this gives cutting off your nose despite your face a whole new meaning

well yeah it would be a whole new meaning because that's a new phrase you made up

DESPITE MY FACE, come on rockman. googlebabyy

now mark, people in stone houses shouldn't throw glass

whats horrible about acutane? I took it like a year ago and haven't had a single breakout since. It was more for my back though than face even though that was pretty bad too.

its expensive as fuck though

the only really negative stuff I've heard about it is that it can fuck your liver up and its really really bad for pregnant women.

whats horrible about acutane? I took it like a year ago and haven't had a single breakout since. It was more for my back though than face even though that was pretty bad too.

its expensive as fuck though

the only really negative stuff I've heard about it is that it can fuck your liver up and its really really bad for pregnant women.

A lot of people have adverse effects. For example, my cousin's dick basically swelled shut and he couldn't urinate which cause his bladder to fill with litres of urine and almost burst.

EDIT: oh before this he was in bad shape too, he came over for christmas and had to be helped in and out of the car because he was so weak and he couldn't go down the stairs.

yeah I'd be pretty pissed off if any of that happened.

I was actually drinking on it and wondering if my liver would blow up because the box said avoid alcohol but I was pretty much ok. My skin got kind of dry some times but that was the only side effect I got from it.

Man, I thought you guys were exaggerating the horrors of Accutane so I decided to look it up. Much to my surprise, there's like a million negative customer experiences with this drug. How is this shit still being sold?

Btw, I don't have acne. My face is as smooth as a baby's behind.

It's being sold cause it really works. Like my friend tried hundreds of types of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor, none of that shit worked, it would maybe make it a little bit better but not do much for him really. He used to get massive red lumps on his face and ugh it was bad, then he went on Accutane. He said he had a lot of side effects, like seriously his skin dried out so so much, and it seemed to get worse before it got better imo, but I don't think he got any of the bad side effects like DEPRESSION/LIVER FAILURE or whatever they are though. Anyway after like half a year or whatever he was totally clear and hasn't had any problems since. Some people react badly to it though I guess. I don't know how it is everywhere else but over here you have to take blood tests every month while you're on it and it's really closely monitored, as soon as you have some really shit side effect they take you off it.

I also have acne but it's not really that bad I guess, I get big ones sometimes but I can live with it. I think my problem is working in such a dirty environment!

Yeah, from what I know of it accutane is the kind of thing that is EXCELLENT for some people but a large number of people have problems with it.  It's just one of those "not for everyone" things, and is only really for people who have severe problems with acne and have tried everything else.  It's not the first thing you go for!

Yeah, Isotretinoin (Accutane) is the last-line of treatment for acne in most cases. The treatment algorithm is:

OTC stuff - acetylsalicylic acid 2% (stuff like Oxy, Clearasil, etc) twice a day, or benzoyl peroxide 5% twice a day. Benzoyl peroxide is by far the best over-the-counter option for acne.

If nothing OTC helps that's when you should go in to see a doctor and they'll prescribe a facial medication. There are a lot of options out there and different doctors have different favourites. There are combination antibiotics with benzoyl peroxide in them and combination antibiotics with tretinoin - what works for one person may not work for another, so generally it's just going to be trial and error. Nothing works over night, and in fact it'll take somewhere between 4-6 weeks to see effect. Anything with a vitamin A derivative in it (tretinoin or isotretinoin) will actually worsen your acne at first before it gets better. That's really important to be aware of. These also tend to dry out your skin and many burn upon application. The burning will subside over time as your skin gets used to the formulation. Of course, if your skin is very sensitive there are non-alcohol containing medications which won't burn as much, but with the downside being that the antibiotic won't be absorbed as much. So yeah, generally you should be on the prescription cream/lotion for at least 1 or 2 months before you can determine whether it's working for you.

If you find it doesn't help that much, go back to see your doctor and they may switch you to another topical preparation, OR move on to an oral antibiotic such as minocycline. These are more effective, but come with more side effects such as nausea and dizziness, and potential for GI upset. Once again it'll take 4-6 weeks to see an effect.

