Does anybody know the percentages of Accutane success? Like how many people are permanately cured, or how many had acne come back but to a lesser extent?
I believe it's around 20% of all Accutane users have the acne come back - thus having to go on a second course. Something like that, 20-25%. It's a wonderful drug, I highly reccomend it. It 100% cleared me just after about the first 6 weeks or so. The side affects are greatly exaggerated if you look at the statistics. I was on 80mg.
This is taken directly from the manufacturer of Accutane's website, this can give you the statistics
[url="http://www.rocheusa.com/products/accutane/"]http://www.rocheusa.com/products/accutane/[/url]
Accutane has a HIGH success rate, you wont hear that often on these boards because the people who've been "cured" by accutane have left.
[This message has been edited by anth0r (edited 07-30-2003).]
With statistics like these, proves that Accutane is the greatest thing for acne out there right now. I don't know why doctors hesitate to prescribe it, there's no correlation between suicide and accutane what so ever.
Of course there's some bad side-effects, but hey, there's a risk in everything you do and with Accutane, the chances of those bad side-effects happening to you are very slim. You have better chances of winning the lottery.
[This message has been edited by anth0r (edited 07-30-2003).]
[This message has been edited by anth0r (edited 07-30-2003).]
Ummmmm. No it is a much higher failure rate I'm afraid. 48% is the most commonly cited figure of people who require a second course, and I've seen higher even on pro-accutane websites. Many people go on 3 or more courses and never get cured.
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And I shall be clothed again with my SKIN, and in my flesh I shall see God." [Job 19:25]
I don't know where you got your info AccutaneAvenger, but I specifically asked my Dermatologist that question and he said it has around an 80% success rate - where there would be no need for a second course.
Quote:
Originally posted by AccutaneAvenger: Ummmmm. No it is a much higher failure rate I'm afraid. 48% is the most commonly cited figure of people who require a second course, and I've seen higher even on pro-accutane websites. Many people go on 3 or more courses and never get cured.
Accutane's success rate is still high than ANY topical and it can CLEAR 100% whereas most topicals wont. If you require a second course, oh well, at least you know that you could just take more accutane and it'll clear you.
cured for now, that is only because the derm cites the info directly from the company itself in which their statistics they pass out are a little skewed favoring their behalf. Real statistics go to show that the chances of acne coming back after accutane are much higher than 20%. 20% is bad enough to go on a drug like that potentially damaging your body in ways you don't even know and can't see with your own eyes. And sometimes the effects you CAN see with your own eyes or feel and they are devasting and some long lasting. Drugs like that are bad news.
Sorry to say, but if you trust a derm, they'll just take advantage of you. Don't trust people who you see that take your money every visit unless it is a reputable doctor.
lyndsey,
hi there....well if you go back through my posts you will see my awful story but i will shorten a little version here for you...
all my life until last october i had near flawless, peaches and cream skin. i always got that occasional pimple that had a life of about 1 week (that included the death of the red mark too). so my acne was pretty much non existent and makeup was foreign to me....
anyway, my face became really oily (due to my lack of estrogen in my body..i'm 21 female by the way) and so i got concerned about wiping and washing my face about 50 times a day (so horrid)...so my derm. at the time put me on accutane to rid the problem...well, one month went by on 40mg (i was 100lbs now 115 due to stress and my lack of exercise in the past 6 months) and in the second month she bumped me to 80mg to speed things along and all hell broke loose on my face. i developed severe nodular acne that was so bad that i had to go to a new derm for a second opinion and prednisone and cultures on my face, etc. well, my derm. didn't know what was wrong and said for me to stay on it so i did and it got worse. i developed such bad acne in all of 1 month and then stopped the pill per the other derm's firm "STOP".... the derm that perscribed it played dumb and said good riddens to me as she destroyed my face (i am suing her now for malpractice) and my new derm has been so sweet in the past 8 months or so....when i went off the accutane the bad cysts that i woke up to every morning (at least 5 or 6 every day) slowed down and eventually i just had the acne that i was used to (one here and there) but the red marks and scars are so severe that i haven't stopped crying since....my life has been ruined and i stay inside all day everyday because i am ashamed of what happened to me....in the past 6-8 months i have tried every topical and pill under the sun to help my problem with no positive results...i am now getting a series of 13 microdermabrasions and els to help soften scars and try to lighten some of the red marks. my cheeks are completely almost just one red blob and my chin is somewhat decent. my nose, suprisingly, is perfect (a blackhead here and there) and my forehead just gets an occasional pimple that when i pop (i know bad) goes away real fast. i don't dare pop anything on my cheeks for fear of damaging my face further. i have been so depressed and stressed that i have gained some weight (i was too thin before anyway 5'5 and 100lbs...mind you i was anorexic for 2 years from 18-20, and my weight was 83...sick)...anyway, so my face went from perfect to god awful and my old pictures just make me cry because of the damage that was caused in 1 month time, i am living a lifetime with a face i no longer love and can never be normal again (all doctors have told me that). i try to smile, but it is no use and i just cry more. so that is my story, short version....ask any questions you want...
