I’m guessing you’re expecting a wonderful post about some miracle, natural home remedy acne solution that I’ve found and has cleared up my acne in no time flat. But that’s not the case. Well, I guess that depends how you see it. About 6 months ago, I made the decision to go on Accutane. I actually talked about it in a post once to get second opinions from people. Most of the opinions were negative but I also saw many positive ones. So once I started taking accutane, I decided to keep that info out of my blog so I wouldn’t have other people’s opinions changing my own.
So let’s go back to the beginning. I’ve always had a little bit of acne. Nothing to get super upset about, but enough that I saw a dermatologist when I was in high school, when I was in college, and after college. But it wasn’t until I started CrossFit and was competing, that my acne got out of control. And when I say out of control, I mean it was incredibly painful to the touch. I had bad cystic acne that hurt when I was just putting on make up. But since the acne was so bad, putting on make up was my only choice. I’m not sure if it was CrossFit that changed my complexion, but I’m almost certain it had to do with it because of the changes in estrogen and other hormones.
Anyways, after trying many different home remedies such as oil pulling and oil cleansing, changes to my eating habits, removing fish oil from my diet, consuming cod liver oil, and different essential oils, I decided to try some prescription strength drugs. After trying spironolactone and other prescription drugs as well as topical medication, I was finally at a loss. It had been almost 3 years of fighting this cystic acne that was going to lead to much worse scarring if I didn’t do something about it. So I decided to try Accutane out and my dermatologist immediately agreed.
Accutane is a high dose of vitamin A, that you take on a daily basis. Most treatments, like mine, are around 6 months. Some people have to do multiple sessions, but not everyone. Accutane is taken very seriously by not only the doctor, but also the state. It is a state regulation that you must be on birth control while taking Accutane because the birth defects are so awful. There are also other side effects such as depression, muscle and joint pain, extremely dry skin and eyes, and a whole hell of a lot of other things, but those are the things I experienced. The process is quite tedious. Here’s the process you go through every month: get your birth control (remember, no babies), get your blood drawn so they can check that your liver is just fine, then go to the doctor a couple days later where you have to do a urine test to make sure you’re not pregnant, then you get your prescription, then you have to take a test online all about practicing safe sex, once you pass that test, you can then drop off your prescription to finally get your month supply. Then do this many more times until you are off the medication. Annoying, but so worth it in my opinion.
You may be asking why the hell I’m even writing about this on a paleo recipe blog. Which is understandable. But I want to share my experience with people who are trying so hard to change their diet to fix their body issues, and those things are just not working. The more I’ve eaten paleo, the more I’ve found out how many things can be cured through diet alone. I rarely get sick, I sleep better, I have more energy, my depression went away. So many things can change through diet, but my acne did not seem to be one of them. And if it was, it would have taken me YEARS and many scars to find out those reasons. I’m sharing all this information with you in hopes that if you are ever thinking about taking this prescription drug, you have another opinion. A positive one.
I had a truly positive experience with the drug. Not to say that I didn’t have some ups and downs, but most of my 6 month experience was a good one. Here were some of my symptoms:
- The worst symptom by far has been dry lips. You know when you get a sunburn and it peels? Well imagine that happening every single hour, of every single day, for 6 months. It was miserable. By far the worst thing. Not having chapstick on hand truly felt like a meth addict not having his drug. Terrible description, but that’s seriously how it felt. I rarely stop biting or picking at my lips. I have a new habit I need to break.
- Dry skin and red skin. Mostly my face was the only thing that got dry, but it was also my ears, my nose and my hair. So I exfoliated my face daily with one of those soft bristle face rotating brushes. A cheap one. And moisturized a lot. I didn’t stop wearing make up until my skin settled down after the second month, I was too embarrassed.
- Dry, breaking hair. My hair thinned out and my hair stylist said it seemed to be breaking easily. After 4 months, that passed and my hair got a lot better. Wish it would have affected my leg hair, that would have been cool.
- My joints and muscles hurt A LOT about 3-5 months in. Workouts were much more uncomfortable to the point that it hurt to walk. That passed after 5 months.
- Moody and depressed. I got REALLY depressed about 4 months or so into the accutane. I mean, depressed to the point that I couldn’t get off the couch. I couldn’t figure out why I was sad or what was wrong, but I was so unhappy. I fought some depression when I was growing up, so I was more likely to have some while on the drug. It went away with time.
- Super red face. I’m pale when I stay away from the sun, so my neck and my face were completely opposite colors. Weird looking.
So I’m going to share some pictures with you. Disclaimer: these pictures may be frightening. And I’m sure some mean people out there will leave mean comments that will bum me out, but I want to share with you what a huge difference the medication made. I no longer have any acne, only red scars remain, which should go away over time. If they don’t all go away, I plan on doing some chemical peels and/or laser treatment to get rid of the scars.
In the end, I am incredibly happy with the results of accutane and extremely happy that I went on the prescription. I’m not sure what will happen in the future and if I will have to get back on it, but I know that my acne will never be as bad or as painful as it was in the past. This prescription has done wonders for me and if anyone ever asked me, I would recommend it to them. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! But remember, this prescription affects everyone differently. Just because I had a good experience doesn’t mean someone else will. Thanks for listening. You’re my favorite. Please feel free to share your experiences, but do not hate on me for sharing my own experience with it. Kthanksbye.
