Accutane: Worth it or not?
I’ve heard the dry skin side effect can be and usually is permanent so using moisturizers and chap stick will be a life-long addition to your daily routine. I’ve also heard it increases your skin’s sensitivity to sunlight permanently so sunscreen will be another necessity to add if you do anything outside on a sunny day.
I’m so white I’m translucent so I burn easily as-is.
I’ve also heard it can change your DNA.
Is there any credence to these claims? Has anyone who has used it experienced any of these things? If so, was it worth it?
Would you dial the gear way back and cruise longer and deal with acne on your cycles or would you use it again if given the chance to go back in time?
Thanks for any anecdotal advice! I’m considering acutane but like tren there’s many mixed and passionate opinions on the stuff.
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I've used it before and if you stick with it it definitely does the job, clears up acne nicely but over time you start to notice things like chapped lips it really wears your skin out. I can't say I noticed any other side effects.
From the research it doesn't seem to be very good for you long term but you use it once and 90% of the acne doesn't come back.
I've used accutane twice; once as a teenager for standard teen acne and once as an adult running gear. As a teenager, the clearing effect it had on my skin legitimately changed my life and led to an improved confidence that I would never have had otherwise.
The side effects are massively overblown imo. Accutane is really about the total cumulative dose for your weight - you can run 10mg/day for a long time and reduce side effects, or run 80mg/day and encounter side effects but get it over with quicker. It's the only thing that will really touch hormonal acne is accutane - all other hocus pocus topicals etc are largely bullshit. If you breakout bad enough, do yourself a favor and just take the accutane.
The moisture returns to your skin eventually, and sunscreen is a good idea anyway.
Sunscreen is basically mandatory for me already. I burn if I go outside and check the mail lol.
I just might need a higher spf if the skin sensitivity side effect is a real common problem and it becomes an issue for me.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Accutane!
I used accutane when I was a teenager and it dried out my skin at the time I was on it in the way you described with chapped lips and dried out flaky skin. After I stopped, my oily skin returned but not anywhere near as bad as it was before accutane. I also didn't have a return of the acne I had prior to using it. So the changes were permanent to a certain degree, but not to the extent where I have issues today with sunburns or chapped lips.
The use of accutane was absolutely worth it to get rid of the awful acne I had.
Wow! Pretty cool that even hopping on gear wasn’t enough to let the acne return.
Thanks for sharing!
My gear usage is limited to TRT doses, I haven't done a cycle so perhaps at higher doses I'd see more acne reappear. But in the 5 years I've been on TRT at varying amounts from 100-200mg/week my acne has been nonexistent.
What's odd is the one food I found to make me breakout is Diet Coke. Every time I drink the stuff I breakout and the more of it I drink in a short period of time the even worse my breakout gets. It's the wildest thing ever. I haven't touched the stuff in years because of it.
If you want to prevent acne or clear it up, it's the best option. I take 10mg as prevention during cycles (but NEVER with other orals).
I get bloodwork every quarter and take TUDCA and NAC during cycles just to keep my lipids in check.
And NO, it's not permanent unless you take high doses for a long time.
But seriously, learn to research things on your own, and use anything you find on Reddit or here as a data point and not fact. You have heard a bunch of bullshit that can be easily verified and you are somehow giving credibility to it.
This is a form of research. It’s anecdotal and firsthand information which is the missing counterpart to the medical evaluations I’ve looked into prior to asking here. I’m rather familiar with how to conduct good research, note discrepancies between claims, and search out first hand experiences as well as empirical data specifically aimed at the conflicting information.
Hence this post made with intent to acquire fresh anecdotal data with individuals that I can respond to and converse with as opposed to posts from 4 years ago with stories from long deleted accounts.
I’d say the fact that I’m questioning the rather outlandish claims I have heard in and of itself SHOULD be an indicator that I’m NOT giving it credit. To give it credit would be to accept it as fact and not question it…and this post was made with the intent to question those claims.
Why?
Because to brush off those potentially wild claims without conducting further investigation is ALMOST as bad as blindly accepting the information as fact. That’s proper research when information conflicts and I have absolutely zero firsthand experience with a chemical I may likely be ingesting in the near future. It demands thorough and extreme precautions and safety measures.
Your condescending and arrogant attitude are attributes that make me wish we can be better strangers.
This is where I’d say thanks for sharing but instead I have to say this short interaction is an unfortunate experience I would like to have less of.
Used it when I was 15 and it works. Skin dryness and chapped lips were terrible though. I could use chapstick every 30 minutes and still wouldn’t help. Still have dry skin 20 years later but I don’t know if I can attribute that to the accutane. Also remember it kind of made me a moody little bitch.
But like I said at first, it works. Have had no problems with acne since.
I think most 15 year olds are moody little bitches haha. I’m pretty sure I was but 15 was a long time ago.
Thanks for sharing!
10-20mg 3x per week seems to give most individuals acne control without crazy ass side effects. I did 2 dermatologist supervised cycles as a teenager and again as a young adult because genetically I had terrible cystic acne. They had me at like 40-80mg per day and holy shit my skin was basically burnt paper the way it just ripped at anything being touched. It sure did clear me up though. After the second round I didn’t get one pimple ever again until I started taking AAS for funsies. Now the occasional pill keeps everything in check no problemos at all.
Yikes that skin-like-burnt-paper side effect sounds absolutely horrible. I’m glad you no longer have to deal with your skin being in that condition.
Thanks for sharing!
Had it as a teenager, really does work wonders. But it does dry you out like a prune, nose bleeds were daily occurrence, not sure if it made using gear over a decade later easier with acne but don't suffer now, odd pimple thats it. Sunlight absolutely gets absorbed easier, I'd use cream or avoid long stints.
Not used it since but if I had bad breakout I would
Good to know nosebleeds can happen more frequently. Makes sense tho. If I develop nosebleeds I won’t panic too much now.
Thanks for the heads up on nosebleeds and thanks for sharing!