Please give me your experiences of taking roaccutane as an adult

[Fallingstars20]

I’m sick of struggling with my skin for over half my life and can get a referral for roaccutane. Nothing else has worked for me really and it feels like a last resort.
Have never taken it before and have heard a lot of horror stories about the side effects. I’m in my early 30s, generally physically healthy and healthy bum, I’m not ttc/definitely not pregnant and have a copper coil in for long term contraception. I’ve suffered with anxiety and depression on and off for my whole adult life and am slightly concerned about the MH side effects of the drug.
Any experiences as an adult and would you recommend?

Healthy bmi that should say!! Not bum!!!

I took it a few years ago when I was 25. It was honestly life changing and I would urge anyone to try it. I suffered with acne for 10 years prior to this and spent so much money trying various methods to sort it out but nothing helped. I was on accutane for about 6 months. I had a bit of joint pain with it (which is a common side effect) but I found an article somewhere which had links to research about how taking lower dose gives me same results. My dermatologist read it and agreed to try it, and it still worked brilliantly and I barely had any side effects after the dose was lowered. Also it was amazing not having to wash my hair every day (I've always had greasy hair!) because it stops the production of oils on your skin. Unfortunately I have to wash my hair every day again now but it was good while it lasted.

I'm now 30 and still have clear skin but get the odd hormonal spot which I can deal with. Just being able to pop to the shops without worrying about covering your spots up is wonderful. Probably the best thing about now having clear skin. I used to spend ages getting ready before leaving the house because I was so self conscious. And not having to worry about wearing makeup when it's hot or when you're on holiday! It sounds shallow but it's such a relief now.

Oh I forgot to say I've always struggled with anxiety and low level depression on and off and had no issues at all taking accutane.

Good luck!

I took 2 rounds access of roaccutane at age 21 it changed my life for the better! I had acne from 17-21yrs, it affected my school and uni life, I was never free, always hiding away and under make-up.

I did have some side effects at the time but they were tolerable because of the improvement of my skin. For the first 1-2 months my skin became very thin, all the impurities under my skin came out and I had some bad breakouts. Then I suffered from dry skin on my legs, inside my nose, chapped lips and straw dry hair (usually it was oily!!). I had to be very careful in the sun. Also I became very prone to coldsores.

But after the two rounds my skin was so so clear!! I haven't had any problems since (almost 30) except for the occasional pms breakout and large pore problems.

I would recommend it, but ensure you stick to the monitoring routine as prescribed by the doctor.
Good luck!

I took it aged around 22-23. Incredible. Wished I’d taken it sooner.

Most obvious side-effect was dryness/irritation inside my nose. Well worth it.

Life changing. Do it now. I ended up having to have 2 rounds. The first round did work but my acne returned about 6 yrs later. The doctor didn't hesitate the second time and i went straight back on it. That was 15 yrs ago and haven't had a spot since.

Unbelievable.

I get quite annoyed when I read it's dangerous because it makes you depressed. I couldn't have been more depressed than I was with a face full of acne. I believe you need to have proper acne, not just the odd spot for people to appreciate this. As my skin gradually improved, oh my, it was ALL worth it.

Side effects- VERY dry lips and the inside of my nose. Few aches and pains joints wise.

I very rarely even wear make up now. I used to be caked in it - all to hide my skin. Wouldn't leave the house without a full layer. It's so liberating to actually touch smooth skin. I can also sleep properly now I dont' have painful cysts under my jawline.

Don't hesitate. Get on it now. Also lovely to meet with proper skin experts who appreciate it's NOTHING you are doing that makes your acne worse (HATE reading about how it linked to eating chocolate etc) . My mental health improved dramatically.

How did everybody get referred to dermatologists for this? Did you need to go private?

I had it when i was 17 - only after my GP insisted on trialling me with every antibiotic and solution he could prescribe over the course of 7 years, trialling each thing for 4 months each.

My daughter, i fear, is heading the same way with her acne. Is it still as difficult to get the GP to refer you to dermatology for roaccutane? Do they still insist on having you try lots of other things for 5+ years beforehand?

Roaccutane definitely changed my life for the better. I still get acne on my chin and neck at my time of the month but barely any. My chest and back has stayed clear thankfully!

I know two people (women) who've used it.

I agree, it was life-changing for them. And apart from the incredibly dry lips they had no side-effects.

But it was definitely last resort as far as their GPs were concerned.

I had to try every single treatment under the sun to get it. I think that's what 's so annoying about it. I knew I had real acne, not just a few teenage spots yet I had to sacrifice being a teenager as it totally destroyed my confidence. I was 23 before I was able to get it.

I would tell the doctor family history though and say you're very concerned about your daughter following the same path and it looks like that will be the case.

Thank you @starutopia. I think if i mention my history, it might help the GP realise she's likely not going to get any benefit from the various treatments they might suggest and may refer to dermatology sooner than the 7 years it took my GP to refer me for roaccutane.

We were just about to make her initial appointment about her acne with the GP before lockdown and will now need to wait. A Suda Cream face mask every few nights is the only thing currently working to dry some of the worst ones up.

DD had acne from mid teens, and had a course of roaccutane in her early 20's. Not a long course, and not a particularly high dose, but it did the trick. Acne came back a couple of years later when she was working in London. Saw someone there who prescribed a further course, and she's had few spots since.

Made a huge difference to her.