FINALLY, if the oral antibiotic doesn't work either, that's when the doctor will move on to using isotretinoin (Accutane). (If your acne is classified to being severe, nodular, or recalcitrant then you can start therapy with it instead of going through the other options first). It is by far the most effective acne medication out there. It tackles a variety of processes in the pathophysiology of acne instead of just one or two like the other medications do. However, there are a lot of side effects with it. Being a vitamin A derivative it will cause dry skin, sun sensitivity, birth defects should a women become pregnant on it. Here's a brief list of the percentages of patients experiencing side effects with it from its product monograph: (stuff in brackets is my definition in case you're not familiar with medical terminology).

The most common side effects are mucocutaneous or dermatologic. The common side effects include: cheilitis (96%) [swelling of the lips], facial erythema/dermatitis (55%) [red, inflamed skin], dry nose (51%), desquamation (50%) [shedding of the outer layers of the skin], pruritus (30%) [itchiness], dry skin (22%), conjunctivitis (19%) [red eye], alopecia (13%) [hair loss], irritation of the eyes (11%), rash (<10%). Dryness of the nasal mucosa and pharynx may be associated with mild epistaxis [nose bleeds] and hoarseness, respectively. Mild to moderate conjunctivitis may be alleviated by use of an ophthalmic ointment. In rare cases, hair loss persisted after treatment was completed.

Approximately 13% of patients experience joint pain during treatment.

Peeling of palms and soles, skin infections, increased susceptibility to sunburn, nonspecific urogenital symptoms, nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, fatigue occured in approximately 5% of patients.

Yeah, there are a lot of potential side effects, but since the drug works wonders for a lot of people due to its effectiveness it's still around and will be for a long time to come. If you do go on it you'll need to have regular blood tests as it can affect your liver function. Most doctors will require you to have a monthly test before you can get your refill for the next 30 days.

Umm, I don't know what else to say. If you do have any particular questions about any medication or acne itself, feel free to ask... that's part of my job.

OH, I think somebody asked about diet and acne. As far as I'm aware, the evidence does not support the notion that food worsens acne. Diet may have an influence in certain individuals, in which case dietary modification can be attempted, but for the most part according to the trials diet doesn't play a major role. (Not even surface dirt either. Acne problems come from the root of hair follicles, which facial dirt cannot even get to or obstruct so it doesn't really matter. Of course, good facial hygiene shouldn't be neglected, but it's not going to help much. In fact, overusing soaps can irritate the skin and worsen acne.)

I have my own methods of acne control, I break out badly usually during both the winter and summer and am fine during the remaining two seasons.

I use a combination of things when it gets super bad, like hot salty lemon water. It is a good cleanser and is 100% natural, you can even exchange the regular table salt for epsom salt (large grain salt) and that should double as an exfoliator.

Another thing you can use is uncooked potatoes, I find cutting them into coins and putting them on your face with a wet hot towel does a good job too.

But try out whatever you can, there is always something for someone that works.

I hear the ProActiv treatment works for most... I would suggest it but you have adolescent skin and that could possibly change the pH and make it worse.

I hear the ProActiv treatment works for most... I would suggest it but you have adolescent skin and that could possibly change the pH and make it worse.

This is far from SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE but not only did it complete attack my skin and make things worse, but out of the three other people I knew that tried it, only one of them had it NOT do that.

yeah I used it when I was in HS and it didn't work worth a shit.

I suggest going to a dermatologist if you're going to spend money on this shit and do it right.

fuck proactive and fuck jessica simpson's lying ass

I don't know if this is really a method of healing acne either or anything but its kind of interesting. When I was on my last ship before I got the treatment they used bromine to make freshwater and that actually helped dry out my skin quite a bit. But that probably also meant that some dumbass was putting too much bromine in the water.

Stop drinking coca-cola and wash more often. :>

There's also empirical evidence linking isotretinoin to depression. Whether there's a causality is unknown at this time, but from what I know the correlation is strong enough for you to have to know about it.

Yeah there are numerous case reports linking isotretinoin to depression, suicidal ideation and suicide, but there isn't a clear proof of an association. Like you said it's hard to know whether it's directly attributed to isotretinoin itself, the degree of acne and its psychological comorbidities, or something else altogether. I don't think people should avoid using it because of this. This is something that we tell people about when they start Accutane - that if they notice any changes in their mood and have thoughts of hurting themselves then they should stop taking it and contact the pharmacy or their physician. It's also something that should be monitored at the monthly visit to the doctor as well as the pharmacy when getting the refill.