Hello Andrea! I’m so sorry I never replied…

My experience has been almost entirely positive and I have just ten days left! My dr put me on 30mg to begin with last October but after a week I woke one morning with a very bad eczema reaction – it was pretty intense. This was on halloween so it will always be a date to remember! My dr was very supportive though and after a week’s break (and LOTS of hydromol ointment together with mometesone cream) I re-started again on 10mg. I have taken a cautious approach since then, going up very gradually to 50mg and am almost there…. no spots, and very few side effects (though due to the early eczema experience I moisturise a LOT!!) I’m disappointed I never got up to 60mg (which was the highest dose I could have been on anyway, unsure why).

So Andrea, despite my fears and after putting it off for several years due to ‘scare stories’, going on Roaccutane was the best thing I ever did… I think about my skin completely differently now… I don’t worry about it, obsess about it, feel bad about it… it’s amazing. I just wish I’d done it 20 years sooner, that’s my only regret.

I am concerned about my acne returning but if it does I’ll go straight back for another course; I know now that I don’t have to suffer.

I’m so grateful for your diary – and for asking after me.

I hope you are well and that you and your family are safe….

Very best wishes

Rachel xx

Hi Natalie,
I don’t mind at all and I am glad that your reached out and commented. I totally understand your anxiety. I felt the same before I started taking Roaccutane too. I guess for my situation, I had suffered with severe acne for 30 years and whilst Roaccutane seemed drastic it was the only solution left to me after having tried absolutely everything else! My dermatologist was very good and reassured me every step of the way. I would suggest voicing any concerns and all your questions to your dermatologist. They can check that your symptoms / side effects are normal and put you at ease. Everyone’s experience is different and everyone is given a different dose so there is nothing to say that you will have the same symptoms as me nor to the same degree. I hope by reading my blog that what you can see is that by taking your treatment day by day it makes it easier to deal with. A big thing for me was to take photos every day so when I had a bad day I looked back on the photos before to see the progress I had made. I also found it a massive help to have someone close to confide in every day that will keep you feeling positive. You say you have told your best friend; I hope they have been supportive and can be there with you on this journey. It’s good they have had Roaccutane too, so you have mine and their stories to help you. I am also here, and you can send me comments via my blog as often as you want for some positive moral support. As regards to everyone else you don’t need to tell them if you don’t want to. If they comment because it looks a bit dry and red you could say it’s a reaction to some face cream or some antibiotics you’re taking. Again, if you choose, only you and your best friend need know. If they say that your skin is better say thank you and accept the compliment (you don’t have to explain!) Actually, it will be nice for you to have compliments about your skin once the acne is all cleared up.
I wish you all the very best Natalie, it’s important to always remember the nice acne free skin that you will have at the ned of the treatment. It will help you. Andrea x

I have today been prescribed with roaccutane and am reading everything i can about it. Since my appointment this morning with my dermatologist I have felt so anxious and am not sure what to do. I have only told my best friend who has been on this before but as I am only 21 this is a very nerve racking experience for me. I was wondering what you would suggest to feel a bit more confident with regards to taking it? I also do not know how to react when people will say something about the improvements in my skin as I haven’t told anyone I am taking it. I know that I will feel embarrassed as I have never spoken to anyone about my acne even though I have had it since I was around 9/10. Hearing your experience has made me quite nervous for the effects that will come but seeing your outcome has made me feel a bit excited?! I hope you don’t mind me blabbering on,

Thank youu,

Natalie xx

Hi Rachel, it’s been a few months now and I was wondering how your Roaccutane journey is going? My fingers have been crossed and it would be lovely to hear how you’re getting on? Andrea xx

Thank you Kim, that’s exactly why I wrote my story here. I wanted to share my journey to help fellow acne suffers. When I started Roaccutane I had no idea what the outcome would be. I only believed it would work and I was desperate for a permanent solution. So, it’s an honest day by day account of what happened to me and my skin. I would absolutely recommend it, it’s worth it! Since completing the treatment my skin has been amazing, no spots and no acne! It’s been 9 years now that I have had ‘normal’ skin and I am grateful every single day. I only wish I had started Roaccutane earlier. I totally understand how you feel and I wish you the same success in your own journey. Andrea xx

I’ve started a little note book to help me over the coming months; it contains questions for the doctor, hints and tips I’m getting from you and others online about products to help with dryness, plus a list of things I can do for my self-care to keep me going if I get low, as well as inspirational quotes, a (long) list of the reasons why I’m doing this and another list of trusted people I can speak if I need an empathic and non-judgemental ear! I’m also making the most of my glass of wine each evening over dinner as I know this is something I will have to forego until the spring… but that will be a small price to pay. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and I will be in touch again to let you know how it goes.

Thanks SO MUCH again for this amazing website and your kind comments, they mean a lot!

Rachel x

Hi Rachel, I love that you came back to share your update with me. In my experiences it has depended on which GP or dermatologist I saw. I would recommend seeking a second opinion from another GP. I saw plenty of GPs over the years that gave me various antibiotics and topical solutions. Until one day, years into my acne journey, I was told by a GP at my surgery that some GPs are specialist in skin problems and dermatology and why hadn’t I booked an appointment with them! If I’d have knew then I would have! So, that’s what I did next, I booked into to see a skin specialist GP at my GP surgery. She was the one that could see my despair and referred me to a dermatologist at the hospital for Roaccutane. On my first visit I was refused (just as your GP in your story had said) on the basis that I hadn’t tried absolutely everything! This was untrue and so I went back to the GP and was referred a second time to the same clinic but this time I got to see the head consultant who totally agreed that Roaccutane was the solution! My point is it might be worth trying a second opinion with a different GP to get a referral. Also you could mention the nausea and check that it is a normal side effect? I truly feel your frustration and your absolute need for the acne to be gone. I do wish you all the best Rachel and look forward to hearing how you get on. Andrea x

Hi Andrea, thank you so much for your reply, it means a lot…

Since I messaged you I had a last ditch attempt to speak to my GP…. it turns out that there IS an antibiotic I haven’t yet tried, called Doxycycline. My GP was adamant that any dermatologist would need me to have tried this before they would prescribe me Roaccutane. I’ve begrudgingly started on this now – so far it is just making me feel nauseous! It’s frustrating because I am well aware this won’t be a long-term solution. I will be lucky if it does much at all because I imagine that by now I’ve built up a resistance to tetracyclines. All I feel I am doing is kicking the can further down the road… just to ensure I’ve jumped through all the necessary hoops. I understand that Roac has serious side affects but I’m beginning to wonder if they are any worse than having a resistance to antibiotics which I might need in later life. It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m determined now to try it – your blog has been so inspiring – my GP wants to see me in 6 weeks and in all honestly I’m hoping that there is no improvement so I can just get on with the referral. Wish me luck! Take care of yourself and thank you again once again for all you are doing and for keeping this website up, it’s invaluable to people like me x

– and I know that all I am doing is kicking the can further down the road…. it’s so frustrating to have to go through all these hoops

Be brave Rachel, your story is very similar to mine and I was scared too! I have been honest in my diary and shared every detail of my journey. Hopefully you can see that it was worth it to be acne free! Something I never thought would happen to me after years of suffering. I do wish you luck and every success in your own journey. My blog is here to reassure you along the way. Best wishes, Andrea x