Hey man I understand, Acne blows. I have cyst, hyperpigmentation scars you name it. I am almost 20 and its also my biggest insecurity. Have you tried the regimen from this site? Its worked for most people who have used it and actually stuck it through til the end. I am currently on it but still very early in the process. Also ive been a hermit now for the last 3-4months. Literaly hiding in my room all day, even hiding from family. Honeslty I know I should go out and do things but when I do I cant stop thinking about how bad my face looks so Im not even enjoying my time out. So ill continue the regimen and sit and hope that 3 months from now it will be great and ill be happy with my skin. Keep hope alive! I think I get the most down and depressed when I get stuck in the mindset that this is permanent, but its not we can get past this! Someday we will even look back and laugh about it. Good luck with your battle! I pray that we all get through this terrible affliction very soon!

stay away from accutane - nothing is worth risking your health for the rest of your life - you only have one.

Tt will get better you are only 18 and your hormones would still be raging

I would highly suggest you try supplementing with Vitamin D. It has pretty much cured me of acne after two decades. Go read my story under the Vitamins board. "Vitamin D cured my oily skin and acne"

Barring that, go back to your doc and have him petition on your behalf to the insurance company. If you have tried various other prescriptions with little to no effect there is no reason your insurance company should be denying Accutane. Also look into getting assistance directly from the manufactures. I'm not sure if they still do this, but there was a time when Roche (the manufacturer of the original brand name Accutane) had a program for low income folks without insurance to purchase it at reduced prices. This could be an option if something like this is still available from the generic manufacturers but I don't know. You might want to ask your doc about this too if he/she knows of any special programs like this.

I'm done having people point out that I have acne. Yes, I get it. I can only go for so long without wanting to just drop everything and leave. I have no money to try anything else. Accutane was my last hope type deal and it was taken away. Sadly the Regimen didn't work. Tried it for 6 months straight. I'm so lost.

Maybe ask your parents for some money?

I know my insurance denied Accutane at first, so my derm had to call them and tell them it was medically necessary. After that they let me get it for only $10 a month. Maybe you can try that?

Im so sorry to hear that at age 19 my acne was at its worse (I am now 21) my face was like literally filled with them and I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I mean I was washing my face like 3 times a day!! using masks, toners, lotions, taking vitamins and nothing ever really worked. I did get on Dans regimen and it did kinda help my acne but it wasn't worth it havnt painfully dry skin plus lots of redish brownish scars from the burn of bp. Well, anyways as a last resort I kinda stopped washing or just washed in the night and took 3 fish pills during the day every day for 3 months now my acne is pretty much controlled (sorta) ..... So if your overwashing don't, stop doing it cause it just dries out your skin, also try not to use any over the counter washes or anything they contain a lot of chemicals (I found out im allergic to it I guess since I always broke out bad) ....... Try this: Not washing your face as much and if you do wash it with honey and once a week with honey and lemon. Also take 3 fish pills a day and a probiotic if possible. Try eliminating dairy and soda as much as you can. ...................Sometimes the less we do, the better it is. Good Luck!!!

you are still so young. I know you dont want to hear this but there is a point where acne really gets bad in males then just settles. My brothers was the worse till he was 19 and then it just stops when all the hormones settle. He has had resurfacing and it is clear.

However, all of us here are not you, but we can empathize. If you feel you want to go on it, i would suggest your doctor follow up on it, yes it is quite an expensive drug. There are ways about this. just be careful when you take it, its very strong.

The parent thing isn't an issue. They are onboard 100%. We just can't come up with $900/month for the medication and that's not including the cost of the derm. visits and blood work. It was kind of my last hope that was taken away from me like that. My dermatologist keeps trying to give me antibiotics but they just wear off. I don't like him but I can't afford to get another derm. I'm seeing a dermatologist who seems to not care, a psychiatrist who helps me with my anxiety and depression, my primary care physician who makes sure i'm healthy overall, and I have overly supportive parents who are trying the best they can. I'm done going out and being asked if i've tried anything for my acne.

Here is my list:

Benzoyl Peroxide

Salicylic Acid

Sulfur

Aloe Vera

Benzaclin

Epiduo

Differin

Retin-a

retin-a micro

tazorac

erythromycin

doxycycline

monocycline

tetracycline

Salicylic acid peel

glycolic acid peel

TCA peel

microdermabrasion

Yeah, some Derms just plain out stink and just try to juice as much money as they can from you. BTW looking at your list of treatments you've used a lot of prescription drugs and over the counter medications (as I did) Take a break from all those hideous chemicals. Let your skin relax, if you haven't tried that it wont hurt.

I've spent 800 to 1,200 dollars on antibiotics and prescription topicals which did nothing. I even hade micro dermabrasions and chemical peels. Last resort? Accutane. Doctor prescribed it, insurance denied it. $900 dollars a month for 6 months? I'm only 18 with a part time job. My face is my biggest insecurity. I'm seeing a psychiatrist because I also suffer from extreme social anxiety and mild depression with psychosis. I can't do this anymore. I am done]

I know how you feel. we are paying out of pocket for accutane. i found that Costco has good prices I pay $340 for a month. They have online pharmacy and one year membership costs just $55 and

appeal your insurance decision to not pay. Have you doc state you need it. Every insurance has a appeals dept. call and ask for the number and process to file.

Thank you all for the replies. I'm on tazorac .1% and doxycycline once again. This time I think my face is taking it a bit better but we'll just have to see. Anyone else use tazorac with success?

I feel your pain

If you really have tried everything then I suggest you go on an exclusion diet. Excluding certain foods from your diet may have an affect on your acne. Gluten and dairy are often the primary cause of acne, therefore not eating them can lead to a massive improvement in your skin.

I think you need to look for the cause of your acne. Since antibiotics and topical treatments didn't work it looks like your problem is not what's happening on the surface of your skin, but what is going on inside your body. It's worth a shot since it shouldn't cost you a penny

Stop using antibiotics cuz in the long run itll make your acne immune and stronger. I recomend taking vitamins, and looking into using one of these three regimens: dan kerns regimen (from this site), the caveman regimen, or applying zinc oxide( daiper rash medicine). After years of research, these are the top three most succesful. The caveman regimen might be the toughest but it is 0 dollars!

The cost of Accutane should not be $900 a month even without insurance.

The brand-name of Accutane is not distributed anymore in the U.S., so your prescription should have been for one of the generics such as Claravis, Sotret, or Amnesteem.

If the price was too high try switching the generic AND the pharmacy you go to. Wal-Mart is the cheapest pharmacy by far to mix the exact same thing. There is one user on here who was uninsured and was using Claravis. At Walgreens they charged him $600 a month. At Wal-Mart it dropped down to $300 for the SAME medication.

$300 is far more reasonable and probably very doable.

If that is still too high, you can do what some doctors did in the 70s, which is "poor man's Accutane." Remember that Accutane is a form of vitamin A. "Poor man's Accutane" is taking around 50,000 IU of vitamin A every day for a few months like a course of Accutane. It runs the the risk of the same side effects as Accutane, so you need to watch your symptoms just like you would on Accutane.

stay away from accutane - nothing is worth risking your health for the rest of your life - you only have one.

Tt will get better you are only 18 and your hormones would still be raging

The TS can decide that for himself. Personally, I would take (Ro)Accutane, because I don't have much of a life anyway.

Do you have any Costco in your area? Last time I checked, a month of 80mg of genetric Accutane is only 400 dollars max in there.

The thing about Accutane is that the price VARIES from every pharmacy, so you need to do research and call around.

Good luck!