Accutane And Infertility (Page 3) (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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I personally know 5 people who have taken Accutane. All of them are infertile. The two males have very low sperm count and motility. The three females are infertile due to premature ovarian failure. Oh, and the males are completely bald and the females have very thin hair. All of them noticed losing their hair either while on the treatment or within one month of ending treatment. Coincidence? I think not. I cannot believe this drug is legal and dermatologists are ignorant for handing out such a detrimental drug for something as mild as acne. Wake up derms! You are ruining so many lives.

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The question of whether there is a causal relationship between Isotretinoin/Accutane and infertility could easily be answered if there was incentive to look. The technology exists to do so, but the potential harm being done is ignored and downplayed. If you are someone who believes they were rendered infertile by the drug, then raise bloody hell over it.

Notice the data from a large pharmacogenetic study has suggested a link between certain variations of the retinoic acid receptor gene and certain adverse effects: - "THE EFFECT OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS OF RARA GENE ON THE ADVERSE EFFECTS PROFILE OF ISOTRETINOIN-TREATED ACNE PATIENTS"

It's a cop-out to continually be told "the effects of Isotretinoin are beyond comprehension; therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established and one does not exist." Let the whole of dermatology put their abundance of money where their mouths are and disprove the causal link through solid science before refuting the claims of post-Isotretinoin patients.
Until then, it might just be the Isotretinoin.

Bottom line:

-It is possible to determine if there is a causal link. There are already multiple observations of significant hormonal antagonism in a majority of patients and evidence of a negative influence of Isotretinoin on female reproductive cells.

-It is possible to develop (relatively inexpensive) kits to check for individual susceptibility to certain adverse reactions.

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You don't believe it, which makes it untrue?

I can recall meeting face to face with 3 other former Isotretinoin patients, who are unrelated to my online activity.

-One young lady began vomiting and excreting blood during Isotretinoin treatment in her senior year of high school. These symptoms lasted for a few years after she stopped. She suffers from arthritis in her late 20's, a symptom which also began during treatment.

-The second young lady developed severe depression soon after initiating treatment, which persisted for at least a year after cessation of treatment. Her mother stated that she is unresponsive to antidepressants.

-A young man who who took Accutane at 12-13 y/o and had problems with erectile dysfunction at 14 years old. He dated an ex-girlfriend of mine prior to me meeting her. She said he was the only other man she has been with with, with the exception of myself, to have this problem.

-I developed erectile dysfunction and severe depression within the first month of starting Accutane and was left completely impotent for 4 months after stopping. I was 18 years old, with mild-moderate acne. I haven't been able to conceive a child and have a low sperm count, low motility, and poor morphology. I was also DX'd with hypogonadism at 20 years old. No explanation for why this happened to me has been provided by my doctors, except that there is a possibility Isotretinoin caused it.

Of course, I have almost certainly met others who took the drug and experienced no side effects, or mild side effects, but have yet to meet someone in person who has come forward to tell a success story.

You mentioned that you never used Isotretinoin. So, what vested interest do you have in debating what we have said about the drug? If our hardships are in fact due to Isotretinoin, then you are a true monster.

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Have been taking Accutane for three days now, after hearing what everyone says is it too late to quit.

