Accutane & Side Effects

Dr. Irwin
August 18, 2011
I'm 25 yr old female who has tried about everything there is for acne and was on antibiotics for almost 2 yrs when i stopped and began my studies in holistic health.. i healed my candida through raw super food candida diet… i am big into raw food/ superfoods/superherbs and am considering accutane going against all my studies and career path.. after cleanse… my acne got super bad all around my chin for past yr. (basically boils it runs in my family) so i know it was not from diet… it must be hormones… i'm really nervous to get on accutane and am getting blood work done tomorrow to get a rx for accutane on monday… i've been dealing with this my whole life and is ruining my career as a holistic health coach and raw food chef… my derm wants to put me on very low dose for short amt of time…will loading up on probiotics.. superfood and superherbs help me at all with a small cycle of accutane? need some help.. so confused..

You raise good issues. One thing to remember about Accutane is that the molecule is almost identical to the Vitamin A molecule. Please don’t try treating yourself with megadose Vitamin A though, you’ll make yourself very sick.

The side effects of Accutane are scary when you read about them, but as long as the FDA guidelines are followed to the letter, and you do this through the official IPledge program, you will be quite safe. My practice has not had a significant complication in 20 years following these guidelines to the letter. The side effects that are common, like feeling dry, are similiar to those of a mild Vitamin A overdose. Studies show that you will do best if you take it for 6 months at a dose of approximately 1 mg/kg of lean body weight.

If you have serious acne, in my opinion, it’s worth the slight risk when you weigh the psychological toll of more serious acne against it. And, you’re correct, you’ve done everything you can naturally, you just got dealt a tough genetic card on this one. Good luck!

Dr. Irwin

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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