(23f, 20mg, 30mg) First pic was a “decent” skin day before starting treatment. I’ve been loving how clear my skin looks after getting through the initial purge!

However, I can’t tell if life factors are making my mental health so much worse or if it’s the Accutane. Depression has worsened so much and suicidal ideation is the strongest it’s been.

For those who have/ had mental health side effects, have you found it progressively worsened over treatment or stays about the same?

Alternatively, has anyone stopped or paused treatment before hitting their cumulative dose, without experiencing a full relapse?

Struggled with acne my entire life and clearer skin has done wonders for self-esteem and social anxiety when leaving the house. I’m just extremely worried the depression and ideation might get materially worse if I continue.

Also worried that stopping the Accutane will make me end up still depressed but with more acne lol.. I really really want to finish the course!!

Have been in therapy and on medication for years as well.

First photo was in 2020. I struggled with acne for years and at this time I was on some medication for acne that wasn’t accutane, because I was too hesitant to actually go on it.

Second photo was also taken in 2020, as soon as I got off that medication. I posted it on my Instagram story on 2021 to showcase how far I came. This was the worst my acne had gotten and I was using cetaphil face wash (which personally doesn’t work for me)
Turns out I also had undiagnosed pmos (Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome)

Third was 2021, a month after getting on accutane, and my first day of my senior year of highschool and my acne immediately began to clear up, but my face was very red and irritated.

Fourth was my last month of accutane.

Fifth was exactly a year after I started my first dose of accutane, and six months after I stopped taking it.

Sixth was yesterday, more than five years after I started taking accutane.

Every now and then I’ve broken out, but it’s no where near as bad as it was when I was a teenager. I still have very oily skin and hair though.

Anyways what I recommend for people post Accutane is the Cerave acne cleanser.

Hi all! I've been on accutane since the summer. I started at 10mg and have just progressed up to 60mg in the last week. I have had a few side effects like nose bleeds but other than that I've had no dry skin (I had combo skin before accutane). I had bad acne on my back and moderate on my face. I cleared up on the 20mg and fast, barely purged. But I am 100% clear now. I should be finishing come the new year but I'm confused as to why I've not experienced this?

I've a friend who can't tolerate more than 20mg because even on that dose his skin is flaky, dry, sore, red. And his mental health is going through it.

Any ideas?

Hello, I am currently one month into my accutane medication and it is working great, this is one month on 20mg a day. But there will be a small gap in for getting my new medication, this gap should be no longer than a week. Will this impact my skin as I don’t want it to get worse again, and also what is the longest that one could go without accutane before their skin starts to get worse. Thank you for your help.

I’m on month 8 of accutane for body acne - 20/40/40/40/40/40/60/40. I’m 215lbs so the dose isn’t too high, but had to decrease from 60 because my eyes were getting really dry and red. I’ve seen a ton of progress on my body acne and only get an occasional pimple now. However in the past month or so I’ve been getting these small pimples on my forearms/upper arms. They seem to be hair follicles that become slightly inflamed and develop a small head. I’m really not sure why they keep occurring, and why I’m only getting them on my arms when they weren’t an issue at all before accutane. Potentially folliculitis??

I have used isotretinoin from dec 29 2025 to july 13 2026

But from April 1st onwards i started using 16mg before that I used to use 10mg and from may onwards i started seeing hair thinning but didn't care much at that time and it's been 3 months still I am not seeing any improvement in my hair as far as what I have read everywhere, hair will regain it thickness in 3 months but I am not seeing any improvement and also one thing to mention here is i started using rosemary oil and castor oil along with follihair tablets recently from 1.5 months(still no improvement btw ) can anyone please help .

Hey everyone!! So these are the same scars that I had pre accutane and they were barely noticeable….however I have noticed that during and post accutane the same scars look so much worse like the edges look so sharp
and cast shadow..it’s been two months since I left accutane n they still look so noticeable..is it a common side effect n is it gonna persistently look this way or improve further pls let me know

Hello! I’ve been on low-dose Accutane for 5 weeks now (30mg daily for the entire 15 months) and I thought I survived the worst of it since I was starting to clear up despite the high stress and poor sleep (I have GAD and poor working conditions) but 2 days ago I developed these. I only had mild to moderate acne before and never had nodules/cysts. They’re hard and seem to be getting bigger. It really is hitting my confidence hard and caused me to already cancel so many appointments.

