Isotretinoin/side effects?

[Tomorrowsanotherday24]

I’m in 2 minds about starting isotretinoin/accutane. I have suffered with bad skin for a while now and it bothers me very much. I have tried every skin care profits you can think, antibiotics from the gp and different creams etc but nothing works. I am 95% sure it is all hormonal, I still tried to change my diet which didn’t work. I’ve now been given the go ahead for accutane and waiting for the blood test for them to prescribe it.

I got to a very low point with my skin where I just wanted to go onto acutane, I thought it’s the only thing I have left to try. Before that I was against going on any medication or anything harsh. I also wanted to try to find the root cause and heal that - whether it be hormones or gut health.

i am still very unsure about whether to start it or not. My skin isn’t horrendous but the big puss filled spots leave red marks all over my face. I’m aware of the side effects and the extreme drying of skin/lips etc which I can handle. The part that is deterring me is the vaginal dryness.

I already struggle with getting ‘wet’ down there at times and I’m worried the dryness will make it so much worse and affect my sex life/relationship. Has anyone experienced this? I’m also worried the effects of this could last longer even after finishing the medication.

I also do not want to lose this opportunity and regret it, as I waited a long time to get here.

any advice?

Hi, I was wondering if you started the isotretinoin and if so , how are you doing on it ? I was prescribed it 3 weeks ago but I’m too scared to take it. I don’t have really bad skin but have a bit of sebaceous hyperplasia and so was prescribed 10mg daily . I would love to hear about your experience as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of advice on here .

My daughter is on week 4. 2 weeks on 20mg and now on 60mg. Zero symptoms apart from slightly dry lips easily dealt with. She is using a good moisturiser and hair products with a leave in conditioner and is looking great feeling so positive. My son had a course a few years ago as did his gf and it was life changing.

Did you start the meds original poster? I’m in the exact same situation and also worried about the same things as I’m having dryness issues downstairs.

Been offered 40mg ISO for 27 weeks but terrified of short term side effects as well as the awful long term ones I’ve read about.

@niqnet1 I haven’t started them .. I have them but I’m too scared as I too have read the various terrifying accounts. I am only prescribed 10mg so it’s not quite as much as you but she said I would be better b them for a year. When I told her she was worried she just said that if I didn’t like the side effects I could just stop. My skin isn’t that bad so I don’t know if it’s worth the risk at this stage but if it gets much worse and it’s affecting my self esteem then I might feel differently . I am perimenopausal too so I am worried that my skin would go really dry and also I worry that I would get dry downstairs too 😬

Yes I started them, 2 weeks ago now. I’m still on 20mg per day and will increase after my next review. 40mg straight away sounds very high to start with.

I haven’t noticed any dryness yet, was really worried about that and I’m sure it will hit me soon. I’m just hoping it will be worth it and did some research there are pessaries you can get to help with vaginal dryness so I might look into that

Would be happy to chat with you. I'm about to start this too. Pick up the meds today. Let's hope it works 🙏🏻

Bumping. Anyone else on these meds?

I took it a couple of years ago. My skin on my lips and inside my nose got very dry and sore but otherwise I was basically ok. The medication totally changed my life and I just regret not trying it sooner. I am resistant to a whole heap of antibiotics and had dangerous blood pressure issues with dianette before I would try roaccutane - I was so scared. But years on and my skin is much more stable and I barely think about it. I couldn't have wished for more! Good luck everyone!

Thank you for replying. I've been given that and a gel to put on at night. Will be interesting to see how it goes.

@tryingsomethingnew youre being the brave one , I am sitting on 3 boxes scared to touch them. Can I ask how your skin is? The reason I ask is that I’m weighing up whether it’s worth the side effects for me ( I mean the systemic ones I have read about ) as I have these sebaceous hyperplasia white spots that have developed on my forehead which I know will disappear on the meds but I can live with at the moment . That said, I’m gettting more and more and I won’t be able to ! I really hope you get on fine and don’t have side effects as everyone says it’s worth it . Would it be ok for you to update occasionally? X

I have hormonal cystic acne. So not awful, but still bad. Red and bumpy. Three days in and no side affects at all. I'm on an antibiotic too. The gel was what I thought might show more dryness but I'm only doing that for 20 mins then washing off. Will increase soon.

Glad no side affects so far ! What is the gel? I have just isotretinoin 10mg daily . What is your dose. Did you have any blood tests before ?

I'm also on 10mg of Iso. The gel is called Eben something.

A few days in and it seems to be settling the rawness of the red spots.

@tryingsomethingnew , fingers crossed it continues ! Good luck with it . Maybe it’s true that a low dose really does reduce the side effects. I will be interested to know if you get overall dry skin on your face as this worries me a bit too , especially as I get older !

@tryingsomethingnew hi there, I was wondering how you are getting on with the meds? Do you have any side effects yet? I hope all os good 👍

I took it for four months, I had dry lips and couldn’t wear my lenses but apart from that it was ok.

My son had dreadful cystic acne and took the tablets for 6 months. It's very, very effective and he has had clear skin for over 2 years now. He had dry eyes and lips - he was advised to use nipple cream on his lips. I bought him a pet cooling mat to put on his pillow as he got itchy when sleeping - but it was so worth it. He is so happy to have persevered and his life is so much better now.

I started on 20mg a day and had really good results that seem to have (touch wood) sorted the problem for good. I had slightly dry lips and my hair was less greasy than usual which was amazing, but I didn't notice any effects elsewhere. Honestly, just do it - you can stop if it doesn't agree with you but will likely be completely fine, and the results are so so worth it.

It might be a complete coincidence for me but I started B12 supplements about 18 months ago. Cystic acne started 12 months ago. In a desperate attempt to try absolutely everything before starting either Spiroloctane or Roccutane I decided to try stopping the B12 after reading about a few studies which linked acne to B12. I’ve been off B12 for six weeks and had no cysts for 3 weeks. This is the best it has been in a long time. I’m on Akneymycin plus too but been on that since early December and whilst it helped my skin heal faster it didn’t stop the cysts coming up.
Might be complete coincidence but I’m seeing how I go and working with a medical herbalist for hormone balance in the meantime. Planning to revisit conventional drugs if I need them.
I hope everyone else is doing well xxxx

Hi! Sorry missed the updates. Well I'm one month in. Yes dry lips for sure. Almost sore, but Vaseline every day all day. So yes I guess the acne has gone down and I'm not getting new spots, maybe one this month, but the scaring or red marks are still there. I've finished the antibiotics they gave me so just the isotronin now. Recommended to have a facial so I guess that might help? Also had a blood test so am waiting for the results. I guess my make up is going on better- but you can still see bumps. Im hoping the forthcoming months I might see some more results? Interesting to read that some have taken it for months and never looked back.

Anyone else currently on it or recently taken it?

You’d need to tell the beautician your on isotretonoin it can contraindicate you from some products.

@tryingsomethingnew Hi there, I am still scared to take the iso so I was just wondering how you were doing on it as it must be a couple of months now . Hope all is well and the side effects have settled ☺️

Jesus, If you wait much longer the meds will expire. Shit or get off the potty.

No one can tell you how a drug will affect your system and being dry down there isn’t the end of the world, you can use lanolin nipple cream down there as well as the lips on your face.

Hi, yes I am 2 and half months in. Apart from dry lips, no other issues. I can't say it's worked amazingly. But I guess it's calmed my skin down. Still new spots around my period. The scaring and marks are still there so I'm thinking that facials might help with that. It has calmed my skin down and no obvious face symptoms so I think it will be fine.

Wouldn't say dry down there either.