Can’t get Roaccutane!

Claire A
 

Claire A

Friday 04 January, 2008

Posted in Roaccutane

I’ve had acne since I was 13. It has got worse over the years. I’m 29 now and I can’t take it anymore. I’ve got less than 12 months to find out what it’s like to be young(ish) and not have a face covered in spots. I’ve tried all the pills and lotions, but nothing has worked.

I finally got my doctor to refer me to a dermatologist last year. I had to wait 3 months for an appointment and I saw this useless man who barely looked at my face and prescribed me differin gel which I’d had before.I then had to wait another 3 months for my next appointment and I saw a female doctor who was a lot nicer. She asked me if I’d tried lymecycline and I said it didn’t sound familiar so I got the prescription and wasted yet more of my money to find out it was tetralysal which I’d already tried.

If she’d have said the brand name I would have remembered it! So I rang the derm dept. absolutely furious and said there was no way I was going to have to wait another 3 months of doing nothing.

So they gave me an appointment yesterday, but unfortunately it was with the useless man again. It started off quite well. He said I could have Roaccutane, I just needed to have the blood test.

He then asked me if I had any history of depression. I didn’t want to lie and I didn’t see I needed to as other people on this site said they’d taken anti-depressants and still got Roaccutane.

So I said that about 3 years ago I did take some anti-depressants, I didn’t take them for long and it was mainly because I was so depressed about my skin. He then said I had to go and see a Psychiatrist first before I get the Roaccutane. Which of course will take weeks and months.

It took me so long to get to this stage where I was ready to try Roaccutane. I want to start it now, not in 3 or 4 months time! When I got home I rang back to ask if I could get something from my GP to say I was ok, but was told no, unless the GP was willing to personally guarantee it.

Now I’m worried I won’t ever get the Roaccutane as I’ve had depression for many years and taken quite a few anti-depressants, but not for over 2 years as they never worked. My skin is getting worse by the week and it’s making me more depressed. Sometimes I feel like I want to get a knife and cut my face off.

It makes me really angry to read some of posts on here about how some people got their prescriptions in a matter of minutes. Why do I have to go through all this stress and anger and months of waiting? It’s not fair.

I want to start it now. It’s the best time of year as there’s no sun. If I don’t start till March or April then it will be summer and I won’t be able to go and visit my Mum in Spain. It’s her 50th in July and I won’t be able to go.

You can’t exactly go to Spain if you have to avoid the sun!

I’m going to see my GP on Tuesday and tell him about this ridiculous situation. Maybe he’ll do something. Though probably not as I always seem to get a raw deal in everything.

9 Responses to “Can’t get Roaccutane!”

#1 Emma says...

Hi Claire,

You must be so frustrated. This is exactly the scenario I was expecting when I saw my dermatologist. I have a much longer history of depression than you do (7 years, many different antidepressants, counselling…) and my GP told me I’d never be able to take Roaccutane. Luckily my dermatologist was happy to treat me. He is a very experienced consultant who has treated people with depression before and I was so lucky to find a dermatologist like that. I think many of them want to cover their backs and aren’t prepared to assess each situation individually. One thing you could do is ask for a second opinion, perhaps with a dermatologist from a different hospital. Every patient is entitled to ask for one so it’s not unreasonable. Try and research which ones specialize in acne treatment as they are more likely to be understanding. Under the new NHS ‘choose and book’ initiative you have to be offered a choice of where you are seen, so push for it. You shouldn’t have to put up with your skin because of a short spell of depression. I wish you loads of luck and really hope you manage to get a decent dermatologist.

January 4th, 2008 at 5:35 pm

#2 Karen says...

As Emma says every doctor is different. I’m amazed at the things we talk abou on here and one person has got told one thing (or not even at all) and another gets a different story.

I had to wait 10 months for a derm appointment after referral so I think getting seen in 3 months was pretty good. And although we may not all say it, we all had to go through periods of stress and anger. It took me 20 years to persuade a GP that I was not going to ‘grow out of my acne’.

There is such a big thing regarding depression and suicide that I agree with Emma that he is only covering his back.

If you do get another derm then say what you have told us - that your skin is having such an impact on your life that you would like to cause it some harm. It’s strong but it will get your point across.

And finally, I turned 33 last week and I am still way young believe me!!! so that defo means you are!!!!

Try and stay positve and keep us posted

January 4th, 2008 at 9:10 pm

#3 Teresa says...

Hi
You have my sympathy and understanding. I’ve been taking roaccutane for a month. Yesterday I had my first check-up and the consultant refused to give me another prescription until I have a psychiatrist’s letter saying I do not have depression. I’m furious, I’ve never had depression in the past although I did admit that I had been very unhappy 18 months previously when my relationship broke down. The consultant refused to budge and said that because I live alone I was at particular risk of becoming suicidal, a view I found particularly offensive.

