Hello everyone,
I recently went to my dermatolgist again after having my worst breakout ever. I asked for accutane, but my derm just shut me down because he said
1) you must be 18 or older
2) you must have cystic nodular acne
Well, here is my background. Im a 17 y/o male who has tried bp face washes/ topicals ( retin-a, clindamycin) / and antibiotics( doxy, and another one) in the past to no use. Actually, some stuff did work for a period of time, but my acne came back even worse than before.
So my question is-- is it really true you need to be 18 or older to take accutane? I thought you could be any age. Is it also true that you must have NODULAR cystic acne to be on accutane? I have severe cystic acne, just not nodular. I didn't self-evaluate my acne, my dermatolgist told me I have that. Also, my acne has been really persistent
I really want to give accutane a try. I've exhausted all my options and I'm desperate to clear my face up. I really don't want to go on more antibiotics as that's what my derm prescribed me more of. I just want to go on accutane and be done with it. Acne is messing with my confidence and self-esteem.
I'm willing to go back to my derm and discuss this over or maybe just go to a different derm all together, but I don't know how long it would take to go derm shopping. Can anyone help me with my dilemma? Thank you so much!
As far as I know, you don't have to be 18 to receive accutane. I knew kids in school who had it. You also don't have to have nodular cystic acne. You should be able to get it as long as your acne is persistent and has not responded well to other treatments.
I was in the same boat as you for 5 years, and I'm only just finishing my third week of accutane now. My acne never used to be nodular cystic (just nodular) but it became nodular cystic about a year and a half ago, and that's when I was able to finally convince my derm to prescribe it.
If your insurance will cover another dermatologist in the area, I highly suggest it.
Maybe it depends on what country you live in. I've seen people on this site at 14 taking it...chances are this is a matter of your derm thinking they know what's best for you.
If you are aware of all the risks, you don't have depression issues and you've tried everything else, Id say find a new derm. Ultimaterly your treatment should be up to you. I think accutane is really risky so I'd suggest maybe taking some zinc along with vitamin A and cleaning up your diet for a few months, that will give you time to decide if you want to find a new derm.
But as far as I know, the 18 thing is false.
