Roaccutane - God Forbid Or Godsend?
There are thousands of acne remedies on the market ranging from creams and lotions to vitamins and herbal remedies.
It seems that there are as many drug remedies as there are home-based or non mainstream approaches to this massive problem.
This article is designed to tell you about my own experience in using a very controversial pharmaceutical remedy.
I'll tell it like it is in the hope that we can add some commonsense to the subject of severe acne treatment.
The treatment I want to tell you about has asomewhat cloudy image.
People are polarised by it and either think its an absolute Godsend or else a diabolical danger to users.
The drug has links to depression and the point of this article is not to defend the drug or to criticise it.
Instead I am just going to describe my own truthful experience with it and leave you to make your own judgement.
Please do not see this as medical advice and please seek your own independent advice from a clinician or health professional.
At age 18 had been suffering from severe acne for at least 6 years.
It wasn't just your garden-variety acne but rather quite severe acne.
Certainly many people have worse conditions but to me at the time it took over my entire life.
It had already produced scarring both mental and physical.
I had tried any number of creams and changes in diet, affirmations and just about every remedy that I could think of.
It will come as no surprise to many of you reading this who have experienced severe acne that nothing worked to any great degree.
What made matters worse was the fact that I got conflicting advice everywhere I looked.
Some people would tell me that diet was to blame and that eating things like chocolate was a contributing factor.
Others would tell me that diet had nothing to do with the dis-ease.
Some people said it was heredity and still others told me it was all to do with hormones.
Meanwhile with each passing day I became more depressed and desperate.
At some point in my early 20s I learned about a drug called ROACCUTANE which is the brand name for IsoTretinoin.
I learned that the drug was very effective, though it came with a raft of potential side effects.
My experience with the drug may not be typical but I'm going to describe exactly how it affected me, the time frame it took to work and the problems it may or may not have caused.
Despite all the warnings about ill effects, I can honestly say that the only side-effect that I am certain was produced by using the drug was very dry and chapped lips and an almost miraculous cessation of my problem.
In the beginning and gradually over a period of several weeks usage, my lips became so dry that they began to crack.
I had to constantly use vasoline on my lips for about two weeks until my system got used to the drug.
Frankly it was very difficult to cope with but nothing compared to the other alternative.
It was hard going during this time but I held on to the belief that at least something was finally changing.
Now the only side-effect that I can categorically say occurred, was a gradual and almost complete removal of my acne condition.
These are the only things I can state with surety that ROACCUTANE caused to happen.
After about 6 months of being on the drug I experimented with reducing the dosage.
I discontinued use once my acne had cleared up completely.
I noticed that there was a residual effect and that my acne remained under control for many months after coming off the drug.
Over subsequent months I used the drug again in much smaller and varying dosages and with very repeatable results.
In short I discovered that my acne remained totally under control with even a small ongoing dosage.
My acne improved drastically and has remained completely under control since.
If I get a bad outbreak I find that I only need to take a small and short dosage of the drug to bring things back under control.
Flareups still occur despite the fact that I am now in my forties.
So far this has been a good news story.
The problem is that at some point within the first two years of taking the medication I suffered from a severe and thankfully short-lived bout of depression and manic-depressive behaviour.
I cannot say with utter certainty that the drug contributed to the depression.
On the other hand there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence in many people who have used the medication to suggest that there is a strong link between the drug and the onset of mental problems.
It seems very likely to me that there is certainly cause for concern.
The problem is that had I not used this medication I would have been severely depressed due to the acne anyway.
The scarring and its effect on one's self-esteem can be as bad as the potential harmful effect of the drug itself.
In my own case I have no regret about using the medication but I strongly urge that if you are considering using ROACCUTANE, that you should use it as an absolute last resort.
I would categorically use it again and yet I don't know if you yourself should do so.
Only you can make an informed judgement for your own circumstances but if you can find another way use that way first.
Try every possible dietary regime and investigate all the home remedies that you can find first.
The Internet has made this so much easier to do.
If you've tried everything and decide that you will use this drug then do so not only under medical supervision but also with a support mechanism of your family and friends.
Tell them to keep an eye on you for any changes in your behaviour or mood.
This drug may be an absolute saviour for someone whose life is being decimated with severe acne.
Only somewhat who has suffered with the acute version of this soul destroying malady knows how much it can affect how you come to see yourself.
Roaccutane may be a very dangerous way of achieving a solution though.
The simple answer is that I myself do not know.
ROACCUTANE solved my acne problem but at what cost I may never know.
It may actually be that ROACCUTANE is safe for some people and not others and I think the same can be said for many other drugs also.
In fact the same can even be said of certain foods.
We're all individuals and all have different biochemistry.
We also all respond to stress in different ways as well.
This may go some way to explaining why some people can have an adverse reaction to any medication including ROACCUTANE.
I have no particular bias toward the drug but if I'm being honest with you in this article then I have to tell you that I would not change the past.
I would use the drug again but always in a manner where its use was completely minimised to hopefully also minimise any downside.
I would certainly use it in the smallest effective dose possible and for the shortest time.
In my own case I have the benefit of past experience in using the treatment.
I know what to expect and also the potential drastic consequences.
Other people, particularly young people or people undergoing times of stress, may not have that luxury and so I again urge you to take the strongest cautionary approach with this medication, if indeed you use it at all.
