Does Accutane Really Work?

Because Accutane is a prescription drug you might think it’s the cure-all and answer to your acne-related prayers. But it’s not available anymore, not even as a prescription. You can still get the drug that served as the active ingredient, but you might not want to once you see why it was pulled off the market.

Overview
Prescription drugs are typically more powerful than ones you can buy over the counter, but that doesn’t mean that they work every time, for every case they’re prescribed for. It also means that there’s a higher chance that your body might have an adverse reaction to it. The more powerful a drug, the more the body is going to have to cope with it.

The Claim
Accutane was the brand name developed by Roche, a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland. The brand has since been taken off the US market due to the side effects associated with it. But you can still get the drug under other brand names, and they’ll all be made with the same core drug Isotretinoin, which is what Accutane was made with.

The Hype
For several years Accutane was thought of as the one thing that could conquer really severe acne, and if all else failed it was a trip to the dermatologist for either that or Retin-A, depending on what type of acne you had.

The Cost
Accutane was covered under most medical plans, and so the cost would vary depending on what your copay was. Sometimes prescription medications for acne seem to make more financial sense, especially if you’re the parent that’s buying them for your teen. But today’s latest acne treatments usually clock in at about $1 a day, even for the more advanced kits that include all the steps you need. Perhaps you’ve already been through several of them, and nothing has worked, but they’re not all created equally, so you shouldn’t feel defeated if just one or two didn’t show results.

The Commitment
The application process is similar for the various brand names, and since this is taken orally most users have no trouble keeping up with it. It’s just a matter of making it a habit to take the pill.

Evaluation
Accutane gave good results for acne sufferers, which is why it was prescribed, but the side effects that were linked to it were too severe for at least one pharmaceutical company to continue distributing it. Today there are so many options available to you that you don’t really need to see a dermatologist. There’s Proactiv that has shown results for many users, as well as First Crush skin care which tries to combine all three elements of Proactiv into one bottle.

There are also more advanced methods of getting rid of your acne that use at-home laser treatments. This shows that the gap between what you can do at home, and what you need to see a doctor for in regards to acne, is narrowing. It’s simply a matter of finding which product, or group of products and treatments work for your particular condition. Acne isn’t just plain old acne, each person has their own mix of whiteheads, blackheads, and cystic acne that requires different and unique approaches.

Final Accutane Review

Back in the day Accutane produced results, but over time it was found that acne was preferable to some of the other side effects, like having it stunt your growth and cause other problems like ulcers. It’s a classic case of the FDA approving a drug that wasn’t really safe, and a company recalling it before the lawsuits really started to pile up.

Our Recommendation
When it comes to treating acne, you might feel like you’re at the end of your rope and that a prescription is the last resort. But there are plenty of acne treatments out there, and many of them take a unique approach to curing your zits, even the big ones that you might think you need to see a doctor for. That’s why it’s a better idea to stick with these sort of treatments until you’ve exhausted all of your options before trying to find discontinued drugs that are harmful to the rest of your body.

What do you think? Does Accutane work or not?