User Reviews for Claravis oral

I am a 27 year old mom of 3. I've had acne since I was 13 and its only gotten worse througout the years. Month 1, dry skin, lower back pain, skin got a little worse. Month 2, no back pain and skin starting to clear. Month 3, skin perfectly clear, hardly any side effects. Month 4, severe shin pain and a few pimples popping back up( not bad, but not clear like I was in month 3). Just starting month 5, shin pain still severe and now I am getting lower back pain, and still getting pimples. I'm not sure if its joint pain or maybe an inflammed disc. I dont remember doing anything to injure it, but the pain is there so now im just tring to figure out if the back pain is caused by the medicine or If I've done it to myself...I'm also hoping my skin will go back to being like month 3, completly clear. Just a wait and see game now.Read More Read Less

I am 19 and have had consistant, uncurable acne since I was 13. I have only completed two weeks so far(30mg twice daily). Side effects so far include chapped lips, dry flaking skin on face, scalp tenderness, & scalp flaking. Lips still constantly dry but regular chapstick and stopped severe cracking. I am a bit discouraged with the amount of peeling on my face. I havent had any new breakouts yet, but I also havent seen an improvement. I know it is very early but now i have acne and peely face. I am continuing treatment but I guess you could say I am experiencing a lack of patience.Read More Read Less

I am a 40 year old African American female, I took Accutane for 6 mos. about 17yrs ago,It worked wonders and I experienced no side effects. I just moved to the west coast about 2yrs ago and have started experiencing cystic acne on face and back, I am about to satrt taking Clarivis 40 MG once a day and I hope it works as well as the Accutane did 17yrs ago, like a few people have said the medicine is very effective but I guess it wears off every 10-15 years, when I started the Accutane the Dr told me that it was a permanent cure but I guess not, however it was well worth it. I will keep you guys posted as to how well the Clarivis works.Read More Read Less

I took Claravis because of my extremely oily skin. My skin was so oily that with in 10 minutes of washing my face I was covered with oil. This was extremely difficult to live with growing up as a child. I've asked doctors in the past to please prescribe this medicine to me and I could never get it. Well I'm 46 now and have been on Claravis for almost 3 months now. I no longer powder my face throughout the day. My oil has vanished and I couldn't be happier. I can look at people in the eye now and have a conversation without feeling self conscious, its a great feeling. I highly reccomnend this drug for someone who is dealing with this problem. Also the side effects for me have been minimal. I'm thinking that since my skin was so oily that maybe thats why I never got the dry mouth or eyes I don't know. A little bit of dry lips and thats about it. I highy reccomend this to anyone suffering from extremely oily skin.Read More Read Less

I was on Accutane about 3-4 years ago with great results but my acne began to reappear about a year ago. I started taking Claravis two and a half months ago. Started with 40mg daily with no results. Second month 80mg daily, skin worsened alot (the worst it's ever been). Third month, began 120mg daily (two pills in the morning, one in the evening). I've seen some very slight improvement in the past few days but far from being cured. I have very light skin so every pimple scar shows. So with scars and constantly getting fresh pimples, it's been extremely embarrassing. Side effects so far have been the usual dry chapped lips and some hip pain. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my skin will continue to heal. Read More Read Less

I am a 70 yr old Anglo male that has had Nodular Ance since a teenager. Had many different medications, mostly Erthromycins, and various treatments with little or no lasting benefits. A dermatologist prescrescribed Claravis treatment starting Nov 2009, up to a maximum of 60 mg per day. for a month. The worst side effects for me was dry mouth, dry chapped lips and slight difficulty in sleeping more than 5-6 hours nightly. This medication was worth any amount of it's cost because my acne dissappeared and my skin cleared after the second month (Dec 09)of treatment. I cannot say enough good things about Claravis, it helped my skin problem more than any other medications I ever taken.Read More Read Less

I am a 29 year old African American and I suffer from a rare skin condition classified as H.S., nodular acne. I am at the end of my 2nd month on Claravis 40mg one a day (2x's on M-W-F). I will say that the side effects i've had thusfar are: joint aches (knees, arms), minor fatigue, ashy/rashy skin on arms legs, and of course the chapped lips (if you use lip gloss on a regular basis like me, you won't have many issues with this). Ibuprofen and Tylenol can be taken for the pain and inflammation under the arms, groin, and other areas that are affected. I use Hawaiin Tropical SPF 50+ Sunscreen when i'm outside which will help the sensitivity to the sunlight. My condition has worsened and has not gotten better just yet, as was told by my Dermatologist. However, I am hopeful and looking at all these reviews, and I see that even though many do not find the drug easy to use, MOST find it VERY EFFECTIVE! I feel the drug will do well in that everything has gone already exactly how the doctor said it would thusfar. Please be aware and assured that NOT EVERYONE EXPERIENCES THE SEVERE MENTAL SIDE EFFECTS. I feel so sorry for the ones that do because that would only add to the discomforts we feel dealing with such worrysome Acne. I will leave feedback again after my 3rd and 4th months. I wish you all well!Read More Read Less

