accutane and darker skin

[girl r]

Hi ,thank u for this wonderful forum . well i have of acne since i was 11 now i'm 23 and can't stand to see a single pimple . any way i took accutane a year ago for 5 mounths it was great a year later i started to breakout again with big red inflammed spots and a lot of blackheads and about all my pores are blocked with white stuff .. any way so i'm taking accutane for the second time @ 40 mg a day as i'm 45kg .it's been 8 days know and the only thing that i and every body who sees me hve noticed is that my skin tone has become darker by adout 2 shades, so i read the side effects and it said that the medication can couse hyperpigmentation . so what should i do to reduce this side effect ,should i reduce the dosage or stop taking accutane and will my normal colour come back . note that my real skin tone is olive becouse i'm from the middle east. sorry for taking up your time and writting a long post thanks a lot .

[girl r]

Thank you for your kind reply .. the thing is i can't see my doc. at the present time, i have to wait 4 more weeks because he's on vacation any way ..i just want your opinion, do u think i should stop taking the medication now?  
thanks a lot ..

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

If Accutane makes the skin darker, that's something I've never seen, and the drug has been around for 20 years.  I think you should ask the doctor who prescibed the Accutane what he or she thinks the pigmenation is from.

Also, Accutane is not so terrific for people who "can't stand a single pimple," because after the drug is done, at least a few pimples almost always come back, and you can't keep taking Accutane over and over.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff