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3.8 Overall Rating

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Most voted positive review

28 People found this comment helpful

During the first month I took 1 40mg pill daily. Week 1, no change. Week 2, sensative scalp and reddening of the face/ arms. Week 3 sensative to sunlight and dry lips. Week 4, dry lips and skin felt very tight. I have now started my second month and now take a 40mg pill twice daily. Week 5, My face is alomst completely clear, something I have never experienced. However, tender scal...

Most voted negative review

14 People found this comment helpful

Our niece just died from taking this medication and birth control pills. Don't take it!

Shared reviews and ratings

ZitsbeGONE | 35-44 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
8/22/2022
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I'm a cis male 43 years old and have suffered with face and truncal acne and PIH my entire life from early teens through now. I was put on accutane twice before, once as a teen and once as a young adult. Acne never fully went away but was manageable for the most part. After two years of nodular acne developing on my chest that for no apparent reason continued to get progressively worse, I visited a Derm and they put me on topical Benzoyl Peroxide and Clindamycin gel. Neither of which helped at all and only further irritated my skin. I refused oral antibiotics because they have never helped with my acne. On follow up, the Derm put me on Claravis 40 mg once a day (treatment is supposed to be for six months). This would be my third time on accutane. Initially only dealt with dry lips and eyes, and some flaking skin and dryness on my face. it made my eczema flare up severly on my body but moisturizer and cortazone cream have helped. Three weeks into Claravis and I can finally see the beginnings stages of the acne healing up and receding on my chest. This is the first time anything has helped in years so I'm cautiously optimistic. I am, however, experiencing the purge and have had no less than 9 angry pustules and painful zits at any given time coming up from this treatment, along with smaller zits popping up elsewhere where acne was never really a problem. They're painful but healing up rather fast and all at the same time which is encouraging. Hopefully this treatment is the final nail in the coffin for acne. It kills the self esteem!Read More Read Less

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David | 55-64 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
12/14/2021
Condition: Other
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I was prescribed this drug at the age of 57 after being prescribed several antibiotics. I went to this dermatologist in Omaha I believe about 3 times before he prescribed Clavaris 40 mg for a 30-day prescription. The doctor stated this drug would dry me up. The doctor left the room and a nurse came in and provided me some information and had me sign a waiver form after reading about side effects. The doctor did not mention to me about any risks associated with this prescription other than capped lips. I took the medicine for 17 days and on the 17th day I quit since my ears were ringing so badly. I called the dermatologist right away and told him what was happening. He provided me the name a hearing doctor in Omaha, NE to go see. The hearing doctor could not do anything for me to reverse the damage done by this prescription and apologized. They did suggest potential counseling to deal with the ringing. It is now over 2 years later and my ears still ring constantly without any break. I really regret every being prescribed this drug. I mean really you only take a drug a short time period of 17 days and you have lasting side effects from this drug. I feel this drug is only for those young in age where the body can adjust to the drug. If you are older I would not recommend ever taking this drug unless the dermatologist is going compensate you if things don't go well with side effects. Imagine a doctor giving you a drug that had lasting side effects that can cause you to lose your ability to sit in silence or at times have a hard time going to sleep. I asked several pharmacists how many prescriptions they see that this drug is prescribed too older patients and they usually say they don't recall it. Please don't take this drug! Read More Read Less

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kenodave | 65-74 | Male | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
3/15/2019
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Rosacea
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I am a 66 year old male who has had skin problems since I was about 14 years old. My skins turns bad in cycles, a few years good and a few years bad. This cycle was the worst since my teen years. i had trien Accutane 20 years ago and it worked for about 5-6 years. I was on Claravis for two months only and my skin has cleared up so I discontinued treatment in the hopes this is the final round of outbreaks.

