Pertaining to your isotretinoin dose, your dermatologist has done absolutely the right thing.
I wouldn’t consider 30 mg low by any means. 10 – 15 mg is what’s normally considered to be in the “low range”. Even if you “shopped” around for a different doctor, I don’t think their dosage advice would differ too much from your dermatologist.
Besides, it’s still relatively early days. 2 months in, and you are responding and improving. If I were you, I’d stick, rather than twist with the dose.
My rationale is that side effects for isotretinoin are dose-related – the higher the dose, the more likely you’ll get worse side effects like super bad chapped lips.
You’ve probably done a lot of research into sites like acne.org I imagine, but just because doctors use different management styles in the USA, doesn’t mean that we are super cautious or unnecessarily conservative in our approach. Those on high doses could potentially be much larger/heavier too – they are Americans after all.
Additionally, there’ll always be a self-selecting bunch who are more likely to share their experience online – these people are clearly not representative of everyone else on isotretinoin, who may have mixed results with high dose therapy.
As a final word, doctors treat all patients as individuals, and customise treatments as such. Online “reviews” and “expert patients” who frequent forums are no substitute for that.
2. No, antibiotic resistance will not cause using Clindamycin to make your acne worse.
Do highlight this at your next consult though, as she may be inclined to switch your therapy or persist – depending on how you responded to Clindamycin previously.
