DD 18 suddenly developed bad acne. Roaccutane?

[MamaWorriedAboutDDAcne]

I’m a regular poster but NC for this as I have discussed the issue with RL friends who may be here.

Over the last ten months 18 year old DD has developed terrible acne. It’s come out of the blue and is causing her huge anxiety. She was always prone to a few small spots with her period but these spots now are constant, big and leaving marks.

She has tried Lymcycline which did nothing, so a dermatologist then prescribed a cream three months ago which initially seemed to help but unfortunately over the last few weeks the acne is getting much worse. It’s mainly on her cheeks so it’s very obvious. She’s feeling very despairing about it now and has frequent sobbing fits about it which breaks our hearts to witness. She wears makeup to conceal it but her skin often looks very’bumpy’ and she’s very upset about the scars being left behind.

She has a good diet and exercises well but this is now her A levels period so we’re wondering if her acne is stress related. She’s starting to say that she wants to take Roaccutane which the dermatologist mentioned at her last appointment but the dermatologist talked about possible issues with the treatment and having done some reading, I’m very concerned about her taking it.

Cam anyone offer any advice about acne that appears in later teenage years, or about Roaccutane?

Also, any recommendations for laser treatment for the scarring?

Would really be grateful for any information or suggestions. Thanks in advance.

We had to jump through many hoops before my teenage son was prescribed Roacuttane.

We had tried every natural method, soap, wash, vitamin, etc. The doctor wouldn't consider Roac. until we had tried 2 topical creams and 3 different antibiotics.

After the referral, my son was assessed and prescribed it on his second visit to the hospital. I think he was on it for 6 months? The worst side effect was dry lips. Super duper dry like nothing I've ever seen. He carried a chap stick constantly.

Re the suicide/mental health risk, it's hard for me to say as my son has severe learning difficulties and autism. I wouldn't say I noticed low mood.

His acne was awful - face, back and chest but the Roac. worked. He's been acne free for 2 years and the scarring from old spots has faded naturally.

I wish your daughter well. Good luck

I used it years ago and it was brilliant. One of my children has just been prescribed it after trying antibiotics and topical prescription creams with no results and I’m not concerned at all. You have to have regular blood tests to make sure your liver function is ok and of course have to be very careful not to get pregnant but the benefits to self esteem are enormous. How does your daughter feel about it?

I had very dry skin for a while and had a short lived but memorable purge but no low mood when I took it.

Zinc tablets. Research dosage

Thank you @LaunchingTeabag good to hear that it helped your son. It really affects their self esteem and confidence doesn’t it?

Interesting to hear that because she had heard about her skin needing to ‘purge itself’ but it definitely seems as if the purging is going on for a long time. Not that long ago she was feeling as if things were getting better but now it’s got much worse again.

I’m going to. Thank you.

My 17 year old went on it last summer after trying lots of other antibiotics and creams.
We made him promise to speak to us every day about how he was feeling. 3 weeks in (just as it was beginning to work) he went very quiet and admitted he was feeling really low (completely uncharacteristically). We immediately took him off it and within a couple of weeks he was feeling better.
He also had unbelievably chapped lips. Bepanthen helped

I took Roaccutane in my late 20s after a decade of terrible acne. As previously stated you need to be carefully monitored and have blood tests to check your liver.
Only side effects for me were very dry skin - particularly lips and inside of my nose. There have been some disturbing accounts over the years of it causing mental health issues in young men, but I've never heard of it affecting women in this way.

It sounds like you understand the impact acne is having on your dd. It blighted my 20s - some days I would ring in sick to work because my face was so bad. I'd avoid close relationships and social events and at times I felt suicidal. And of course it causes pitting and scarring.

If she was my dd I'd encourage her to take it.

I went on roaccutane at 14 and, although it did clear up my acne, I definitely regret it. I have had severe issues with my sexual libido (completely nonexistent, don’t feel sexual attraction or pleasure and never had an orgasm) and my mental health (depression, suicidal ideation, self harm) all through my teens and adulthood. Obviously I can’t know for sure either were called by roaccutane as although depression and loss of sexual libido are listed as side effects the manufacturers claim the symptoms go away once you stop taking it but there are forums full of others who feel they are suffering with similar long term effects after using roaccutane. In hindsight the acne was far less distressing than the long term sexual dysfunction and mental health issues have been.

Has she tried going on the combined pill- I went on one of the ‘third generation’ ones like marvelon and it massively cleared up my skin.
Mine has always been caused by hormones so no amounts of cream have ever done anything.

