Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 16)

I have a son that took accutane 60 mg a day for six months in a row three years ago. Now after many trips to doctors over strange medical problems, it seems accuatne is the culprit medication that has caused servere joint and muscle pain, severe dry lips, redness in face, eye infections of own immune system attacking itself, systems of osteoarthritis in both shoulders, both wrist and right hand, blood in stool, possible hair loss, abnormal liver function test results in AST and ALT. My son went from being a high school football and track athlete while taking this medication three years ago to someone that is in constant pain just washing a car. After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne. All one has to do is look online what vitamin A overdose does to someone and then you have the results of what this medication has done to my son. This drug needs to be taken off them market ASAP and the drug companies that make it need to compensate all teenagers that they have possible ruined their future. Shame on them! What is going on here?

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Hello All,

I am curious to find out if there is anyone who has experienced the same symptoms that I have after accutane use. I took accutane for about a year when i was 21. I had used prescription face washes, creams and taken various antibiotics that just werent helping the problem. I quit taking the accutane because I started feeling depressed and my dermatologist reccomeded that i discontinue use. Approximately a year later I started experiencing symptoms similar to a bladder or UTI infection. I was constantly tested for these and that was not the problem. The problem has continuously gotten worse over the years and I am now 30. I have seen specialists who still have not been able to give me a diagnosis. They speculate that I may have something called intersticial cystitis. I have extreme sensitivity to most everything that I consume. I cannot have any type of alcoholic, caffeineted, acidic beverage. I can not have most types of fruit, and various vegetables, no seasoning condiments or sauces whatsoever. In short everything that I eat must be very bland and I basically live off of cereal and drink only water because these things do not cause me severe discomfort. It is not my goal to sue for my problems only to identify exactly what my problem is. If there is anyone out there who has experienced these symptoms please let me know so that I have a direction to go with my doctors. At this point I'm at a dead end.

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My son is 17 and took accutane for 5 months in 2007 and 5 months in 2008. For the past two years he has had severe upper GI pain, to which he was diagnosed with acid reflux. He also has had back pain and shoulder pain. He just had a barium swallow to which he was told he has damaged stomach and needs more testing. This is a very bad situation and I feel it all comes from Accutane. If it is still on the market please dont use it its not worth the unknown side effects. One last thing we went to a homepathic dr and she gave my son a remedy that has helped tremendously.

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Kelli,
Could you share with us what your homepathic dr. remedy was that help with accutane and its generic brand ? Thank you !

Scott

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Brandy....

Tell me this: Do you get sensitive in the sun? Like red skin, rashes, freckles etc...? That could be Lupus, Accutane has caused this in me and others. Also, Celiac Disease, or allergies to foods, gluten's etc..Another problem I have and others from taking it. The bladder is another part of the problem. I have Auto-Immune Disease from Accutane, so with that is just causes all kinds of problems in the body. So do a warning side effects from accutane and you will find out a lot more. You name it I have it from taking this drug.

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I guess these boards are helpful. But mostly I think it all just scares people. Everyone will have a different reaction to it. I totally agree that like many have said you are informed beforehand of the possible side effects. You should do your research and make your choice accordingly. I had a course about 5 years ago, had to go through regular blood testing, had the side effects including dryness of eyes, mucous membranes, etc. But nothing out of the ordinary. It helped me so much I couldn't believe it. I am now making the choice to undergo another course. After reading the posts I am still going to do it. In the end you have to make a choice.

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Shelly,

Thanks for your reply. I do not have any sensitivity to the sun. Actually the accutane did not get rid of my acne so I tan 2 to 3 times a week to keep it dried out. I'm going to look into Celiac Disease. Have you been given and treatment or prescribed any medication to help with this? My doctors have basically told me to avoid all of the foods/drinks that cause me pain. As you can understand that is really difficult to do since most things cause pain. What steps have you taken to get a diagnosis because I am having a very difficult time narrowing down the exact problem.

