roaccutane initial breakout

[liberatedbetty]

Hi.
I have posted a couple of times about possibly starting roaccutane. I'm hoping to be prescribed a low dose and was wondering if anyone has any experiences to share. I am particularly bothered about the possibility of an initial outbreak. If you've been on a low dose, did you suffer and how did you control it?
Am hoping for reassurance from sensible Mumsnetters- been looking on acne forums and getting scared!
Thanks,
LB

Bump

Hi, not sure if this helps or not but my son was prescribed roaccutane and he did notice things getting worse before they improved. His acne was on his shoulders though so not noticeable without clothing.

Roaccutane did the trick, everything cleared up although he has some scarring.

Good luck op, I know how acne can make people miserable.

Hi OP

I took Roaccutane (many years ago now) and there was no initial breakout. It just worked. Beautifully. My skin was pretty much perfect in the matter of a week or two.

I didn't have any adverse emotional reactions either. I just felt brilliant

It didn't last - I had another course a few years later - but my skin has never reverted to how it was before. I still get the odd spot but that's pretty normal for most people.

Good luck, hope it works out!

Not what you want to hear but my skin did get worse before I got better, and it did take a few weeks to see an improvement, but my skin was so bad I didn't care!

I was on a high dose though, 70mg a day. I think in lower dosages the initial breakout shouldn't be so bad. Good luck, it is worth it in the end!

It not I!

Its normal for everyone to start on a low dose but often it won't work if you stay on a low dose ,pointless risking the side effects if the outcome isn't good . Both my children have had roaccutane and its worked very well . My son is about 4 yrs on from his course and although he now is starting to get the odd spot its nothing like it was .

I started on a fairly high dose and had an initial break-out...not the worst my skin has ever been but pretty bad, then it gradually improved and it has been great ever since! well apart from the wrinkles
DD (now 15) was started on a low dose and gradually built up and she had no initial break-out, the consultant said it definitely helped to start low. DD was very young when she took it though and her skin is a little spotty recently (she has started her periods, late developer) and may need to take Roaccutane again, not sure if it's because of her age or the low dose?

I was on roaccutane for (very mild, but irritatingly persistent) acne. It didn't get worse, before it started to get better. I was on a lower dose, but I can't remember what it was. It worked like a charm! I had no adverse effects, emotional or otherwise, just very dry skin (which is to be expected). I used E45 LOTS and made sure I always used lip balm. It was manageable and the dryness cleared very very soon after coming off the drugs.

Wish I had done it years before I did!

I took low dose Roaccutane a few years ago. I was started on a very low dose, 10mg alternate days, then 10mg daily. I went up to 20mg daily, that was my highest dose.

I did get an initial breakout, even on the very low dose. My derm is very proactive and treated me immediately with 30mg (a low dose)prednisolone daily for a few days. I can't remember being prescribed anything else for the breakut. It resolved very quickly and I finished my Roaccutane, and ne'er a spot since! Fab.

Good luck with it, you will be delighted with the results.

Yes I had a very bad initial breakout. I also had a number of nosebleeds during the treatment and cracked lips, splits in the corners of my mouth. I ended up having two courses of the treatment but the results have been incredible. My skin has been really clear ever since. It's definitely worth it and maybe you could time starting the treatment to coincide with a few days off work?

My only real side effect was dry lips. Ever so slightly dry eyes but not worth complaining about. I tried lots of lip balms but the best by a million miles was the smelly Elizabeth Arden 8 hour lip balm.

I've said it many times before, but the relief of having no spots and not fussing about my skin (except for wrinkles!) is more than wonderful. A nice side effect is your pores appear to shrink because all the little black heads on your nose clear away, so your skin looks completey uncongested, IYKWIM. It's still that way a few years on.

Thanks, everyone!