I was reading about HS a minute ago after I was wondering if patients are ever prescribed Accutane (isotretinoin) for that condition, just as cystic acne patients are, and indeed, one of the sites I found said that Accutane sometimes helps, although it's not as helpful for HS as it is for cystic acne. Has your doctor ever suggested Accutane? You may have already tried that.
http://www.hs-foundation.org/pdf/200...tiva_Jemec.pdf

This stuff came from one of the sites I found:
Some Effective Treatments for Hidradenitis Suppurativa include:
Hidradenitis can be controlled, but cannot be cured properly. Sometimes surgery is required to drain infected areas or to remove scarred tissue or even large areas of skin.
Topical Antibiotics are one of the best treatment option for curing hidradenitis suppurativa fast. It is applied over the affected skin.
Retinoids: These have been shown to be effective in some chronic cases of hidradenitis suppurativa.
Weight loss will also help in controlling hidradenitis suppurativa.
High-dose systemic steroids (eg, prednisolone 60 mg/d) are useful as adjuvant's to antibiotics, and they act by reducing the inflammatory process.
Systemic Antibiotics are necessary when the condition is flaring or when a patient is undergoing a severe case of hidradenitis suppurativa.
Tight-fitting clothing is to be strictly avoided.
Contraceptive Pills and the combination of estrogens with 100 mg of cyproterone acetate have been used.
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Real sorry you have to deal with that condition, UTDSmoker. That sounds like a completely painful, awful drag. So do they think HS is an auto-immune inflammatory disorder like rheumatoid arthiritis and that's why Remicade is sometimes tried?