yulius hermanto
Roaccutane Experience
After having enough of my GP, and him having enough of me, he referred me to a skin specialist and I happily went. It took a while for me to finally go see him as he was so busy and the waiting list was so long (seems like everyone is having skin problems), but it was worth it. He basically told me antibiotics was worthless for my situation and sent me home armed full with literature on the disease, sample packs of moisturisers and skin care products to try, a prescription for roaccutane and a blood test referral to make sure my liver was healthy enough to start taking the drug, oh, and that I wasn’t pregnant as it causes birth defects.
Now I must say, roaccutane has been a lifesaver. It has been the "only" way for me to look and feel normal and I don't have to think about my rosacea 24 hours a day. It has helped me forget about my condition. It took less than a week to settle my skin considerably. I was taking 20mg daily and I did have some side effects of very dry skin and eyes, (roaccutane works by shutting down the oil production in the sebaceous glands, so dry patchy skin is very common) but I didn't care, I was no longer beet red. I gradually came off them and went for quite a few months without any flare ups at all. The redness was still kind of there, but I no longer had to wear make up to cover it all up. I felt like I had been finally cured. YIPPEE!!!!
However, although I am technically off roaccutane. I still do take them when I feel a flare up coming on. I just cant help it. I do try and wait to see if will settle on it's own, but it rarely does. Luckily I only have one small area on my face now that tends to develop the itchy, burning feeling, and with the help of the roaccutane pills it all goes away within a couple of days. If I don’t take the pills, my rosacea gets worse. I don’t take the full course of pills again, only enough to have my skin settle (usually between one and three days, depending on how bad it is). I still have a very sensitive face and I still go red quite often from this, that and the other but that is not my concern right now. My concern is to keep the pain of it all away.
Although roaccutane has help me, it is still quite controversial and the list of side effects is quite long. Doctors and specialists are extremely hesitant to prescribe this drug and only do so after carefully considering your situation. There has been some recent internet “pharmacy's” selling these drugs online. Never, ever, ever buy anything of the sort online. You need blood tests beforehand and you need to be carefully monitored by your doctor throughout the course of the treatment.
I am now working with a natural therapist so that I can deal with the flare ups without the drugs. It would be in my best interests to stop taking them at all. Gulp!
Now I must say, roaccutane has been a lifesaver. It has been the "only" way for me to look and feel normal and I don't have to think about my rosacea 24 hours a day. It has helped me forget about my condition. It took less than a week to settle my skin considerably. I was taking 20mg daily and I did have some side effects of very dry skin and eyes, (roaccutane works by shutting down the oil production in the sebaceous glands, so dry patchy skin is very common) but I didn't care, I was no longer beet red. I gradually came off them and went for quite a few months without any flare ups at all. The redness was still kind of there, but I no longer had to wear make up to cover it all up. I felt like I had been finally cured. YIPPEE!!!!
However, although I am technically off roaccutane. I still do take them when I feel a flare up coming on. I just cant help it. I do try and wait to see if will settle on it's own, but it rarely does. Luckily I only have one small area on my face now that tends to develop the itchy, burning feeling, and with the help of the roaccutane pills it all goes away within a couple of days. If I don’t take the pills, my rosacea gets worse. I don’t take the full course of pills again, only enough to have my skin settle (usually between one and three days, depending on how bad it is). I still have a very sensitive face and I still go red quite often from this, that and the other but that is not my concern right now. My concern is to keep the pain of it all away.
I am now working with a natural therapist so that I can deal with the flare ups without the drugs. It would be in my best interests to stop taking them at all. Gulp!