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Brandy:

I too had bladder and kidney cramps about 5 years after I completed my 2nd round. At that time, I was working a very physical job all day and playing raquet ball at least 3 nights per week. I was also sensitive to foods, drinks similar to what you've described. At that point, I was also drinking San Jose, CA tap water. However, I saw a report on the news where the EPA indicated they allow certain amount of bacteria (MAC) in the tap water. They also indicated it was such a small amount that it wouldn't hurt anyone. Meanwhile, they had a room full of people who insisted the water was making them ill. I stopped drinking tap water and switched to purified only. It stopped the kidney and bladder cramps completely. At the time, I blamed the tap water completely as the determatologists said the accutane and it's side effects were supposed to clear out of your system within 6 months so I didn't give it a thought. Now that I've been reading up on the damage it does to our immune systems, I suspect this is the reason the MAC bacteria in the tap water made me so ill while it didn't bother other people. If you drink tap water, try changing to purified water only. It's least expensive by the 5 gallon jug. If you get it from a machine, make sure it has reverse osmosis, uv filtration, and a current clean/inspection date stamp on it. Once you run clean water through your system, you should be able to enjoy some of the other foods and beverages as before. After I solved the water issue, I suffered other problems like shaky hands, sinus and ears hurting and draining such that I had to stop swimming, I had to plug my ears in the shower, and my hands became so dry and raw I had to wear a hat with ear covers and two gloves when I played golf. Again, the doctors couldn't tell me what was wrong. The joint and tendon pain increased, I suddenly began to swell such that I went up a couple clothes sizes in months. After a bout with severe photophobia, I suspected my contact lens might be part of the problem so I threw them away. This helped a lot but I still had a drain on my system like bacteria was still in my system. The anibiotic the doctor gave me after my son was born had an insert that indicated .0001% of the people who took it got the fever and violent reaction as I. This was the first time in my life I had such a reaction to any antibiotic. The entire experience adds up to a suppressed immune system brought on by accutane. Anyway, make sure you're not introducing any bacteria into your system as accutane most likely compromised your immune system permanently.

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Hello all,

After seeing 12 doctors/specialist with no answers on how to help someone with all the Amnesteem/Accutane long term side effects, we are now trying the Candida Diet. Has anyone else tried this diet? It is possible that if someones immune system is compromised, it can also cause a yeast infection (Candida). Any comments would be appreaciated on this subject.

Best Wishes,
Scott

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Scott...THEY always mention Candida do your research on it for yourself. I am doing the Gluten Diet, diagnosed with Celiac Disease. So are they saying this DRUG causes these health problems in a round about way? I was told by a lawyers office that all Fibromyalgia is, is Candida...What to believe out there, everyone has an opinion. For me it still doesn't take the focus off Accutane and it's other names it's under and the damage it started and how this company should pay for the damage it has caused, is causing and will caused by those users.

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I just looked up the Candida diet as I had never heard of it before. It is strangely close to the diet I devised myself as I like to eat fresh vegetables out of the garden, never really ate much bread or pasta anyway, and primarily eat beef, chicken, lamb, and occasionally eggs and pork. We typically cook on the grill and use olive oil for sauteeing and occasionally corn oil for frying. I had read that sugar slows your body's ability to heal even when healthy -- accutane compounds the problem. Therefore, I just cut all the processed sugars out of my diet as I was already eating other healthy foods, yogurt, and purified water. No sodas, alcohol, cookies, cakes, candy etc. I never really ate much processed sugar anyway but I did enjoy drinking a couple beers in the evenings. Anyway, I found for me that a daily glass of orange juice and a bananna smoothie helps keep the swelling down. I generally drink a couple cups of french roast in the morning and lipton iced tea with lemon only during the day. I dropped processed sugar products six months ago. I feel much better now, less swollen. My muscles and tendons still act up but not as frequently as before.

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Sabzi and Shelly,
Thanks for your reply's.

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helllo are you guys sill or just plain stupid????
we all know that accutane is ment to be prescribed AFTER ALL OTHER acne TREATMENTS HAVE FAILED, most people have tried antibiotics and every other fasj was out there. DO you guys realise the side effects of antibiotics? they can burn wholes in your stomach! a guiy i know was on antibiotics and it burnt the enzymes in his stomach that help digest fruit.... he now cant eat fruit and vomits everytime and he took this antibiotics years ago! before your blame accutane and turn that many people off taking it, think about ALL the medications you have taking in the past, cuz every singleee medication has a whole list of side effects, the pill is just as dangerous for woman as it can cause blood clots and lowered immune systems and most woman have to take the pill in order to be subscribed to accutane!!!!!!

