Accutane

[Equalizer]

I hear alot of guys talking about this drug(not on this board really) to clear up acne from a cycle....this is a mistake for a couple of reasons. It needs to be used for at least 20 weeks at a dose of 1mg per 2.2lbs(1kg) bodyweight to work its magic, its not a quick fix, your acne will actually get worse before it gets better and at that dosage you need to be under a doctors supervision because this shit is no joke, DO NOT GET THIS ON THE BLACK MARKET AND MEDICATE YOURSELF, you cant not do that with accutane, you need to be under a doctors supervision because there are many sides that will occur and your doctor will give you monthly blood tests to insure it isnt stressing your liver to dangerous points which is does for 1/4 of users. Putting it simply its a toxic dose of vitamin A and it is even more dangerous for women, kids being born with gills(YES GILLS LIKE A FISH NO LIE) and crohns(spelling) disease just to name a few, these are actual real reported cases that roche acknowledges and they even have an insert stating this, doctors require women to be on birth control for 6 months prior to usage and that is a doc will even prescribe it to a female. As for the rest of the sides that are a guarantee to happen in all users because of the mode of operation and dosage required are nose bleeds, extreme dry skin( i mean putting lotion on your whole body after each shower or 2x-3x daily or your skin will burn its so dry no exaggeration), uv ray sensivity, joint pain(dry joints) other less common but reported sides are psychosis,hair loss, elevated liver values. It also has been linked to alot of mental problems in users and quite a number of suicides but Im not sure myself how much the drug played into this as opposed to a person with low self esteem anyway. From a doctor/pharmacy a 180lb guys is gonna pay about 800-900 dollars for a month supply, thats 90mgs day. Im just trying to get the point across that this isnt a quick fix and its not like alot of other drugs you simply take, its usage needs to monitored by a physician. With all that being said, if you suffer from chronic acne(not just getting it from a cycle) this will clear you up period and you will stay clear, it truly is a miracle drug for people who suffer from acne, which lets face it can ruin a persons life, but only use it under a doctors supervision, in my opinion this drug is simply too dangerous to be self medicated. I decided to post all this because I talked to a friend tonight who has fucked himself up because he was medicating himself and Ive seen a number of posts over the years on this and I cant stress enough how dangerous it could be. I used it at 18 after high school I began getting bad breakouts and it cleared me up completely in 5 months and its never been a concern for me since, of course it was prescribed by a dermatologist and I was under his supervision.

[firstenrgy]

Re: Accutane

Good post. For the most part I agree with the above but... Yes there is a but. Accutane is a wonderful drug that shrinks the sebaciuos glands and if taken for a period of time (usually 16weeks) it can shrink the the sebacious glands for up to 10-15 years. Having said that there are some side effects that you listed:
1. Yes, it will cause birth defects. Do not take if you are pregnant or planning on getting pregnant.
2. It is very harsh on the liver and can cause lipid problems like cholesterol and triglycerides so you need to get regular bloodwork done.
3. The whole suicide and phych problems I think is BS.
Here my beef. The whole you acne will get worse before it gets better thing. Since Accutane WILL shrink the sebacious glands it will cause any trapped and infected fluids already there to become worse IF YOU DO NOT...
Run an antibiotic like minocycline for 4-6 weeks before Accutane use to help clear and exsisting acne. (Make sure there is a few days at least in between ending the minocycline and starting Accutane as both can cause intercranial swelling and could lead to dizziness and nausea if you don't). The second... SLOWY dose up the Accutane. Doing this will take the horrible flare up away and you'll be fine. Sure I reccomend you do this under a doctors care.
SOME BODYBUILDERS find that taking 1 40mg pill every 2 or three days keeps their acne at bay while on cycle. Their doseages a far higher than most so 1 20mg pill ever third day works for me. YES, I get bloodwork done and
YES i'm fine. Just a thought

[Equalizer]

Re: Accutane

not saying it wont work but if your problem is serious enough for accutane, antibiotics arent going to do a damn thing for you except cause your body to become immune to them making them less effective later. Its just a drawback of the drug buts its like everything else in life it gets better before it gets worse, no shortcuts around it just have to deal with it, if your problem can be controled with antibiotics why use accutane. The other problem is with slowly updosing it you arent attacking the problem like you should, once you reach the recommended dosage there is no way around the sides if you get them, which almost all do at least the severe dry skin, nose bleeds, dry joints, sun sensitivity. I think the psycological problems are more associated with pre-existing conditions.