{"id":8756,"date":"2014-11-24T06:53:22","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T06:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/?p=2350"},"modified":"2018-11-02T18:19:54","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T18:19:54","slug":"low-dose-accutane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acneeinstein.com\/low-dose-accutane\/","title":{"rendered":"Considering Low Dose Accutane As A Last Resort? Here\u2019s What You Need To Know."},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you are in a situation where there are no good options. Regardless of what some people claim, not everyone can cure acne with diet and natural ways. Many have tried strict diets and healthy lifestyle with little effect.<\/p>\n

After getting no help from natural treatments many consider taking Accutane. While there\u2019s no doubt Accutane is effective, it also causes potentially dangerous side effects. In this post I want to talk about low dose Accutane as a potential alternative.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll go over some studies to see how well it works against acne and whether it causes as bad side effects as normal doses.<\/p>\n

Standard and low dose definitions<\/h2>\n

Before we get started, we need to clear a few things. First, Accutane is a brand name for isotretinoin. And since Accutane is no longer available, I\u2019ll use the term isotretinoin in this post.<\/p>\n

Also, for reference, the standard dose for isotretinoin is 1 to 2 mg\/kg\/day for 15 to 20 weeks so that the cumulative dose reaches between 120mg\/kg to 15mg\/kg. The \u2018kg\u2019 refers to bodyweight.<\/p>\n

The low and very low dose regimens vary from as little as 2.5 mg\/day to 20 mg\/day. For the sake of comparison the standard dose for a person who weights 70 kg (154 lbs) would be from 70 mg\/day to 140 mg\/day. So we are talking of significantly smaller doses.<\/p>\n

Does low dose isotretinoin work?<\/h2>\n

The first question we should ask is whether low dose isotretinoin works? Studies clearly show that it does work. In fact, low doses seem to work as well as higher doses.<\/p>\n

Fortunately there\u2019s no grand medical conspiracy and doctors and scientists are actively trying to make treatments both safer and more affordable. That\u2019s why several studies have compared low dose isotretinoin regimens with conventional dose regimens. I won\u2019t bore you with details of each study. Because Dr. Marius Rademaker from New Zealand helpfully analyzed 30 years of isotretinoin research for his paper: Isotretinoin: dose, duration and relapse. What does 30 years of usage tell us?<\/a> I\u2019ll just quote the relevant part from his paper.<\/p>\n

However, subsequent dose-ranging studies indicated that there was no dose effect in the 0.1\u20133.0 mg\/kg per day range, in that all dosages cleared acne in equal measure and at the same rate.<\/p>\n

Rademaker, M. Isotretinoin: dose, duration and relapse. What does 30 years of usage tell us?<\/a> The Australasian journal of dermatology54, 157\u201362 (2013).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, low doses clear acne as quickly and effectively as higher doses.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, a study published earlier this year showed that doses as low as 5 mg\/day can effectively treat adult acne.<\/p>\n

Isotretinoin 5 mg\/day is effective in reducing the number of acne lesions, and improving patients dermatologic quality of life, with minimal adverse effects.<\/p>\n

Rademaker, M, Wishart, JM & Birchall, NM. Isotretinoin 5 mg daily for low grade adult acne vulgaris\u0096a placebo controlled, randomized double blind study<\/a>. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology 28, 747\u2013754 (2014).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2.5 mg 3 times a week enough to keep sebum under control<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another interesting study showed that very low dose isotretinoin can massively reduce sebum production. Some people tell me that their skin remains massively oily even after doing diet and lifestyle changes that should reduce sebum production. I suspect their skin is excessively sensitive to hormones and they have very few options to control how much oil their skin produces. As this study<\/a> shows, very low dose isotretinoin could be an option.<\/p>\n

The researchers tested 3 different very low dose regimens. Here are the reductions in sebum production for each dosage (after 6 months of treatment):<\/p>\n