Hi Fidget Queen!
First of all, sending big hugs your way
I never had severe acne, but I experienced very persistent breakouts and since I'm a picker, I was very prone to scarring even with mild breakouts. After trying just about every topical and antibiotic and resisting Accutane for years, I finally switched to a new dermatologist whom I felt had my best interest in mind and looked at me as a whole person, not just another face to treat. Since I felt safe with her, I was willing to give Accutane a shot. I am SO HAPPY that I did! I was very disciplined about following her directions, scheduling my appointments and getting my bloodwork done every month, and she would adjust the dose based on my side effects and what I felt I could handle - I ended up taking it for a couple extra months because the results were so good that we thought it would be best to taper off instead of stopping all at once (which I think is standard practice anway...???)
As for side effects, I began my course of Accutane in early winter, so that added to the dryness I experienced, but the worst side effect was chapped lips that would crack and bleed a little, dry knuckles, and sometimes the outside of my nostrils would dry up too but that's because I'm constantly blowing my nose in the winter
. However, in the big scheme of things, these weren't bad
at all, and I just kept telling myself that a month or two of discomfort was worth the results (of course, the fact that I was seeing results almost immediately was positive reinforcement).
My joints actually felt better while I was on Accutane, which I didn't realize until I stopped and they started aching again. What I realized was that when I stopped Accutane, I also stopped the vitamin supplementation that my doctor had recommended, and that it was in fact this supplementation that was problably helping my joints - because I don't want to break any rules, feel free to PM me for specifics on what vitamins I took.
Also, as someone else mentioned, a humidifier is hugely helpful, and have some good old vaseline and thick hand cream with you all the time!
One last thing - since your skin is so sensitive and doesn't heal as easily when you're on Accutane, make sure you don't pick at it at all.
Feel free to PM with any questions and I wish you the best of luck - everyone's experience is different and you have to do what's right for you, but I agree with others about reading the internet very cautiously. If you have a good doctor who listens to you, that's the most important thing.