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I am a 38 yo female with hydradenitis supprativa (auto immune disease that causes severe, painful and scarring cysts and boils throughout the body. Topical treatments and antibiotic treatments ate completely ineffective. Inherited condition from paternal family. Every single person in dads family has this condition And are heavily scarred all over, but especially on face And neck. My mother, in a desperate attempt to prevent the inevitable scarring of thus deplorable condition, had my twin sister And I prescribed this medication for about 1 year....during our 12th & 13th years of life. The objective was achieved, neither of us bear visible acne scars. However, sis was diagnosed with pcos a few years back Anna has NEVER conceived. I, however, have conceived, yet miscarried 5 times, And have never carried a baby to term, thus no live children. Thus is where things get dicey. When pathologists study uterine contents after miscarriage And D & C, they can usually find one common cause, because most repeated miscarriages occur at the same gestation every time. Yet, In my case, I lost 1st at 10 weeks, 2nd around 8 weeks, 3rd at 9wks, 4th at 20 wks, 5th at 12 wks. I had D & C's worth last And have never resumed having periods since last miscarriage. That was Oct 2013, so, 2 years and 3 months now...so that alone dictates I cannot ttc naturally at this point. Doctors cannot find a reason at all for these pregnancy losses. I also have severely dry eyes (thus, cannor wear contacts. (Beyond dry eyes, I've developed dry mouth, and dryness in areas that shouldn't be.....um...dry). I don't know what could be related And what isn't, but other health issues I've developed over time are scoliosis, spondylolesthesis, kidney failure, enlarged liver...Anna most recently, diabetes. I'm aware that sinew I'd these could not be directly caused by exposure to Accutane, but conditions that may have resulted from use of this medication, definitely precipitated, or set the conditions for, my most recent maladys. I also have severe systemic edema. The same as with my multi gestational miscarriages, heart, artery, kidney, thyroid and other evaluations have shown absolutely no known cause for these other conditions. We can only treat symptoms as we do not know the origin, or what is causing these symptoms. I'm suffering severe and changing astigmatism and severe hearing loss. At least, and at best, I'm pretty sure Accutane usage precipitated some of my problems, namely, fertility and viability issues. More convinced than ever that Im correct simply by the sheer number of other people posting similar experiences. And to the Doctor or drug rep (whoever is lining their pockets with Accutane profits) that keeps denying Accutane's negative effects And preaching to the choir (when with pcos, menstrual and fertility issues) about the roles hormones play in acne formation (if adolescent hormone changes that EVERYONE on planet Earth experience, was, in fact, the cause...then our first bottle of Cetaphil cleanser and first tube of Clearisil, would have worked)...no one is prescribed Accutane before other, less dangerous And costly treatments are tried. Antibacterial soap and water. Cetaphil cleanser and even Retin A, AFTER trying Clearisil and other otc topicals. I was prescribed this medicine in 1988 when it's popularity was highest (but LEAST was known of potential side effects) but even then the Doc insisted we take birth control pills (at 12 years old and NOT intimately active) because of the known devastating birth defects it causes and had a check list of all treatments I was required to have tried BEFORE he could prescribe Accutane. To everyone else, you have my heartfelt empathy in this matter. Wishing you all the best possible outcomes and every blessing God can bestow upon you. Especially children for those of you struggling to conceive. Prayers going up for you tonight.

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There is no need for your comments

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What about for guys.. I'm sterile and took accutane as a teen.

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Yes. My son had the same problem as a result of taking Accutane I believe.
They went through a sperm donor in Spain and now have an almost 1 year old.
But it was so shocking and all the tests broke my heart.

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I took roaccutane when I was 15 and then placed on the contraceptive pill afterward as a management plan.
Prior to this I experienced one natural menstrual cycle at 14.
At 20 I was diagnosed with ovarian cysts and advised to remain on my pill to control my symptoms.
I stopped taking the pill at 21 after realising the damaging effects of synthetic hormones.
I'm now 23 and while my ovarian cysts have all but disappeared on my last ultrasound in Dec 16 (I believe a result of diet changes over the last 6 months - limiting dairy, processed foods, grains and sugars and consuming more wholesome and raw foods), I am yet to menstruate. 24 months since I stopped taking my pill and no period. 1 natural cycle my entire life, which occurred BEFORE I was prescribed toxic drugs.
I believe the underlying cause for my amonorhea was taking roaccutane before my adolescent body ever got the chance to regulate itself properly and then pumping it full of synthetic hormones for the next 6 years.
Nobody in my family has ever been diagnosed with PCOS or ovarian cysts. I don't believe I am predisposed genetically and I don't believe my ovarian cysts ever existed before I started my treatment.
And my diet and lifestyle have never meant they might be considered a possible cause for my whacky hormones.
I don't know when I can expect my next period, if it will ever come at all. But I have no doubt this toxic drug is to blame for what's going on with my body's reproductive functions, or lack there or.
8 years on and I still suffer from acne all over my chin, cheeks and jawline - a result of my body's now state of constant hormonal chaos, that I have slowly learnt to live with the past few years.
While I've never planned to start a family, I didn't use contraception with my then boyfriend for almost 2 years after stopping the pill and never fell pregnant. I'm at a point now where I don't even plan to have children down the track, because I don't think it will even be possible, naturally.
Roaccutane' effects are damaging, I wish I never took it and I'm still left with blemished skin on a daily basis.

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I took Roaccutane and then struggled to become pregnant. Having had a pregnancy prior I know everything was working fine and healthy. But I had 3 rounds of IVF in the end before a last attempt resulted in a pregnancy that went full term with lots of complications but ending in a healthy son.

