I would like to start off by saying that by no means do I think that everyone should go take Accutane if they get a couple spots during puberty as it is extremely common and normal. It has side effects and is a strong treatment, it definitely shouldn’t be prescribed with no thought. However if you have moderate to severe acne I suggest to consider it and not be put off by these fuckwits who want you to “fix your gut” and “just wash your face bro”. I am not understating the importance of a good diet and it can 100% play a key role in acne and skin health in general. However people who say this most likely have not struggled with severe acne themselves and do not understand that even the most perfect diet may not fully resolve the issue for people. Also do you really want teenagers to live in fear of every food causing them spots, great way for their social lives to be ruined by this mentality of: “if I eat anything other than raw ox liver ill break out” The amount of conflicting information online on what to eat or what skincare to do makes it impossible to please everyone. The reality is Accutane is the most researched and effective treatment for acne.
Acne can obviously greatly reduce someone’s facial attractiveness. Just look at this guy as an example.
But that’s not even the worst bit-if you allow yourself to get raped by severe acne for months to years, you will be left with hyperpigmentation, post inflammatory erythema and scars. You will then need to spend money on treatments such as ablative lasers and even more skincare. Scars and hyperpigmentation can take years to heal and depending on the severity they may never fully go away.
So we know that acne, hyperpigmentation and scars cook you. But how effective actually is Accutane? This study:
compared how effective different treatments were for acne and found that: The most effective treatment for acne is oral isotretinoin, followed by triple therapies containing a topical retinoid, BPO, and an antibiotic. Another study from PubMed found that: in summary Isotretinoin (13-cis retinoic acid) is the most potent known inhibitor of sebum production. The multiple modes of action for isotretinoin, including suppression of sebaceous gland activity, normalization of the pattern of keratinization within the sebaceous gland follicle, inhibition of inflammation, reduction of growth of Propionibacterium acnes in a secondary manner and, as currently shown, normalization of the expression of matrix tissue metalloproteinases and their inhibitors make this compound the single most effective in the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodulocystic acne, and in the prevention of acne scarring.
Accutane is effective, there’s no doubt about that. One thing I did want to mention is dosage. Many side effects and issues people experience on Accutane can be mitigated or even completely avoided with a lower dosage than what dermatologists typically prescribe.
Oral isotretinoin is the most effective treatment for moderate to severe acne and its side effects are mostly dose-dependent. Low dose isotretinoin (0.5 mg/kg/day for 1 week every 4 weeks for 6-months) could be effective and even in its end result, comparable with high or optimal doses. So a lower dose can help prevent side effects, but what about how effective a lower dose is? Well we do have research on this and the results suggest that the conventional and low‐dose regimens have similar efficacy. This result suggests that the low‐dose regimen is superior to other regimens (conventional or intermittent) in terms of patient satisfaction. Side‐effects were more frequent with conventional treatment compared with low‐dose and intermittent treatments.
I think that you should listen to your dermatologist, however if you have more moderate acne you could suggest starting at a lower dose as it could yield the same results with less side effects.
So far I’ve mentioned-how shit acne and acne scars are, the effectiveness of Accutane and how a lower dose could be a good option. I also wanted to talk about some of the reasons that people say you should avoid taking this drug.
Recently Accutane has been fear mongered too much, and its making people turn to less effective treatments for acne and skin health. The main reasons why people say that you shouldn’t take it are that it supposedly decreases DHT, testosterone, igf-1 and causes/worsens mood issues- e.g. depression.
Accutane and DHT/Testosterone
This is one of the main reasons people say you shouldn’t take accutane, especially if you are under the age of 21. There is little evidence showing that accutane directly affects it. JAMA dermatology found that Isotretinoin had no meaningful effects on precursor androgen. However the study does show a mild drop in circulating DHT after isotretinoin, but this reflects less local production from sebaceous glands — not systemic androgen suppression. Meaning that Accutane is not shutting down your hormones, its just removing the tissue that makes extra DHT in oiler skin.
A different study states that : the effects of isotretinoin on other pituitary, adrenal or gonadal hormones have not been thoroughly elucidated. isotretinoin administered at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks caused no marked changes in the serum levels of pituitary, adrenal or gonadal hormones or 3 alpha-Adiol G in patients with severe papulopustulotic acne.
Overall I feel comments made like “take Accutane if you want to shrink your dick” have little basis and there is not enough consistent research to show an decrease in DHT or testosterone. In addition both of these hormones fluctuate throughout the day making it even less valid, as other factors could cause increases or decreases.
Accutane and igf-1
This is another weak argument as there is hardly any papers on the matter. One study from PubMed measured igf-1 levels before and after the treatment. The results found “there was not a statistically significant variation after treatment.” IGF-1 also fluctuates hour to hour so any decrease cant solely be attuned to the medication.
Lets say that Accutane actually did reduce these hormones, your only going to be taking the medication for 4-8 months. If you really care that much just pin.
Accutane and growth plate closure
Once again there is little evidence showing standard Accutane dosages cause premature growth plate closure. There is a study-
in which 1.38% developed premature epiphyseal growth arrest. However in this study the kids received 160mg per day for 6 months. This is an extremely high dose and not even close to what people normally take. Therefore it is so unlikely that a standard or ideally a low dose will affect your height.
