Accutane....OMG....

[shine]

My husband's son lives with us...he is 15....so of course he is getting zits.  We took him to the dermatologist last week, and they prescribed Accutane for four months.  And the saga begins....

With the prescription they got a book about the risks of Accutane.  Not a booklet, not a pamphlet...a full-sized, laminated, spiral bound BOOK.  It tells about the risk of depression, psychosis, and suicidal tendencies.  It tells about the incredibly high risk of birth defects...so high that women must take a pregnancy test before they get a prescription for Accutane and that pregnant women should not even touch the capsules.  In the book is a card with a user # that my stepson had to use to access a website and fill out a questionaire and a pledge not to give Accutane to anyone else.  All this has to be done within 7 days or he has to go back to the doctor for a new prescription.

But, believe it or not, you haven't heard the worst part yet.  After reading all this scary stuff and jumping through all the hoops, my husband went to pick up the prescription.. ..and it was $529!!!  No typo there....that's FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE DOLLARS.  For just a 30 day supply.  The dermatologist wanted him on it for four months....so that's about $2,200.  And, he would have to see his GP and have blood tests done every month while he was on it...so add another several hundred dollars for that. 

I went a bit ballistic about this, lol.  $3,000 for PIMPLES??  Give me a break.  My stepson does not have bad cystic acne.  He gets zits like all teenagers do.  I lived through it.  My husband lived through it.  My friends lived through it.  I'm sure he will, too.  The idea of spending $530 a month on a medicine that is not necessary to keep you alive is just ridiculous to me! 

[People Whisperer]

That is totally CRAZY!!!
My hubby is 30 and he gets zits every now and then. It is not the end of the world! There are plenty of other natural things you can do to help the skin.
I am shocked   

[mountaindogmom]

I took Accutane when I was about 19 for 4 months and it worked WONDERS.  I didn't have any zits for about 3 years after that and it was also great because I used to have oily hair and it made it normal (again that lasted for about 3 years).  When I started to get a few pimples after that time, I also used Proactive and it has worked ever since then to keep my acne in check.

Lucky for me, my insurance paid for the Accutane except for a $30 copay each month and all my labwork (including monthly blood & urine cholesterol/pregnancy tests)was covered by insurance as well.  It's a miraculous drug but it definitely is costly and has risks that must be taken VERY seriously.  I had to sign something saying I would be on the birth control pill AND use another form of contraception while taking it to ensure that no pregnancy would occur due to the severity of the birth defects that the drug causes.  And I couldn't donate blood for, I think, one year after stopping the drug.  It's serious stuff.

[aggghgmom]

My son 15 also has some acne issues he is on proactive and it isn't working great for him honestly I can't be sure he is using it correctly.

Does he drink alot of milk?  Milk can raise the hormones and bring on more pimples? 

I was just saying yesterday that I need to make an appointment at a dermatologist for my son I hope they don't plan on giving him accutane because I don't think I would let him take it

[Anakalia]

Wow!  Usually Accutane is a last resort type drug!  It can cause liver damage and other not so great things, and I can't believe how 'spensive it is!  I would definitely have him try Proactiv, it worked for me for awhile.  You can find it on ebay at a good price then you don't have to go to the Proactiv website and get sucked into monthly deliveries. 

[Nina]

I used to have bad skin then I was on tricyclin (birth control) and no more zits. Not that your son can take the pill, however I went off the pill and started on proactive and it really works.

Nina

[+four+leaf+clover+]

Never underestimate the bad psychological effects of acne:kids have suicided over it.  Having said that, it's lucky he is a boy because accutane is obviously less a risk for boys and they start them off on low doses which is often all that is needed. 

However, it is extremely likely that if you take him off dairy (and I mean all dairy:milk, cheese, cream, butter, chocolate containing dairy, yoghurt etc) then his skin will clear.  Google it.  You will find that dairy is full of cow androgens which is the hormone responsible for bad skin.  Almost all dairy cows are pregnant and the hormones in their milk get passed on to us. Everyone has a threshold of this hormone (which  males and female bodies both produce ) that they can tolerate.  If you go over that level by adding to it with more androgens from dairy, then acne results. Also, iodine can cause bad skin - so check if your salt is iodized or not.

Why do they neglect to tell people this?  I don't know.

[London_Pyr_Lover]

I have personally never heard of this drug, but the sound of it scares the bejeebus outta me!  Side effects are Depression, and suicide?!  Holy Cr@p!  Personally I think that it's irresponsible for this docter to even prescribe it to anybody let alone a 15 year old child.  Never mind the cost, he should have discussed in FULL all of the side effects, benefits, Lab test results, names and phone numbers of the scientists who developed it (okay maybe I'm going a little far with that one.  lol).

That in itself is enough to scare me away from it.  Besides, he's a teenager, it's a part of life to get zits, we all had to do it!

[kathryn]

I was placed on Accutane when I was a teen.  I never got a book about all the side effects nor did I have to fill out anything.  I did have to go get blood drawn every week for the first couple of weeks and then every month for the duration because of the potential for liver problems.  I also remember being told that pregnant girls couldn't handle the pills.  It helped some but I still drank milk and had acne but not nearly as bad as before. 

I also use the Proactiv now.  I found that it doesn't work quite so well for me because if I use it in the morning and evening like they recommend it dries my skin out really bad. So I only use it once a day.  But I still like it and will continue to use it.

[+four+leaf+clover+]

If my son needed to use accutane I wouldn't be overly concerned about the warnings ... they start off on the lowest dose, and all the warnings are to cover themselves. 

Apart from dairy being a common cause of acne, high sugar consumption is, too.  Sugar causes the release of more insulin into your blood and this hormone stimulates the oil secreting glands of the skin plus it also causes keratinization   of skin cells  which clog the pores.  If going off dairy and abstaining from sugar did not help I would certainly go for the accutane: it is very effective.

[KKsmiles]

I am another supporter of Proactive, reasonably priced and works. I was VERY skeptical in the begining but after two weeks I was impressed. After having my kids I started getting acne worse than when I was a teenager. I tried lots of different cleanser, went to a derm and got expensive topical cream, nothing. I figured this is not fair ... at 30 something with acne! Come On! I was ready to go to the Derm and request something stronger when I decided to try Proactive first. Thank Goodness I did ($500..OMG I could never afford that). I would also suggest getting their spot mask. Good Luck!

[shangrila]

I never realized accutane was so absurd! I have to say, I think it's really irresponsible of the dermatologist not to tell you about all the side effects/costs and disscuss other options - my doctor never prescribes me anything without telling me the main side effects and making sure I am comfortable with them (and offering an alternative if I'm not). I personally would get a new dermatologist. There are so many different options for acne medicine that it's absurd he didn't fully disclose info and options for prescribing a last-resort medicine.

I also reccomend proactive. I have mild-moderate acne and used it for awhile and it didn't work perfectly but it worked enough for me to be satisfied. I just switched to a new medicine but I'm not sure what I think of it yet because I need to give it time (fyi - it's a basic benzoyl peroxide prescription with dryness as the only side effect). Another thing to try is the more natural approach. I used lush products (an all natural body product company) and they kept my skin almost as clear as proactive did