Pros and Cons of Accutane: + My Experience and Results
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Have you been considering or ever considered going on Accutane for your persistent acne?
Accutane can be a controversial topic, but I think everyone can agree that Accutane isn’t something to take lightly. How do you know if it is right for you?
In this post, I am going to talk about my experience with Accutane and the pros and cons that I found throughout my journey; both during and after going through a full course (6 months) of the medication.
Background: My Story
As I’ve talked about before, my experience with severe acne started when I first arrived at college. I was 19 years old. I would go on to struggle with acne for over five years. During that time I did tons of research and experimented on myself with different diets, supplements, products and more to try and figure out how to heal my acne. I had the goal of curing my acne naturally.
However, after about three years into dealing with my acne, I was totally defeated. I felt like I was trying everything possible, but nothing was working. My self esteem was extremely low and I felt pretty hopeless. My mental health was taking a serious hit. So, I started considering taking a more conventional route.
While my intentions of going the more natural route had been good, I felt like this was a last resort of sorts. The benefit of having clear skin for my mental health would outweigh the negative side of going conventional in my eyes at the time. While I believe there are benefits to Accutane, there are very real drawbacks as well as risks to going on Accutane. Keep reading to see if Accutane might be the right decision for you.
If you haven’t already, I would highly encourage you to go to my post “How I Finally Cleared My Acne After Years of Struggling”, where I talk about how I finally cleared up my acne for good naturally (hint: Accutane didn’t clear it). If you aren’t ready to give up on going the natural route, that might be a good place to start! Otherwise, keep reading to see if Accutane may be right for you.
What is Accutane?
Accutane is a prescription medication (also called Isotretinoin) which is primarily used to treat acne or worsening acne that hasn’t responded to other forms of treatment. Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A (or retinoid) taken orally. It treats acne by increasing cell turnover and shedding off dead skin cells, resulting in less build-up and pore clogging. It also targets acne longer term by reducing oil gland size and production by up to 90 percent. More recently, Isotretinoin has been shown to alter and change the patient’s skin microbiome to mimic a skin microbiome of someone who doesn’t have inflammatory acne. This leads to clearing up existing acne as well as preventing future acne breakouts by reducing bacteria on the skin that cause acne in the first place. (Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates, n.d.).
Cons of Accutane
#1 - Going on the Pill
One of the biggest cons to Accutane for me was the requirement to be on hormonal birth control during the course of the treatment. That meant either an IUD or the pill. There was no way in heck I would be getting an IUD, so the pill it was. By this point I had already learned so much more about the pill and how it affects women’s bodies and health. Plus, going back on the pill the beginning of my freshman year of college is one of the reasons (I believe) that triggered my severe acne in the first place. To say that I was the most nervous about going back on the pill was an under statement. My suspicion was that going back on the pill would either clear up my skin (but cause further damage internally), or that it would once again trigger my acne and continue to make it worse.
While I wish there was an alternative option to going on birth control to go on Accutane, I do understand their reasoning behind why they require this. One of the main dangers of Isotretinoin is that it can cause serious damage to a growing fetus if women get pregnant while on Accutane. That is why it is absolutely required to be on two forms of birth control while on Accutane. I would highly recommend reading about these affects before you make your decision.
I ended up being on the pill for a few months before I even started the accutane treatments, which I wasn’t thrilled about. But, after going on the pill my skin did clear up significantly. However, I knew the internal damage it was causing due to the return of symptoms I had had on the pill in my past experience. I gained about ten pounds, my gut health declined (I struggled with constipation), and my mood felt a little all over the place. So for me, this was still a con.
#2 - Dry and Sensitive Skin
While I was researching Accutane before making the decision to go on it, the side effect that was most often talked about was dry and sensitive skin. And for good reason because this was absolutely true. Every part of me was dried out, and it was hard to keep moisturized. Luckily, I didn’t have to wear makeup all day every day anymore, but when I did wear makeup, it did NOT look good. This was because the dryness would flake off my makeup, and I had dry patches made more noticeable by the makeup.
My go-to product while I was taking Accutane was Aquaphor. I felt that it worked the best to keep me moisturized for more than a few minutes; regular moisturizers were NOT cutting it. It is very thick and sticky but it was the best remedy for the extra dry places. Especially for my chapped lips (they also have chapstick), hands (especially knuckles), elbows and ankles. It helped to keep the dryness under control throughout the treatment.
