I'm on Accutane for the second time- i first took it when i was a junior in high school (6 years ago). someone on here said they had friends who were on it for four years, which is a load of crap-- you take accutane in 3-6 month cycles, then you stop.
anyway, it DOES have some icky side effects. my face is all dry and i have to apply lip balm every 20 minutes because my lips are starting to dry out like crazy. after i was on it the last time, i went on anti-depressants. and now, i've only been on it about two weeks, but i've suddenly got all these weird moods-- yesterday i was talking to my mom and just started crying- i said, "nothing's wrong.. i think it's my medicine <sob, sob>"
but already my skin is starting to clear up! i had clogged pores all over my forehead and after a horrible day of being dry and peely yesterday, i'm already clearer!
you SHOULD NOT get pregnant on accutane, no no no no no, but there are a bunch of other drugs you should take while pregnant either. you have monthly blood tests NOT to check for weird things happening, but to make sure your HDL and cholesterol is staying low. Accutane is pretty much a really high dose of Vitamin A stuff, so it's hard on your liver. but that's why you get the blood tests-- to make sure it's not doing any damage.
dry skin, chapped lips, sun sensitivity, no drinking/unprotected sex, possible depression for six months. if you ask me, having perfect skin is totally worth the six months of pain in the ***.
PLUS you dont get the greasies! i can go a few days without shampooing my hair and it looks great! i dont get shiny!
accutane isn't for everyone, but it's for people who have tried other things that haven't worked. try retin-A. try benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. as my dermatologist said, "accutane is pretty much a cure for acne." you might have to use it two or three times if your skin comes back, but it will never be as bad as it was when you started.
having clear skin isn't something you think about unless you don't have it-- then it's ALL you think about.
the end