im on accutane right now. the stuff works miracles in only a few days. real chapped lips though. dry skin too, and you get sunburn easier. all of these are treatable and become routine very quick. i say you just keep on bugging the dermatologist until they prescribe it for you because most insurance plans will cover it. my acne wasnt all that bad to start with, it was just extremely stubborn and persistent. and i was on many other medications until i got accutane. true, i did break out a little while on it but nothing like what i was expecting with all of the horror stories i heard about it. and the zits left as fast as they came. usually everytime the doseage increased i would get a minor breakout in the first week of the upped doseage.