I have seen some amazing results from people who have taken Claravis, who had minimal problems with side-effects, if they even had any. This drug isn't anything to be played around with though, patients should be aware of all the possible side-effects and weigh the benefits with the risks. I have had acne since I was 10 years old, it has progressively gotten worse and after nearly every other treatment possible, Claravis was my last resort. Within the first month and a half, I noticed a pretty good improvement in my acne, but I had to stop treatment early due to side-effects. Not only I, but others noticed a complete change in my personality. I was irritable, unable to focus, constantly jittery and nervous. I couldn't even make simple decisions, and I was afraid to be left alone. I also started suffering from severe panic attacks: at home, in stores, in the classroom, they would even wake me in my sleep. They eventually led me to the emergency room. I have been off Claravis for about seven months now, and with the help of other medication I am about back to normal. Even with the short amount of time I was on Claravis, I still notice a change in my acne. Although I still have a decent amount of acne, I tend not to suffer from the painful nodular acne as much, and the acne on my arms and back has ceased to exist. I also had a problem with hair loss, which is a common side-effect, but that went away about a month after stopping treatment. There is no denying that Claravis works, but just make sure to take the side-effects seriously. Read More Read Less

I'm a 30 year old male who's had minor to moderate acne since I was a teen, and have spent so much money on over the counter things over the years. I finally went to a dermatologist and was on antibiotics, but still didn't completely clear up my face, and chest, which just started in the last year. I was hesitant to go on isotretinoin because of all the side effects I heard and read about. Got worse first 2 weeks like it said, but after 3 weeks it's completely cleared up my chest and almost my face. I can see my pores on my nose getting smaller, and my face is getting smoother. At first there was some minor lower back pain, but it's rare now. I do have chapped lips, but Aquaphor lip balm once an hour or so helps. My face gets dry at but I moisturize twice a day with Eucerin or Cerave lotion. I do sunburn very easily, so should have done it in the fall/winter, but I usually burn pretty easily anyway, picked up SPF100 sunscreen. Overall, I'm still fairly early in the treatment, but it seems like a miracle drug so far. Haven't had any kind of depression or mood swings, actually have been in a better mood than I have been in a long time. I really wish I would have done it earlier, could have saved alot of scarring, pain, money, and overall stress. Read More Read Less

This is by far the best acne treatment available. Nothing else comes close. Dry skin and cracked lips are very minor and temporary problems compared with the battle with acne. Go through the 3 to 4 month program. You won't be sorry.

My son is 13 years old. He play sports and wanting play sports when he goes to college therefore growing 4 more inches are very important. He is 6 foot and 185 pounds. He has very oily skin and big acne on his face, back, and chest. Tried two different antibiotic, proactive, OTC stuff. Not working. Started to take Claravis four days ago 40mg daily. His face is still oily and see little improvement. I am very concerned that his growth will be inhibited by this meds. What do you think?

I'm a seventeen year old girl and I'm on my second month of Claravis. I am taking 30mg twice a day. I've had the basic side-effects. Severely dry skin, chapped lips, sore joints, and a touch of mood swings. However, my father and brother were both on Accutane and tell me that its worth sticking it out. They haven't had any acne for years, so I'm going to take it that it really works. I'm in the "it gets worse before it gets better" stage. So, as a warning to anyone else who wants to take Claravis, your skin WILL get worse within the first couple of months. I have acne worse right now than I ever did. But everyone assures me it'll go away within a month. Read More Read Less

effective

This is my 2nd experience w/ this medication. I did Accutane 10 years ago as a senior in high school, but I was never fully cured. After having 2 babies & trying everything on the market, it came time to give Accutane (Claravis) another shot. I'm now nearing the end of month 2 (month 1=40 mg 1/day, now I'm on 40 mg 2x/day), and I'm starting to notice remarkable change - I'm not fully clear yet, but the pimples that do pop up are not as painful or widespread as before. My skin is less oily, which seemed to just make everything worse to begin with! I've had some minor side effects but they feel completely manageable to me - dry lips (Aquafor or any kind of lip balm), dry eyes (I typically avoid my contacts), mild headaches...that's about it. I had a day or two where a red rash popped up on my hands, but cortisone cleared it up and I haven't seen it sense. My largest complaint is the iPledge program - I completely understand the importance of it, but it's not user friendly at all! Otherwise, so far, the side effects have been mild, and are completely worth the improvement in my skin so far. I can't wait until it's completely clear and I start looking like a 27 year old mother rather than a 12 year old!Read More Read Less

