cea Treatment with Accutane/Roaccutane

[Guest guest]

I am a 54 year old male. I suffered from persistent acne vulgaris

from early teens until I was 40 in 1988. Then I took Roaccutane for

three months. All acne cleared up in afew weeks and stayed away for

12 more years. I had no side effects whatsoever other than the

expected dryness of face and scalp. Nothing else bothered me. My

life changed for the better and my skin was very clear.

Two years ago the acne returned again, this time a different type. I

got hard painful pustules that felt like thorns in the flesh and were

sore until they popped and the pus was released. My MD put me on the

usual acne treatments which had little noticeable effect. The acne

was concentrated in the front of the face, upper lip area and chin.

About three new pustules formed rapidly each day and took two/three

more days to ripen and burst. I looked a mess and felt depressed.

After much arguing with my MD he reluctantly referred me to a

dermatologist.

I went to the dermatologist with a request that I should perhaps

repeat the Roaccutane treatment again, believing it would once again

be a quick fix to rid me of the acne.

The specialist suspected that it was not acne I now had but cea.

He said that low dose Roaccutane was effective in treating this

incurable disease. I was alarmed at the thought of rosacea being

incurable and became deeply worried.

The specialist said that he was almost certain I had rosacea so in

order to find out if he was right he said there were two tests. One

was to go on a full course of Roaccutane and if I had acne it would

clear up. If I had rosacea it would be aggravated and become worse

from a full course of Roaccutane because of the severe drying of the

skin. The other test was a much gentler one and he put me on a tiny

dose of Roaccutane of just 5mgs/day for six weeks. He said if it was

rosacea I had it would improve markedly over the six weeks. I had

great doubts of the effect of 5mgs compared with the 40-80mg I had

been on in 1988. I got my supply of drug from the pharmacy (costing

very little compared with the full dose I had in 1988)and felt

cheated when I saw the tiny capsule I was to take. I calculated I was

now on a dose of about one-sixteenth of that in 1988.

Three weeks have now passed and my skin is clear again. There has not

been a new pustule for a week. The oiliness of my skin has reduced

and I have experienced no adverse effects.

The downside of this remarkable remission from rosacea is that I was

told that I would have to remain on the 5mgs/day for the rest of my

life. It is not the quick fix I expected this time. I've researched

the Internet for information on low dose Accutane/Roaccutane and

cea and was pleased to learn that this treatment has been gaining

popularity but with a dose of 10mgs/day. I was delighted that it

worked for me at just half that dose (5mgs).

Has anyone been on this low dose treatment and how long have they

been on it? I read in one research paper that the long term benefit

of low dose Accutane treatment may be limited because of the

cholesteral side effect. My dermatologist says I need not worry about

that with the low dose I'm on.

Grateful for any information anyone might have on this treatment and

in particular I would like to hear first hand from those who have

been on low dose Accutane/Roaccutane for long periods.