Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Accutane

Clear skin in the Emerald City.

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:49:00 -0800

Can you recommend a dermatologist in Seattle who is likely to prescribe Accutane when I ask for it? I am aware that the brand-name drug has been discontinued since it is no longer competitive with the many generic options, but I'd only buy generic anyway. I've been on Accutane before, and it worked fabulously, but I had to cancel the course due to emergency surgery.

I couldn't do another course before I moved to Seattle because I wouldn't have been in that city for the full five months. Now I'm in a new city and looking for a new specialist!

Will polyphasic sleep cure my acne?

querty — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:40:48 -0800

Any polyphasic sleepers reading this have nice skin? I've tried Accutane; made me really depressed so I got off that. Don't really like getting blood tested as well and it was only slightly effective anyways. Also tried a bunch of other lotions, Spectro Acne Care / Clean and Clear / Biore / et cetera... all of them did very little.

I've completely cut off dairy products and red meat. Trying Proactiv now but it doesn't seem to be working (I think my acne actually got worse!). The only thing I can think of is the amount of sleep (average 4~5 hours per day) that's affecting my acne. I'm unable to get the 6.5~7.5 hours of sleep I want; too much to do, too much to learn (even with all the GTD actions I perform daily). So is polyphasic sleep a good solution?

Clear Skin or Bust!

xanthippe — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:18:01 -0800

My Accutane treatment isn't showing results. Should I take a higher dosage, stick it out or give up? I've been on Roaccutane for 2 1/2 months now and have yet to see any major positive changes.

My dermatologist started me on 30 mg/day; after a month, I had minimal side effects and asked him if I could try a higher dose. By the 2nd month, I had increased to 60 mg/day; after a full month of this dosage, nothing changed - there is perhaps a small reduction in the amount of acne, but not more than any other fluctuations I've experienced over the years. I also have not had the extreme dryness/peeling/hair loss that are reported as symptons of Accutane.

I understood that a 'course' of Accutane consists of a certain amount of the drug in total per kg of body weight, so I reasoned that I could finish it and be acne-free sooner if I increased the dose, as long as I continued to tolerate it well. At my most recent appointment, I told my dermatologist this and asked him if we could try a higher dosage, since I should definitely be seeing more improvement this far into the treatment. He said that I wasn't seeing any effect because 60 mg/day was too high, and he had only allowed me to take that much to prove me wrong. He bumped me back down to 40, claiming that because this is the "ideal" dose for my body weight, it would be more effective despite being lower.

Is he right? Shouldn't I be taking progressively higher doses until they yield results, especially given my apparent high tolerance of the drug and lack of serious side effects? I am feeling demoralized as I had very high hopes when I finally decided to try Accutane after 10+ years of serious acne. It now seems that I'm wasting my time and money, and I feel that my dermatologist's unwillingness to try a higher dose is an obstacle to my successful treatment.

Questions:

1) How much is an average daily dosage of Accutane, and how variable is this? Is a higher dose effective more rapidly? What is the largest dose someone might take?

2) Is Accutane simply not effective on some people? Does my lack of results so far indicate there might be no use in my continuing this treatment?

3) I would also be interested in hearing others' experiences with Accutane/Roaccutane: how much did you take, and how quickly did you improve?

Accutane killed my pride

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:36:25 -0800

Dealing with post-accutane hair loss. I am a male in my early 20's who finished five months of accutane treatment late last year... and I seem to have traded clear skin for about 50% of my hair! Even now, several months after I've finished, my hair seems to still be falling out in large amounts with no end in sight.

I've tried to do my homework on the subject, and I know that this is not unique - I'm sure the hive mind has horror stories (or success stories!) to share too with accutane. Google seems to find lots of people like me complaining and virtually no practical solutions. But my questions specifically are:

1 - Are there ways to reverse this? This could be genetic, but considering my age and the accutane, I doubt it's that big a coincidence. Are rogaine or propecia actually worth my time and money?

2 - Are there professionals that I can (or should) talk to about this? I just saw my doctor today for an unrelated reason and he wasn't much help... at all. Should I get another medical opinion or is that a waste of time?

I guess what I'd just like to know generally is.... should I be fighting back? If so, how? My pride is wounded and I'm feeling freaked out. This has just happened so fast.

Yes, I'm aware of the many "there's nothing you can do about it!" AskMe hair loss threads out there. I feel like my situation is unique enough to merit a new question.

I need a new dermatologist

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 05:39:33 -0800

I'm moving to Columbus, Ohio and I need to find a new dermatologist, preferably one that will prescribe accutane. I am going to be a freshman at the Ohio State University and I'll be staying on campus. Since I won't be home except for holidays and breaks I've decided to just drop my current dermatologist.

Basically I'm looking for a dermatologist that will prescribe me accutane. It's important to me that the doctor is comfortable with prescribing it, because a lot of dermatologists aren't, as the side effects are somewhat extreme.

In the end any local dermatologist might work, but if anyone has first hand experience or knows of one that is okay with this treatment would be better.

sick as a dog...

gregschoen — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 12:54:24 -0800

BurgerKingFilter: Why would eating at two separate Burger Kings from different menu items cause me to get sick in the exact same way? More inside... Little more background, this previous Sunday, I went to a Burger King and got a Large Order of French Fries. Nothing too impressive, and then the next morning I first had diarreha and then vomitting. This lasted the rest of the day, I wasn't really able to keep anything solid down for the entirety of it.

This morning, being a glutton for punishment, and forgetting completely about the previous incident, I decide to get some breakfast at the BK. Egg and Cheese Crossanwich, Hash Browns and Chocolate Milk.

I woke up with acid reflux at around 11 (I work third shift, and should have known not to eat this and then go to bed, but I'm a dumbass) and then following diarhea again, and now vomitting just a little while ago.

WHY WOULD THIS BE HAPPENING?

I'm a vegetarian, so I'm not sure if they're now putting beef in the fry oil or if I'm just hitting the food poisoning jackpot. I have allergies at the moment, which are causing a constant post-nasal drip, so that could be aggravating the problem in my stomach.

I felt as though my stomach didn't want to deal with what was in it after I ate, almost bloated. I wish I had taken the hint the first time this happened... I'm not looking forward to more 7up.

Please help MeFi!

Hair Products

dhoyt — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 11:30:05 -0800

I took Accutane a couple years ago and it left my scalp & hair very dry, and the hairs themselves very limp. This is especially true in the wintertime. Can anyone recommend a good, non-hair-damaging product out there that will moisturize and mold the hair without giving it that overly "wet" appearance?