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Re: Curtis (# 614)

Hi Curtis, I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with Accutane. If you are interested in learning more about the effects of the main active ingredient in Accutane (which is Isotretinoin) on male infertility, there are myriads of scholarly sources on the subject. I've been researching this topic for months as I struggle with my own infertility and I'm surprised by how much information I was able to dig up on the connection to male infertility versus how little I found in connection to female infertility. It's a super frustrating topic because very few doctors I've spoken with will give out any information about a possible connection to Accutane. I've finally gotten an appointment with a fertility specialist in Colorado and I'm definitely going to bring up the information I've gathered and also the information shared by everyone on this board. Best wishes to you.

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My two sons have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility at ages 29 and 28. They asked the doctor about accutane and he said there was no research that showed a connection. However, in the lit that came with the prescription, it did mention it caused infertility in some dogs. We would definitely be into a class action suit. There was also a dermatologist in canada that noted on his blog that he had noticed a number of his patients who had previously taken accutane were now infertile (can't remember his name but an internet search on accutane and infertility will bring it up (which is how I found it). Fertility doctors don't know much about dermatology treatments. My two sons would be in for the class action.

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I am a 32 y/o female with no medical problems and on no medication. I had been trying to get pregnant since I was 29 and over the last year have been working with a fertility specialist. I was told that for an unknown reason, I have low ovarian reserve with poor quality eggs. I now need to resort to IVF with donor eggs. Like the rest of the individuals that have made posts, I took Accutane in my mid 20's and did two cycles of it. I have no family history of infertility and have had no previous surgeries.....absolutely no explanation for my infertility. I don't know if there's a way to significantly prove that it's from Accutane, but I find it unusually coincidental that there are multiple other people out there with a similar situation.

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I am 33years old and have been trying to get pregnant for 3 years. For 1 year now, we have been trying fertility tretments (5 rounds of IUI and am currently in my second round of IVF). I've been told I have unexplained infertility. When I was 18, I took Accutane for 6 months and was only warned not to get pregnant for 1 year following treament (in fact, my derm would not give me the Accutane if I didn't go on the PILL). I was also diagnosed, in 2007, with Hyperthyroidism and had to have my thyroid removed through Radio-Iodine treatment (at which time I was told not to get pregnant for 6 months). My eggs don't seem to be any good. We harvest 8 or 9, and only 1 survives long enough to be implanted. Who knows if this round of IVF will work, but as many of you know, it is so hard, month after month, getting the news that you are not pregnant. Could all this be due to Accutane? It is so frustrating that no one knows!

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You have to realize the difference between causation and correlation. How many of you actually had a successful pregnancy (either as mother or father) before accutane and unsuccessful attempts/infertility after?

Its possible that your infertility is the fault of Accutane. But without research, it is just as likely that the same genes or other environmental factors that caused you to have acne stubborn enough to warrant Accutane are also related to your fertility issues.

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Good-bye, I won't make you move your group and lose your archives.

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I just thought i'd toss my two cents in here...I myself took Accutane 10 years ago and in the last few years developed endometriosis. Based on my research and experiences it seems to me that hormonal problems are not caused by Accutane. It's your underlying hormonal conditions which cause severe acne and force us to seek out Accutane as a cure for a symptom. Many autoImmune and infertility issues such as PCOS are due to hormonal imbalances. Hormone problems are likely what caused your acne and are causing you reproductive issues as well. It sucks, I know. But I wouldn't go beating yourself up for trying Accutane.

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Hello. I think you are onto something. Wouldn't surprise me. I think accutane also harms teenage men as in it basically castrates them from within. I think it harms male genital growth. Many teenagers took this but did anyone tell us about the consequences on our reproductive systems. Basically vitamin A is toxic in large quantities; it is the opposite of sunshine and vitamin D which is the giver of life and very important for male health.

A big investigation needs to be done.

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I too took acutaine as a teenager and had to have ivf to conceive my daughter, after being diagnosed with unexplained infertility. I also know of another lady who is going through fertility treatment who took acutaine.

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I had a form of POF - very high FSH levels, but still ovulating. If you are still ovulating at all, please try Lipiodol Flushing technique as this helped me conceive naturally twice even with elevated FSH. Google this - it has a better success rate that IVF and is quite simple - only you do need an egg or two. Seems I had at least 2 left.

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