14 hours ago, tpazzzz said:

Hello everyone,
I'm writing today looking for some help before I embark on my 5-month roaccutane course.
So I visited my GP a few months ago, speaking about my moderate comidonal acne which had not responded to treatment. He referred me to an NHS dermatologist, who visits my doctors surgery monthly. I had a very very brief consultation with him; he told me I was going on the drug, told me to get a blood test and go on the contraceptive pill and come back to visit him the next month. I did both of these things, and went to his clinic yesterday - upon meeting, he asked me if I'd done both of those things (presumably meaning he hadn't looked at my blood test or anything) and wrote me a prescription for 20mg. No mention at all of follow up meetings (except one at 4 months) blood tests, no pregnancy test was done and when my mum asked him about what the next step was he replied rudely that it was 'not a consultation'. I've spoken to loads of my friends who have been on it, and they've all told me about how they were monitored monthly during the course of the drug, and given a lot of advice upon going on it.
I'm just wondering wether it is safe for me to start the drug, or if instead I should attempt to do the process again privately. Is this just NHS protocol?
Thanks in advance.

Hi, I went privately to see a derm in the uk (didnt even speak to my NHS doc)...consultation is not cheap (around 180) and I was put on 20mg a day. I'm male and around 15 stone so this is classed as a low dose for me. Blood tests are also expensive if done privately but my derm gave me a blood test form to take to my NHS doc, so I was able to do them for free on the NHS. As I was on a low dose, the derm didnt need to see me every month and after the first couple of consultations I only went to see her every 3 or 4 months. I stayed on 20mg for nearly 15 months in total and my derm even said at the last visit (to save me money), just drop off blood test results every 3 or 4 months and she no longer needed to see me. The important thing to remember is that, we all know our own bodies and if you feel like you are struggling during those first 4-6weeks on treatment, then make sure to ring your doc to make a appt to see them.

I've been getting lower back pain, which can be a side effect of treatment as it can cause pain/stiffness in joints etc so after 15months I've just come off treatment but apart from dry skin/dry lips, I didnt have any side effects for most of the treatment but I guess the low dose helped with that. Skin can get worse at the start of treatment as accutane (or roaccutane in the uk) starts working but once you get past that point in treatment and your skin gets use to it, you should see big improvements.

Best wishes

I'm sorry, but I have a problem with this. My guess is that you are seeing red flags and are feeling uncomfortable, or you wouldn't even be posting this.
I can tell you from experience...doctors are not perfect, they are not God, and even though you will never hear one say, "I don't know", most of the time they actually don't.
Please find one that is willing to try other treatments, other cleansers, etc., they have more access to better products for reactive skin. Don't let him/her be lazy. Roaccutane is a very dangerous drug...you are the one that will have to live with the consequences of taking it, not the doctor. And never let a doctor be disrespectful to you. They forget their place...You're the one paying them.
My advice to you--listen to your gut. Go find another doctor.

9 hours ago, TheBean said:

I'm sorry, but I have a problem with this. My guess is that you are seeing red flags and are feeling uncomfortable, or you wouldn't even be posting this.
I can tell you from experience...doctors are not perfect, they are not God, and even though you will never hear one say, "I don't know", most of the time they actually don't.
Please find one that is willing to try other treatments, other cleansers, etc., they have more access to better products for reactive skin. Don't let him/her be lazy. Roaccutane is a very dangerous drug...you are the one that will have to live with the consequences of taking it, not the doctor. And never let a doctor be disrespectful to you. They forget their place...You're the one paying them.
My advice to you--listen to your gut. Go find another doctor.

Hi TheBean,

You make some excellent points, I would agree you should think long and hard and do the research before starting treatment and if need be, get a 2nd opinion but I would guess the OP would have already tried other treatments. In the UK its very rare any doc or Derm to offer this treatment unless other options have been tried and not worked. I used roaccutane(accutane) about 8 years ago and recently just finished a 2nd course of treatment. Its important to think about the possible side effects and strength of dosage. The low dose the doc has offered the OP clearly means they want to see how her body reacts to treatment. In my case I stayed on a low dosage (20mg a day) for the complete treatment as tried a higher dosage-short term treatment many years ago. Again, in my case, both treatments worked great but hoping the longer term-low dosage option gives better long term results.

I agree is it a dangerous drug but would also like to add......only if used incorrectly! For many this treatment is the only thing that has worked and you only need to read some of these forums to see in some cases, its actually been a life saver.

best wishes