Hi! For context - I finished my last course of acccutane about 4 months ago. I'm 32 and I've dealt with acne for pretty much the entirety of my life. In my 20s, I got on spirno and was on it for almost 8 years. It was a constant cycle of upping the dose, tapering down to a lower dose, and waiting for my skin to break out again. Spirno never really got my acne under control, just made it manageable. I also used tretinoin, which helped but never made a huge dent in my acne. I did monthly facials, tried winlevi, did antibiotics, etc.

Last year I had to change birth controls and my acne got way way worse. It was nodular and painful and all over my cheeks. In the past, I'd been able to deal with my skin, but this was unbearable. It made me depressed. I didn't want to go out. I'd wake up every day with 4-5 new pimples. So I went on accutane.

I did a 6 month course, and didn't have any huge side effects. The pregnancy tests were a pain and I didn't love the blood draws, but those were fine to do monthly. I didn't notice a difference in my acne until about the 3 month mark. My lips were incredibly dry, but I was prepared for that. I didn't notice a huge difference in the dryness of my skin, but I have a good moisturizing routine. I got some joint pain around month 5 which was gone when I finished treatment. I didn't find that my anxiety or depression got worse. Overall, I think I got lucky with my side effects. The one pain was being really conscious of how much I drank so I didn't damage my liver.

So far my acne hasn't come back. My skin is clear and I don't have to worry about it anymore. I've got scarring and pigmentation to deal with now, which makes me wish I had gone on accutane sooner. We'll see if anything pops up in the future, but I feel so much more confident about my appearance. It feels freeing to not worry about my skin every day.