Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 2)

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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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Your son is not the only one who has had theese symptoms from this drug. I will pray that he gets better.
I urge everyone who has had a side effect or damaged from this drug wether it be temporary or permanent to please report to medwatch/fda and the generic manufacturer.

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It is Day 7 off CLaravis(isotretinoin) or generic Acutane Charlie admitted to ER hospital last night for extreme hallucinations,depression, suicidal thoughts. He will be admitted to inpatient adolesent hospital under care of many doctors who can help him deal with this. Depending on which dr that you talk to it is 3-30 days to clear your system. Dr say less than 1% chance of happening. I have talked to 6 people with kids that have been on this drug. My percentage of this happening so far is 50/50! I did report to the FDA website. Thanks for the tip.

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I like to know when are they going to stop handing out the Chemotherapy drug for brain cancer for acne. When is the pain and suffering caused by this poison going to end.....When is Roche and generics and the FDA going to be held responsible for thier actions???? Just so people know they are in Phase III stronger form of Accutane.....
To the mother I want to let you know to please look at Bart Stupak.gov He is a congressman whoose son commited sucide while on accutane. You will find a lot of information on there and I urge you to email him also. I also urge you to go to the link or webadress that Nathan has posted on here and it will explain the hx and info on accutane also.
My prayers are with you and your family.....

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Hello to everyone. I cannot believe all these stories about Accutane. My mind is blown how many families have gone through soo much trouble. I found this thread by doing an online search for long term side effects for this particular medication, because I want to know if its affecting me. I am 22 yrs old. and I took accutane for 6 months. 3 pills a day. I honestly do not remember the mg. My question to everyone reading is.. Can this medication cause long term emotional effects? My mood swings are like any young woman, but I have become a super sensitive person emotionally and it hasn't been this way until the medication. I noticed once while on the pills but didn't think anything of it. it was an argument with my stepfather, my heart raced, my hands shoke, and my anger level jumped quicker than it ever has. And now being off the medication for about 2 years now, I find myself in the same situation. my hands shake when someone confronts me. I can not keep myself composed when dealing with an issue. I know this may sound silly, or it might be just me being me without side effects. But I swear I was never this emotionally unstable until I took the acne medication.
On another note... whoever takes this... be warned about hair loss. I used to have super thick hair and as a ballerina, it was very hard to even put it in a bun. Now, anyone who touches my hair makes a comment saying how thin it is.. and I am only 22.

Thank you to everyone posting their stories... I am sure it has helped more people than you realized. :-)

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I took Accutane when I was about 40 years old, as having acne issues since a teenager I was fairly motivated. The side effects were explained to me and I encountered some such as dry lips while I took it, but have not really experienced anything unusual. I have to say that after 25 years of spending a fortune on Dermatologists and over-the-counter meds, it was the ONLY thing that ever worked and permanently cleared me up. So, in that regard it was a miracle-- I had tried about everything, believe me. I am now 56, I have exercised regularly (but not fanatically) since I was about 35. I'm in decent shape for my age and really have no chronic issues (other than hereditary ones), except for one. The reason I searched for Accutane long-term side effects and came to this posting is because, in spite of my many years of cardio regime, and never having smoked, I have some weird cloudiness on my chest x-ray that is being called an 'interstitial lung disease'. They are not able to be very specific, but they have told me many things it is not-- for example, they did a biopsy (because it looks pretty weird on the xray), and no cancer. They also did other tests but can't really give me a cause. Shame on me for not having a benchmark chest xray around from when I was in my 30's or 40's to see if I've had this since then. So, I was just checking to see if any known side effect from Accutane may be some scarring in the lungs that show up in this way. I am not hugely impacted by this, but it is becoming more difficult to climb steps and exercise hard as I get older. But, I am getting older. I have to suppose that with the extent/duration of my acne problem all those years, that maybe the scarring in my lungs came from the disease, rather than the cure (drug). But, I do think about it and search for a cause-- as this is not a hereditary thing. Good luck to all you guys with these symptoms, but I caution that drawing a conclusion taking you right to Accutane as a cause (as opposed to heredity, diet, exercise, etc.), seems somewhere between overly-cautious and downright irrational. I admit I did not take it when I was young-- so the person that talked about stunting growth I cannot debate (but there should be other hard evidence out there if true). Also, the guy that started losing his hair but had no hair loss in the family?? naaahh, don't think so. But I'm no doctor. Just a bit older survivor of this problem with a 10 or 15 year history under my belt. good luck all. thx.