It seems that there are as many drug remedies as there are home-based or non mainstream approaches to this massive problem.
This article is designed to tell you about my own experience in using a very controversial pharmaceutical remedy.
I'll tell it like it is in the hope that we can add some commonsense to the subject of severe acne treatment.
The treatment I want to tell you about has asomewhat cloudy image.
People are polarised by it and either think its an absolute Godsend or else a diabolical danger to users.
The drug has links to depression and the point of this article is not to defend the drug or to criticise it.
Instead I am just going to describe my own truthful experience with it and leave you to make your own judgement.
Please do not see this as medical advice and please seek your own independent advice from a clinician or health professional.
At age 18 had been suffering from severe acne for at least 6 years.
It wasn't just your garden-variety acne but rather quite severe acne.
Certainly many people have worse conditions but to me at the time it took over my entire life.
It had already produced scarring both mental and physical.
I had tried any number of creams and changes in diet, affirmations and just about every remedy that I could think of.
It will come as no surprise to many of you reading this who have experienced severe acne that nothing worked to any great degree.
What made matters worse was the fact that I got conflicting advice everywhere I looked.
Some people would tell me that diet was to blame and that eating things like chocolate was a contributing factor.
Others would tell me that diet had nothing to do with the dis-ease.
Some people said it was heredity and still others told me it was all to do with hormones.
Meanwhile with each passing day I became more depressed and desperate.
At some point in my early 20s I learned about a drug called ROACCUTANE which is the brand name for IsoTretinoin.
I learned that the drug was very effective, though it came with a raft of potential side effects.
My experience with the drug may not be typical but I'm going to describe exactly how it affected me, the time frame it took to work and the problems it may or may not have caused.
Despite all the warnings about ill effects, I can honestly say that the only side-effect that I am certain was produced by using the drug was very dry and chapped lips and an almost miraculous cessation of my problem.
In the beginning and gradually over a period of several weeks usage, my lips became so dry that they began to crack.
I had to constantly use vasoline on my lips for about two weeks until my system got used to the drug.
Frankly it was very difficult to cope with but nothing compared to the other alternative.
It was hard going during this time but I held on to the belief that at least something was finally changing.
Now the only side-effect that I can categorically say occurred, was a gradual and almost complete removal of my acne condition.
These are the only things I can state with surety that ROACCUTANE caused to happen.
After about 6 months of being on the drug I experimented with reducing the dosage.
I discontinued use once my acne had cleared up completely.
I noticed that there was a residual effect and that my acne remained under control for many months after coming off the drug.
Over subsequent months I used the drug again in much smaller and varying dosages and with very repeatable results.
In short I discovered that my acne remained totally under control with even a small ongoing dosage.
My acne improved drastically and has remained completely under control since.
If I get a bad outbreak I find that I only need to take a small and short dosage of the drug to bring things back under control.
Flareups still occur despite the fact that I am now in my forties.
So far this has been a good news story.
The problem is that at some point within the first two years of taking the medication I suffered from a severe and thankfully short-lived bout of depression and manic-depressive behaviour.
I cannot say with utter certainty that the drug contributed to the depression.
On the other hand there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence in many people who have used the medication to suggest that there is a strong link between the drug and the onset of mental problems.
It seems very likely to me that there is certainly cause for concern.
The problem is that had I not used this medication I would have been severely depressed due to the acne anyway.
The scarring and its effect on one's self-esteem can be as bad as the potential harmful effect of the drug itself.
In my own case I have no regret about using the medication but I strongly urge that if you are considering using ROACCUTANE, that you should use it as an absolute last resort.
I would categorically use it again and yet I don't know if you yourself should do so.
Only you can make an informed judgement for your own circumstances but if you can find another way use that way first.
Try every possible dietary regime and investigate all the home remedies that you can find first.
The Internet has made this so much easier to do.
If you've tried everything and decide that you will use this drug then do so not only under medical supervision but also with a support mechanism of your family and friends.
Tell them to keep an eye on you for any changes in your behaviour or mood.
This drug may be an absolute saviour for someone whose life is being decimated with severe acne.
Only somewhat who has suffered with the acute version of this soul destroying malady knows how much it can affect how you come to see yourself.
Roaccutane may be a very dangerous way of achieving a solution though.
The simple answer is that I myself do not know.
ROACCUTANE solved my acne problem but at what cost I may never know.
It may actually be that ROACCUTANE is safe for some people and not others and I think the same can be said for many other drugs also.
In fact the same can even be said of certain foods.
We're all individuals and all have different biochemistry.
We also all respond to stress in different ways as well.
This may go some way to explaining why some people can have an adverse reaction to any medication including ROACCUTANE.
I have no particular bias toward the drug but if I'm being honest with you in this article then I have to tell you that I would not change the past.
I would use the drug again but always in a manner where its use was completely minimised to hopefully also minimise any downside.
I would certainly use it in the smallest effective dose possible and for the shortest time.
In my own case I have the benefit of past experience in using the treatment.
I know what to expect and also the potential drastic consequences.
Other people, particularly young people or people undergoing times of stress, may not have that luxury and so I again urge you to take the strongest cautionary approach with this medication, if indeed you use it at all.
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