Maintenance Accutane?

Hi,

I have been searching for info on this, but wanted to check in here
also.

Last Summer, I went to a new derm as my mind acne was just driving me
nuts. I had been to four derms since my teens, was not 37 and still had
mild acne that simply would not resolve itself no matter what topically
or oral medications we tried. Many would improve the situation and
then, over time, it would seem that my acne would "overcome" them and
kick up again. I just got tired of it.

The new derm looked over my history and decided to put me on Accutane.
I was on 60mg a day for 5 months and it was the first time I had been
on it, my last couple of derms didn't care for Accutane and didn't want
to try it. This one didn't care.

Well, to my shock, after a couple of weeks my skin went totally clear!
I spent almost my entire Accutane treatment time with nearly flawless
skin that was not oily as it had been. I had some dry lip issues I took
care of with cremes, but my blood work stayed good and I was able to
leave the house without even looking in the mirror to check for
blemishes for the first time in years!

My course ended and I had such high hopes. But, within a month or two I
started getting small breakouts again. My derm tried a few new oral
antibiotics and while they were some help, now that Summer is
approaching I could tell we were headed downhill again.

My derm just saw me and said he wants to try "maintenance accutane" as
he has a couple of patients that it has kept totally clear.

So, I am back on Accutane taking "one or two 20mg pills a week" and
getting checked in 6 weeks with blood work to see what happens.

Anyone else been though this? I always have concerns when someone says
"Accutane" but it did so much for me last time I am trying to set them
aside.

Yes, I've done maintenance Accutane.

Over a 13 year period, my derm put me on three full Accutane courses.
For my first two Accutane courses, I had the same experience as you
(great results on the drug, not so great results once off the drug). At
the end of the third full course, my derm decided to taper off my
dosage into a maintenance dose of 10/mg per day.

I was on the lower dose for 2.5 years with great results. I had no acne
at all during the entire period. At that dosage, I had no real
significant side effects, although chapped lips were sometimes a small
problem, even with careful maintenance. I probably could have
successfully lowered the dosage even more, thus further reducing the
limited side effects, but 10mg/day was working so well I was afraid to
change anything.

I stopped when I moved from the east coast to the west coast. My new
derm said I should stop and see what happens. In fact, my skin stayed
clear for another year. Then I had some problems. I've had on-and-off
success in controlling it since then. I might go back on it, maybe at
the dosage you are using now.

By the way, here's an article about continuous, low dose treatment:

http://www.dermatologytimes.com/dermatologytimes/article/articleDetail...p?id=65


Ryan wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have been searching for info on this, but wanted to check in here
> also.
>
> Last Summer, I went to a new derm as my mind acne was just driving me
> nuts. I had been to four derms since my teens, was not 37 and still had
> mild acne that simpover a 13 year periodly would not resolve itself no matter what topically
> or oral medications we tried. Many would improve the situation and
> then, over time, it would seem that my acne would "overcome" them and
> kick up again. I just got tired of it.
>
> The new derm looked over my history and decided to put me on Accutane.
> I was on 60mg a day for 5 months and it was the first time I had been
> on it, my last couple of derms didn't care for Accutane and didn't want
> to try it. This one didn't care.
>
> Well, to my shock, after a couple of weeks my skin went totally clear!
> I spent almost my entire Accutane treatment time with nearly flawless
> skin that was not oily as it had been. I had some dry lip issues I took
> care of with cremes, but my blood work stayed good and I was able to
> leave the house without even looking in the mirror to check for
> blemishes for the first time in years!
>
> My course ended and I had such high hopes. But, within a month or two I
> started getting small breakouts again. My derm tried a few new oral
> antibiotics and while they were some help, now that Summer is
> approaching I could tell we were headed downhill again.
>
> My derm just saw me and said he wants to try "maintenance accutane" as
> he has a couple of patients that it has kept totally clear.
>
> So, I am back on Accutane taking "one or two 20mg pills a week" and
> getting checked in 6 weeks with blood work to see what happens.
>
> Anyone else been though this? I always have concerns when someone says
> "Accutane" but it did so much for me last time I am trying to set them
> aside.