Hey, I wasn't sure if this was the right place to post this (or if there was an appropriate place), but I figured Health and Fitness would be best.

I'm about to start an acne treatment program on accutane, and being that this is an online poker forum I'm sure I'm not the only one who is either on it or has been on it in the past. The program lasts 20 weeks after which I'll hopefully have clear skin.

At the moment, my skin isn't terrible, but it's nowhere close to what I'd like it to look. I've gone through all the different topical and antibiotic treatments which haven't really helped.

The hardest part about the program will be not drinking. Right now, I'm 18, and a freshman in college and needless to say most of my social activities involve binge drinking. If anybody has advice or suggestions on how to handle this aspect of the situation, it'd be great.

On the other hand, now that I won't be drinking, I can really focus on my diet and health. I'm 5'10-5'11 and 180lbs. I'd like to become more fit and lean.

If anybody is interested I'll post here about my progress and how everything is coming along. Also, if anybody has any accutane/skin stories they would like to share, feel free. Once again, if this thread is inappropriate, feel free to remove it mods.

OnTheTane

I took Accutane when I was a teenager...it works remarkably well. The one thing I remember about it is that it absolutely dries the **** out of your skin, and I had unbelievably chapped lips that would crack/bleed all the time if I didn't put anything on them. Keep a good supply of chapstick/blistex handy.

My dermatologist gave me a sample of aquaphor to use. I've heard from people that your lips get extremely chapped. Thanks for the advice.

I was on Accutane during high school, worked pretty well while I was on it, but it definitely didn't cure me completely. I would recommend going back to a topical treatment after you're done with the Accutane, I have had good results with the Acne.org regimen.

I'm sure results vary widely, but I absolutely hated being on Accutane. My whole body felt very "dry", and my energy levels were low. I also think it contributed to a bout of depression I went through around that time, but I can't say for sure. I think your plan to get your diet/health on track are great. Hopefully these factors will help offset any negative effects of the medicine. Good luck!

don't do it then.

don'd do this either. alcohol is a big factor in my experience for acne break out.

I found these natural solutions helpful.

acne.org have good advice too (benzyl peroxide ftw).

Guava,

Honestly, I've had acne long enough and I'm just done. I hate not being able to look in a mirror and I hate being embarrassed in my own skin. I've been on so many different treatments and nothing has worked, so this is a last resort that is necessary.

I took accutane in high school. Prior to that I had gone through about four years of unbelievable cystic pizza-face acne. I'd tried everything, all the topical stuff, to no avail. Accutane seriously completely got rid of my acne in like two months, it was unbelievable.

As noted above, it dries the **** out of your skin. Besides chapped lips, expect nosebleeds with some frequency. And you have to stay out of the sun, etc.

if you stop binge drinking its an excellent time to focus on some self improvement. good luck.

Thanks. I'm not looking forward to the awkward moments when I have to explain why I am not drinking though.

Also, can anybody comment on alcohol and accutane? My doctor said that I could not have any alcohol, but is that just her saying what she has to say? I won't be having 12 or more drinks like I normally do now, but is 4-6 drinks ok on occasion?

If you care about your skin, even if not on acutane, you should avoid alcohol and would probably see positive results for your acne. Not suprisingly I had a mild breakout on New Years day (-;

In fact, I'd recommend not drinking anything but green tea and water. I also have saukraut (which helps with acne) with fruit+ milk in a blender.

Yeah, I plan on doing this, except for the green tea part. I don't like the taste of green tea. Is it healthy enough to suck it up and drink it anyway?

It's full of antioxidants so yeah, and quick google search seems as if its a known remedy for acne.

Swedish bitters in hot water is good too.

Interesting, thanks for the link. The one problem I might run into is actually obtaining green tea while I'm away at school. As far as I know, there isn't green tea in the dining halls but I'll have to look more closely now that I know it is beneficial to the skin.

a kettle costs like 5 bucks, the tea bags like 2 bucks, not hard to sort for yourself! although i say this as a student in england, where it is unthinkable for a student not to drink tea.

