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Just around one year ago today, I woke up having not taken a dose of Accutane for about a month. It was like waking out of a drug induced haze, probably because I was living in a drug induced haze until then. I also blogged about my days of taking Accutane, mostly counting down to when I could drink alcohol again. But the result of that is a large number of people finding this blog while searching for Accutane-related information.

2004 was not a fun year for me. There was a great deal of pain and consternation that was not at all necessary. Most of it started, ironically, one month after starting to take Accutane. I didn’t think anything of it at first. After all, a good deal of what was going on in my life and around me were things that would upset most people. The depression that I fell deeper into during that time had an edge that I had never experienced before.

So, when I woke up one morning about a year ago today having flushed the Accutane from my system, I wasn’t all that surprised that it was suddenly much easier to feel happy. The problems in my life were still present, though I had gotten used to some enough that it didn’t matter as much. But everything was suddenly easier to deal with in my mind and heart. Altering my perspective for the positive was suddenly and quite remarkably simple. I’ve been told that antidepressants work by taking the edge off just enough to help you work through it all. Accutane, I’m quite sure, does the opposite.

My advice to the folks who still find this place looking for Accutane related stuff: get a second and third opinion and explore other options as well. If you do start taking Accutane, start seeing a therapist or counselor on a regular basis (which is probably a good idea even if you aren’t considering Accutane). In my experience, Accutane was a successful treatment, but with too high a cost in emotional health.

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