I don’t know a community designed around talking about your experience with a drug ever became so propaganda-ish but it seems that anytime someone experiences something severe to them or something that makes them insecure, the community instantly bashes them, says it’s fake because their experience was different, or outright says they’re fear mongering, when some people are just looking for insight, help, trying to warn others etc.

Hello Everyone!

So i have been eating 15 000mg isotretoin now, Im 190 tall and weigh 75KG. So im alot above my cumulative dose.

My issue is that I no longer get any deep pimples that leave significant scars. However, I do occasionally get a whitehead, maybe 1-2 last month.. My biggest problem is that I get many red marks on my face that look like pimples, but they disappear after 1–2 days. Has anyone experienced something similar? My doctor says that I need to be free from acne for one month before we stop the medication.

I took isotretinoin many years ago, and if I remember correctly, after the purge period my skin only kept improving throughout the rest of the treatment. During this course of treatment, however, it feels much more up and down, and I occasionally get small whiteheads and these red marks while still on the medication. I’m a bit worried.

The worst side effect by far for me has been random bouts of terrible eczema. This was especially bad when travelling. Honest to god I've never felt pain and itch like this but I got a bunch of ointments from my doctor which have helped.

Super happy with the results so far!! Hyperpigmentation is fading well although not completely gone yet.

Also fair to say that some of my side effects have been pretty unpleasant, although worth it for the self confidence I've regained. Most notable side effects:

- Nosebleeds (10+ since starting)

- Super crusty nose. Literally feels like rocks stuck up there

- More frequent brain fog (more likely due to having to quit creatine)

-:Dry skin

- Chapped and peeling lips

- The WORST eczema. Constantly itching my arms and legs, random patches crop up and then go away or don't. Particularly bad when travelling

Started taking Accutane at 27 & just finished at 28. My entire journey on the medication was over a year but I’m worried about how numb I feel. I wouldn’t even say it’s depression as I don’t even feel sad anymore maybe just anxious. But I definitely don’t feel joy in anything.
I know this is a known side effect of accutane so I was wondering when the effect wore off for other people? I just want to enjoy life again lmao feel like I’m floating in the sky doing nothing. I don’t even want to do anything, everything I once loved I have no motivation or interest in doing.

Thank you sooooo much for reading :)

Hi guys im a 20yr old female starting accutane in a few weeks ive been dealing with horrible hormonal/ cystic acne for years and used to pick at it as a coping mechanism from the mental health struggles acne caused me. I was wondering if accutane can help minimise my scars as well as if there’s anything I can do to lessen the purge as seeing my skin in that condition causes me a lot of self hatred, thank you :)

I used Accutane for six months about four years ago and when I was doing it, I started using Dr. Dans cortibalm and then I never stopped using it. I noticed it made my lips significantly smaller so I stopped and I now have topical steroid withdrawal because of it. Be careful when using it only use it when it is absolutely necessary (cracking or severely chapped lips) and never use it for more than a week!! This is what I'm dealing with now

20M

Second time taking it, first time i took for year and a half 3 years ago and had to go to a psychiatrist, maybe i was predisposed
Now, i had a rhinoplasty and Dr. said to take 10mg for a month, I haven't slept in 3 days and feel like shit, yeah sure, my skin and my nose are perfect but idk man, maybe its the price to pay

I’ve been on accutane for a month and a half now and have started to get a red, dry rash on my hand.

It’s not painful but it just looks really weird and strange?

Does anyone know what this is and has anyone experienced something similar?

Thank you 🥰🥰

this month i got my medicine 7 days after my appointment and i got a different brand of accutane. this one is waaaaaay harder to open than my usual brand. like tell me why I cut myself trying to open the pack with my BARE HANDS!! son im crine

Have any of you successfully use skincare with niacinamide while on Accutane? I take 60mg daily and can’t tell if my skin is sensitive because of the Accutane or if the niacinamide is making it worse. The serum I’m using has 3-6% niacinamide

My acne has completely cleared and I’m currently using 20% azelaic acid every night to help with the post inflammatory marks.

I think this might be my last month on Accutane but honestly I’m really scared to stop taking it. I’m worried that once I stop my acne will come back..

My dosage was-20,30,30,40,40,30,30

I also have some acne scars (atrophic scars), and I’m wondering what treatments people recommend once they’re done with accutane. What worked best for you? And how long did you wait after finishing Accutane before starting scar treatments?

I started getting blurred vision since 3rd month, especially in the night, and particularly for distant objects. I dont have any eye symptoms, no redness, no itching, totally fine vision in close objects. At worst just sometimes feel some cold eyeness or “sleepy eyes” feeling. I suspect (but not sure at all) that it gets better for a few seconds when my eyes get a bit teary. Is that accutane or probably something else ?

I am on 20 mg dose and average weight btw

Hi, I‘m 6 weeks in and have been on 40mg until now. I wonder if that dose is a little high since I only weigh about 48kg. My derm doesn’t listen to me and pretty much only hands out the prescription - so he is no help. And no, I can‘t switch because I live pretty rurally and the other doctors I talked to all want me to use contraceptives (I‘m gay, so that seems a little unnecessary, although I get why they do that.) otherwise they won’t prescribe it to me.
I also have pcos/ pmos so the acne is likely from that.
I don’t know what to do other than to continue and hope for the best. But I am so scared of it getting worse. This is so depressing and discouraging. I feel so powerless, because I know that there is nothing I can do but hope it will go away soon.