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Rarrr:

I can tell you I don't take the pill nor any other drug. I hope you don't find yourself ailing as such then have your doctors and people around you react the same as you just did. If you have cancer or anything they KNOW, it's a lot easier to resolve. Trust me, I've spent several years going through everything I consume and do to solve it while the doctors just say, here's another pill. I stopped seeing them because I wanted them to solve the problem not give me another pill to mask the symptoms. I too didn't think of accutane because THEY SAID the effects and medication would leave your system within 6 months after completing the course. If a fuse in your electrical panel keeps blowing and you just keep replacing it without discovering the root cause of the problem, your house will burn down. You can keep this attitude and deny the effects if you so choose. I DOES get worse with age -- my father is the only one out of 16 children who has been diagnosed with osteoperosis. He is also a retired health care professional so don't assume that everyone is wrong just because you haven't been debilitated YET. Please keep it in the back of your mind when you suddenly become ill and your doctors can't tell you why.

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Hi,
I was on here several months ago talking about my stomach problems. I was encouraged to have a colonoscopy. I had one today and the doctor told me I have diverticulitis. He also said he was severe for someone as young as I am (27yrs). Does anyone know if diverticulitis is related to Accutane usage?

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I think that Accutane has different effects on different people. I had a rare skin disease that would have spread all over my body if I hadn't taken Accutane. I took it for three years. I may have had a little depression while I was taking it, but my skin remained clear and smooth as porcelain. That was like ten years ago. The only side-effect that I can detect is that my eyes very easily become red as if they are blood-shot and I have to rely on eye drops to not look like I either haven't slept in a few days or just smoked a ton of weed. While the accutane was for my skin disease, I definitely did not see ANY acne appear at all. I am grateful for accutane for making my disease go away...otherwise, I would look quite grotesque. I do not think that banning it is the answer...I think that more testing should be done to determine what kinds of people CAN take it with low risk and what kinds can't.

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Daniel can I ask what type of rare skin disease?

Hoffmann-LaRoche Inc., lied for that they should of been shut down!

Just remember this you may not even KNOW yet the damage this (these) drugs have caused.

My cousin is dead because of Accutane. No she didn't take her life from depression, no it actually started destroying her organs and her stupid doctor put her on a medicine to help her with the problems it was causing her organs and overdosed her, it was too high of dose for any human to be on ....She threw up her liver and died.

I would love to believe that this drug under different names would spare a human from serious side effects, but I don't buy into it.

In a perfect world a company like this should pay us all for the damage it has done. And they should never be able to put out another drug!

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Yes. It was dividing cellulitis...or that was the name the doctor gave it. It actually had a really long Latin name that I can't remember. The sinuses of my skin would become inflamed and fill with a clear liquid causing it to form huge lumps. It started on the top of my head and was working its way down my entire body. My hair fell out where the lumps formed. This is how I began my first year of high school. It was pretty awful. But, when I started taking Accutane (also with an anti-biotic) it went away. I still have lumps on my head that solidified that I can't do anything about, but my hair grew back and I look normal again. I'm very sorry for anyone who has lost someone or has had serious health issues because of this drug, but it literally made it so I could look people in the eye again. I can't tell you why I haven't had any serious problems from it, either. Perhaps I took a lower dosage? I don't remember how much I took, but I do remember that I took it every day for three years. If they have better drugs for my problem, now, then I would definitely say get rid of Accutane if it's doing so much damage, but I can't honestly say that if it is the only way to get rid of what I had. I think that Accutane should only be used in extreme cases and only in low doses...not for common acne...or even bad acne.

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Dear Scott,
Thank you for starting this forum. It has answered some frustrating questions for me. You are a good dad and I will pray your son will get the right answers. Your dedication shows how much you love him.
Yes, may God help them on their judgement day!

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Dear D. C. Ft. Worth,

Thank you for your complement. The day I sat down and started this forum, I felt lost, all alone with no medical doctors able or willing to help my son and only a few people to talk to.

Of all the stories I read on here, the story of your son breaks my heart the most. My son is now in his second year of college staying on campus and your story really effected me. I give you so much credit for the courage you have trying to help out others. It is people like you that are here to help others and give people so much hope. You have my deepest sympathy over the lost of your son.

I can’t believe that the makers of Accutane pulled their product out of the United States market and at least two other generic‘s are still being used everyday, Claravis and Amnesteem.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about these terrible drugs and what they have done to our children. I have thought about doing a documentary of this forum if money would allow.

From the heart,
Scott

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I did two round of accutane at ages 13 and 14.
At 23 I began loosing hair and experiencing chronic joint pain, exhaustion, fatigue and depression.
I have also been suffering from IBS since age 19.

I suffer from alopecia and my hair has been falling out for over a year now. the joint pain comes and goes.

I was 'misdiagnosed' as having SLE lupus.

Has anyone found any help for Alopecia or suffered from it related to this medication? It is an extremely devastating conditoin.

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