I think there must be new prescribing guidelines in place, but it does make me very cross as I know of a teenage lad with acne and long-term depression who is currently prescribed both anti-depressants and roaccutane.

I spent most of last year trying to persuade my consultant to perscribe roaccutane (I’m 34) and to have my treatment curtailed because a doctor who admits to not being a mental health expert is being overly cautious and watching his back is extremly frustrating.

January 6th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

#4 Claire A says...

Thank you. I’m seeing my GP tomorrow to have a rant and moan. Going to ask if I can sign a disclaimer or something saying that if I kill myself because of Roaccutane then it’s not the PCT’s fault. I took the stop smoking drug Champix that causes depression and I didn’t top myself. Then I will ring the derm dept and say I want nothing to do with this useless incompetent man and ask to see the lady I saw in December. Can’t believe I’ve got to wait for weeks and months. My skin is getting worse by the week. And it makes me even more upset and stressed that I can’t do anything about it.

January 7th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

#5 Anita says...

Hi Claire,

I sympathise that you must be feeling really frustrated at the moment!

There is a connection between suicide and roaccutane and I think your derm is being cautious, particularly as your earlier depression was actually due to your skin.

People react differently to roaccutane and sometimes it will make your skin worse before it actually gets better. On my own experience I have had bad skin for the past 6 weeks and the spots are much bigger than I was used to pre-roacc. So if you feel like ‘getting a knife and cutting your face off’ now, how do you think you will be able to cope if your skin was to get worse??

On this basis I think the derm needs to know if you will be able to handle it. Perhaps on the other hand he might prescribe you both anti-depressants and roaccutane at the same time. You should emphasise to them that you haven’t had to take them for the last two years though.

I understand you want to be taking something for your skin and not having to wait, but it’s better to be cautious and not suicidal.

Try to stay positive and I hope your appointments go well!!

January 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm

#6 Luiza says...

It really upsets me how common stories like yours are! I had a similar experience in that it took me years to get a referal to dermatology in the first place, despite the fact that NOTHING worked my acne was not deemed bad enough.

When i finally did get there around 6 months ago (i started having bad skin around 14, i am now almost 29) the doctor told me my skin was ‘not that bad’…..the voice ofsomeone who has never had acne i do believe!

She wasn’t going to give me roaccutane but i basically didn’t move out of her surgery and went over the reasons why i believed that as nothing else had worked, i was entitled to at least try it…then i am embarassed to say that i started to cry (i could see my only chance at clear skin slipping away from me) and the tears seemed to change her mind!

So i did get roaccutane and am about to start month 4..not sure if this really helps apart from being comforted by knowing that other people have also had to face doctors who just don’t understand what it’s like to check your face in the morning and feel utterly miserable. It just seems to be your luck on who you see.

Good luck!

January 7th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

#7 julie says...

hi claire sorry to hear your story, dont you think people with bad skin are depressed because of the way there skin is? i no one of the side effects is suicide, but when i was on this i was just glad my skin got better and my mood got better coz my skin was getting better, i dont think half these doctors understand what we go throu with our skin, i am now 4o i was on it at 38, but for years at school i was called names ,society now is a bad thing, think people are cruel as well,you were only being honest to your doctor.me myself has had deppression after my kids, and i didnt tell him in fact he didnt even ask me. you hang in there and stick it out, it was the best thing for me turned my life around, only thing i notice now i never saw before is my skin clear so you see the scars the spots left, i think we shouldnt be left this long untill acne scars your skin,i dont belive in going under the knife etc, but i would pay all the money in the world to have lovely clear skin

January 8th, 2008 at 9:48 pm

#8 Claire A says...

I went to see the Doc on Tuesday. She said that while there is a slightly increased risk because I have suffered depression, she doesn’t see that there is any problem with me taking roaccutane. She’s writing to the nice derm I saw, not the useless one. Don’t know how long this process will take.
I want to be taking it by the end of this month. I may have to go private. Not sure how much this will cost. There seems to be vastly different prices quoted by people on this site.

January 11th, 2008 at 9:23 am

#9 LucysMum says...

I know this thread is a few months old but I have been on Anti-depressants for years… my Dermatologist appointment is on Monday, I am 42 and had horrid acne since I was 13. I have tried EVERYTHING - Roac is my last chance. What are eveyone’s thoughts on this? Have I any chance of getting Roac? The Anti-D’s are only mild and a low dose. HELP!!!

August 14th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

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