-M
p.s i tried to write oprah to do a show about acne and teens and adults but i never heard from her because i want to share my story and i know that accutane is great for some, but you can't just use it to try to solve a problem you think you have. my derm. was incompitant and gave it to me for oily skin (no no) but my brother had bad acne on his chin that never went away with any med. so he was put on accutane and has peaches and cream skin now 10 years later and counting. for me, it wasn't right and i should have dealt with the oily skin....i was wrong and she was too, and i have to live with it now...so good luck to anyone that uses it and be careful and ask yourself if you are really going on it for the right reason!!
-M
To Accutaneavenger,
I have been on Accutane 4 times (up to 7 months & 60mg each time)& I am still not cured. I had no problems taking it, just very dry skin & lips. Each time I used Accutane I would clear up for 1-2 years & then the big cysts would return. I am now 40 & my skin is clear except when I get a cyst, which is 3-4 times a year. I now use retin-A and Glycolic 16% everyday, but I still get them. I think Accutane cures some people, but not all.
It helped only after taking it FOUR times. And it might have not been even the drug. It might be age and things changing in your body that helped lessen your acne.
[This message has been edited by Jenna228 (edited 08-01-2003).]
I took almost 6 courses of Accutane starting at age 18. It never cleared up my skin to any great degree. Accutane is a VERY dangerous drug with long term side effects that sometimes don't show up until years later. I am now in my late 30's and suffering from a servere digestive disorder, near constant migraine headaches, and vision loss to the point of being legally blind. All of these things and be traced to my use of Accutane. I'm now looking into filing a personal injury lawsuit against Roche, the makers of Accutane, and I am not alone. There are many others who are taking legal action as well.
The bright side is that my acne is now about 90% better. For the past two years I have been taking a European birth control pill called Diane-35, which I have to order off the internet as it is not sold in the US. This has been my true 'wonder' drug... I would just like to implore all other female acne sufferers to look into hormonal factors as a cause for this disease. I always felt that hormones had much to do with causing my acne and had tried numerous US birth control pills as well as Spironalactone, but they only seemed to make my acne worse. However, after reading many positive posts online about Diane-35 I decided that it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. I will be forever grateful that I did. I don't know why US doctors have yet to clue into this as an effective solution for females with acne.
Accutane cleared me up and my only side effects were dry skin and lips. As for the woman who had the very bad experience, your derm should have NEVER perscribed that high a dose for OIL! The treatment of only oil with accutane is to perscribe 10 to 20ml...anything higher would result in an initial breakout if the person was clear. Your derm was crazy to have given you that dosage, especially since your weight should only be taking 50ml! I weighed 104 when I got it (and was given 50ml) and my derm wouldn't put me any higher because 1ml is equal to two pounds. Honestly though, 80 ml! FOR OIL! You have right to sue your derm, that woman could have seriously hurt you internal organs.
[This message has been edited by 50000TearsIveCried (edited 08-02-2003).]
Avalondreaming. Yes it's true. Side effects don't show up until years later.
I'm suffering from VISION LOSS due to accutane. Accutane makes vision fluctuations due to DRYNESS of your tear's gland. I've started wearing glasses together with the accutane. Accutane is the reason for me to wear glasses and I'm not the only one.
Sever dry eyes syndrom that because of it I cannot use contact lenses. In another words, I'm a complete geek!.
I feel weak all the time, tired. My body hurt me all the time.
Long term side effects start years after you stopped your treatment.
Last edited by justiceseeker; 07-16-2004 at 09:51 AM.
about the vision problem... I just finished my accutane treatment 4 days ago and though I know it takes a while for it to leave my system, my eyes are still unbearably dry. I seriously cannot stand these dry mucous filled crusty eyes of mine, and i'm really worried I'll be like this for the rest of my life.
That is not true. Even if KOPOLI'S dry eyes will get better for a while it might STRIKE years down the road. What's going on here that when you start to have "dry eyes syndrom" it will ONLY GET WORST.
Statistics are WRONG. How do you get statistics? from reporting right right. But most people will not report because there is no compensation to it(you will not get any compensation from dry eyes syndrom).
NOTE: DRY EYES SYNDROM'S WILL AFFECT YOU FOR LIFE.
There is no cure and there will never be a cure to it. Not in a hundred years.
I use eye drops religiously. I'm starting to feel really down about this as it really is unbearable. I can't go outside and just have a normal day because the slight wind makes my eyes feel raw and I'm constantly putting these drops in my eyes and they just burn. Even if my eyes get somewhat better I've probably made my eyes dependant on the synthetic lubrication so they won't produce their own moisture.
Accutane Statistics 
Re: Accutane Statistics 
