the only thing I can tell you is that my daughter took accutane for 6 months. she went through hell with it and the acne came right back immediately upon stopping. yasmin and spiro have kept her clear and her skin soft and smooth for over a year. i wish she didn't have to take these meds though as I am worried about long-term side-effects. i think accutane is worth a try cause it may work for you.

Usually accutane is a last resort, after topical stuff, oral antibiotics, and maybe even topicals like Retin-A. And usually it's only for people with severe acne. So, I'm surprised your derm is giving you a choice after one visit, and your acne doesn't sound that bad. Also, I've never heard of scarring while on accutane.

Did you ask about oral antibiotics like tetracyclene, minocyclene, erythormicin? (I'm not doing spell check.) That may be all you need.