You should take isotretinoin at the same time every day with a meal that preferably contains some fat. Isotretinoin is better absorbed with fatty food and so is more effective. Healthy foods that contain fats include whole eggs, avocado, olive oil and nuts.

Firstly, don’t worry. Isotretinoin stays in the bloodstream for over a week so it will not affect your treatment. However, do not try to make up for missing a dose by ‘double-dosing’ the next day. If you miss a day, you will end up tacking that days’ worth of medication at the end of the course.

Although not ideal, short gaps of approximately a week will not affect your treatment. We advise planning ahead as much as possible to avoid this and booking a follow up at least week before you are due to run out. ‘Emergency prescriptions’ unfortunately cannot be provided.

Lucky you! Although uncommon, some people experience little to no side effects at all. Ultimately, as long as the acne is improving that is the most important thing. If the acne is not improving then it may be that isotretinoin is not being absorbed properly so make sure you take the medication with a meal that contains fat as it improves uptake in your gut. The other reason may the dose is too low.

Although most people see an improvement within the first eight weeks it can take a while with some people not seeing much benefit for up to 12-16 weeks. This is uncommon though.

This will be discussed with you when you meet with your doctor however there are some skin conditions that may affect your treatment course. A good example of this is eczema. Eczema makes you prone to dry skin and since the main side effect of isotretinoin is dryness, it may flare your eczema. As a result, many people prefer to stick to a low dose (10-20mg per day) which although still effective, will prolong your treatment.

We don’t want to be party-poopers but ideally, no. This is because isotretinoin and alcohol are both eliminated by your liver and as great as livers are they don’t like dealing with both at the same time. If you must, you should ideally keep alcohol to an absolute minimum (less than the recommended 14 units per week) but preferably stop drinking while on treatment.

Isotretinoin capsules contain gelatin and beeswax so this may not align with your ethical and dietary beliefs. We can provide guidance on how to safely take the medicine without the capsule.

Isotretinoin is generally not recommended in people with established soya and/or peanut allergies. This is because isotretinoin capsules contain soya (which shares some cross-reactivities with peanuts). That being said, the amount of soya allergen in the soya oil is negligble and the amount of soya oil in isotretinoin capsules is tiny. Furtermore, the European Food Safety Authority does not require soya oil to be be declared as it is not considered an allergy risk.

Successful treatment has been acheived to people with soya and peanuts allergies, however it is generally best to avoid this medication if you are known to have an anaphylactic reaction to either. You may want to consult with an Allergist beforehand to check you are safe to use isotretinoin.

Yes. Although always look at the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of Vitamin A and ensure it is not over 100% (>5000 units) per tablet. Isotretinoin is a synthetic derivative of Vitamin A and can cause supplementary Vitamin A to build up to toxic levels (known as hypervitaminosis A) which can make you unwell.

Whilst taking isotretinoin, and for six months afterwards, your skin will be more delicate than usual. The jury is out on this but hair removal using waxing, epilation, dermabrasion, or laser treatment, as well as tattoos and piercings, should be avoided for those six months - although many practitioners will undertake procedures after only two months. It is best to check with your provider and why they are happy to reduce the wait. The evidence is lacking here but there are reports of scarring and poor outcomes when performed before six months.

The association between isotretinoin and atypical wound healing remains controversial. It is common practice to delay elective or non-life-threatening procedures for six months as isotretinoin may impair wound healing or induce hypertrophic (thick/raised) scarring. However, more recent research would suggest otherwise. It is therefore important to discuss the pros and cons with your surgeon and if it is reasonable to wait until your course has completed and your skin has returned to normal.

Shaving is normally tolerated, but since your skin is more delicate using a non-pore-blocking moisturiser afterwards is advisable.

Yes. This is to ensure the triglyceride levels are accurate. Fasting means you should not eat or drink other than water, black tea or coffee (no sugar) for 8 hours beforehand.

No. You must not donate any blood products while you are on isotretinoin treatment and for one month after you have stopped it.