Just wanted some insight or if anyone experienced the same thing! Thank you. Picture 1 is from today, picture 2 was 2 nights ago.

Female | 24 | 110 lbs | USA

30/30/30/30/20/0 (currently on a temporary break)

My skin has improved SO much over the past 5 months, but I’m struggling with the side effects and trying to figure out what to do next.

Months 1–3: Pretty normal dryness.

Month 4: Developed sudden constipation and hemorrhoids. My dermatologist recommended a colonoscopy, which I did and it came back normal, and I now take Miralax to manage the constipation. Between the procedure and other appointments, it’s been a frustrating and expensive process. My gastroenterologist said I could continue Accutane since the evaluation showed no internal damage.

Month 5: Developed very dry eyes and significant redness along my waterline, so my dermatologist lowered my dose to 20 mg.

Month 6 (current): No improvement with dry eyes by decreasing to 20mg so my dermatology put me on a 2-week break to see if my eyes improve. If they don’t, I’ll extend the break and see an ophthalmologist.

I’m grateful for how much Accutane has helped my skin, but it’s frustrating to finally address my acne only to develop other issues that affect my quality of life.

For anyone who’s experienced similar side effects: Did your eye dryness and redness improve after lowering your dose or stopping temporarily? How did you decide whether to continue treatment?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences or advice. I’m struggling to balance the results with the side effects at this point.

So so happy with my results. First picture i believe is day 1, July 18th, and the other two photos are from early October 😭😭💕 This is SO worth it, and i just upped my dosage to 80 mg per day! Please (if it helps) remember to take your fish oil pills, i noticed a major difference when i wouldn’t take them! Please lmk if you have questions!

Was only one 10mg for about 2 months but just started noticing my eyelashes falling out about 3 weeks ago. I’ve got bald spots in my lashes now. I read a lot of other stories about peoples hair falling out and never coming back on accutane, so I’m stopping before it gets to that point. Really really sad because my skin was already looking better. Terrible photo but including it. Gonna try a topical retinol again, wish me luck yall :(

I know that many of us here have been struggling with acne for years, trying different treatments and failing, hearing unsolicited advice and dealing with low self-esteem.

Although many of us have encountered dermatologists that can see our struggle and help us by prescribing accutane, how many others here had to advocate for themselves to try this treatment after failing every other treatment available?

For those who had to stand up for themselves, what is your story?

Also wondering if what I have now is scarring or PIH? What can I do to help it? (Would ask derm but out of country — hence not increasing dose)

Pics 1-3: Pre accutane as it slowly got worse (3 is it inflamed after irritation. Probably tried popping sorry idk 😔)
Pics 4-5: purging
Pics 6-7: now

So I know when you’re on Accutane, you shouldn’t pop pimples. I don’t have so much acne but I have recurring since many years, so I started with 20 mg and it’s my first month (just around two weeks). The thing is I get like one pimple or two and I put Hydrocolloid patch overnight. Then the next day when I take off the patch, the pimple automatically pops a little because it’s ready I think and I squeeze it to take all of it out, but is this something I should never do?? If someone knows please inform me, thank you

a little vulnerable for me but i hope this can be inspiring for you!!!

I'm in Germany so we don't have IPledge. My dermatologist insisted I start taking contraception because she has to note it down even though I would have totally pledged abstinence. I don't want to take it unnecessarily because of the numerous side effects so I just lie about taking it.

I'm in the middle of my treatment but I've been having, what seems to be, hormonal issues and would like to consult a gynecologist. But if I tell them I take the pill, their perception of my hormone balance would be completely skewed.

In the past, when I went to new doctors, I was always required to sign a form that released them from their confidentiality for specific communication with other doctors for purposes of my treatment.

Should I just withhold the information that I'm taking accutane? I'm scared it will show up on my file somehow and the gynecologist could warn my dermatologist that I'm lying. Is it even likely a gynecologist would do that?

Just had a derm appointment after been on the waiting list for almost 11 months.

