I took accutane as a teenager and it seemed to work well for me for a few years following. However, my acne returned with a vengeance in my late twenties (after I had been diagnosed with AS). When the dermatologist suggested another round of accutane, I went along with him and wished I hadn't. That drug does some strange things to your body and, in my opinion, should be taken off the market. In addition to making my AS flares worse, I experienced a lot of other side effects. I even suspect that taking accutane as a teenager may be the cause of some of my problems today.

My advice to you would be to throw the accutane in the trash. There is a great product on the market called Proactiv solution; you may have seen the infomercials for it. Most dermatologists won't mention it to you because of the agreements they have with the drug companies. I had suffered with severe acne (sometimes cystic) for 20 years and about three years ago, decided to take a chance and ordered a two month supply of Proactiv. It was the best decision I've ever made. I noticed significant improvement in just a couple of weeks and I haven't had so much as a zit since then. The fact that this simple washing, solution, and cream system is so effective and doctors are still prescribing accutane angers me.

I only wish that I had not been so skeptical about infomercials or I may not have suffered for quite so many years.

Good Luck and get rid of that toxic medication,
Steve