Hey,
Okay so Ifinally got referred to a dermatologist after years of trying to clear my skin,although I had to wait 6 months for an appointment (on the NHS), I went and saw a dermatologist last month. straight away, she recommended isotretinoin (accutane) to me,which I was over the moon about!
At my appointment, she gave me the form to get a blood test done ect, which came back all okay. She also told me i would have to take a pregnancy test but it wasn't very well explained. Does anyone know if i do this at my next derm appointment (in 10 days) or do i have to sort one out myself?
Also, as i am female, she told me id have to be on the contracepive pill alongside accutane. I dont see the point in it though because im not sexually active. Apparently i cant swear abstinance but i really dont want to take it..:( ive had 3 different pills before and all have messed with my mood.. So the question is, does anyone know if they can tell through bloodtests if ive been taking it? There's no way id get pregnant while on accutane btw!
i would greatly appreciate any help/advise!:)
Hi,
Ok, so : pregnancy tests... they will have done a 1st pregnancy test with the bloodwork they did before. At your next appointment they will likely ask you for a urine sample while you're there so that they can do a dipstick pregnancy test. It takes like a few seconds for them to test and then they are ok to send you off with your prescription. So don't worry about organising a test yourself, but do take a drink with you to your next appt so that you're ready to pee!)
Contraception: I'd strongly advise that now is not the time to start lying to your doctor about what you are or are not taking.
I think you need to have more of a discussion with your derm about your options here. Did you tell them you had adverse reactions to the pill previously? Because if you have already tried 3 different ones and they have all affected you badly, then I'd think thats a pretty reasonable thing to not want to take them. There are other options available (implant, injection, IUD...) that you could discuss. Did you derm tell you why she wouldn't accept abstinence as an option?
22 minutes ago, WittySock said:Hi,
Ok, so : pregnancy tests... they will have done a 1st pregnancy test with the bloodwork they did before. At your next appointment they will likely ask you for a urine sample while you're there so that they can do a dipstick pregnancy test. It takes like a few seconds for them to test and then they are ok to send you off with your prescription. So don't worry about organising a test yourself, but do take a drink with you to your next appt so that you're ready to pee!)
Contraception: I'd strongly advise that now is not the time to start lying to your doctor about what you are or are not taking.
I think you need to have more of a discussion with your derm about your options here. Did you tell them you had adverse reactions to the pill previously? Because if you have already tried 3 different ones and they have all affected you badly, then I'd think thats a pretty reasonable thing to not want to take them. There are other options available (implant, injection, IUD...) that you could discuss. Did you derm tell you why she wouldn't accept abstinence as an option?
thank you!! And well, at the time when she said about taking the pill i was so excited to get on roaccutane i was just thinking "just go on the contracepive pill and get it over with" but after i thought about it and i really don't want a drug as strong as roaccutane as well as the pill in my body at the same time..:/ i looked on the nhs website and it says you HAVE to be on 2 forms of Contraception so i didnt ask about it at my appointment, i did actually try to call the derm line number given to me (if i had any questions) to ask the abstinance thing but its so busy you can never get though-_-
I just dont want to go to my appointment this month and say i haven't been taking the pill and they tell me i have to wait a another month to be given roaccutane :/
Hmm I'd keep trying that phone number and hopefully you can get through to someone.
I had my derm appt just a few days ago and to be honest she told me that there was the option of declaring abstinence for the duration of treatment. I'm on a different contraceptive anyway, so there was really no point for me, I just had to say I would use barrier method as well if I found some weirdo to have sex with.
I guess each derm is different in what they think is acceptable, but it seems like there technically is the option to do that though.
I wouldn't worry about the 'strength' of the pill, cos lets face it, the majority of women taking roaccutane are also on the pill, but if you'd had an adverse reaction before then that's a legit concern.
My advice would be to be honest about your concerns, and have that conversation with your derm. No Dr is going to want to force you to take a medication that you already know you don't react well to, so I'm sure they'll figure out something else you can both be happy with.
Oh and if you were lying about it and they found out later, they'd almost certainly take you off the roaccutane, and prob not let you go back on it, so I think your risk is much lower just to get it all sorted out in the beginning! 
On 3/7/2016 at 10:49 PM, WittySock said:Hmm I'd keep trying that phone number and hopefully you can get through to someone.
I had my derm appt just a few days ago and to be honest she told me that there was the option of declaring abstinence for the duration of treatment. I'm on a different contraceptive anyway, so there was really no point for me, I just had to say I would use barrier method as well if I found some weirdo to have sex with.
I guess each derm is different in what they think is acceptable, but it seems like there technically is the option to do that though.
I wouldn't worry about the 'strength' of the pill, cos lets face it, the majority of women taking roaccutane are also on the pill, but if you'd had an adverse reaction before then that's a legit concern.
My advice would be to be honest about your concerns, and have that conversation with your derm. No Dr is going to want to force you to take a medication that you already know you don't react well to, so I'm sure they'll figure out something else you can both be happy with.
Oh and if you were lying about it and they found out later, they'd almost certainly take you off the roaccutane, and prob not let you go back on it, so I think your risk is much lower just to get it all sorted out in the beginning!
I got hold of the normal dermatologist reception and asked as I was trying to get through to the question line for like a week, but they couldn't give me the answer to weather I have to be on the pill or not and said they'd get a dermatologist to contact me, I never got a phonecall back.. this was about 2 weeks ago-_-. ah I see, I might just tell them I've been taking it for a month so they'll let me start, then I'll book an appointment with a nurse sometime this month and talk about other forms of contraception.. then tell my derm at the follow up/check up appointment in April that I've changed to something else! When are you supposed to be starting your course? I hope it goes well for you:)
Yeah that is true, I also have a history of blood clots in my family and I know some pills can cause them so I'm worried about that too.. I understand they want to be careful because of teen pregnancies ect but I would make 100% certain I wouldn't get pregnant, that's what's frustrating!
I will definitely talk to them at my next appointment, although as I said I might twist it a little and say I have been taking it just to get my treatment started..Yeah that is true, I don't think it's worth risking lying throughout the whole time on roaccutane when I look at it long term.. If worse comes to worst taking the pill for 6 months to have clear skin is worth it:)
Eeesh... I guess you're gonna do what you're gonna do, but honestly I think it is such a bad idea to lie to your doctor about this, even just for the 1st month. It sounds like you you want them to treat you like a responsible adult, which I get, but then if you are lying about being on contraception when you're not...? That doesn't really show responsible decision making, you know? I really don't mean to sound harsh, but that is how it can appear from the outside.
Anyway, I do hope it all works out ok for you.