Accutane vs Tetracycline

I took Accutane 30 years ago when I was in my early 20's. I had gone to more than one dermatologist and had tried several oral and topical antibiotics, but when I stopped using them, the cysts came back and my skin was always worse than it was to start with. While I was on Accutane, my skin was an unholy mess. My face really broke out and then turned into a dry, flaking, peeling mess. (I can remember being approached by strangers who assumed I had been burned in fire.) But after I stopped taking it, my skin was flawless. Now, thirty years later, my skin is still clear and I have minimal scarring. Cystic acne runs in my family, and several of my mother's sisters are scarred to the point of disfigurement and still have breakouts.

I struggled with acne from the time I hit puberty (age 13) until age 24. I had managed to get it under control during my college years but when I hit 24 my face broke out like crazy and nothing I did would make the acne go away. I finally broke down and went to a dermatologist who put me on accutane for 7 months. I'm currently on the last month of my accutane and so far it has been a blessing. My face is completely cleared up and I break out maybe once a month vs a couple times a day before I started accutane. The biggest side effects I've had are dry/chapped lips and sensitivity to products. I've been using aquafor daily and switched to Mario Badescu products that don't irritate my skin. In month 5 of the treatment I began experiencing dry skin and nose dryness (although no nose bleeding). I bought bio oil to rub on my skin for the dryness (and has helped a lot with acne scars) and put aquafor on the inside of my nose. While all of the side effects are annoying, they are totally worth the beautiful skin I now have. I highly recommend this product.