Hi guys. Great informative posts here.

I plan on telling my Derm I want to start accutane on my next visit. After
years of dismissing it as too "extreme" I've decided it's time. In my mind
it's pretty much a concrete thing that I'm going this. However, I do have a
couple of questions.

1) I don't have health insurance. Exactly how expensive is this stuff (on
average) for the full 5 month course?

2) I'm very concerned about accutane causing hairloss. I've read a few
posts from guys who would swear on a stack of bibles that accutane was the
"trigger" that started their hair loss. (They say that the loss started
immediately after the treatment was over, not during, which is a bit counter
to what one might think.) Is there any legitimate science behind such
claims? If such a thing were possible, what exactly (chemically speaking)
would be the cause of this reaction? And if it's a legitimate concern, is
there any supplement, vitamin, shampoo or whatever I could use during my
accutane cycle to reduce the risk of such a side effect?

The above are my two main worries. I also have another more general
question.

3) Aside from just the pimples themselves, the overall quality of my
complexion (in my opinion) is pretty bad. Blotchy, greasy, large pores that
always seem clogged with dirt, etc. Assuming that my cycle with accutane
works the way it is supposed to, can I expect it to improve the overall
quality of my skin? (in addition to the basics of just removing my
pimples.) I think I read in another post someone claiming that accutane
permanently sort of ratcheted down a person's sebum glands, or something
like that. Is this true, and would that result in a permanently improved
complexion like I described?

(Also as a closing point to that, and to bring this thing back to the
beginning......if accutane DID severely and permanently knock down a
person's sebum production, could that have adverse effects on the hair?
[aka hairloss?])

Thanks, guys. I hope to hear from you.

On Sat, 5 Jun 2004 01:15:14 -0400, "g3t3m3" <g3t3m3@cox.net> wrote:

The last prescription I picked up was for 60 capsules, each 40 mg.
(Which lasts a month at 80 mg per day.)

The *retail* price for this was approximately $726, if memory serves.
(I *know* it was a little over $720....and this is for one month of
pills.)


I can't speak to this. I've been on it since April 19, first at 60 mg
a day, and now at 80 mg a day. (You'll meet with your derm every
month and he may decide to up your dosage. I'm hoping mine increases
my dosage when I go in this week.)

Yes, Accutane does act on the sebaceous glands. As I understand it,
it physically shrinks the glands.

I've been on the stuff since Apr. 19 and I still get WAY too many
comedones. Plus, as I've mentioned in here, in the past 10 days I've
had the worst flare-up on my face in months---including standard
pimples AND cysts. More cysts on my face in the past 10 days (about
5) than I had gotten in the past 3 MONTHS.

Really, the only thing Accutane has done for me at this point is
prevent my skin from getting an oily sheen. Ever. I noticed this
only 3 days into taking it. In the first week or two, I had some
peeling on my ears and a little bit of peeling on my face....but none
at all since then.

As for my complexion....I have auburn hair and fair skin with no
freckles. I'm kind of pink right now around my cheekbones....but I
don't know if I can attribute this to the acne or the summer. All I
can say definitively is that it has made no 'notable' difference in my
complexion or pore size.

My lips are EXTREMELY dry...but that is manageable. I use Blistex
LipMedex and Vaseline. (And really, anyone who would whine about the
dry lips must not be that serious about ending their acne.)

I really don't know.

I'm a male almost 22 yrs old. Here's my attitude: What's more
embarrassing, going through your twenties and maybe 30s and 40s with a
perpetual cycle of red and pink blemishes on your face *or* a thinning
head of hair? For me, it's no contest. Acne is humiliating and saps
my confidence.

Thanks for the response, Ron. Man, I can't believe that price. There's no
way I can afford that. Hopefully there are some ways of getting around the
full price. I'll ask my Derm.