I am a 28 year old Mixed race (african american/white/american Indian)light skinned woman. I have had severe Acne since I was 11 years old. I have scars all over my face. I went to doctor after doctor dermatoligist after dermatologist and no one recomended this to me. I did the research myself. The first month on the pills I didnt not notice anything, I was so sad. I thought it was not going to work then in the second month I could see my skin clearing up DAILY. It was my miracle. 5 months later I did not have one pimple on my back face or chest, all places I had breakouts before. I would recomend this to anyone. I tried every drug you can name, I tire every thing at the stores in the face wash, pill, cream isles. I ordered everything off tv comericals. This pill was my saving grace. My 6 year old daughter came up to me not too long ago and said mommy you dont have those "ow ees" on your face anymore. Its pretty- and she touched my face. I would recomend this to anyone who suffered Like i did. (I had no bad side effects. I did have chapped lips - the whole 5 months but nothing lip balm in every coat pocket could not handle. And towards the end I did notice some joint pain in my knees, but it was so worth it) I would do it again in a second.Read More Read Less

I am also on my 2nd treatment. The benefits do go away after approx 10 years. I have been on 60 mg/day (avg-80 one day & 40 the next)for a week. I have had very dry lips and pressure headaches almost daily. It is worth it in the end because of the psychological effects of nodular acne. I would not recommend this for teens though because they have less emotional stability and/or self awareness on how to deal with mood swings.

My son started Claravis 40mg 1 time daily a little over one month ago. As a nurse I was very reluctant to start this medication beacuse of the possible side effects. He has some dryness of his lips (Carmex has worked well)some low back discomfort (Tylenol,Ibuprofen) He just started complaining of some itchy skin (Sarna lotion) After the first 3 weeks I noticed improvement in the redness of his face and no new whiteheads.Overall we feel it has been worth the minor side effects

Very frustrated. I'm on my 2nd round of Claravis. 1st round I took for 3.5 months & my acne got worse throughout and after 3.5 months I decided to stop due to the side effects. I contacted shingles shortly after discontining it this strong medicine. It weakened my immune sys. terribly and I feel this is why I got Shingles which was 7-8 weeks painful hell. My acne slowed only for a short time and came back full blown. Dr said I must not have taken it long enough. So we tried it all over again after several more months. So far I am in month 4 and this medicine has not cured me yet. I am worried it will never work. My face is already severely scared and my social interaction has almost stopped. I am so ashamed of the scaring on my face. I cannot afford fancy laser treatments to help this condition plus I am not cured yet. I still have severe acne and it is always there. When one leaves a new one developes. I have 10-20 bad spots every day. I hate going to work and having to go to lunch with folks. I am very distant because of it. I will not go out with friends and don't ever ever let anyone see me without make up . I do a lot of hiding on weekends. I am not sure I am not one of those people this does not work on. It is grueling on one's body and personality as well but I pray it will work soon. Even though my scars are permanent I would just give anything if the acne would go away. I don't look like anyone else I know and it is difficult to deal with.Read More Read Less

I am a parent of a son who went through the treatment for difficult to cure acne. We knew of the potential side effects, but decided to try it anyway. His acne is almost completely gone, but he became almost suicidal, and his grades dropped from A's and B's to D's and F's. The cracked lips and dry skin were a minor inconvenience, but the emotional toll of this medicine is much more than we expected. Please do not take this medication lightly. We threw the medication out after about 3 months. This medicine was effective in clearing the acne, but the side effects are horrible for teens. A decrease in grades effects ability to get into a good college. The depression can be severe. Thank GOD we tossed the medication before an actual suicide attempt. Read More Read Less

I have been taking on this medication for 5 weeks now. I am experiencing extremely dry skin, rash on my face. I have never had any marks or scars on my face ever, but i am willing to have them temporarily if it cures my current problem. So far i do not see any improvement but your post give me faith and the ability to keep going.