Post Accutane

[babygurl77]

Hey everyone....i finished my course of accutane last august with good results..
however, i do find that i still break out....nothing serious (yet?) but still bothersome....i actually have a pimple right now on my jaw line...its the biggest one since i have been off...
anyways...i just wanted to hear from others who have been on accutane and what their regimes were after accutane
i currently use neutrogena fresh foaming cleanser...then moisturize and thats it..
i think im going to switch to spectro jel tho
any thoughts/>?
anyone use spectro jel?
thanks

[pugluver31902]

I used accutane and it didnt work for me AT ALL. I was left pretty much the same as I was before I used it. About a year after that, my face suddenly cleared up. When I hit 21, I started breaking out again. Bad, but not as bad as before the accutane. My doctor tried me on a few different things, but I found the differine gel cleared me up completley and didnt dry me out.

[hopetobeclear]

Hi Babygurl77
I have taken 3 or 4 courses of accutane (I've taken it so much I cannot remember how many times). Every time it has worked...and, every time my acne has come back. Luckily I have mild/moderate acne (always have), but it is persistent. The last dose of Accutane I took was in November 2005. I started breaking out this past September (roughly 10 months later). I am now trying a different route (Spironolactone: for hormonal acne) in hopes that I have found something more long lasting than accutane. I LOVE the results of accutane...but it never has lasted for me, and it is such a dangerous drug I don't want to keep taking it. Sometimes though (for patients whose acne is more persistent and severe), a derm will perscribe a follow up course (patients have to be off of accutane for a minimum of 8 weeks, which you have)...that may be an option for you. Good luck.

[Equinoxx]

I've taken 2 courses of Accutane. The first time I took it because my face was severely broken out, and I was put on about 8 or 9 perscription drugs that didn't work prior to that. (You have to be careful because my first dermatologist was a quack. He kept putting me on antibiotics until I became immune to them. Now if I have an infection I can't take them because they don't work.)

ANYway.....The first time after taking a 5-month course my skin stayed clear and non-oily for about a year. Then it got bad again, but not as bad as it originally was. It was mostly just oily with an occasional breakout. Then I took a 2nd course, but only for 3.5 months because I had severe side effects. (I honestly thought I had an STD, but it turned out to be the Accutane. As soon as I went off the drug the side effects stopped.) I've been off the drug for almost 3 years now and a few months ago my skin started getting extremely oily again but the breakouts are at a minimum.

Since my skin tends to be so oily I just use OXY face wash and use a non comedogenic moisturizer after. But if you don't have oily skin I wouldn't recommend OXY because it can really dry out your face.

Good luck.