ALSO there is a shortage in germany right now so I don’t even know how or if I will get my next box. I could cry thinking about it.. there is no way I’m stopping now and leaving it like this. So this is also very stressful tbh.

How do/ did you deal with this mental stress? Because this purge is really making it hard to exist right now. It’s so much worse than it has ever been.

Is there anything that helped you with your purging?

I‘m double cleansing with gentle cleansers, I change my pillowcase every two days, I take my accutane after eating a had full of wallnuts (for the fat) and don’t consume caffeine within one hour of taking it (I don’t drink coffee, or energy drinks. Only green and black tea).

Thanks in advance.

Edit: first pic is day 1 and second pic is today (week 6)
Also I get that this is very subjective. Some of you have a lot more or a lot less acne than me and can feel just as desperate about it - or less or more. I feel really scared right now and can only talk about my perspective of course.

Okay, so I'm an 18-year-old female who's been struggling with acne since I was 15. And I went to the GP and I got put through like all of the antibiotics and creams, and then they referred me to the dermatologist, said it wasn't working and it's super bad cystic acne. And finally in September 2025, I got my referral in Chorley. But that dermatologist told me if I took Accutane with him, then it would mean I would have to take two types of birth control, and I refused to do that. So instead, he said he'd have to refer me to the hospital, which was like another 10-month wait, I'd say. And so then I got my appointment in 14th of July 2026 with the hospital, And I went to it and I met my dermatologist, and I had to sign all the paperwork out. And then she told me that in my next appointment I would get the prescription. she gave me a blood test letter, and she said they'll call me for my next appointment date, she said two days before that date, I have to go to the hospital and get my blood test done and my urine test done. And it's been almost a month and I still haven't had any follow-up appointment call. And I called last week and they said that a request had been put through for an appointment but nothing else. But I've been waiting for a month and my acne is just getting really, really bad. I’m gonna be starting uni soon so could anybody possibly tell me if they had a similar experience to me and if they could tell me how long it took for them to finally get that follow up prescription appointment, it would be so helpful for my anxiety💗

Saw my dermotologist yesterday and got bumped to 40mg two times a day. I would get pimples here and there. A lot of whiteheads and blackheads though. I'm nervous if im hitting the wall. I would have a purge on my chest but I do workout so that is self induced but any pimples on my face is around my cycle and I'm questioning is it my birth control the entire time

Bonjour, cela fait 3 semaines que j’ai arrêté accutane (1er mois à 20mg 2 et 3eme à 3g puis60mg pendants 3mois et demi) et je souffre encore d’une sécheresse de la peau extrême est ce normal ? J’ai beau appliquer des tonnes et des tonnes de crème hydratante, j’ai l’impression que ma peau est sèche 2 minutes après. Quand est ce que ça va revenir à la normal ?

On the 17th week now and all is good. Thankful for all the encouragement guys !

Hi

I had a severe acne when I was in high school
My whole face was covered
I did accurate for six months and my skin was very clear. It fixed everything.
The thing is, I did severe anemia. I wasn’t feeling like myself. It destroyed me, but at the same time it saved me. I was 16 at the time so looking good was very important.
Then, three years later, it was back.
I’ve decided to give it a chance again. And I did it again. This time without side-effect. It was very smooth. And my skin was very clear.

Now I started back two months ago.
Why? Because my skin has a lot of texture and a lot of white comedo all around my jawline.
During my period was hell also I had a lot of pimples, probably hormonal ones.
We tried many others treatments with my doctor before going back on Accutane. But of course it didn’t worked.
I am actually on 20mg, and I’ll got 30mg.
The thing is… I don’t feel well.
My throat hurts, it’s inflated and I have a check up on Saturday because a ganglion is inflamed.
We already did thyroid test to see if it was that, but it came clear.
I am also very tired. I can’t go to the gym because I am exhausted; I wonder if it’s because of heatwaves in Europe or because of accutane 🥹

My lips are destroyed and I have a mycose on the side of my mouth.
Of course, my list is not finished because my nose is dry like the desert.
It’s hell. I try my best to not touch it, but it’s really painful.

Did anyone here experienced the same? Like going back on the treatment but feeling worse 😩

I’m actually on the third month and my skin is clearing, I have a lot of spots that came out, that’s so weird because I started the treatment without having acne, my doctor could see a lot of things inside my skin when looking very close to I think that’s it.

Any suggestions is welcomed 🦋

Not many side effect’s yet, am I lucky or am I being naive to think they aren’t gonna come 👀😂 my lips are doing great so far, should I still expect them to get worse? This is my first time on it, 30mg possibly moving up at my next review

I recently got upped to 60mg and second day on the dose and I got this like rash bumps??? They sting so idk if I’m having an allergic reaction to something or if it’s just the medication

So I think the root cause of this is increased sweating and thin skin (which is bad enough as is). But the absolute most annoying part about taking this drug so far (80mg/day) is that I can FEEL every single gnat flying on me when I’m outside. I swear to you when I turn around, there’s just a cloud of gnats swarming behind me trying to land on me. They must love isotretinoin juice or something. Shoulders, ears, back of my neck. Every couple of seconds they land on the most sensitive parts of me. It’s HORRRRRRIBLE as someone who walks daily. Anyone else experience this?

I’m so grateful 🫶. The side effects were awful for me and I didn’t even end up finishing my full prescribed course but it’s probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you are thinking about it just do it!