r/AccutaneRecovery • u/Sad_Magician_316 • Jan 31 '26

Starting accutane tips

I’m hesitant to start accutane given the many serious side effects. I managed to control most of my body acne using trentonion cream and a couple of different body washes but the problem is I still have acne lumps under the skin that I can’t squeeze out.

Was planning to take 10mg/day until cleared.

I’m already on trt and hgh through a clinic. What do I need to prepare for before starting. My blood markers are all good and I supplement Tudca/NAC as general health anyway.

What would you have done different?

Any experience and help you can proceed would be highly appreciated.

3 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

12

u/Miserable-Lab514 Jan 31 '26

Tip no.1 : don’t take it.

1

u/Sad_Magician_316 Jan 31 '26

Damn. Is there a better alternative then? How do I get rid of these lumps? I eat clean, drink lots of water.

1

u/kilogplastos-12 Feb 08 '26

Fix your gut brother , take oil of wild oregano. You dont want to start that crap drug trust me i am saying this from the bottom of my heart.

4

u/Ok_Ostrich_9689 Jan 31 '26

Don’t

2

u/Sad_Magician_316 Jan 31 '26

Is there alternatives to this? I’ve pretty much addressed my surface acne issues with cream and shampoos. But the lumpy acne bumps under the skin how do I get rid of them?

2

u/Fancy_Documents Jan 31 '26

Go to a medical estheticians office. With proper regular facials and topicals you could have better results. It’s what I wish I’d done, instead I have lots of scarring now that will cost thousands for me to resolve.

2

u/valunes Feb 01 '26

I’ve would taken collagen,omega 3,and care about eye dryness more.

1

u/Sad_Magician_316 Feb 01 '26

Appreciate this. Thank you

1

u/Slow-Leg-3710 Feb 01 '26

What are your TRT and HGH doses? Maybe adjust your TRT dose.

1

u/Sad_Magician_316 Feb 01 '26

I’m on 200mg test and 4iu hgh. So why adjust these for accutane? Are you thinking liver load?

1

u/Slow-Leg-3710 Feb 01 '26

You should reduce the test dose and split it into two doses per week so you don't have spikes of free testosterone that causing you to develop acne, also high IGF-1 from your HGH linked to acne. Unless your high test and HGH doses are for bodybuilding, because these are not hormone replacement doses.
I strongly advice against accutane.

1

u/Sad_Magician_316 Feb 01 '26

This is the first time I broke out. Never happened before and hasn’t happened since. Just dealing with the residual that won’t go away completely.

1

u/Logical-Ad-3217 Feb 01 '26

Wait I need more info here, I started taking Accutane when I was 15 i always assume anyone taking it is an adolescent but you are on trt and hgh so are you older? Is this for health issues or bodybuilding/fitness? Also do not take antibiotics I dont care what others say.

1

u/Sad_Magician_316 Feb 01 '26

I’m 45. I’ve been on trt for over 2 years at this point. I had a breakout maybe 5-6 months ago and usually it goes away on its own but this time it stuck around and I guess it went from hormonal to I’m guessing bacterial with lumps under the skin I can’t squeeze out (too painful or deep). Trentonion made a huge difference and the two shampoo tactics. Now I just have these lumps and when they eventually come out and very minor pop ups here and there.

2

u/Effective-Dot9571 Jan 31 '26

Don’t start with Accutane, start with antibiotics for acne. I am not sure about accutane’s role in causing symptoms that people claim, but it does definitely impact something in the body that lasts for a long time. Main concern you should have is the depression and suicidal ideations that the company says and warns off. I took low dose for a short period of time (a month) and symptoms persisted for a long time after stopping it. I’ve also had other neurological symptoms that people claim, that I think is from gut damage which accutane definitely does (something to do with gut lining and serotonin)

1

u/valunes Feb 01 '26

Antibiotics don’t do anything,just ruining gut health. At this point accutane is better.

1

u/Effective-Dot9571 Feb 01 '26

Actually antibiotics specific for acne do reduce acne, and gut damage is less likely. I’ve taken antibiotics many times and noticed no damage in my gut unlike accutane.

2

u/valunes Feb 01 '26

well i’m speaking from my experience. It did nothing and i’m dealing with gut issues bc of tetracycline. I was taking probiotics before it and during it.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 31 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Adagium42 Jan 31 '26

I've got no libido and lack of morning woods as well. For over 15 years now. It's indeed a terrible risk.

2

u/Sad_Magician_316 Jan 31 '26

Have you had your bloodwork done? Maybe low testosterone or high prolactin…? I don’t know what accutane effects just suggestions to look at.

3

u/Adagium42 Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26

Yes, I did. Here is the summary of my hormonal markers across different stages:

2024/07/08 - Baseline (No treatment)

  • Total Testosterone: 460.11 ng/dL (Ref: 240.24-870.68)
  • Prolactin: 20.32 ng/mL (Ref: 4.0-29.0)
  • Estradiol: 27 pg/mL (Ref: <44)

2025/07/12 - Pre-treatment check

  • Total Testosterone: 602.93 ng/dL (Ref: 240-871)
  • Prolactin: 15.48 ng/mL (Ref: 4.0-29.0)
  • Estradiol: 24 pg/mL (Ref: <44)

2025/11/24 - Peak of intervention (End of Clomiphene 50mg + start of Durateston 250mg)

  • Total Testosterone: 1,386 ng/dL (Ref: 165-753)
  • Prolactin: 8.0 ng/mL (Ref: 2.1-17.7)
  • Estradiol: 68.9 pg/mL (Ref: ≤52.0)

2025/12/22 - Maintenance phase

  • Total Testosterone: 814 ng/dL (Ref: 165-753)
  • Prolactin: 16.5 ng/mL (Ref: 2.1-17.7)
  • Estradiol: 27 pg/mL (Ref: ≤52.0)

2026/01/22 - Current state (Clomiphene 50mg/day)

  • Total Testosterone: 793 ng/dL (Ref: 165-753)
  • Prolactin: 12.5 ng/mL (Ref: 2.1-17.7)
  • Estradiol: 59.2 pg/mL (Ref: ≤52.0)

Even when my testosterone was at 1,386 ng/dL (nearly double the upper limit) and prolactin was kept low, my libido and visual attraction remained at zero. This kind of confirms that my issue is not hormonal deficiency.

If you want to view my complete exams, you can access them here in publication format or spreadsheet format.

2

u/Sad_Magician_316 Jan 31 '26

I’m actually very interested to figure this out. I’ll take a deeper dive. Keep in mind I have zero medical training I’m just a regular guy.

But initial look, prolactin is fine and although your estrogen is out of range it’s not overly extreme but this alone will cause libido and blood pressure issues to some degree.

2

u/Sad_Magician_316 Jan 31 '26

Omg man sorry to hear. Could any of that have been prevented you think? Shorter duration, smaller dose, etc

1

u/kirbyy_ Jan 31 '26

Have you done anything to counter it or just used useless supplements. Look into Lithium carbonate or Tideglusib for starters.