Entry #8: Accutane
Recently as I have gotten older my face and back have been getting riddled with more and more acne every day. Although I went to the dermatologist when I was 16 and I have been using the topical creams they prescribed to me religiously every day, my acne seems to simply not want to go away. Since my face started looking like this:
I decided to go to the dermatologist yet again earlier this week and my doctor prescribed Accutane. For some context, Accutane is like a last resort for treating acne that has gotten really bad and won't go away. Naturally after being prescribed Accutane, I was very scared since there seems to be some pretty horrible side effects that come along with it. For instance, many people claim to have bone and joint pain constantly, feel depressed while taking it and after taking it, some people even say their kidneys were all messed up because of the drug. Many of these side effects do seem life-altering and absolutely terrible, however, instead of simply believing all the comments from people telling me to avoid the drug, I decided to do more research as well as talk with my dermatologist. Obviously, since Accutane is a pretty harsh drug it will have some side effects, however, what was never mentioned by these people trying to convince others not to take Accutane was their pre-existing health issues. For instance, many of the people complaining that Accutane was the cause of their liver problems never mentioned that Accutane itself ruined their livers, but that it was the drug in addition to their drinking alcohol that caused their liver problems. Thus if you do a blood test and see that your liver is in perfect health, you should not be getting drastic side effects.
I did the research on Accutane to educate myself on why people actually get these terrible side effects, not to put people down. Through educating myself on the topic of Accutane I overcame my fears of the drug and its side affect, and I think that this way of handling your fears or uncertainties can be applied to virtually anything.
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