#3 - Gut Health
Another con to going on Accutane is the negative effects it can have on your gut health. If you’re anything like me, gut health has always been a work in progress. I’ve never felt like I’ve had optimal gut health, but there have been times when it’s been better than others. Before I went on Accutane I felt as though my gut health was in a pretty good spot due to changes I had made to my diet and lifestyle. I was having good, regular bowel movements and little gas and bloating. Once I started back on the pill and then went on Accutane, it felt like all of my hard work had kind of gone out the window. Accutane can be a very intense medication, therefore my gut was not too happy with me. I struggled with constipation. No matter how healthy I ate or how much Smooth Move tea I drank.
#4 - Monthly Appointments
Now this one is more just me complaining, but going on Accutane means many visits to your dermatologist. Each month you have to have a check-in to see how things are going AND you have to get a pregnancy test each month as well. While this really isn’t that big of a deal, it is a nuisance to be going to appointments so often, especially when you have a million other things going on.
#5 - Social Consequences
When I was taking Accutane, nobody knew except for my family. I didn’t tell any of my friends. Because Accutane is such a powerful medication, it can be hard on your liver to process each day. Due to this, I didn’t want to drink alcohol while on Accutane either; I was scared of what putting that extra burden would do (I don’t think it’s recommended). So, when I would go out with friends and I wouldn’t have even one drink (even though I never really drank much), I could tell they thought I was acting strange. I surely could have told them what was going on, but what I found throughout my journey dealing with acne, is that people who have never had to deal with severe acne don’t really understand what it’s like to go through it. So I decided not to say anything and try to act normal. I also decided to go out less often than usual because I didn’t like constantly dodging the pressure to drink when I went out. That was kind of tough.
Pros of Accutane
#1 - Mental Health Relief
There were definitely positives to going on Accutane. The first and most positive aspect of Accutane was the effect my clear skin had on my mental health. It’s hard to describe the relief I felt not having constant anxiety of how my skin looked. Or feeling ugly or bad about myself. If you know, you know.
#2 - Physical Relief
Along the same lines of mental health relief, going on Accutane also provided physical relief. If you’ve ever experienced any kind of acne you know that it is often painful. If you’ve ever had cystic acne, you know how extra painful that can be. After dealing with constant, persistent, severe acne for over three years, it was pretty amazing to have a break from it.
#3 - Cost
Because Accutane has to be recommended as necessary and prescribed by a dermatologist as a “last resort” attempt, insurance will typically cover the cost of the medication. This is a positive thing compared to trying to treat your acne naturally, which can become expensive when trying out different healthy diets, supplements, various skincare products and more.
My Results
While I did enjoy about 10 to 11 months of clear skin bliss, my Accutane story unfortunately did not end in happily ever after. I started the birth control pill about two months before I started the Accutane treatment. Once I started, I had six months of the actual medication. Once I had fully completed my sixth round of Accutane, I decided I would also finish out the remainder of my birth control and then not go back on it. I decided that staying on birth control was not worth the negative effects it would cause. I had also learned about post birth control syndrome at that point, and knew someday I’d have to deal with it. So I would prefer sooner rather than later.
After completing my treatment, my acne came back within four weeks. I was pretty devastated to say the least. I was also pretty angry with myself for falling for the idea that a magic pill could save me from all of my troubles. In hindsight, I still don’t know for certain if Accutane was the right choice for me. On one hand, it did give me the mental break that I was needing. On the other, it just delayed the inevitable. Ultimately, I needed to find a solution that was going to be a more sustainable approach and fit in with the values that I held around my personal health and wellbeing.
Should You Choose Accutane? / Final Thoughts
While I can’t decide if Accutane would be the right choice for you, I hope my story gave some insight into how the experience can go for some. For others, going down this path may be the thing that cures your acne forever. You have to thoughtfully consider your unique body and situation to decide what the best path is for you. My amateur diagnosis is that Accutane didn’t actually work for me because the root cause of my acne was hormonal in nature. For someone dealing with abnormal oil production, abnormally large pores or another skin-related abnormality I think Accutane might be the right solution. For most though, the solution needs to be a combination of healing on the inside and the outside.
Before going head strong to the Accutane approach, I would again highly encourage you to first read my post about how I cleared my acne naturally here. Then, if that doesn’t seem right for you, go with what your body is telling you it needs. If you’ve taken Accutane, I would love to know YOUR experience!
References:
Center for Surgical Dermatology & Dermatology Associates. (n.d.). All About Accutane (Isotretinoin) - What is it, How it Works, Side Effects, and More. https://www.centerforsurgicaldermatology.com/treating-acne-with-accutane-isotretinoin/
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