Don't knock
Accutane. It's meant for extremely bad cases of acne. I had
acne so severe on my back through
high school and
college that I often suffered pain simply from sitting in chairs and lying down. I had to warn people not to slap me on the back or hug too hard. My
shirts would get
stained with
blood where the large acne had bled. I tried
soaps,
creams,
antibiotics and the like over the years and none of it worked. Finally last year I went to a
dermatologist that prescribed
Accutane. Yes, it is incredibly expensive. It was $490 for a 6-week supply, but fortunately my
insurance covered it. I took it for six months. I had to go to my dermatologist for blood tests to make sure it wasn't doing strange things to me. The side effects I suffered was the complete loss of oil in my skin. My
forearms,
hands,
face and
nose became ridiculously dry. I had to constantly apply
lotion to my skin (four or five times a day). My
lips were
extremely chapped and they bled. My nose was bone dry inside, and I had to shove moisturizing
ointment inside it to keep it from bleeding and peeling.
I would do it all over again, too. The acne on my back is completely gone. My girl can give me a back massage now. My shirts don't get ruined anymore. I don't have to constantly shift positions in my chair so that it doesn't hurt. And no, Roche didn't pay me to say all this.