Accutane: a few questions

Hi guys. Great informative posts here.

I plan on telling my Derm I want to start accutane on my next visit. After
years of dismissing it as too "extreme" I've decided it's time. In my mind
it's pretty much a concrete thing that I'm going this. However, I do have a
couple of questions.

1) I don't have health insurance. Exactly how expensive is this stuff (on
average) for the full 5 month course?

2) I'm very concerned about accutane causing hairloss. I've read a few
posts from guys who would swear on a stack of bibles that accutane was the
"trigger" that started their hair loss. (They say that the loss started
immediately after the treatment was over, not during, which is a bit counter
to what one might think.) Is there any legitimate science behind such
claims? If such a thing were possible, what exactly (chemically speaking)
would be the cause of this reaction? And if it's a legitimate concern, is
there any supplement, vitamin, shampoo or whatever I could use during my
accutane cycle to reduce the risk of such a side effect?

The above are my two main worries. I also have another more general
question.

3) Aside from just the pimples themselves, the overall quality of my
complexion (in my opinion) is pretty bad. Blotchy, greasy, large pores that
always seem clogged with dirt, etc. Assuming that my cycle with accutane
works the way it is supposed to, can I expect it to improve the overall
quality of my skin? (in addition to the basics of just removing my
pimples.) I think I read in another post someone claiming that accutane
permanently sort of ratcheted down a person's sebum glands, or something
like that. Is this true, and would that result in a permanently improved
complexion like I described?

(Also as a closing point to that, and to bring this thing back to the
beginning......if accutane DID severely and permanently knock down a
person's sebum production, could that have adverse effects on the hair?
[aka hairloss?])

Thanks, guys. I hope to hear from you.

On Sat, 5 Jun 2004 01:15:14 -0400, "g3t3m3" <g3t3m3 DeleteThis @cox.net> wrote:

>Hi guys. Great informative posts here.
>
>I plan on telling my Derm I want to start accutane on my next visit. After
>years of dismissing it as too "extreme" I've decided it's time. In my mind
>it's pretty much a concrete thing that I'm going this. However, I do have a
>couple of questions.
>
>1) I don't have health insurance. Exactly how expensive is this stuff (on
>average) for the full 5 month course?

The last prescription I picked up was for 60 capsules, each 40 mg.
(Which lasts a month at 80 mg per day.)

The *retail* price for this was approximately $726, if memory serves.
(I *know* it was a little over $720....and this is for one month of
pills.)


>2) I'm very concerned about accutane causing hairloss. I've read a few
>posts from guys who would swear on a stack of bibles that accutane was the
>"trigger" that started their hair loss. (They say that the loss started
>immediately after the treatment was over, not during, which is a bit counter
>to what one might think.) Is there any legitimate science behind such
>claims? If such a thing were possible, what exactly (chemically speaking)
>would be the cause of this reaction? And if it's a legitimate concern, is
>there any supplement, vitamin, shampoo or whatever I could use during my
>accutane cycle to reduce the risk of such a side effect?

I can't speak to this. I've been on it since April 19, first at 60 mg
a day, and now at 80 mg a day. (You'll meet with your derm every
month and he may decide to up your dosage. I'm hoping mine increases
my dosage when I go in this week.)

>The above are my two main worries. I also have another more general
>question.
>
>3) Aside from just the pimples themselves, the overall quality of my
>complexion (in my opinion) is pretty bad. Blotchy, greasy, large pores that
>always seem clogged with dirt, etc. Assuming that my cycle with accutane
>works the way it is supposed to, can I expect it to improve the overall
>quality of my skin? (in addition to the basics of just removing my
>pimples.) I think I read in another post someone claiming that accutane
>permanently sort of ratcheted down a person's sebum glands, or something
>like that. Is this true, and would that result in a permanently improved
>complexion like I described?

Yes, Accutane does act on the sebaceous glands. As I understand it,
it physically shrinks the glands.

I've been on the stuff since Apr. 19 and I still get WAY too many
comedones. Plus, as I've mentioned in here, in the past 10 days I've
had the worst flare-up on my face in months---including standard
pimples AND cysts. More cysts on my face in the past 10 days (about
5) than I had gotten in the past 3 MONTHS.

Really, the only thing Accutane has done for me at this point is
prevent my skin from getting an oily sheen. Ever. I noticed this
only 3 days into taking it. In the first week or two, I had some
peeling on my ears and a little bit of peeling on my face....but none
at all since then.

As for my complexion....I have auburn hair and fair skin with no
freckles. I'm kind of pink right now around my cheekbones....but I
don't know if I can attribute this to the acne or the summer. All I
can say definitively is that it has made no 'notable' difference in my
complexion or pore size.

My lips are EXTREMELY dry...but that is manageable. I use Blistex
LipMedex and Vaseline. (And really, anyone who would whine about the
dry lips must not be that serious about ending their acne.)

>(Also as a closing point to that, and to bring this thing back to the
>beginning......if accutane DID severely and permanently knock down a
>person's sebum production, could that have adverse effects on the hair?
>[aka hairloss?])

I really don't know.

I'm a male almost 22 yrs old. Here's my attitude: What's more
embarrassing, going through your twenties and maybe 30s and 40s with a
perpetual cycle of red and pink blemishes on your face *or* a thinning
head of hair? For me, it's no contest. Acne is humiliating and saps
my confidence.