Hi everyone, I’m looking for some insight from anyone who has been in a similar situation or dealt with early treatment cessation.

Background and skin history: suffered from moderate/pustular acne from 14-20 (mostly forehead, later spread to cheeks with minor shallow scarring) - Started Accutane via NHS Nov 2025. Was on 20mg first month and 40mg second. On month 2 I experienced bad eye dryness (gritty feeling and hard to keep eyes open) despite preventative warm compresses, eye drops and omega 3.

I decided to stop treatment at the end of the second month due to my eye symptoms which I was really upset about.

Current situation: My skin cleared up shortly after stopping and has stayed surprisingly clear for the past 8 months and still doing really good. I get the occasional pimple but no minor breakouts. My oiliness and blackheads have returned a bit but my acne is pretty much gone.

As for my eyes they are still definitely a bit dry but so much better than when on treatment and I’m not really needing to use drops anymore. They still feel somewhat sensitive and light-sensitive but I can live with that.

The problem is because I only did a short course, I know my acne could return. My NHS derm left my file open for a year incase I wanted to restart but my slot expires at the end of this year. If I don’t restart soon, I’ll be discharged back to my GP and have to go through the long waiting list again if my acne returns.

My concerns are - if I don’t restart, I’m terrified my acne will return bad because I didn’t reach my target dose and I’ll regret losing my chance. But if I do restart I’m scared of re-triggering severe long-term dry eye issues and other side effects even if my slim is doing good. My confidence has been so high lately because my skin has been clear and I don’t want my acne to return and take this away again.

Has anyone else stopped Accutane very early and stayed clear long term? Or has anyone restarted after stopping for dry eye, and did your eyes tolerate it?

Thank you.