Scared of Roaccutane!

Will
 

Will

Wednesday 17 October, 2007

Posted in Roaccutane

Hi - This is 1st post and would some general advice.I am a 28 year old female and have suffered from acne in my teenage years. I went onto Dianette for 10 years almost and this kept the acne away completely with the exception of getting a annual spot or 2 - which strangely enjoyed as it made me feel “normal”.

In June, my GP advised that he could not prescribe Dianette again as it is not legalised for “long-term” use, I was fine with this as myself and hubby deicided to let nature take its course with babies. It wasn’t until November 06 that my skin started to have break-outs.

In Feb 07 I was refered to a dermatologist who prescribed me Trimethropim (2 daily) and Duac Gel and I must say I am generally very happy with the signs of improvement. I am having 2 acne cysts removed in 3 weeks so hopefully this will improve things.

My face is generally clear now but is still rather oily during the day so she recommended a benyzol peroxide daily cream to apply under cosmetics.

I have been using Dermalogica products since 2002 and they have been a godsend - though expensive.

The dermatologist mentioned Roaccutane but I am a little wary due to suicidal/depressive issues. I don’t think I have any problems with these in general but when I was prescribed dianette, I had awful mood swings and generally I was a moody cow !! and I really don’t want to see that side of me ever again.

With Roaccutane you have to be on the pill - which would probably keep the acne at bay on its own and then you have to wait a few months after stopping the treatment before trying for a baby and I am a complete SUN worshiper.

I really don’t what to do. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

By Emma M

8 Responses to “Scared of Roaccutane!”

#1 Karen says...

Hmmmm…this is a tricky one. You sound reasonably happy with your skin just now (odd spot here and there aside) and sound like you want to start a family and love the sun so on paper it wouldn’t be the best option for you…but then if you look at it, it is only 5 months out your life (4 treatment and 1 for the ‘after effects’) to hopefully sort your skin out once and for all - well, that’s my hopes anyway!!

As for the side effects you mention - every drug has some side effects. Some are mild and some not so - hell, I get a pleasant buzz from my migraine medication!! Like you I was unsure but I guess you have to look at the stats - it’s pretty rare and in the words of my dermatologist, cases actually linked between Roaccutane and suicide are like ‘hens teeth’!!!

I made the decision to start the treatment and basically keep a close eye on myself. I guess it depends on how much having bad skin affects your life. For me, cancelling nights out, phoning in ’sick’ to work and having sore tight skin all because of my acne was enough for me to try the treatment.

Hope this helps x

October 17th, 2007 at 10:21 pm

#2 Elizabeth says...

Hi Emma,

Sounds like your skin may not be bad enough to start on a course of Roaccutane. I was sent away by my dermatologist twice before i started treatment because my skin just ‘wasn’t bad enough’! even tho i felt like i had the Alpes on my face!

like you i was on dianette for many years which kept my acne away completely. When i came of dianette because we wanted to start a family i was stunned that my skin exploded into cysts, lumps and blemishes. I thought that while on the dianette i would have ‘grown out of it’! obviously this wasn’t the case.

As karen says, you need to do whats best for you. if you are afraid of the side effects then maybe you shouldn’t do it. for me however there was no choice, living with acne is far worse than any of the side effects listed. sounds like you are not at this desperate stage yet!

good luck what ever you decide to do.

Elizabeth xxxxxxxxxxxx

October 20th, 2007 at 5:15 pm

#3 Jill says...

Wow, how similar your dilemma sounds to my own situation… to summarise… teenage acne, cleared up by years on Dianette, came off it because I thought I might have grown out of the acne, spots came back with a vengeance, tried numerous antibiotics, creams, gels, expensive ranges of skin cleansers etc…

So, anyway, my GP had told me about Roaccutane but for months I was scared off by the horror stories of depression. Like you I had some serious moods issues on Diannette so I was worried that Roaccutane would have the same effect, maybe even worse.

Eventually I had had enough and asked my GP to refer me to the specialist. After a 20 week (!) wait (NHS are great, aren’t they!) I finally saw the derm and started the drugs.

Obviously it affects different people differently, so you shouldn’t take my word that it will be ok for you…but I can honestly say that I have none of the mood/depression problems I had previously experienced with hormone based treatments. Quite the opposite I feel great because I’m more confident about my skin.

So, week 11, only 5 more to go. I can’t wait to finish the course…but really glad I started.

I think it’s also worth saying that the symptoms are usually dose specific so the docs set you a low dose to begni with to see how your body reacts. This lets you get used to what might be in store. And you can always stop having the treatment if you have a funny reaction.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

October 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

#4 Jo says...

Hi Emma,

I am still waiting for my blood test results before I can go on Roaccutane but when I went to see the Dermo, he mentioned the depression factor (after saying, ‘ooo it is bad isnt it!’)…way to make me feel better!
The Roaccutane affects the serotonin, which is the ‘happy hormone’. I think that as long as you have supportive friends and family around you to give you a hug if you’re a bit down, then you will be fine. I know that i will be relying on them for my mood swings, because im sure i will get them.
My dermo said that it is very rare that someone gets very depressed as people usually have a lot of support around them.
Hope this helps in your decision.
Jo

December 13th, 2007 at 3:12 pm

#5 Rosie says...

hey jo
I just started today :)
just thought i’d say, the derm said ‘you must be a very strong person to have coped with them being this bad…’ its just greeeaaat….

April 11th, 2008 at 11:36 am

#6 Emma says...

I’ve been offered Roaccutane but am reluctant to start as my skin’s great (on Dianette) at the moment and I’m wondering if it will get bad again on Roaccutane. I know you have to stay on the pill whilst you’re taking it. Does anyone know how that works? Will my skin get worse? Will they let me stay on Dianette? Will that help? What about the red face thing referred to on here? I remember a girl on it at Uni and it looked DREADFUL. My issue is that I’m in my 30’s and really want a baby but am single. I’d like to come off the pill now so that I’m ready when I meet someone but don’t want to waste a year with horrible spots feeling unattractive and lessening my chances of finding a man…. Advice please.

April 14th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

#7 Susie says...

Hi Emma,
I am also in my 30s and decided to take the plunge with Roac.
My spots are not that bad but I figured that (after trying antibiotics and the pill with no luck) I wanted to get rid of them once and for all, and that there was no point delaying and trying other treatments due to my age.
If i want to have kids at some point in my 30s i need to get this roac treatment over and done with.
Not sure if that helps you or not but my view would be to go for it!

April 14th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

#8 Andrew says...

LOL. From reading the comments on this page, I have come to the conclusion that dermatologists actually have NO social skills whatsoever! teehee.! x

July 24th, 2008 at 1:01 am

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