I was on accutane when I was a teenager.

Your skin will become unbelievably clear very rapidly.

Biggest piece of advice I can give you is vaseline, not chapstick or blistex. Your lips are gonna get extremely dry, this made a huge difference for me overnight, chapstick and blistex didn't help at all. It'll even get dry on the skin surrounding your mouth, don't be afraid to apply some there overnight too if that happens. Definitely at least try vaseline 100%.

And you asked if "that was just the doctor saying what she has to say." The answer is yes, because alcohol can kill you now. Accutane is basically a megadose (BIG) of synthetic vitamin A, which is a fat soluble vitamin. It creates an incredible burden on your liver, that's why they need to test your blood regularly while you're on accutane (it's to make sure your liver isn't shutting down). If you drink 4-6 beers while taking accutane you're very likely to have cirrhosis which is a permanent scarring and degradation in your basic liver functions. It's also many times more likely that you'll die of an overdose during a night of binge drinking.

4 - 6 beers might make you drunk enough not to care about any of this, then the next 6 beers might kill you. You're 18, if you can't stop drinking for 20 weeks while on accutane then you might as well get the raggedy clothes and the sharpie cardboard sign right now, because you're going to end up one of those homeless drunks wandering around in delirium tremens having arguments with street signs.

Wow I never thought Joe would give good advice, but his advice on drinking and Accutane is spot on. This is not something to mess around with.

I was on Accutane in high school and it's very effective, powerful stuff that'll dry you out a ton around your mouth. Moisturizer is your friend.

Look, that's pretty easy to say, and for you it might be easy to implement, but for me, it is pretty tough. To say I am going to end up a "homeless drunk" because I had a couple drinks on accutane is a bit extreme. The reality of the situation is is that everybody, literally every single person I know, drinks every weekend. It's going to be hard to say "Hey I'm not drinking, I'm on accutane" and completely distance myself from those people. This is the one part of the program I am not looking forward to.

The point is, if you do drink you're risking severe damage to yourself. If that isn't incentive enough not to drink, than you have problems.

I was on Accutane in high school. Absolutely 100% no regrets, although I think I may have had a mild bout of depression while on it (but ****, I was in high school, so it could've been just a weird mood swing.) The advice above about vaseline on the lips is good, but an even better product is Bag Balm http://www.bagbalm.com. Its actually made for farmers to put on chapped cow udders, its the consistency of vaseline, but worked way better for me. My hands got so dry I would actually smear the bag balm on my hands before bed then wear white cotton gloves (to save my sheets) to help alleviate the dryness. I would also get about 1 nosebleed every two weeks (to help this, I would dip a Q-tip in vaseline then smear it in my nostrils.) I responded so well that my dermatologist stopped my treatment a month early.

Tell them you're awaiting the result of a liver function test and until you get the all clear you can't drink.

Tell them you banged your shoulder up and are on anti-inflamatories.

Tell them their mom gave you herpes and you're on antibiotics.

Yeah, this. If it creates an awkward situation and your friends won't accept a simple explanation like "I'm on medication that I absolutely can't drink with" then either you or your friends (or both) have some issues.

Just took my first dose. I'm nervous, yet very excited. I look forward to the days of clear skin and not having the desperate need to avoid mirrors and some social situations at all costs.

The packaging it comes in is pretty funny. I don't think it's possible to fit "DO NOT GET PREGNANT" in any more places than it's written now.

With regards to drinking, I'm positive my friends won't give me a hard time and I know they will be understanding. It's the feeling of missing out on fun times and crazy stories that I don't like. Anyway, maybe it will be good to learn how to socialize without any liquid confidence, right?

Quick update, but obviously not much content to add as I've only taken 3 doses so far.

My dermatologist put me on 80mg/day, which is a relatively high dose from what I can tell. I haven't noticed any changes in the dryness of my skin. My lips have been a bit dry, however.

Tell them it's part of your Shaolin oath.

You couldn't find a good WOW site?

Also, they keep on finding out new ways green tea is good for you, so definitely get into it. However, you can take green tea pills, too.