Pamela McMonagle presents her Novels, Short Stories, Poems and Unique Gifts

It is 21 years ago since I first heard about Accutane (Roaccutane, as it is known outside of America) and 20 years since I decided to take a course of Accutane pills to rid myself of acne.

I was well out of my teens, married with a son of eight and daughter of five and still I had large blind acne lumps continually appearing and lingering for weeks on my face; many times persistently reappearing in the same spot. They were painful and unsightly and leaving pitted scars. For years I had gone from one dermatologist to the next for help. I'd spent an inordinate amount of money on lotions and potions both over-the-counter and prescription and taken course after course of tetracyclines, all to no avail. The acne did not abate and the scarring was an added torment.

When my five year old daughter was in hospital for suspected encephalitis and her nurse's eyes kept straying to the huge boil-like spot between my eyebrows, I made the decision to see my dermatologist about going on Accutane.

The physician I consulted explained the pros and cons of Accutane and how important it was not to become pregnant because of serious deformities in the baby and how I would need to have regular blood tests to check my liver. I also had to visit him each month so that he could monitor my progress and he stressed that I should call him if I was concerned about anything no matter how small or had any untoward symptoms. Notwithstanding that Accutane was extremely costly and my medical didn't cover it and it was also a potent medication that is not to be taken lightly, I decided to go ahead with the treatment.

Everything went beautifully until the third month when I woke up one morning and found I had arthritic pains in all my joints. I called my dermatologist and he reduced the dosage. He said I would probably only have a 92% cure rather than a 100% one. I was a little disappointed to hear that. Within a few days of lowering the Accutane dosage, however, the pains disappeared and I was able to continue using Accutane till the end of the treatment period of 4 months.

One of the nicest things I experienced while on Accutane was the dryness of my hair which had always been exceptionally oily and thus needed to be washed every day. The worst experience, of course, was the painful joints and very dry lips but I also had a grumpy feeling about me which is not part of my normal disposition.

As I said, it has been twenty years since I took that course of Accutane and though I have very occasionally experienced a small bump on my face, it has disappeared within a day or two. I still have some acne scars but nothing like it would have been had I not taken Accutane.

While I am very grateful that Accutane was available to me to stop the pain and indignity of my acne, I know it is not for everyone. For me, it was one of the best things I have ever done and I will always hold Accutane in high regard. The joy of being acne free for the past twenty years is immeasurable.

Update on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 8:39AM by

[Pamela McMonagle]

It appears that Roche are pulling Accutane from the American market, I believe because of lawsuits. I, for one, am extremely sad to hear that. It is devastating news for acne sufferers.

It was the only drug that cured my acne and anyone who thinks that acne is not a serious and debilitating disease has no idea what they are talking about unless they have experienced it. I've heard it said "oh it's only a psychological complaint, not a real disease". I say, unless you've walked a mile in an acne suffer's shoes, you have no right to comment. People use Botox and have face lifts and plastic surgery to remove lines and sags from their faces for heaven sakes, how much worse not to be able to remove the horrible scar producing acne from their faces and I'm talking about acne that starts in the teenage years and continues for the rest of your life!!

I am talking about acne that can change a beautiful face and smooth back into a monstrous ugly tangle of scars and oozing bumps. Yes acne causes psychological damage but it is also physically painful and damaging and ugly.