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kenodave | 65-74 | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
1/12/2019
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Rosacea
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I have had skin problems for over 50 years. I tried accutane back in 1999 and it worked, for about 6 years. I tried claravis and it cleared me up in less than two months. I stopped using claravis after 2 months as I told my derm, I am aware of possible side effects and claravis has accomplished what was intended, so why go on? He said ok, so after 2 months my skin is clear and no more claravis.

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Anonymous | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
3/3/2017
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction
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Anonymous | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Caregiver
11/28/2016
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

This has been my first week on this drug. I have got to say I had to go through a lot to just get the prescription. It is not hard to manage taking the meds. I am hopeful this is going to work. So far just dry skin. I am noticing a change in the texture and consistency of my outer layer of facial skin.

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Anonymous | 45-54 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
7/17/2016
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction
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Stinger1024 | 65-74 | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
7/11/2016
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I am a 71 year old white male. I have taken this medication for only 25 days so far. My acne is starting to recede. Initially it made it worse (Dr. told me it would}. Dry lips started two days ago and my eyes are feeling dry today as well. It has upset my stomach a few times. I hope to only be on it for 3 months. I could not find any information on persons in my age bracket so this is why I am posting.

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808 pimple | 35-44 | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
4/20/2016
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I have been on claravis for 6 months and my acne have cleared. I had cystic acne and it has cleared. The only thing is that my lips got very dry, eyes were dry and inside of nose was so dry that it would bleed. When I used car ex for my lips throughout the day my lips were fine. Artificial tears for eyes and drinking lots of water helped. Also Vaseline inside my nostrils kept my nose from drying out and bleeding. It also caused eczema on my arms but Vaseline would keep it under control. I also had joint and muscle pain so I stopped exercising until I am done with medication. Even though it was rough taking this medication it was worth it. I don't miss those big ugly pimples! Thank GOD I'm almost done!Read More Read Less

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L | 19-24 | Male | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
11/25/2015
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I'm a 22 year-old male and I've been taking 1 40mg tablet twice daily for about a month now. The amount of acne has so far decreased a fair amount, as well, I've only seen only a handful of new pimples form - these pimples now form, harden and disappear in a matter of days when it used to take 1 week +, they are also not as large as before I began treatment. As far as side effects, my lips have been very chapped and the skin around my mouth has been dry, other than that there's no adverse side effects. The pill is easy to take. So far I am satisfied with the results. I still have several pimples on my face but I'm encouraged that in a few months they will all be gone. I'll give an update further along in the treatment.Read More Read Less

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RyanTF | 25-34 | Male | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
9/30/2015
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

In short, I am not getting any new acne which is fantastic, but there is a lot of scarring on my back from dealing with deep cystic and nodular acne for so long. It was my fault for not going this route sooner. So I'm glad I took Claravis, but it was no picnic. My biggest symptoms were burning dry/red eyes, super chapped lips, and hair loss. I've never been on any sort of hard prescription drug so this was all new to me. Basically those 3 symptoms got so bad around the end of month 5 that I took myself off of it. I know I know.... I'm a quitter, but I was getting scared I wouldn't get my hair back. It had thinned quite a bit. And I was concerned about my eyes being permanently damaged. I probably needed another couple months to clear up some of the larger nodules on my back that have been there for years, but oh well. Like I said, I haven't had any new pimples so I'm happy about that. It's been 8 months since I got off of it. My hair has finally fully returned! It took almost a full 8 months though. My lips are still fairly dry. I use AQUAPHOR LIP REPAIR on the bad days. That's good stuff. My eyes are still dry as well. I wear contacts but have to wear glasses a lot more often now. In my experience, eye drops have not helped at all. After putting several $20 or $30 bottles of oily drops in there, I can say firmly that nothing worked. The only thing that seems to help my eyes is drinking more water. I probably should have just lowered my dosage and kept going, but oh well I didn't know what I was doing and my doctor was really not very helpful. Read More Read Less

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breedeech | 19-24 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
7/1/2015
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
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Satisfaction

I am finally acne free. I will still get the occasional small pimple but nothing like I used to get. I also struggled with cystic acne. Now if I get a pimple it is gone by the next day. I did not get fully clearly until a month after I finished Claravis. I was on Claravis for 5 months.