I had it last year for the first time ever aged 45 as my skin was extremely poor (I had suffered poor skin all my life ) but it had got even worse with nothing else working.Main side effects were extremely dry lips ,dry skin and sore joints.I think it also affected my mood but was hard to gauge as my mum had just passed away 😣 but as my skin improved my mood also did ,as for the first time ever my skin was looking fantastic and this improved my mood and confidence significantly .Stopped treatment about last July and my skin is still holding up with the occasional spot which for me us a miracle.To sum up the result in my skin clearly out weighed the side effects.

Fucking changed my life.

Ok so, daily nosebleeds, had to put Vaseline inside my nostrils daily with a cotton bud.

Headaches. Drink tons and tons of water but they subsided after a while. The joint aches etc continued throughout.

Dry mouth. No amount of water will stop that but keep drinking.

Cracked lips. You will need lip balm every minute of your day. Literally stock pile now you will be putting it on every ten minutes.

You won't need to wash your hair for a week at a time. You will have to moisturise your face repeatedly.

Avoid alcohol, the hangovers are immense.

Expect a massive breakout in month two. It will make you want to quit - but push through it and it's sooooooo worth it.

I won't lie I felt shit for five months. But my skin was horrific so I would consider it worth it.

I'm three months post treatment and my face is so different it's something I could never have imagined and I tried all the treatments prior to this. I would literally recommend it to anyone that's suitable.

I haven't used it but dealt with years of topical and oral antibiotics for my son who had terrible acne. Eventually our pharmacist said he wasn't happy to keep dispensing it, he had been expressing concerns for some time. So I got him an appointment and he saw GP but there was along wait for to see a specialist so I paid for him to see the dermatologist who wrote to the GP and we got NHS prescription for it He was 17 for the first course and needed a second course about 18 months later. It changed his life, he never complained of any side effects but if asked he would say his lips and nose felt dry.

It was life changing for him. His confidence soared.

I was impressed with the healthy bum.

OP do you use Instagram ? There’s tons of really useful roaccutane users sharing their ‘journey’ on there it’s really informative and fascinating. If you go on the search page and search ‘accutanejourney’ a lot should come up. Some have hundreds of thousands of followers

It was worth it for me. The peeling was horrendous and my feet and joints felt like I was 90 even though I was 34. I only get a few hormonal spots now though.

My friend who already had some MH issues had to stop after a couple of weeks though as it was affecting her MH.

It's not an easy drug to take and there can be spectacular side affects which is why only a dermatologist can prescribe but, but in my case it was worth it.

Life changing. Honestly.
I wish I'd done it years ago.
The only side affects I had were very dry lips.
I took it for 6 months.

@AuntyClockWise we're in the same place with ds and I was wondering if I could get a phone appointment for some antibiotics? We also have the family history. From dd's experience, it took about a year to get to roaccutane.

I had roaccutane at age 14 for about a year and it eventually worked brilliantly - although the spots came back around 21 and I had another round. Since then I still have hormonal spots but nothing major. I've never had any issues with depression or anxiety.

DH also had roaccutane as a teenager and dd finished a round about a year ago (now 15). Dd still gets spots, but nowhere near as bad - hers just seem to be very persistent. Both DH and DD have sensitive personalities, DH has had lots of bouts of serious depression, but I'm not sure I'd link it to roaccutane - more to a difficult/abusive upbringing, combined with his personality.

Dd has had mild depression for the last six months (quite a while after finishing roaccutane though). She's had some counselling and now links it to the acne. I've always said if anything is going to cause depression and suicide it's having bad acne. So for me, roaccutane is worth it.

I haven't had a pimple since I took one course four years ago, after having tried everything else I could. I had moderate acne from the age of 13 to 30, usually when I was premenstrual, and then after I had my daughter at 30 the acne became severe and constant.

I got unbelievably dry lips, which is apparently one of the most common side effects that most people taking it will get. A lip balm called Dermal Therapy for Severely Dry Lips helped.

I was worried about the MH aspect as I've had depression a few times. The dermatologist said that depression was a rarely occurring side effect but definitely one to watch for given my history. But it didn't have any impact on my mental health.

Obviously, not getting pregnant is really important.

Did 2 rounds last one at I think 21 years old. Skin was very dry during both times, you will need a very good moisturizer and lipbalm. It didnt work for me though and what finally cured my acne is vitamin b supplements and no longer wearing foundation.

I took it in my early 20s, I'd suffered with acne for about 10 years by then and antibiotics and topical stuff weren't really working. I had lower back pain and really dry lips (and straw like hair), but it was worth it. My mental health wasn't great prior (treated for an eating disorder in my teens) but it didn't get any worse while I was on roaccutane. As other people have said, about 2 months in my skin seemed to be worse but then it cleared. I'm over 15 years on now and only get the odd spot, which I couldn't have imagined when I was 20.

Changed my life too. Both of my siblings had it too and would agree, we all have perfect skin now.

I had joint pain and v dry lips...tip: the only 'lipbalm' that worked was bepanthan nappy rash cream.

Didn't make my depression any worse. If you can get a referral do it!

Divorced my ex husband as it exacerbated his Aggression and depression 10 fold.

I would advise extreme caution it you have ever had mental heath problems

@auntyclockwise

I paid for a private derm appointment through skn clinics which are nationwide, the Dr gave me a list of options roaccutane was one of them but we decided to try a gentler course first. Although if I had wanted he would have prescribed roaccutane. If you have the financial means it might be worth going private to cut out the 'let's try you on this first' route and go straight for the big guns.

@AuntyClockWise an update - I had a phone consultation earlier and ds has been prescribed a topical cream plus antibiotics. However knowing the family history he said to ring again if there’s no improvement in 4 weeks. He seemed positive about moving towards roaccutane more quickly than we did with dd.