Just a shoutout here for spironalactone. Was life changing for me and my daughters. I still take and I’m 55.

Anonymous wrote:My son is now 21 years old. He did one round of Accutane at age 16 which mostly cleared up his skin. In the last year or so, he started breaking out again but not nearly as bad as before. He doesn’t want to take Accutane again nor do I think he needs it. At what age did your son’s acne go away? Any suggestions for face washes, creams, etc?

My son, 20, did Accutane around 16 for cystic acne. He now gets pimples occasionally, however, he still washes his face AM/PM and uses acne prone face soap.

He switchers between Neutrogena Oil-free face wash and CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser. He wears Cerave face lotion too.

If he gets a pimple he uses ACNE FREE, Terminator 10, Severe Acne Spot Treatment.

DS went on Accutane for acne in college. Thank goodness his primary doctor said to get treatment asap to prevent scarring because he only wound up with one small scar from cystic acne no one would notice.

1. No drinking alcohol while taking it
2. You need to get blood drawn
3. Your lips will be peeling and not look good
4. In our experience, only some mild backaches

ZERO pimples since then.

TY, PPs, for info on side effects.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What side effects from Accutane? My DS has bad acne but doesn’t want to take it.

PP here -

DS had muscle/body aches that was managed with Advil (still swam/played soccer), really dry skin (had to be vigilant about moisturizing), very dry lips (carried lip balm everywhere.) Biggest headache was monthly blood draws.

Both my boys did Accutane for about 6 months. Their biggest issues were the dry skin and lips. We did not have to do monthly blood draws - ours were about every 2-3 visits. You are also not supposed to drink alcohol while on Accutane - one of my sons followed this vigilantly, the other still drank occasionally.

One of my sons was really worried about depression and suicidal thoughts since he had heard that from other kids and was hesitant to go on it, but we tried everything and he finally agreed. Best thing he could have done - his skin looks great.

Anonymous wrote:What side effects from Accutane? My DS has bad acne but doesn’t want to take it.

PP here -

DS had muscle/body aches that was managed with Advil (still swam/played soccer), really dry skin (had to be vigilant about moisturizing), very dry lips (carried lip balm everywhere.) Biggest headache was monthly blood draws.

What side effects from Accutane? My DS has bad acne but doesn’t want to take it.

when he did Accutane. Nothing else was touching it and it was painful (and painful looking.) He was on it for 6m, cleared it up, scarring is mostly gone, and he has been off for 3 years.

DS's BFF is about to graduate from college and his face looks so incredibly painful (cystic acne.)

Mine never went away. Still have to work at it daily. YMMV

Things that helped reduce acne outbreak size and frequency for me were:
1) using only cold water when washing hair,
2) washing face at wakeup and in the evening shower (again, using cold water),
3) washing pillow cases 2-3x each week
4) use only cold water when shaving with a manual razor
5) swimming several times a week in a chlorinated swimming pool; pond or sea swimming did not help.

Things that made acne worse for me:
A) using hot water on face or hair or neck. Hot water opens pores and increases oil production.
B) washing pillow cases less than 2x each week; less than 3x during a bad break out
C) washing sheets or towels less than weekly

My 18 yo took accutane at 14-15. He saw signicant improvement but it was slow going. About 18 months ago his acne worsened significantly. He has tried almost every topical on the market and nothing has helped. He finally decided to give Accutane another try. This time he responded quickly. There was a noticeable improvement at 1 month and by 2 months he only had a few small pimples. He he midway through month 3 and most days clear. I’m sorry he didn’t go back on sooner. The topicals were a waste of time and he has so much scarring that he will now need laser treatment.

Try azelaic acid 15% or 20% (10% won’t do anything) before trying accutane again

Just do the accutane again. It will likely be a shorter course

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My DH's nephew still has horrible acne and he's well over 30.

My son is now 21 years old. He did one round of Accutane at age 16 which mostly cleared up his skin. In the last year or so, he started breaking out again but not nearly as bad as before. He doesn’t want to take Accutane again nor do I think he needs it. At what age did your son’s acne go away? Any suggestions for face washes, creams, etc?