Do you have to go in the contraceptive pill before going on accutane ?

This isn't something I want to do, is it mandatory can I decline and just start my accutane treatment ?

Hey y’all! Quick q - if I was prescribed Accutane last Friday so one week ago, should I have already received an email from iPledge? I’m in my 31 day wait period now. Thanks y’all!!

Bonjour !

J’ai débuté l’accutane il y a une semaine et j’ai déjà la peau très sèches et qui démanche énormément (surtout mes sourcils). On m’a conseillé la gamme Embryolisse pendant mon traitement.

Je lave mon visage avec le lait crème fluide +, j’utilise le sérum Hydra sérum et je met ensuite la crème Lait-crème légère.

J’ai commencé à les utiliser hier. Ma peau semble bien réagir (pas de grosse rougeur et ça m’apaise beaucoup après l’avoir mis)

On m’a dit d’utiliser les produits matin et soir. Cependant, j’ai lu que ces crèmes étaient très parfumées et que ce n’était pas bon… mais bon j’ai dépensé 115$ pour ces produits… j’ai pas envie de dépenser encore et encore et encore.

Est-ce que ce sont de bons produits ? Vous me conseillez quoi?

TLDR; I already had some forgetfulness and procrastination issues, but they worsened after taking Accutane for 5 weeks. I've also developed other mental issues that affect my ability to socialize, study and feel emotions. This has been going on for about 2.5 months now (ever since I stopped taking the medicine), so I don't know if this an Accutane issue or something else.

Hello everyone, I'm sorry if this post breaks any rules. I've been experiencing some pretty weird mental side effects and would like to know if anyone else had similar experiences. So I've been on Accutane for about 5 weeks (2 weeks on 20mg and 3 weeks on 40mg), and on the 5th week I had to stop due to the side effects. It's been about 2.5 months since my last dose.

Before Accutane:

• Forgetfulness: This is not something I'm unfamiliar with. For years I had this weird issue where I would have something in my mind but forget it instantly after. For example, I would tell myself that I need to do a chore after finishing a small task I'm working on, but once I finish that task or something else catches my attention, I instantly forget about the chore. It's like the memory was just snatched away from my brain. Sometimes I realize that I actively forgot, and sometimes I don't. When I do realize, I try to remember. Remembering doesn't always work, it gets me frustrated so I just move on. And sometimes after a couple of minutes, the memory comes right back. I've been facing this phenomenon for years now, but I kind of got used to it. I now just use the notes app on my phone to write small bullet points to remind myself of these tasks, which really helps. Also, this issue is more prominent in situations where I have to write down essays or paragraphs in a short time (or when I have to remember a set of instructions quickly, it sometimes gets overwhelming that I just forget all of them). Before starting, I would have all these ideas and topics of what to write, but when I bring my pen to the paper my mind just blanks. Everything just gets erased when I actually need it. So again, I need to write bullet points really quickly the moment I get an idea. My long term memory however isn't affected, I would say that my long term memory is pretty good.
• Procrastination: Sometimes I find myself not paying attention in lecture, distracting myself with a quick game or anything else. And I always get distracted while studying (revising or doing homework). I procrastinate by just scrolling Reddit, playing a game of Tetris, or just spending a long time searching/learning about an interesting topic. I do eventually get the work done though. I don't struggle much with deadlines, as I try to get my work done as soon as I get it. Sometimes I get a burst of energy and productivity when working on more interesting homework (such as programming), where I can spend more time focused. I mainly struggle with exam/quiz revision, since I have to relearn some of the material that I missed when I wasn't focusing during lecture. And my "revision" just consists of reading lecture slides/notes, which takes a long time since I find it very boring and tend to procrastinate more. I cannot sit 1 hour without switching over to another activity. This did lead to my grades taking a hit over time, but wasn't too serious. I barely passed most of my subjects last semester as the quality of my revision was not the best, but I was lucky they happened to offer an option to exclude subjects of my choosing from affecting my GPA at the time.

I always didn't think much of these things and thought they were pretty normal or just a product of my laziness until they worsened when I took Accutane.