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Like Raymondjjohnsonjr, I didn't take Accutane until I was 40, having sufferred acne since I was a teenager. During the (approx 6 months) treatment I experienced no side effects. However I did rupture my achilles tendon which may have been related.

As I've got older (I'm 52 now) I have experienced a range of health problems, none of which occur in any other family members. Of course I can't say that the Accutane causes them but I would be interested in the experiences of others:
- chronic joint pain throughout body (this is largely under control now following diet change to eliminate all processed meats and eats lots of leafy green vegetables).
- IBS
- Chronic Low White Blood cell count (neutropenia)
- Chronic Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
- Cochlear hydrops (Meniere's disease)

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We are now on day 15 off the generic Accutane. My 15 year old has been home from the hospital for 2 days and doing much better. Still seeing and hearing things but coping due to the medications. We are trying our third antipsychotic medication. The medications make him very tired and out of it. He is seeing a psychiatrist and psycologist and will be on meds for 3-6 months at least. I saw a little bit of my boy today-goofing off and teasing me, wanted to go outside and to the store, and then he went back into his bubble. We are taking it one day at a time. We had 2 good days and hope the days continue to get better.

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I took Accutane for acne in 1983. I have suffered from chronic pain syndrome for over 20 years, and IBS. Depression and mood swings have been part of my life during this time. I recently met with integrative medicine physician and was online checking out some current drug side effects, and had no idea that my problems could have been from this drug years ago. Take my advice do anything you can to avoid taking drugs for any non-life threatening illness.

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I took accutane about 9 years ago
it seemed to work great, it was recommended by a friend that took it. After about 9 years I had uncontrolable bowel problems. I used to run 2 miles a day, but I stopped because I would get so far into my run and then it was like I had to jump in the ditch because a movement was going to happen ready or not. I have been dealing with this for 2 years. I thought maybe it was a food allergy, so I cut certain things. Nothing ever changed. I am going to see a specialist tomorrow to get some answers hopefully. This condition is not only uncomfortabe, it's embarrasing! I have to plan my life around my movements. Checking on this site makes me feel better, because anyone I talk to around me doesn't understand!

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I have taken accutane for about 1 and 1/2 weeks now. My symptoms are extremly dry lips and face as well as nose and skin next to the eyes. I have read over all of these symptoms and I am still going to go through with the six months of it.

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I have been prescribed Accutane on three different occasions. Twice when I was in my early 20's. While I was on Accutane my face would clear. They always had to decrease my dose because of my liver values coming back elevated. I am now 35 and last year my dermatologist insisted that I try it again. He recommended a maintenance dose. I would take it only once a week. My skin became so thin, headaches, hair falling out...it just wasn't worth it. About a month after stopping Accutane the acne came back. Not only did it come back but about four times worse. On my face, chest, neck and back. I had never had acne on my neck, chest and back before. About 8 months later now my hair continues to be so extremely dry that it just break off, my skin is still very thin, acne is horrible, joint pain in wrists, and just within the last month I went to the ER with this excruciating pain on my left side under my ribs. They have tested me for everything and cannot locate a reason as to why I have the pain. I feel it is all due to Accutane still in my system. Does anyone know if it is possible for Accutane to remain in your system after stopping treatment? If so how do I go about cleansing my system of this nightmare? I am currently doing a colon/liver cleanse.