This is very similar to my experience of taking roaccutane as a teenager and the long term side effects I have as an adult.
I would not recommend it to anyone.

Think carefully about timing.

Even if you could get it prescribed, I wouldn’t want her to start Roaccutane right in the middle of A levels, the side effects (even if only dry skin/nosebleeds) could be pretty distracting and it’s unlikely to work quickly enough to help her acne before exams so she’d have the worst of both worlds during exam period.

Does she have sunny holiday plans after A levels? As Roaccutane can make you very sun sensitive.

Maybe after exams and any sunny trip is out of the way? This also gives you time to try other things in the meantime.

What is she using now? I have found Dianette pill and Epiduo cream (and CeraVe face wash) to be the most effective aside from Roaccutane.

I had to take roacutane for teenage acne when I was 17- all other treatment options had failed. The acne was worsening and an area of the spots became infected (which was incredibly embarrassing). The acne badly affected my confidence for years, even after the roaccutane successfully cleared it up.

I had to have regular blood tests to monitor liver function. Didn't notice any issues with low mood (outside of the usual teenage angst) and didn't notice any other side effects

My DD had bad skin from age 11 and she went through all the treatments the GP offered and none worked. At 15 we went private, and she was prescribed roaccutane for 6 months. I was worried about the side effects but apart from dryskin/lips she had no other side effects. She is 19 now and get skin is lovely. .

@HoHoHoliday and @MolkosTeenageAngst I'm really sorry to hear that you have both had such an awful experience

It might be PCOS in which case the requires skin treatment is different. The siting of the acne on the cheeks and if on the jaw might suggest hormonal.

Worked brilliantly for me (some time ago now). At the time I had to take birth control tablets in order to be prescribed it - turns out Catholic hospitals (there is one in North London) don't insist on that, fortunately for me as birth control and me do not get on well at all. I paid to have it privately. Money well spent in my opinion.

Worst side effect was dry lips but coincidentally I backpacked around a very humid country shortly after starting (for 3 months) which was probably the best life decision ever as my lips weren't dry at all in that country.

My son had dreadful acne and tried everything for five years. He was put on Roaccutane in late November by a private dermatologist and is now off it. His acne has gone. He was very carefully monitored by the derm. His mood wasn't affected at all but he had dreadful chapped lips and very red skin. But as he said to the dermatologist back in November "I'm depressed now with my acne, I couldn't feel more unhappy." He woke up every day, looked at himself and cried. He was desperate.

Now we have to deal with the scarring but he has been prescribed tret and we'll see what else he needs to do.

He is very sensitive to sunlight but wears spf 50 every day, doesn't even think about it now.

My daughter has acne on her cheeks and is currently on Tret after trying all the usual NHS treatments. If this doesn't work then I'll happily send her to the same derm as my son. He was brilliant and we had already spoken about my daughter's skin. It is more complex and probably more expensive for a girl to be on Roaccutane (even the prescription was super costly) but if you leave it too long the scarring can be very bad.

My friend's daughter went on Roaccutane and had a terrible time so I'm very aware of the problems with it. It wasn't a decision I took lightly with my son and not one I will make lightly with my daughter if the tret doesn't work.

Maybe find a good dermatologist and visit them to see what they say. I can HIGHLY recommend Dr Ravi Ratnavel who has clinics in London and Beaconsfield. Not as pricey as some and gave helpful tips to keep the costs down. We had a 6 month waiting list to see an NHS derm and I genuinely thought my son would have done something drastic if we didn't get him seen quickly. Money very well spent.

I had three courses of roaccutane as a teenager and it did precisely nothing dor my skin except dry it and make me look sunburnt with spots.
It also left me with a very weakened spine, and I'm now 5 years post spinal surgery. I have weak joints, developing arthritis and my GP has put this down to the roaccutane. Of course I was made aware of the side effects at the time but as a teenager I just wanted clear smooth skin.

Please try and talk her out of it, its not the wonder drug for spots everyone thinks it is x

@MolkosTeenageAngst and @HoHoHoliday Oh god, that all sounds really terrible. I’m terrified of anything like this happening to her.

OP I work in dermatology. There is good evidence for spironalactone for severe acne. She may want to try that before roaccutane

I’m shocked and sorry to hear this.

I can see that I need to do some research

Thank you for this

I wondered if it could be hormonal too, for the same reasons - site of acne and age too.