In regards to your personal experiences, thanks for sharing. I was
wondering if anyone could comment who is either, further along in their
accutane cycle, or maybe even someone who finished their accutane treatment
years ago. I'm curious to see what the long term effects are, both good
("permanent" improved complexion) and bad (any potential hairloss problems,
or even non-improvement of complexion).


"Ron Haskins" <ronhaskins@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:hog6c0pdt3fpgfd5gja5i3alrdmgi3m751@4ax.com...

Yes, it's horriffically expensive.
I don't have that kind of money lying around to pay for each month's
prescription of Accutane.
What I do have is a credit card. And no more acne.
I'll deal with paying it all off later, but priority one was getting
rid of the acne before it scarred me for life. Plus it looked like
Hell.
As you might guess, I don't regret the decision.
As for the hair loss, how would you ever know if you wouldn't have
lost it anyway without taking 'tane?
Good health to you.

I suffered from severe acne as a teenager and after trying many medications,
my doctor finally recommended Accutane.

This is a POWEFUL tool in the treatment of aggressive acne. It works to
reduce the amount of oil that your body produces. After five months, your
body adjusts to the medication and no longer produces excessive oil. As a
result, your skin clears up.

Several years later, my acne began to come back. As such, I did a second
treatment of Accutane.

I can tell you that I did not suffer ANY hair loss. However, there were two
severe side effects from this powerful drug:

1. Nose Bleeds: Because your body produces far less oil when you're on the
drug, the membranes inside of your nose dry up. This can cause for
unexpected nose bleeds. They usually occur when your blood is racing (I was
taking a final exam in college and suffered a strong nose bleed .... if
you're on this drug, carry a small packet of tissues with you wherever you
go.

2. Dry Skin / Lips: Your skin will dry out like you won't believe. Even
though I had VERY oily skin before using Accutane, once I was on the drug my
skin became so dry that it would crack. As such, you need to put on lotion
EVERY DAY. In addition, I used blistex daily in order to address severly
chapped lips.

I wouldn't worry about hair loss. My guess is that guys may be using
Accutane as an excuse for hereditary baldness. But DO pay attention to the
side effects which I mentioned above.

Good Luck !!
"g3t3m3" <g3t3m3@cox.net> wrote in message
news:AFcwc.12349$W01.3591@okepread01...

I was on accutane for about 4 months back in 93. I regret it more
than anything I've ever done. I understand a lot of people have had
relief from it, but I terrible side effects and have scarring from the
acne I had during accutane that was worse than anything I ever had. I
went on the med. at age 20, after years of antibiotics, hormonal
treatment, tried homeopathy and retin A.

My side effects included a dark debilitating depression, hip problems
(oh and the dryness too): both of which went away after I got off the
drug, but the acne scars are still with me. I had never had cystine
acne until I went on Accutane. I wish I had gotten off earlier and
yes, had been care from my dermatologist.

And my acne went away for a year or two but came back! (although not
cystine) I finally found a natural herb (Dong Quai- a chinese women's
tonic) which helped as well as making changes in my diet.

Good luck. Acne is such a hard, painful thing.

Carolyn



"Bill C" <bill90278@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<10euqafqib49p90@corp.supernews.com>...

I just started week 3 of 60 mh of Accutane a day and got a month's
supply (90 20 mg capsules of a generic Accutane). It cost around $500
to my insurance. I, thank God, only had to pay the $10 co-pay. But I
suspect I'd have to pay about $400-500 a month from what I have read
if I was uninsured.

My hair has thinned over the years anyway and I have been on propecia
for years and it seems to help. My YOUNGER cousins are almost bald and
I still have most of my hair. SO, if Accutane takes some away.. I can
live with it and know it was leaving before I started anyway. LOL

I don't expect to loose much hair if any BECAUSE of the Accutane and
my acne causes me so much distress it's worth it!

So far, all I have is some dryness to my lips (fixed with blistix,
etc.) and some dryness to my face I can take care of with Citaphil
moisterizer. It's odd, some days I seem much dryer than others.