hi! long time reader, but your question hit really close to home so I finally decided to come out of my shell! I'm finishing a 6 month low dose accutane course in 5 days and I couldn't be happier. If you do a literature search you'll find that low dose accutane for longer durations does work almost as well as regular dosages. You do have a higher chance of relapsing though and requiring a second course, although, if I remember correctly, that chance is not overwhelmingly higher than the full dose. I took 20 mg/day for about 3 months and then 30 mg/day for the remaining 3 months and I weight around 125 lb. I had more severe acne (nodulocystic, scarring), refractory to all the topicals (OTC and prescription) and antibiotics thrown at me. The only side effects I suffered were dry lips, dry eyes, and occasional nose bleeds. Of course, this doesn't rule out the chance that others may have some of the more serious side effects of accutane, even on a low dose.

hope this helps!

Do you mind me asking how old both of you are? I am about to start accutane and I'm a 31 year old female. I have mild but persistent cystic acne. I want to be off the medication by the end of June (for my fall wedding) and I'm really worried about the potential hair loss/thinning.

i was on accutane for awhile and i noticed a lot of hair thining...i have pretty thick hair so it wasn't to much of a big deal but i lost a lot of hair while i was on it, and for about four months after....hang in there though. i have finally noticed that my hair has got back to normal.

Hi, I wish i knew more about it... I have only been on accutane for 8 days now. I am on the 40mg/day dosage.
It would make sense to reduce dosage, as you seem to be getting the worst side effects and for such a long term.
Talk to your doc. Wish I could offer more help.