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29458340534 | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
5/13/2015
Condition: Hair Follicle Inflammation due to Gram-Negative Bacteria
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I was on Claravis for 6 months 5 years ago. It was my miracle drug after 13 years of other acne medications that did not work. My face remained 85-90% clear after discontinuing the drug, but the acne on my scalp, neck, chest, back, and arms returned. It took me 5 years and 5 dermatologists to find one that would agree to do a 2nd round of Claravis with me. I am now 1 month into my second round. This time it's working much faster. I had to wait about 3 months before I starting seeing results the first time. This time I saw results within weeks. This also means the side effects have been more immediate (dry lips and inside of nose), however my side effects were manageable both times. Mainly it's just extremely dry lips that sting and turn red, and some minor irritation/nose bleed in my nose. Otherwise I don't have any other bad side effects. I use sunscreen daily. I am looking forward to completely this second round and I hope it cures my condition for good. I've been on acne prescriptions for 20 years, so I've had it!Read More Read Less

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TXforever14 | 19-24 | Female | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
4/6/2015
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I am a 23 yr old female and today I start my second round of Claravis. I had amazing success the first round, but unfortunatly may acne came back about 8 months after being off the medications. Of course I had cracked/dry lips and dry skin, but I already had dry skin to start. but the worst and most frightening thing is I had crying spills and panic attacks for NO REASON. I have always been super outgoing/confident (minus the acne part) and talkative. But this medication makes me super moody, fatigued and tired. So my advice for the females, is to let people know that is a side effect if they start asking you why are you crying. Also, stay in close contact with someone is always a wise idea, especially if you live alone. My cholesterol and triglyceride levels skyrocketed at the end of my round but went down afterwards. Irregardless of my diet (I am a nutritionist). My advice- drink LOTS of water, buy nasal moisturizer, always have a good chapstick, cerevae thick cream for face, get plenty of sleep. Read More Read Less

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O.R. | 13-18 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
3/31/2015
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Hello, I'm an 18 your old male and I just started taking Claravis about two weeks ago. I've been put on a treatment for 5-6 months. As of now, I can see some minor results, but that's just because I started to weeks ago. My dermatologist said that usually after a month or two is when you truly start to see the results. I've never experienced anything like this before so I'm in high hopes that this works. With this, I have gotten the side-effects of chapped lips and dry skin, but not any sort of depression or mood swings which is good because I'm a really outgoing person. I take 40mg tablets, one a day. I recommend that if you are taking Claravis to stay out of the sun as much as possible, because it does make your face more red and tends to swell up a bit. Overall, I have high hopes for this as I have read that other people are really satisfied with this and it has cleared up their faces completely.Read More Read Less

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MsPinky | 65-74 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
9/25/2014
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Been on it for over a month. Skin is clearing up and becoming tigher and smoother. Blood work OK. Only side effects I have had is dry lips which just feel like they were sunburned. Face skil flaking a bit. But still use my Clairsonic Mia facial brush. Have had tingling and numbness on the left side of my mouth and my left arm. Severe ringing in my ears but I already had that, it has just increased the decible. Can't sleep, but other than that it is doing a great job clearing up the hard little knots under the skin on my face. Oh back pain but had that anyway. I am over 60....so go figure Read More Read Less

