My Journey on Accutane

I can go on and on about my experience on Accutane, but I will summarize it and keep it short and simple. I hope you enjoy reading the post of my Accutane journey (:

Accutane is also known as Isotretinoin, which contains vitamin A, which helps treat severe acne. I had never heard of this medication until 2018 when my acne and breakouts got worse. I have always dealt with acne ever since I started my menstrual cycle, and right after my clear skin began breaking out. Of course, when you are a teen, you go through so many physical and hormonal changes, and that’s normal but as the years went by the acne on my face was not getting any better.

At 23, my skin was the worst it has ever been! Never did I ever feel so insecure without makeup and with makeup. There was so much bumpiness and cystic acne all over my face that even children at my job questioned what was on my face. Honestly, those months with cystic acne SUCKED, and of course, I tried different types of products from high end to organic products and nothing worked. I even tried dieting removing milk from my diet and eating vegetables every day, and no improvements showed :(

This is the cystic acne scars I had after I took Doxycycline for a while before taking Accutane. .

This is when my cystic acne was drying up from taking Doxycycline.

When I saw my second Dermatologist, she offered me to consider trying Accutane. So of course, I said yes because at that point I was desperate. I’m a healthy girl who has a good diet and takes good care of her body, but my skin did not show it. Reading more about Accutane and doing my research, I felt confident but scared at the same time that this medication would work. I knew this medication would help heal my acne, but I questioned whether the side effects were worth it because I feared to be that 1% that would experience one of the worst side effects.

Convincing myself to have a good attitude and mindset, I did more than three months on Accutane until my derm took me off of it temporarily because I was having blurry vision. So right now this is where I’m at, and with two months off the medication, it is a good mini-vacation without having to deal with the side effects. I’m hoping my derm will put me back on Accutane since my skin isn’t completely clear, but meanwhile, I’ve been taking good care of my skin.

Was it worth it?

In my opinion, for me it was worth it. For MANY years I tried numerous products, and all the money went to waste. Sad to say no diet or products ever cleared my skin until I tried Accutane. And although I am not completely done with my course I have noticed such a significant difference, for example, I don’t breakout that much and if I do they’re super small pimples and they end up going away within 2 days. My cystic acne, which was left all over my face, has minimized so there isn't so much redness all over my skin. In the pictures below I recently took in June 2019 and there is a HUGE difference in my skin now and I feel better about my skin.

Currently I'm still seeing my dermatologist and still having to take blood work even though I am not taking Accutane but since the medication is still in my blood I need to follow the ipledge procedures.

As you saw in one of my last pics, my forehead had a lot of pimples and now its a lot clearer and hardly any breakouts! (June 2019)

My acne scares have diminished (June 2019)

The other side of my cheek (left) (June 2019)

If you have any comments or questions, leave them down below!