on back of hands that comes and goes, ears are dry and peel a little, vaginal dryness, occasional nausea for no other apparent reason - am now in my 5th month and getting little red spots (like small bug bites) on my legs and butt, assume this is some kind of a rash | I've been on 40mg twice a day for almost 5 months - Accutane has certainly helped my skin a lot, but so far not to the extent that I had hoped. Also, these newer side effects I am having (vaginal dryness, rash) are more worrisome and can be ebmarassing in certain situations. I haven't had any depression, but have had occasional bad days when I've broken out again and feel hopeless. I am hoping within the next month and a half my skin continues to clear up and the acne doesn't come back - my best friend took it a couple years ago and has said she would never have recommended it to anyone while she was on it because she was so miserable but now that she's so happy with the results, she would - she hasn't had a single pimple, 2 years later. So I'm hopeful that in the next few months it will prove to be worth all of these side effects. Taking this medicine is NOT a decision to be taken lightly - do your research, be prepared for the side effects and do it only if it's worth it to you | F | 23 | 5 months | 3/24/2008 | 1 | acne | I experienced very dry lips, dry hair (when usually I had oily hair by the end of the day), severe headaches, bloody nose often, body aches, sensitivity to touch, extremely tiredness...etc | I would NOT reccommend taking accutane! Please do NOT take this medication... I was 17 at the time, I took it for 4 months... I did not realize the severity of this drug at the time and the dermatologist down played the side effects as well. I had severe headaches, body aches, and many other side effects...and now I have terrible scarring. Until accutane, I did not have ANY trouble in school or w/ memory, and now I do...accutane could be the only reason(which I am seeking more help w/) my liver is highly elevated still 1+ yrs. later. Plus many more issues, I definately WOULD NOT reccommend this drug to anyone under any circumstances!!!! I wish I could go back, knowing what I know and feel now, so I would not have these problems! | F | 19 | 4 months | 3/20/2008 | 5 | bad acne | bloody nose, slight swelling of lymph nodes | I took the med. in the mid 80's, had very few side effects and no long-term effects. Doc. monitored me very closely with urine and blood tests bi monthly. When my lymph nodes showed some swelling he took me off the drug right away. My acne cleared up after 1 month and I have never had acne again. After reading many other blogs, please becareful and smart using this drug. Use it as a last-resort, and if you get side effects get off it. | M | 37 | 45 days | 3/16/2008 | 5 | Acne | extreme dryness- three years later my skin is still not as oily as before, since then my skin is very sensitive to the sun, i never tanned or burned before but I now have to use sunscreen- long term hair growth, myself and more than one person I know who took accutane a few years had 3 or 4 dark hairs grow on chin/ neck area (female)- can be easily tweased/ electrolysis | I'm very grateful that I took this drug. Its not to be taken lightly but my teenage years would not have been what they were had I continued to have bad acne, it is a last resort, I tried EVERYTHING else, this is all that worked and though I still have small outbreaks its hardly noticable | F | 18 | 4 months | 3/12/2008 | 1 | acne | I experienced the same common side effects when I took it when I was 15 and I am now 27. I am concerned about long term side effects. I have an identical twin that did not take it and I have issues that he does not have but I do. My stomach and intestines are not doing well. My twin has no problem with his and he drinks alcohol and eats worse food than I do. | I did not know that much about the drug at the time or I would not have taken it. The acne started to come back and I was able to treat it with other methods that are less harmful to my body. I experimented with soaps, used things to exfoliate my skin, changed my diet, and washed my face with cooler water. It cleared up. I think that everyone should do this instead. I also noticed that tap water in some areas influenced my skin too. Diet and stress also cause skin changes too. Keep in mind also that skin has natural defence microorganisms that protect it so cleaning it too much is bad. Alcohol is also bad for it and most acne products have this. Alcohol will also cause skin to produce more oil after using it. All of the acne products Don't work for severe acne because of alcohol and other products in it like that. Acne can also be caused by infection called candida. Antifungal cream will help this and you will notice that your skin will get worse in humid weather if this is the cause. | M | 27 | 6 months | 3/11/2008 | 4 | acne on face and body, oily skin | dry lips, slightly dry skin, contacts hurt | Worked great, on it for 6 mos. Had very oily skin when started but accutane made it disappear. Now getting oily skin again- been off it for a month- don't know if I should go back on it??? | F | 26 | 6 days | 3/6/2008 | 5 | Acne | Dry lips & skin in general; skin burned after eyebrow wax (don't wax on Accutane!!) | I struggled with bad acne from high school until about 27-ish. A few different docs had recommended Accutane, but I resisted because of all the side effects. Finally, I gave in and am so glad I did! I still get the occasional breakout (been off it a few years), but after Accutane, it was NEVER that bad again. Would take it again in a heartbeat if necessary! | F | 32 | 5 months | 2/28/2008 | 1 | moderate acne | Crohn's Disease or Inflammatory Bowel Disease, my ears stopped producing wax, dry skin | I took Accutane for 4 months when I was 15. I developed SEVERE intestinal problems which made me stop taking Accutane before the 6 months were up. I missed a month of school from all of my intestinal issues and lost 20 pounds from my already thin frame. 10 years later and I still do not have any ear wax, which contributes to me suffering from chronic swimmer's ear. I know there are some people that take Accutane and do not experience these problems, BUT the risk is too high. Accutane has the ability to make a very healthy person extremely sick. It did not clear up my acne, either. BEWARE of this medication!! | F | 24 | 4 months | 2/28/2008 |