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Danielle H | 13-18 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
7/15/2014
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Overall, taking Accutane (Claravis) was a journey. I will start by saying I am not a dramatic person, and I will try to be as objective as possible while being descriptive. Side effects: -Lip dryness (and extension of sores horizontally) -Fatigue (I am not a napper, and could take three hour naps during finals and sleep fine that night) -Dry eyes (I had an eye infection caused by dryness) -I had a lip infection with honey crust under my lower lip along with exema spots on my face -Moodiness: my parents considered making me stop the drug for stress and lashing out -ingrown fingernails (treatable if caught early) -Sore heels, knees, and back (in that order) along with other joints -Dizziness upon standing -Loss of interest, I do not think I was depressed so much as had less energy to care -Sunburn (yes, even with spf 55, but I'm half Irish anyway and am prone to burning) Effectiveness: (five months on drug, starting at 20 mg a day and ending with 30 mg) -No chest acne -No back acne -No face acne -Prevented the beginning of scarring -After three months, my acne was all gone: the side effects worse than the acne, but going on it for longer in large doses is most effective -No painful acne cysts -Increased confidence -One less stressor in my life -Little likelihood for it to come back (I was going to take it for 5 months, and my derm counted 6, and on my last visit told my I completed 5-which I thought-but was clear anyway and the summer- so I came off it -Not being on a cocktail of useless drugs Read More Read Less

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MiataPrincess | 55-64 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
11/8/2013
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Rosacea
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

For a 60YO - This medications did wonders for me. I had been on long term anti-biotics for 3 years. The only side effect I had was sever drying of my lips. Vaseline became my 24/7 companion.

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patience is a virtue. | 25-34 | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
8/7/2013
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
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I am a 26 year old female that has experienced deep, painful cystic acne since age 13. I had no problem dealing with the inconvience or unattractiveness of my acne until this last year when my skin became so sensitive to the touch that putting sunscreen on my back was excruciatingly painful. I had up till this point tried every topical ointment, cleanser and oral antibiotic. I tried every diet alteration in which I eliminated dairy and wheat. But I reached a point when I realized it’s all genetics and out of my control and I think that’s what’s important to remember, acne can’t be controlled, there is no rhythm or reason, it just is. After outweighing the side effects I started taking Claravis as a last resort. I started on 30mg, twice daily and immediately started feeling a difference in my skin smoothness within two days but I also immediately felt the moisture being extracted from my skin. I drank four liters of water on my second day of treatment. My skin on my back and face began shedding large amounts of skin within the third and fourth day, and my lips despite constant application of Vaseline peeled and split. Eating and smiling became extremely painful. I am a rock climber and yogi, and immediately experienced joint pain in my fingers and had to back off training and practice. At this point on day eight my doctor dropped my dose down to 30mg once daily because the side effects were becoming worse than the acne itself. DO NOT drink alcohol on this medication, alcohol is a diuretic which makes you more dehydrated, it also messes with glucose levels, and puts more strain on your liver. I began hallucinating after half a bottle of beer. Not recommended. I also recommend not picking or popping anything, zits and cysts are still going to happen, so don’t add insult to injury, aka more acne to already growing side effects. I am on day nine and trying to be patient as I am still painfully breaking out, dealing with split swollen lipRead More Read Less

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Anonymous | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
7/28/2013
Condition: Severe Difficult to Treat Nodular Acne
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I was not really nervous to start Claravis but more eager than ever to try it! I have had acne since high school and although it wasn't the worst acne, I still suffered from self esteem issues because of it. I tried just about everything like everyone else. I had enough when I was papering for my wedding and I couldn't handle acne and what could possibly show up on my wedding day, so I went on Claravis. I got the same side effects like everyone else (dry lips & skin) but that was about it! I always made sure I ate breakfast and then took the pill so I didn't get sick and kept SPF on while in the sun. No issues! It did take a little longer for me to see results- about month 4 my skin was perfect!! I hit a stage Iike they say (month 3) when it gets worse before it gets better..I was very frustrated but I knew it would work, just to be patient. I used to have to blot my face with an oil sheet an hour after putting makeup on, now I can go an entire day without my makeup being messed up or oily. I can go more than a day without washing my hair and it still looks good! I'm extremely thankful for this product and recommend it to anyone that is as frustrated as I was. It's a pain to get your blood drawn and a urine test every month but so unbelievably worth it. I had no mood swings, no aches and pains, no weight gain and had great results!! Read More Read Less

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