My poor baby was on accutane for the 6mths month and she was severely depressed, etc like you experienced. (supposedly a common side effect). Unfortunately, she’s in the 10% that gets it again. She doesn’t want to go through another round. It has helped though, not as bad as before she did the accutane. Your face looks great and will calm down even more as your system clears out. Very Brave to post this pictures and you’re still beautiful with or without acne…just so you know!
Hey, if one person READS THIS it’s worth me posting. Every time I see an article on acne, I read it. I’m curious about all the different things people try, and I usually have to add my 2 cents. I started getting acne when I was 11 and would still have it, but I finally found a program that worked. I say “program” because it involves completely cleaning out your skincare products, cleaning up your diet, and doing other things to help your skin. I go through Skin Therapy Studio out of Kalispell (google it). I am in no way affiliated with Erin Blair or her business, just a super happy customer who’s heart breaks every time I see another acne sufferer. It blows. I know all too well. If your willing to try Accutane, which I fortunately didn’t because it sounds horrible, its worth getting a hold of Erin first. Can’t be any worse, right? The best part, is her program is for the most part natural. Yeah.. that’s right, no creepy chemicals. Good luck with your skin journey 😉
Hi Juli, I’ve never commented on one of your posts before (although I read your website all the time) but this one hit home. I took accutane 3 times while I was a teenager (yes 3! more than you’re supposed to need) and every time it came back, not as bad as originally but I’ve always suffered with it. At the age of 26 I finally found something that is like a miracle, I never have so much as a spot anymore…bone broth!! I think I must have been suffering from a leaky gut and not even known it. If yours comes back you should try that first 🙂 Anyway you look amazing and I bet you feel great too. You are so courageous to post your “before” pics and open yourself up to mean people…I could never deal with that! Congrats because I know how great it feels to finally have clear skin.
Sorry I should add…copious amounts of bone broth! I’ve been eating it every day like crazy.
Your skin looks great! I went through two cycles of Accutane in my teen years and let me say, your skin will keep getting better for years to come. I get no more cystic acne and an occasional zit on my period but that is it. The scaring will diminish and the redness will fade. I’m 5 years removed from finishing my last cycle and my skin looks great. I always tell people to not be scared of it because its the only thing that consistently helps with cystic acne. Well that and being dairy free. Good luck and enjoy that baby smooth skin!
Thanks for sharing! I admire your courage to share your journey with us through pictures. That’s not easy.
Your skin looks absolutely incredible! I’m so happy that you found something that works for you. Sometimes natural remedies aren’t always the answer even though we want them to be. Science is a wonderful thing! Besides the cosmetic advantages how great it is that you won’t have to experience that pain anymore (from the cystic outbreaks).
You look amazing girl!
I loved your post! And the responses you’ve been getting look very positive! I didn’t have time to look through them all to see if anyone else had mentioned this as a possibility, have you ever been tested for Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)?
I am 26 and between the ages of 19 and 23, I had horrible acne. I had always had a little bit growing up – my skin was never perfect – but instead of getting better as I got older, it got significantly worse. It was horrible! I started on paleo when I turned 23 and was feeling great about most things in my life – energy, body, sleep, etc. Everything but my skin! It was so embarrassing. Anyway, I also decided to go on Accutane. I’m assuming you must have gone on birth control as well prior to starting the treatments (due to the horrific birth defects possible on the drug) and must not have seen the results I did, but my acne immediately began to clear up once I was on BC. This was strange because I had been on BC earlier in my life and it never really helped. Anyway, based on how my skin was doing, I decided to keep with the BC and not follow through with Accutane. That was the plan until I heard really scary things about the type of BC I was on. So, I got off the BC quickly and my skin got worse than ever before. I ended up seeing a dermatologist, who was giving me laser treatments to help, but it was painful and the progress was slow-moving. While in the waiting room one day, my mom was reading an article in some magazine about PCOS and how it can cause acne in young women. Basically, PCOS is a hormonal imbalance where a woman’s body creates more testosterone than it should. The acne is generally caused by male-patterned hair growth, which turns into acne on women (which I suppose is preferable to a beard!). Though I do have some icky hairs on my chin from it. Nothing some electrolysis can’t fix! I’ve being treated with birth control and it’s working great. I get an occasional breakout (usually around that time of the month), but nothing like how it was. I’m not crazy about birth control being the main way of treating PCOS, but it has definitely helped. Anyway, it’s definitely worth going to an endocrinologist to determine whether you have it. I haven’t tried getting pregnant yet, but I’ve read that it can cause issues in that arena, so it’s always good to find out the reason you may be having the acne breakouts. Knowledge is power! Anyway, congratulations on your skin – it looks beautiful.
Eating more greens, green smoothies and and just raw foods helps with skin! Using organic makeup and skin products – your skin is your biggest organ! So many ingredients that are ubiquitous in skin care products are actually terrible for your health and the beauty of your skin. Great blog and article: http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2013/09/09/the-fountain-of-youth-the-shocking-truth-about-whats-in-your-skin-care-products/
Congrats on the Accutane! I did myself about 3 years ago. I’m 28 and in my early 20’s started having major acne problems very similar to yours. I too let all the negative comments scare me into putting off acutane for a long time but I’m so glad I did it. I still have flare ups every now and then, but cutting out dairy and cutting back on sugar has helped me to control it after my acutane course. Since my acne is mostly hormonal, it will always be something I will need to keep in check, but acutane gave me back so much self confidence and showed me that acne is something that can be beaten and not to give up. I’m so glad you ignored the haters and did what you felt was best for you. Good job!!
You look GREAT and congrats on this!! It was brave of you to start the Rx and brave of you to post on it.