Hi Everybody,
I just finished my 7 month course of Accutane. I still don't know how to calculate my cummulative dosage. I don't understand it either. I am wondering if anyone can be so kind to help me figure it out, whether or not I've received a good amount of Isotretinoin to help keep my acne in remission.
I had mild to moderate acne. I weigh about 103 pounds and my derm put me at 40mg's daily for 7 months. I'm hoping this will do the trick. I've been hearing that 40 mg's is a fairly low dose but in all, I've learned that it's the amount of Isotretinoin one received over time that really matters.
Please, anyone help me try to figure this out. Do you think I've received enough Iso. to put my acne in remission? Thanks! 
Hmmm...
I'm only doing accutane for 20 weeks.
Mine works out to 101mg/kg.
I'll have to bring this up to my derm at the next appt. I just saw him yesterday.
Believe it or not, some doctors aren't aware of the cumulative dosage thing. They tend to treat based on the general guidelines of .5 - 1.0 - 2.0 mg/kg/day for 4-5 months. If your condition is mild, they'll tend towards .5 mg/day. If it's more severe and you're tolerating it, they'll tend toward the high end. That's the way it was always done until a few years ago. It worked fine because 1.0 mg/kg/day for 4- months reaches target cumulative.
I'd recommend that you go on line and find a bonafide medical reference to the cumulative dosage. I have posted a couple links previously (search on my name). I believe there was a good one on medscape.com. Take that good reference to the doctor in case he/she is unfamiliar with the cumulative dosage thing. That will be more credible than saying "I read it on the internet."
That said, my guess would be that if you simply mention the cumulative dosage thing and ask for another month (would that get you to 125 mg/kg?) the doctor will just write you another month without any dispute at all. Maybe ask for a slightly higher dose for your last month, say going from 40 to 60 or 60 to 80.
Good luck.
I'm similar to you alesh. I just worked it out using the information above and I'll be way under if I stay on 20mg. If I manage to persuade my derm to up my dosage to 40mg after my first month then I can reach 129 in 6 months. Ideally I don't want to do more than 6 months so I hope he puts me on 40mg.
hmm, so if i weight 123 lbs, how much would i need, in a 6-8 month course?
I make 123 lbs about 56kg. You should reach a min dose of 120mg per kg, therefore you need a minimum of 6720mg over your entire course. Dividing over 6 months and dividing down to get a daily dosage gives you 40mg a day.
hmm, so if i weight 123 lbs, how much would i need, in a 6-8 month course?
1 kg = 2.2 lb.
To convert, take your weight (in pounds) and divide by 2.2 kg (the conversion factor). So, 123 / 2.2 = 55.9 (which you can round to 56) so ClearDreaming is correct Just thought I'd post the conversion for future reference!
Could someone work out my cumalitive dose , at the lower end and the higher end please ?
I weigh 43.5 kg (91 pounds )
Month 1: 20mg
Month 2: 20mg (am currently on day 46) due to see derm on day 50 to have dose upped to 40mg
You weigh 43.5kg
Current Dosage:
Month 1, current dosage 20mg = 600mg
Month 2, current dosage 20mg = 600mg
Month 3, current dosage 40mg = 1200mg
Assuming:
Month 4, same damage of 40mg = 1200mg
Month 5, same damage of 40mg = 1200mg
Month 6, same damage of 40mg = 1200mg
You will be at 138mg/kg. According to this math you can choose one month of 30mg instead of 40mg and still end up at 131mg/kg, which is still above the ideal dosage of 125mg/kg.
Edit:
Unless you have very severe acne, according to http://www.skinthera...ane/dosing.html the ideal dosage for very severe acne is 150mg/kg. This mean you will either have to add one month to the course or have your last month at 60mg per day.
but sometimes it's mild.