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OT: Accutane
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Has anyone done this? My husband used it as a teen. My son, unfortunately has the same acne problems. We have tried natural, diet changes, topical, etc… to no affect. I know there are some hints of problems with it, but I also know people who have used it and never had a problem. Just curious. He is so unhappy with his skin and the idea of waiting it out 4-5 years to see if it clears up on his own is not appealing to him. And, honestly, I can’t blame him.
My sister used it a few years ago (in her early 30’s) with no side effects except for very dry skin all over. She claims it worked wonders for her, but her acne was extremely mild. I’m still battling at neraly 39, but am too nervous of the side effects to try it myself. Mine acne is mild and annoying (especially at my age, it should be gone by now, right?). Sorry I can’t offer personal experience, but my sister definitely sings praise about the drug.
I took it as a teen for mild acne for almost a year. (It should never have been prescribed to me.) I didn’t notice any dramatic change or any horrid side effects at the time. However, I struggled with fertility, have 2 auto-immune conditions – Celiac and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, multiple other health issues, and worse acne now than ever before. I can’t say that any of those things are related to taking Accutane, but I can say that I would exhaust every single possibility before even remotely considering it. I know how disheartening even mild/moderate acne is and understand your son’s perspective, too. It’s just such a heavy duty drug with some severe long-term side effects.
My brothers both took it as teens (10-15 years ago). I wish they would have taken it sooner, actually, because their skin still has scarring from the severe acne they had.
My brother-in-law took Accutane as a teenager and he believes it stunted his growth. He keeps telling us to never put our sons on it. I took high doses of tetracycline in my ealy 20’s and it caused many problems that didn’t show up for a few years so I wouldn’t recommend that either. I’m currently seeking out the natural options for my 14ds…good diet, outdoor exercise, good cleansers, and essential oils. It’s too early though to give my advice yet on how it all works…
I just want to add that when I was a teen, my skin was not really bad, but even the mild breakouts I occasionally got were too much for me. The dr. prescribed different things including birth control pills, accutane, retin-a, tetracycline and probably something I’m forgetting. With the benefit of age and hind-sight, I would have dealt with the acne (even more severe than it was) to avoid some of the known side effects of these drugs – infertility, birth defects, low libido (for life), stunted growth, depression, and so many more. Not everyone experiences these, of course, but in hind sight the cons outweighed the pros for me.
I will say that my dd12 (almost 13) is beginning to have a few breakouts and we’re trying some more natural things including keeping sugar intake low. I have let her use some topical benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid products when it’s been esp. bothersome to her.
It’s a tough road, for sure.
Here is the previous post! I did take it in my 20’s, you will see my post about it!
Okay, for some reason it will not copy and paste! Go to search box, type in Accutane
Tea tree oil has not helped. Very low sugar intake, much water, no improvement. Not sure about the gluten. A few in our home have tried gluten free and it has made no difference in their particular health needs. I agree acne can be an internal problem, but also think for some it could just be an overabundance of oil production from major hormone storms of adolescence. Topical things just get oil off the surface, but do not affect the production and build up under the skin. He is a healthy kid with no other known problems. I agree that diet can help many things, but I am not seeing it with him right now. I am quite on the fence.
I took it as a teenager and would never recommend it! I have struggled as adult with acne as well and found a cream that I LOVE and cleared up my face in a matter of a week. http://www.ebay.com/itm/PURPLE-EMU-ALL-NATURAL-REDNESS-BLEMISH-CONTROL-ROSACEA-CREAM-WITH-EMU-OIL-/160655907466?pt=US_Skin_Care&hash=item2567d69a8a
If you want to read through the thread Kayla mentioned from a few months back, you can click here.
My husband took it in his teens. He now has pretty severe GERD. We also have a friend that took it for a long time in his teens/twenties. He has lost his large intestines (wears a bag) and has other severe problems. The friends wife did some research and found that digestive problems are not as uncommon as you would hope for accutane users.
Unfortunately my sons now have the same severe acne problem as my husband did. BUT we’ve found, crazy as it sounds, that using organic extra virgin coconut oil topically works wonders. As long as they put it on their face each night before bed (they just spreads a small amount with their fingers), their acne is very much under control. It is not totally gone but definitely much improved and not all that noticable.
Before this we had tried all sorts of over the counter products and tea tree oil. Nothing helped until the coconut oil.-Rebecca
I am intrigued by the coconut oil. We tried the oil therapy idea once but it did not work for him. It worked for his younger sister fairly well. She seems to be able to keep hers manageable with proactive but that did not help him. We are strong believers in the power of coconut oil for many other things. I will encourage him to try it again. I don’t want to do anything risky and neither does he, but oh, how I feel for him. It really has affected his self image and caused him a few issues from teasing last year. It seems such a cruel thing. I am so thankful I did not suffer with it. I was hoping my children would inherit my skin, but so far the two teens seem to have more of their dad’s skin. Although, my daughter’s has never been as bad as my son’s.
I was going to suggest coconut oil. It is all I use on my face. I rub it on before my shower to remove make up and then just massages under the hot shower water. I then put a little on after I get out before bed. Works wonders. Your face feels super oily but when you wake up it’s all absorbed and amazing!
Does he drink a lot of milk? After looking through “The Clear Skin Diet” book we eliminated most dairy for my daughter and that made a huge difference. I need to get the book again from the library — there is a lot of research in it, so can take a bit to sort through, but worth it. I am looking at getting “The Acne Diet” by Julie Gabriel, but I don’t know as much about it, it just looks more user friendly.
I second the coconut oil suggestions, changing pillowcases often, etc.
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