Today I took my first Roaccutane capsule. I’m filled with anxiety and dread about the much-documented side effects, yet have no doubt in my mind that this is what I need to do. If it works, it will all be worth it in the end. It’s been a long journey to get to this point, too long. Like many others, I wish I started Roaccutane sooner.
I am now 24 years old. I started to get spots at the age of 14, but things didn’t become serious until the age of 17. Up until this point, I had only attempted to treat them with over-the-counter products. I avoided consulting the doctor, feeling ashamed and helpless. Shortly after my 18th birthday, I started university. My skin was at its worse during my first year of university. My main problem area is my chin and the area around my mouth, where I suffer from large, inflamed red spots, often extremely painful. I also get spots on my forehead, especially near my temples, but to a lesser extent, and occasionally on my cheeks. My self-confidence was extremely low and I felt depressed most of time. I decided to go to the on-campus doctor, who prescribed Zineryt (a topical antibiotic) and a contraceptive pill, Cilest. She was reluctant to prescribe me Dianette straight away. I also had to fill in a questionnaire to assess how it was affecting me mentally. I lied when answering most of the questions. If I had answered truthfully, I would no doubt have been referred to a psychologist or counselor of some description. This would probably have been a positive thing for me, but I felt so ashamed and was unable to talk to anyone. My natural reaction was to hide away and avoid having to discuss the painful subject. I don’t recall how long it took, but there was some improvement. My skin was far from clear but the situation was at least under some kind of control.
I then had a massive flare up over a period of a couple months. Things were so bad, I didn’t leave the flat for weeks on end, and spent my days in bed, crying. I was prescribed Dianette, which certainly made my skin less oily but didn’t stop me getting spots. I have since tried two types of antibiotics and various topical treatments with little success.
In short, nothing has cured my acne. I found Zineryt and Dianette to be the most successful combination, but far from satisfactory. Roaccutane seems to be the only option left, and I really hope this will be the solution! I stumbled across this site and found it really helpful to read about other people’s experiences of the drug. I decided to start my own diary since, as I mentioned before, my skin problems have deeply affected me over the years but I’ve never felt able to talk about it. I’m hoping that sharing my experiences with others in a similar situation will help me deal with things better.