To go private to get ds accutane

Not directly but my son recently visited a dermatologist privately (different reason). He wrote a prescription that could be given to our GP so that our GP could then prescribe the medication on the NHS rather than us paying for it. I’m not sure if this is only limited to certain drugs but I’d enquire if this is a possibility. However bloods taken through the private hospital would be chargeable on top of the consult.

I was lucky when I booked a private consult for myself for Roaccutane, the consultant also worked for the NHS and following my private consult took me on as an NHS patient bypassing the NHS wait but that was 20 years ago. Not sure if you could still find a duel consultant and get in quicker this way.

@coffeegirl73the private GP will only give you a private prescription however you can go straight to your NHS GP who can put it on your DC’s clinical record and issue an NHS prescription. I was able to do this within 3 days so if you can wait for the medication, that’s what I would do. The alternative was to pay around £28 per item with the private prescription. We continued to get the stronger cream on a repeat prescription but it was a generic brand, not necessarily the brand the private doctor had prescribed.

We were in a very similar position a few weeks ago. The GP eventually agreed to refer to dermatologist and the first appointment was January. I researched on MN and decided to go through skindoc.uk based in London. It was an online appointment and it was £189 and then £65 for the Accutane. Our GP agreed to do blood tests and then we had a follow-up appointment for £ 149 with another blood test. In three weeks time we have another follow-up appointment. I banged all of this on my credit card as my DS was completely miserable. Wish i had done this 18 months ago. His skin is so much better and he is happier. So far no side effects.

It's not random though - my child waited 9 months for dermatology appointment and then 3 months for the actual prescribing appointment. This person might have done the same!

Has he tried topical tretinoin? That can really help.

I'd look into tretinoin whilst waiting for the NHS referral. It is prescription only, but you can get it via Dermatica without seeing a doctor and they have various sign up offers which makes it relatively cheap. I think mine works out about £12 a month.

My child had both - a private prescription from a private clinic (we have health insurance through DH job) just around the time the NHS came through with the dermatology appointment. Private script would have cost around £100 a month for lowest dose. Child got the NHS prescription and it worked well, we can see improvement but unfortunately blood tests came back with raised fatty liver deposits (a possibility side effect) and they can't take anymore. Child disappointed but philosophical - a spotty face is far less serious than liver problems!

our GP did the blood test for us

Our DS started in year 11, GP was useless and we went private -14 months later and £1200 it’s completely gone and he looks amazing.

Apart from the look of it, my Ds said it was the pain and the feeling that there were mites running under the skin that made him feel unwell. When he finished treatment he was more confident and has very little scarring

Oh bless him, acne is bloody horrible and especially as it is a teenage affliction when their self consciousness / ego can be delicate,
it’s well known how acne can affect mental health, and it is in the NICE guidelines that impact on mental health and social functioning is taking into the assessment and treatment planning for acne -
I would contact your surgery
ask to see the GP in your surgery with the best knowledge about treating acne,
GP’s can be very varied in how much they know about up to date treatment regimes -
get GP treatment
ask for that dermatologist referral - emphasis how it is impacting on his wellbeing and he is isolating himself from peers etc ..
look into going private,
they often have payment plans or do an interest free loan,

my DD has struggled with acne,
finally after phone appts and several GPs was seen F2F by a GP with special interest in acne -
he said all previous prescriptions were useless
she’s been put on Erythmycine 2 tablets twice a day,
Adapalene
and we were told to buy :
cerave skin wash
cerave moisturiser
clinisoothe skin purifier spray
and
panoxyl overnight patches -

would have referred for accutane but mental health has been problematic in recent past, so not suitable

we are seeing improvements !!

hope that helps x

Don’t bother buying expensive vitamins and non-evidence based skincare routines. With acne this bad it’s not going to work. If you can possibly afford it then try and pay for roacccutaine. It only takes a few months to work and if it flares up again after that you will have the NHS appointment. This is worth sacrificing other things for if you can- it will be having such an impact on his confidence.

I would do this if money is a difficulty

if he’s desperate maybe ask him for ways he can help you fundraise, eg car boot, mow lawns etc to help contribute

As OP has tried loads of topical stuff from GP, they’ve probably tried most if not all of the ingredients skin and me offer for acne.

We had it privately for my child as their acne was so bad-I think it was about £180 for each consult and £200 a month for the Roaccutane-worth every penny. I’d have gone into debt if I’d needed to

Hi op we go to our gp in Dublin for my son. Slow process. Only thing costs fortune will only give him month of it then bloods again.. a money racket. As regards improvement he got told takes time.

Have you tried the online dermatologists like Skin&Me and Dermatica? They do a consultation with photos and it's around £25 a month.

In Scotland the prescription is only filled by hospital pharmacy and only 1 month at a time. Although that time frame might be female only as you require a monthly pregnancy test before each new prescription.

I was on it a few years ago.

NHS GP’s in UK cannot prescribe roaccutane themselves. OP will have to either pay to go private or wait on a waiting list to see an NHS dermatologist to prescribe it which may take a while as Op says. She hasn’t seen dermatologist, she’s had referral and is on waiting list. She wants it now she will have to go private.

It’s clearly affecting his MH

He is begging you to get him Accutane ASAP

You have to go private

His acne will be clear in 2-3 months

Please get it for him asap @coffeegirl73

Roaccutane is such a brilliant medication and my DS had the same problem in Y12. He sailed through it and had not had a single problem with bad skin since (now 25). Not helpful, but this was before the NHS became a total shambles.

Sounds like it’s beginning to affect him mentally and I’m not surprised. Acne has nothing to do with diet. Go back to the doc with him and he needs to say it’s affecting his day to day life. Push for a prescription sooner I can’t understand if you’ve seen the dermatologist through the gp why they wouldn’t then do blood work and prescribe

I had a course of roaccutane a couple of years ago privately - in total is cost me just over £1000. It was the monthly blood tests and appts that bumped the price rather than the cost of the medication itself. I tried 5 different prescribed medications before roaccutane as well as every over the counter item and cutting out food groups etc but nothing else worked as it was hormonal acne. Best money I ever spent. Just be aware of the side effects