r/Accutane

I took isotretinoin every day for two years. My skin was very good, but a week after I stopped taking it, my skin became oily again and my skin returned to its previous state, and my acne returned. During these two years of taking isotretinoin, my scalp hair was falling out a lot and my scalp was very empty.

Hello.
I am currently in month two of Accutane, 80 mg. I have fair skin to begin with. It seems my face is red all the time and I’m getting so tired of everyone around me pointing out that I look sunburnt all the time. It’s happening to much that I don’t even want to leave my house anymore. None of the products I use contain niacinimide. Are there any miracle creams/serums out there?
Thanks!

I was on accutane about 2 or 3 years ago. Before i never had any problems with my scalp. Now i apparently have seborrhoeic dermatitis which i cant get rid of. Anyone who has the same issues and have any tips what can help?

heres the timeline for accutane treatment 30mg-40mg (me and other people’s experiences) since alot of people on this sub keep asking questions about it:

Day 1-3 - Normally no side effects until now

Day 3-7 - Consistently dry lips onwards and rarely a minor nosebleed

Month 1 - Just dry lips and bone pain peaks at the end of it

Month 2 - Dry eyes, Dry lips, bone pain and you will most likely start to purge here or the end of the first month

Month 3 - Purging continues, dry eyes, dry lips, bone pain

Month 4 - Purging should end here and you will see very familiar pimples everyday along with the common side effects still (if you’re still purging on month 4 you should contact your dermatologist to up your dose if you can tolerate it)

Month 5 - The common side effects, your acne will calm down alot

Month 6 - Usually this month has the most major change to your skin, it will start to clear rapidly and by here if youve taken 40mg you’ve probably reached your accumlative dose if you are 40-60Kgs.

Hey everyone, so I don’t know if I’m just paranoid and having an anxiety spike because of the meds or if this is actual cause for concern. If you don’t want the extra details and background skip to the bottom for the TLDR.

Exactly as the title says, I know Reddit is not a replacement for medical advice etc etc. (mods don’t worry I know)

I am going to contact my dermatologist via the patient portal message feature to let her know what’s going on regardless of this post. But I also knew I wasn’t going to get a response at 11pm on 4th of July lol.

So I have fibromyalgia, and my migraines get to be at an incapacitating level at points. I’ll feel like my head could explode, nauseous, dizzy, and yes at times vision changes (like blurring). Which are all overlaps with ICP from everything I’ve been reading.

I’ll preface this by saying I have waited 20 years to get on this medication, so I am trying to be very sure of my symptoms and side effects here.

Greatest fear my whole life has been going blind (career and hobbies all surround physical art- painting, drawing etc.) so I would be devastated. And as I said I’ve waited two decades to get on these meds (insurance barriers, money, other health issues etc) and I have horrible acne that actually triggers my migraines (shows up over lymph nodes and pressure points) plus this has been a struggle for me for a long time.

Nothing has ever worked topically, or orally with otc or prescription. So accutane really is the final line of defense here and I really want it to work and for me to be okay. I finally have my chance at good skin and now I’m getting paranoid about ICP from Accutane.

I started my first dose of Accutane Tuesday evening, and I ended up having an episode last night. And I say episode because it could be one of my shitty FM migraines or the ICP that everyone warns about.

I genuinely cannot tell the difference because automatically the anxiety set in because of the horror stories of ICP and going blind etc. even if it’s only a 1% I could be that 1% of people. And on the other hand, I desperately want this to work because I’ve barely just started and I would be devastated if it just had to permanently be discontinued and my chance was over before it ever started.

So I guess I’m looking for any insight on CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS. I know that is hard because there is quite some overlap but ya girl is struggling between the anxiety/fear of “fuck around and find out” and the grief of “this is what I’ve wanted for my entire adolescent and adult life don’t take this from me”.

So I’m very back and forth because normally I can trust my gut even when I’ve been on deaths door I have known my body very well even when it was issues I had never experienced before (I know it’s weird) but I also know accutane can affect mood as well, hence the anxiety portion (I’m not really an anxious person by default but I’ve experienced anxiety like everyone else in life)

I am trying to stay calm and not jump the gun but also not ignore something that can potentially be permanently damaging to my health.

TLDR & Relevant Facts:

•I have fibromyalgia, migraines, tinnitus and vestibular issues. My migraine etc. symptoms overlap with intracranial pressure symptoms (head pressure, vision changes, eye pain, nausea, dizziness, ringing in ears)

•I started taking 20mg Accutane BID 5 days ago (Tuesday, PM) (5’1” and 167lbs shh working on it lol)

•Yesterday I did kind of poorly with hydration and nutrition until a little later the afternoon

•I was indoors and out of the sun/heat because both fibromyalgia and accutane

•Episode in question lasted less than an hour, felt longer because I panicking

•Episode accompanied by: head pressure (right side and top of head mostly which I’ve had before) mild burring vision (also regular FM symptom for me)

•My pupils reacted normally to light when I checked them

•After checking them I felt almost instantly better (the reason I’m questioning if this was anxiety making a FM migraine escalating to a psychosomatic problem)

•No worsening with positional changes, and my tinnitus didn’t “pulse” with the head pressure

•I skipped my dose last night because I was too afraid to risk making it worse in case it is ICP

•I woke up feeling absolutely fine aside from mild nausea (normal for me even before accutane)

•Husband was a trauma specialist for 8 years, reassured me that the pupil thing is a good sign (did also see that it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have it, just means it’s less likely)

So I’m sure you all see why I’m worried. This could be very serious but I’m seeing so much conflicting information and it’s hard to calm down about it (I think also anxiety may be from the meds!) so any input on distinguishing would be helpful.

Again regardless of this post I’m going to make my doctors aware. I just wanted to know if I was overreacting before jumping in the car to go to the ER or urgent care (would be so embarrassing if I was fine)

Accutane is working amazingly for me I’m still only a few weeks in so I still get a pimple here and there and I’ll use a pimple patch but everytime I do I’m left with a red circle where the patch was and the entire red spot turns really dry, does this happen to anyone else?

So I completed the full cycle in a little over a year back in 2022. Was and have been completely clear since, but had some weird side effects. Some mental, some physical, like my hair just regained the ability to get oil-y a few months ago…roughly around January 2026. I know how…interesting my cycle was, so I hope to help anyone who is new or in the middle of the battle!