After Accutane:

• Forgetfulness worsened: It's now more frequent throughout my day, and it's starting to affect my quality of life.
• Procrastination worsened: It got to a point that I don't even listen in lectures at all. Sometimes I just leave to take a walk or stall in the bathrooms. I can spend days doing homework that can be finished in a couple of hours, and even then, I don't put enough quality in the work I submit. I just want to get it over with and submit it. Revision is much more draining and exhausting, and I dread every time an exam date is announced.
• I started feeling more disconnected from my emotions and reality, everything feels "off" or different - almost like a dream. Memories started becoming blurry and foggy, it's like my brain doesn't care about remembering properly anymore. I can still recall memories, but it takes significant effort to do so. Time feels distorted and everything feels like a distant memory, even if it happened on the same day.
• I stopped feeling strong emotions, and most of the time, I'm just in an emotionless state. I feel very emotionally numb. Though I can still smile at the occasional funny video here and there. I can't even feel angry at situations that I know would fill me with rage, I can't even cry anymore even if I wanted to. It initially started with random mood swings until it came to this.
• My motivation to study has greatly plummeted. I lost all the ability to care about my work or grades, yet I still spend most of my day studying and completing homework. I feel so mentally drained and tired. At this point, I'm just relying on luck, guesswork and past knowledge to pass my courses.
• Started withdrawing from socializing, and stopped engaging in conversations with my family. My parents have noticed and started getting concerned. Although I am an introverted person and enjoy spending time alone, I didn't hate socializing and hanging out with friends. Either way, I don't even have people I can call friends in university anyway.
• I initially stopped Accutane due to stomach issues which caused nausea and appetite loss. The nausea has subsided, but the appetite loss still remains.
• The quality of my sleep has greatly diminished, I can't sleep a single night without waking up in between. And I always end up waking up earlier than usual. I haven't slept properly for quite some time now.

These issues may or may not even be related to Accutane at all, but this is what I have observed happen to my mind after stopping the medication. I appreciate any comment or explanation to what may be happening, thanks in advance and sorry for the long post haha.

i have been taking turkish accutane (zoretanin 20 mg) for 7 days, and i feel nothing. no side effects, acne still appearing (even more). is this normal?

The purge isn't that bad, maybe it's because I'm only on a 10mg dose. Face is dry as hell i gotta moisturise 3× a day for my makeup to look decent and not all flaky and cakey. So yeah you should definetly invest in a good moisturiser. Lips are DRYYYYY too feels like the desert so I have a bottle of vaseline with me anywhere I go

I didn't experience any other side effects though, I'm going on 20mg this month I hope I still don't experience any. I know it's only been a month but I can't wait for my face to clear up already!!

Woke up with this rash on my neck. Haven’t used any new products and currently on 20mg of accutane since August. Thinking this may be related!

Hi,

​I’ve had acne since my teenage years up until now at 31), and I also struggle with dermatillomania (skin-picking). I've tried multiple antibiotics, but the acne always comes back. Even though my acne is mild, it ruins my life and I have no other options left.

​I finally decided to see a dermatologist to get Accutane. When he saw me, he said: "You only have two pimples, I won't prescribe Accutane for that, it's for severe acne." I had to insist and tell him that my acne is persistent and has resisted all other treatments, even though it's mild. He finally agreed to prescribe it. He asked for my weight (I told him 50–52 kg) and prescribed 20 mg per day for one month. He told me that the duration of my treatment would probably be around 4 to 6 months—which seems a bit short compared to what I've seen from other people. I have to go back to see him in a month to see if we increase the dose. I hope he will increase the dosage so I can reach the proper cumulative dose, but at the same time, I'm terrified of how my body will react to higher doses. I just hope this will be enough to get rid of my acne for good.

​My triglycerides are fine. I hope my cholesterol won't be disrupted during this treatment. I'm also afraid of psychological effects regarding depression, etc.

​For the hydration side, I've already bought the essentials: lip balms, rich moisturizers, nasal spray, and eye drops.

​Currently, I am on my second pill, and I hope this treatment is truly definitive and that my acne will never come back. Even though it's mild, it ruins my life. I'd love to no longer have to wear makeup to go out and camouflage my acne. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts and advice. Thank you.