Adult with only mild (but ever present!) acne. Will a doctor prescribe accutane?

Probably. You don't have to have bad acne to get accutane. You just have to have acne that doesn't respond to less potent treatments. Anecdotally, it seems easier to get accutane these days because docs are less willing to prescribe broad spectrum antibiotics for acne. Just make an appointment; it's worth it.

Don't. You. Dare. For every success story there is with accutane, there's one with a nightmare, including myself. Sure, it eventually cleared up my skin, but no quicker than any other product (it took years) but it's ruined parts of my life. I was 16 when I started taking it, completely healthy. Within 2 years, my joints ached and actually stiffened, permanently. I no longer have the flexibility to play guitar, or make full strides while running. At age 19 I ended up in the hospital for 3 days because I was suicidal. Over the course of 4 years, from age 16 to 20, I experienced an almost 180 in my personality type.

Read up on it. My daughter is old enough, her dermatologist recommended accutane. We no longer go to that doctor, and have since found a second opinion and that doctor won't put anybody, regardless of age, on accutane. It's scary stuff man, plenty of horrors out there associated with it.

I don't think you'd have any trouble finding a dermatologist to prescribe it for you. In my 40s while living with acne at the base of my scalp I had a guy try to put me on it. He even said, "Oh, you'll read scary stories about this but you can find the same stories about Tylenol. Don't worry about it." I wouldn't touch the stuff.

OP, are you a male or female?

Exhaust all the possible dietary causes before going the route of Accutane. The side effects can be a nightmare. Have you tried eliminating all dairy for a month? Sugar? There are good studies showing that dairy causes acne in those with a predisposition to it and eliminating it will make a big difference. It helped me a lot as did taking a good quality fish oil supplement twice a day. Being deficient in Omega 3s can be a cause. Good luck.

I suffered with deep cystic acne and acutane was a god's send. It sounds like you and I had similar conditions. I was never a "pizza face" like some poor souls that get acne all over, but I did get these huge deep painful lumps. They only way to get rid of them was to get an injection (ahh sweet relief!) but that is costly and takes time.

I took acutane and it totaly stopped these type of break outs. The only side effect for me was very dry skin, and a very dry scalp.

Don't Do It wrote:

Exhaust all the possible dietary causes before going the route of Accutane. The side effects can be a nightmare. Have you tried eliminating all dairy for a month? Sugar? There are good studies showing that dairy causes acne in those with a predisposition to it and eliminating it will make a big difference. It helped me a lot as did taking a good quality fish oil supplement twice a day. Being deficient in Omega 3s can be a cause. Good luck.

I cut out all dairy over a year ago. Helped a lot, but did not totally clear things up.

I don't eat much sugar outside of fruit.

I've been taking fish oil and DHA for over a decade.

Sorry for your experience. It took years? As in, you were on it for years? That would explain why it had such crazy side effects. From what I know, most people whose acne isn't the crazy infomercial type only have to have one bout with accutane lasting 4-6 months.

Anyway, the acne can be pretty significant for me. I'll get a cyst on my arm and then a crater, scab, and scar. It's all pretty unsightly and embarrassing. Same goes for my face. It's only like one cyst per month somewhere, but that's 12 a year, or 50 in the last 4 years. That's pretty significant. I will look more into it though. Thanks.

well, he didnt have a problem "prescribing" you that tube of androgel...

he better take care of the side effects too, right?

Accutane isn't prescribed for years. A complete course is 5 months. And your comparison to other products doesn't make sense as accutane is literally the only product that permanently cures acne. All other products stop working after you stop taking them. It's also undeniably false that other treatments work as well. Even accutane's detractors in the medical community don't claim that. It's also not true that for every success story there's one nightmare. There's debate over whether there are any long term negative side effects, but if there are, it's quite safe to say that the incidence is extremely low.

Took Accutane in 1992 when I was in my 20's. I didn't have a lot of acne, but I had the cystic acne like you have. Took a six month treatment and cleared it up. Had some depression that lifted after I was off the med. Also results in very dry skin.