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Charile is 30 days off the generic accutane and is still symptomatic but showing improvement on antipsycotics and antidepressants. I have been spoken to about 25 of close family and friends and everyone knows someone that had adverse reactions to this stuff but Dermatologist swear that the side effects are minimal. Case 1-beautiful smart 17 year old girl that had many offers to universities accross the country was put on Accutane. She became so depressed and suicidal that she sought out buying antidressents from friends and ended up in a rehab facility. This girl is now 20 years old and is still on antidepressents. She went to college for a short time, but had to drop out. She is now on sabatical overseas helping kids with autism. Case 2-mature adult male started to see little green men out in his farm field and wanted to take a gun out a shoot them. Case 3- 26 year old college student took Accutane in her early 20s. She said that Accutane helped her get through college and cured her acne. When asked if she was still on antidepressents-she said yes. She never put it together that being depressed years later may be related to the Accutane. She was put on antidepressents while on Accutane in her early 20s. Another young female, mid 20s was put on Accutane at 14 years old. The Dermatologist put her on Antidepressents at the same time as the Accutane. This beautiful young women cant get away from the antidepressents. When a pharmacist was asked about Accutane-He said that it was black boxed he has to sign all kinds of paperwork and chose not to carry it due to the side effects. Again I ask-Why is this on the market? I lived through acne, so can you.

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I took accutane at the age of two because according to my doctor nothing else worked. six years later i am having many health issues i never would have guessed that what cured my acne would cause me problems for life. I recently found out about these side effects and decided to do some research. i will be going to my doctor asap. Im currently taking yaz and it is doing a decent job of controlling my acne. the reality is acne wouldn't be such a big problem if there weren't ignorant ppl that point it out every second. I couldn't even ride the train without being stopped and someone comenting on my acne.

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To Worried Mom- To answer your question why is it still on the market???- Money....A Congressmans Son even commited sucide on this drug and even Congress couldn't get it taken off the market. There in phase III of a study for a more powerful version of Accutane...More will be damaged and Doctors and FDA will still be in denial....

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yes, it is so about money. The drug Company's dont care. Accutane is off the market but the generics are still out there. I will be looking into law suit at some point

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PLEASE DON'T TAKE THIS DRUG!YES, IT IS VERY BAD FOR YOU!
It does get rid of acne but you might be without teeth because you bone are decaying, And you could have a bag on your side, because your colon is ate up, I would rather have ACNE!

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at age 22, i started accutane at 80mg per day for six months while on overseas duty. Sure the acne cleared and yes i was subjected to the 2xweek blood check procedures. After leaving military duty at age 23, I felt something was wrong with my ability to produce semen. Now at age 34, and the experience of a down fallen marriage which led to divorce due to not being able to produce, I strongly feel this medication Accutane had something to do with my side affect. Please, if there is anyone out there that has had same experience from this medication or links to more info. please respond. The greatest gift on earth is to be able to bare a child. Ernest H. Saenz

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i went to the doctor a few days ago and they wanted to prescribe accutane. i was going to take it but i started reading over the warnings. they warrnings literally brought me to tears. i was extremely frightened by the risks associated with this drug. they are outlandish. i am so sorry for anyone who has taken this drug and experienced permanent side effects. this is a gross injustice. doctors are supposed to be the keepers of our health and they should not be prescribing this drug to anyone.

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I cannot believe what I am reading.I am a 37 yr old who took this medicine so long ago I cannot remember.It did clear up my acne, except for the cystic acne that I still have.I am not sure if I have had any side effects but I can tell you I do have a history of kidney stones, constipation,insomnia,mild depression,fibroids,dry and very itchy skin.I am now also starting to wonder if I too was a victim of this drug.Unfortunately for me, I was not aware of all of these side effects.Next time I come down with some ailment I will make sure to mention my accutane use to my doctor.My prayers go out to all of you who have been sickened by this drug.I have been where you are and I felt relieved to have found this miracle drug until now.

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I took accutane for close to 8 months. It cleared up my acne but left me with the most terrible side effects. I've been off accutane for about two months now. My biggest side effect is loss of emotion for family and friends. It almost feels like I don't love them anymore. I also seem to be feeling very depressed and lonely. One of my favorite things to do is snowboarding and since i've been off accutane I don't feel like even doing that. Accutane did a very good job clearing my face, but I truly regret taking it now. If you want to risk having all these side effects then do it, but I advise you not to. I just about broke up with someone who is very close to me because I felt a lack of emotion for them

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