Accutane on mood
Acne gives you shit mental health anyway so this point is retarded as fuck. The reason this even came about was because a kid called Bart Stupak jr killed himself whilst being on the medication, his dad couldn’t handle it and made out like Accutane killed him. There is no definite data showing that Accutane worsens depression or other mood issues. In fact we have studies shown an improvement.
This study states negative correlation between Accutane and depression. Another suggested an association of the use of isotretinoin in patients with acne with significantly improved depression symptoms.
Ok that is all the usual points people make on why Accutane is sooo awful. Hope you found it interesting
Acne can obviously greatly reduce someone’s facial attractiveness. Just look at this guy as an example.
But that’s not even the worst bit-if you allow yourself to get raped by severe acne for months to years, you will be left with hyperpigmentation, post inflammatory erythema and scars. You will then need to spend money on treatments such as ablative lasers and even more skincare. Scars and hyperpigmentation can take years to heal and depending on the severity they may never fully go away.
So we know that acne, hyperpigmentation and scars cook you. But how effective actually is Accutane? This study:
compared how effective different treatments were for acne and found that: The most effective treatment for acne is oral isotretinoin, followed by triple therapies containing a topical retinoid, BPO, and an antibiotic. Another study from PubMed found that: in summary Isotretinoin (13-cis retinoic acid) is the most potent known inhibitor of sebum production. The multiple modes of action for isotretinoin, including suppression of sebaceous gland activity, normalization of the pattern of keratinization within the sebaceous gland follicle, inhibition of inflammation, reduction of growth of Propionibacterium acnes in a secondary manner and, as currently shown, normalization of the expression of matrix tissue metalloproteinases and their inhibitors make this compound the single most effective in the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodulocystic acne, and in the prevention of acne scarring.
Accutane is effective, there’s no doubt about that. One thing I did want to mention is dosage. Many side effects and issues people experience on Accutane can be mitigated or even completely avoided with a lower dosage than what dermatologists typically prescribe.
Oral isotretinoin is the most effective treatment for moderate to severe acne and its side effects are mostly dose-dependent. Low dose isotretinoin (0.5 mg/kg/day for 1 week every 4 weeks for 6-months) could be effective and even in its end result, comparable with high or optimal doses. So a lower dose can help prevent side effects, but what about how effective a lower dose is? Well we do have research on this and the results suggest that the conventional and low‐dose regimens have similar efficacy. This result suggests that the low‐dose regimen is superior to other regimens (conventional or intermittent) in terms of patient satisfaction. Side‐effects were more frequent with conventional treatment compared with low‐dose and intermittent treatments.
I think that you should listen to your dermatologist, however if you have more moderate acne you could suggest starting at a lower dose as it could yield the same results with less side effects.
So far I’ve mentioned-how shit acne and acne scars are, the effectiveness of Accutane and how a lower dose could be a good option. I also wanted to talk about some of the reasons that people say you should avoid taking this drug.
Recently Accutane has been fear mongered too much, and its making people turn to less effective treatments for acne and skin health. The main reasons why people say that you shouldn’t take it are that it supposedly decreases DHT, testosterone, igf-1 and causes/worsens mood issues- e.g. depression.
Accutane and DHT/Testosterone
This is one of the main reasons people say you shouldn’t take accutane, especially if you are under the age of 21. There is little evidence showing that accutane directly affects it. JAMA dermatology found that Isotretinoin had no meaningful effects on precursor androgen. However the study does show a mild drop in circulating DHT after isotretinoin, but this reflects less local production from sebaceous glands — not systemic androgen suppression. Meaning that Accutane is not shutting down your hormones, its just removing the tissue that makes extra DHT in oiler skin.
A different study states that : the effects of isotretinoin on other pituitary, adrenal or gonadal hormones have not been thoroughly elucidated. isotretinoin administered at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks caused no marked changes in the serum levels of pituitary, adrenal or gonadal hormones or 3 alpha-Adiol G in patients with severe papulopustulotic acne.
Overall I feel comments made like “take Accutane if you want to shrink your dick” have little basis and there is not enough consistent research to show an decrease in DHT or testosterone. In addition both of these hormones fluctuate throughout the day making it even less valid, as other factors could cause increases or decreases.
Accutane and igf-1
This is another weak argument as there is hardly any papers on the matter. One study from PubMed measured igf-1 levels before and after the treatment. The results found “there was not a statistically significant variation after treatment.” IGF-1 also fluctuates hour to hour so any decrease cant solely be attuned to the medication.
Lets say that Accutane actually did reduce these hormones, your only going to be taking the medication for 4-8 months. If you really care that much just pin.
Accutane and growth plate closure
Once again there is little evidence showing standard Accutane dosages cause premature growth plate closure. There is a study-
in which 1.38% developed premature epiphyseal growth arrest. However in this study the kids received 160mg per day for 6 months. This is an extremely high dose and not even close to what people normally take. Therefore it is so unlikely that a standard or ideally a low dose will affect your height.
Accutane on mood
Acne gives you shit mental health anyway so this point is retarded as fuck. The reason this even came about was because a kid called Bart Stupak jr killed himself whilst being on the medication, his dad couldn’t handle it and made out like Accutane killed him. There is no definite data showing that Accutane worsens depression or other mood issues. In fact we have studies shown an improvement.
This study states negative correlation between Accutane and depression. Another suggested an association of the use of isotretinoin in patients with acne with significantly improved depression symptoms.
Ok that is all the usual points people make on why Accutane is sooo awful. Hope you found it interesting
VERY clarifying im giving u a flw
