Accutane And Infertility (Page 31) (Top voted first)

I took accutane almost 14 years ago as a teenager. I am now a 32 year old woman who has just been diagnosed with infertility that they believe is linked to autoimmune issues. I truly believe that accutane is the cause of this; from the research that I have done it seems that accutane has been linked to other thyroid-related diseases, but that they have not yet been able to prove a link between accutane and infertility. There are, however, actually more people like me out there than I originally thought. Being diagnosed with ovarian dysfunction has been a horrific, horrific blow. And while there was plenty of information about accutane and birth defects, no one ever mentioned a possibility of future infertility. I was a teenager! This is a tragedy and I believe something should be done about it. If you too have been affected diagnosed with infertility and have taken accutane, please email me. There are plenty of suits against accutance. If there are enough of us, we can come together to do the medical research and get the help we now need.

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Question to 'It is not always Isotretinoin': did you take it? I took it and there is no doubt it affected my body. Some ways it affected me I can clearly see such as the thin skin. I had fairly thick skin before I took it, that didn't bruise easily. That's not me making things up, sorry. That's a fact. Some ways it may have affected me I cannot clearly see as it's inside my body. That is why we have this forum. We understand that our problems with fertility could also have other reasons, obviously.

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Did search as requested, shows no risk.

And also shows use of isotretinoin as TREATMENT for low sperm count.

Men with infertility and normal hormone levels have few options for fertility treatment. Previous research work has suggested that men with infertility may have low levels of the active form of Vitamin A, called retinoic acid, in their testes. We think that giving men with low sperm counts retinoic acid may increase their sperm counts and improve their chances of becoming fertile. We want to see if retinoic acid administration over twenty weeks can increase sperm production and help infertile men become fathers without the need for intracytoplasmic sperm inj. (IVF) and/or ICSI.

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There's another major life change that happens ar the same time as acne, it's called puberty. It is possible, even probable that all of these devestating problems are caused by an underlying medical problem that bcomes active at pubery and would have occurred without the isotretinoin. For the thin skin, Ehlers-Danlos comes to mind without eve doing an Internet search. Family history is critical.

If you see this forum as an on-going pity party, then I'm sorry to crash your party. If you see this forum as a place where people might stumble upon what to do before taking Accutane, or what to look for as an alternative to blaming Accutane for their infertility while it's not too late to do something about it, then I welcome your input.

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The summary is unclear. You cannot determine if they mean 6 months after isotretinoin treatment was started or 6 months after isotretinoin treatment was completed.

Nor the dose or length of treatment

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It is a real stretch to call isotretinoin a chemotherapuetic agent in the common usage. If you want to be technical so is aspirin and every other drug, they are all chemicals and all therapeutic. It's not a cytotoxic agent. It was briefly used to potentiate the effects of other anti-neoplastic treatments at much higher doses than for acne.

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Accutane has been off the market in USA since 2009, so the statute of limitations has run out

New legal suits would not be possible, in fact that is why Roche left the US market.

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I strongly discourage it! If her acne is getting worse it is probably hormonal and isotretinoin will not cure that either.

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There are sebaceous glands of the eyelids called meibomian glands which are responsible for the production of protective tear film. Accutane / 13-cis retinoic acid has been shown to detrimentally alter the structure and function of meibomian glands in several human and animal studies. This leads to dry eyes.

It stands to reason that Accutane effects mucus membrane of the reproductive system as it does other areas of the body.

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Hi there did you ever receive many responses to this. I totally agree with you, having gone through similar experiences and would like to know more

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Sounds like Sjogren's syndrome. See a specialist probably rheumatology.

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I said it before, I took accutane for 7 years (I have 2 children, hard to conceive) now I'm my late 30's and pregnant again without looking for it... Sometimes you just don't know why it happens or why doesn't happen...

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How do you know you weren't sterile as a teen, before you took Accutane?

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I was 15-16 years of age. And was on it for one round (I think it was 6 months)

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I've asked this same question to no avail. I tried for many years then found out that I am indeed sterile. But this thread has yet to Pointe in a direction of a study that includes males, though I may have missed it.

Best of luck, and please, keep me posted.

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I agree how would we go about doing something Like that does anyone know by chance?

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I took accutane in the late 90's for about a year. I was told to use birth control and extra protection, and was throughly warned about the associated birth defects. I was also required to submit a blood pregnancy test administered at the clinic before my dermatologist would renew the prescription each month.
However, over 20 years later (and 2 marriages) I have been unable to get pregnant. I have clockwork menstral cycle and above average yearly checkups. The thought of accutane has come into my mind time and again. If it is the cause of my infertility, how devastating it would be to find out a decision made when I was 19-20 still haunts me all these years later. At 43 years old, I'll not continue to try for pregnancy due to my own personal feelings (cheers to new mothers in their 40's, the risk is not for me.) But I am left wondering with the "what ifs" link to accutane.

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About egg quality: I think with all of these celebrities getting pregnant without telling about their donor eggs, we forget that women get diminished egg counts and quality starting in their 30s. 36 is considered Advanced maternal age and is considered high risk for a pregnancy. At 38, infertility is likely because of age. Once you hit 40, the chances of getting pregnant with your own eggs is less than 1%. Women today want to delay pregnancy because they have careers and delay marriage, but we have to remember that in terms of ease of getting pregnant and things like egg quality and counts, getting pregnant in your 20s is your best shot.

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Michelle, I am so sorry to hear of your battle with acne and PCOS. However, you have classic PCOS and that is why you had all those problem, the Accutane had NOTHING to do with that. This is a classic post hoc, propter hoc fallacy in logic. Unfortunately, humans are hard wired to blame anything on something that occurred just before.

The common thread is PUBERTY. At puberty the PCOS becomes manifest as does the severe acne.

I ALWAYS evaluate all women with severe acne for PCOS or some other hormonal problem,

I urge any woman with acne severe enough to require Accutane to find a Gynocologic endocrinologist.

You may be able to avoid the acne, Accutane and infertility.

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I took accutane three different times between the age of 16 and 25. I got pregnant at 34 for the first time but the baby was a trisomy 18 (he has 3 chromosome 18) and had to have a d/e at 18weeks. Got pregnant 2 more times but miscarried early on. My husband and I went through IVF and had 5 embryos. All were tested for chromosome abnormalities and all came back with multiple chromosome abnormalities. We were told by the reproductive endocrinologist that all of my eggs were bad and it would be a waste of time and money to do IVF again. We chose to have n egg donor and I have boy/girl twins. I am certain that accutane is the cause of my infertility. I would love to sue the pants off of the makers of this drug. They have no idea how many lives they have destroyed.

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I am with you. not sure what your e-mail addy is but mine is {edited for privacy} and would love to go after Accutane...this needs to come off the market. I feel horrible for all the teens that are on it right now and are oblivious. Awareness needs to be done.

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