has anyone here ever been prescribed Accutane here in Taipei? It’s a pretty heavy duty drug for the treatment of acne.
I’ve taken it twice in the states and each time they would give me a month’s worth. i’m wondering, if i should start it here, if they would make me come back every week to get more.
YOu probably can get it over the counter at Shanghai Pharmacy. Do a search to get the address, but if you take the MTR to NTU and get out at the Peace park exit, go straight to the light, turn left and pass the Family Mart it’s a couple of doors down.
Find out the generic name for it, as most drugs here are sold under those names…Best of luck
As you probably already know, “heavy duty” is because it can be hard on the liver and possibly other organs, requiring several checkups. It is similar to a serious vitamin A overdose and even if you could get it over the counter I would suggest against it.
However your (previous) 1 month treatment(s) already sounds a bit short imho.
Being in Taiwan with its humidity etc. my (very non-professional) suggestion is
that you first try other means as your reoccuring problem might not have the same cause this time. (Yes might sound like “starting all over again”.)
Good luck,
YF (forced out of longtime lurking before you do something you regret).
he probably meant that each time his/her prescription was filled it was for a month instead of only for a week like here
I took accutane in high school (I had an overzealous dematologist!) for the treatment of normal zits over the course of a few months.
Actually, it is more appropriate for cystic acne - the kind that makes your face change shape – angry, red lumpy acne.
Careful OP. Not sure if the information on side effects is included in English in Taiwan but there are many potential s.e.
In case you didn’t know, accutane is “teratogenic” (lit. “monster producing”)
Here’s a quick definition from a biology dictionary:
<pharmacology, obstetrics> Tending to produce anomalies of formation or teratism (= anomaly of formation or development: condition of a monster).
If you take accutane, you can’t get a woman pregnant for six months until after you cease taking the drug. If you are a woman, I believe they advise waiting a full year.
Apparently the effects of this stuff on a fetus make Thalidomide look like no big deal.
Other possible effects range from (as noted here) liver disease to spinal deterioration to dry eyes/mouth.
It made my skin look unreal. Like a mannequin. People noticed. It was weird.
Careful!
thanks for all the replies so far. i know accutane is a serious drug for serious acne. i have a few stubborn pimples and a dermatologist here said she wanted to put me on a low dose… i’m just not sure if that would be effective or not. she said she puts lots of people on a low dose just for a few pimples here and there. from what i know and remember about what my dr. in the states one needs a full course and the right dose based on body weight.
has anyone ever heard of a dr. doing this in taiwan? i’m hesitant at best
I took Accutane for about 6 months and then a year or two later for a few more months when it relapsed. Had acne for over a decade. I can’t really classify it, I wasn’t the curious type when I was young.
Yeah I’d recommend the blood tests that dermatologists normally perform each month. I haven’t tried everything; I’ve taken Retin-A, and other things I can’t remember. Accutane is perhaps the only thing that can make your acne disappear forever. For me I took one course, and then another when it came back a year or so later. It’s been over 5 years and not a trace. I tell a few people and they don’t believe I’ve had acne.
Accutane can also affect mood. I haven’t read about why. People have committed suicide under accutane.
That reminds me I’m more curious about seratonin’s influence on mood. I hear even seratonin reduction can improve mood. I need to hit up them medical journals.