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.
So my husband was on accutane when we were in highschool (and not married…). it did wonders for him as well, his skin is still beautiful 15 years later. only rough thing is that he ended up with clinical dry eye that he needs to take medication for daily, but since starting those meds he’s been in much better shape. For me – i never had bad acne when i was young on my face, but did have it on my back (terrible). Birth control fixed/controlled it. When i went off b/c to get prego with my son, the acne came back with a vengeance. i already eat gluten and dairy free by necessity, and i tried SO MANY THINGS to help control it and nothing worked. So my Dr. gave me an rx for a topical benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin ointment that i’ve been using for 4 months as well as told me to take 4000 IU of vitamin D per day. This combo has done AMAZING things for my face. like you, i still have a few scars, but NOTHING compared to what i had going on a few months ago. it’s magic. so talk to your doc about adding in extra vit d as well, and see if that helps you keep your skin controlled! being from Canada and having Celiac disease i’ve got the shit end of the stick when it comes to vit D availability anyway, so it doesn’t hurt to take extra in my case! you look great! Also, your block rocks my world. going to make your pumpkin pie for xmas dessert this year. boom!
Juli I am so glad that you shared your Accutane experience!!! I’ve done it twice now, once at 16, with amazing results that lasted until I was 21. At 26 my skin got so bad again I did another round but only made it through 3 months before I had to stop due to the awful side effects that DID NOT effect me when I was young. My guess was I could tolerate a lot more pain for beauty when I was younger! Or that my body chemistry has drastically changed and I could no longer tolerate the side effects (highly likely). Anyway I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to rid yourself of acne, for us acne sufferers it’s all a personal journey, and it’s a different one for everyone! I still have chronic dry lips from my first round of Accutane. The only thing that ever helped my chronic dry lips is La Mer lip balm, which is $50 a tin, but it’s so worth it.
I appreciate you so much, Juli. Thank you for your continued honesty and hilarity. Oh- and the awesome recipes!
I have moderate acne flare-ups, mostly from eating dairy. So, I’ve been soaking my feet in epsom salts because my magnesium levels are so bad. Lo and behold, my acne started to go away!!!! And my face didn’t feel so oily. Just wanted to share what worked for me.:)
I totally get your mindset about acne. I had Few here and there when I was young but it started getting really bad after college. Cystic acne too…I took prescriptions for years and finally decided to go on accutane. My skin was great for a while and then the breakouts started again. I went back on topical meds. Then i decided that I didn’t want to use chemicals on my skin or in my body. After researching what accutane and other drugs do to your body I couldn’t continue. I think those drugs actually made my skin worse but not until a while after I took them. It ruined my gut and caused SIBO and parasites in because it was weak. I’m now working with a naturopath to heal my gut and rid myself of all the other issues. But I can tell a huge difference when I eat sugar and a few other triggers like coconut (huge trigger). Good luck with your skin and hopefully you won’t have to use accutane again. Try some super gut healing foods and supplements to make sure you stay healthy!
Juli, i would never have guessed you struggled with this issue! You seem so self confident on your blog. Thanks so much for sharing your struggles as many of us go through this fight feeling alone and less than worthy. I have been on accutane too and i can relate to ALL the symptoms you experienced! Accutane was not a cure all for me and diet changes never helped me but i have for the time being, found a topical that is keeping things from getting out of control. Good luck with everything and continue to be an inspiration for many.
Ok, so adult acne problems…. can I get an amen? Completely lame that I am still getting scarring breakouts at 29. Anywho, I have also been struggling with hair thinning since college. I tried Vitamin E, Biotin, changing eating habits, fish, prenatal vitamins… nothing helped. My stylist recommended this three step Bosley shampoo thing (white bottle with blue graphics). I am about a solid month in and already I have baby hair sprouts on my hairline and part. If the Accutane is thinning out your hair, this may be something you want to look into.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I went through the Accutane process when I was in high school and while the “during” period of time was miserable at times (dry skin, redness, peeling, tendency to sunburn, muscle aches, etc), the “after” period of time has been completely worth it. I’m so glad that there are others out there who have had a positive experience with Accutane. As with all medications, it works better for some than others and I’m glad to hear that there are others out there who had an overall positive experience as well!
Try elimination of soy in your diet. Yes… it’s in everything. It is a plant estrogen (phytoestrogen) and will give you breakouts. Taaadaaaa. xo Sally
You look great! I had cystic acne when I was a teenager. Thankfully (uh, unfortunately?) my older brother and sister had already been through it, so my dr. quickly got me on accutane and it was a LIFE SAVER. I went from seriously deep and painful cysts to clear skin in 6 months. The dry skin was brutal, but worth it.
I’m 30 now and still get some acne (little guys that if I treat early are no big d) but NOTHING compared to what my sister (who passed on accutane) gets, nor do I have the scaring that can be left from the big, painful cysts.
Speaking of, in this COOOOLD Colorado brutal weather, to help my Retin-A skin (as I said, I would still have the occasional blemish; Retin-A takes care of…and any fine lines too boot!) heal and stay smooth and pale instead of red and flakey I love Osmia Organics “restoration serum”. Local CO company that uses all natural and mostly organic ingredients. If you’re still feeling a bit red, worried about scars, or dry this stuff is a god send.
Good luck and congrats on getting out of the cystic acne cycle!