Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 21)

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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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REPORT

I didn't have any side effects and I took it at 14 and again in my 20s. I am now 45 and after reading all of these posts, I wonder about a couple of things, like IBS, which I have not been diagnosed, but have some symptoms.

On the other hand, my twin daughters were born with a hearing impairment that was discovered when they were 5 yrs. old. This is what scares me and makes me sick to my stomach. Ugh.

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To Mary B:

This was taken directly from this website:
http://www.drugs.com/pro/accutane.html

" Accutane must not be used by female patients who are or may become pregnant. There is an extremely high risk that severe birth defects will result if pregnancy occurs while taking Accutane in any amount, even for short periods of time. Potentially any fetus exposed during pregnancy can be affected. There are no accurate means of determining whether an exposed fetus has been affected.

Birth defects which have been documented following Accutane exposure include abnormalities of the face, eyes, ears, skull, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and thymus and parathyroid glands. Cases of IQ scores less than 85 with or without other abnormalities have been reported. There is an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and premature births have been reported.

Documented external abnormalities include: skull abnormality; ear abnormalities (including anotia, micropinna, small or absent external auditory canals); eye abnormalities (including microphthalmia); facial dysmorphia; cleft palate. Documented internal abnormalities include: CNS abnormalities (including cerebral abnormalities, cerebellar malformation, hydrocephalus, microcephaly, cranial nerve deficit); cardiovascular abnormalities; thymus gland abnormality; parathyroid hormone deficiency. In some cases death has occurred with certain of the abnormalities previously noted.

If pregnancy does occur during treatment of a female patient who is taking Accutane, Accutane must be discontinued immediately and she should be referred to an Obstetrician-Gynecologist experienced in reproductive toxicity for further evaluation and counseling. "

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

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@Mary...That was the first thing I was diagnosed with too is the IBS, now they connect that to gluten problems in our foods. Mary this is a guess on my part, but I am thinking that this awful medicine "Accutane and it's other names it's under" causes problems in the gut too and makes us sensitive to glutens. What I noticed taking it the second time in 93/94 was that I became allergic to poison oak. I never had a problem with it before I could rubbed it all over me and not be sensitive to it and then after taking the Accutane. I can't be anywhere near it. I I believe the Accutane changed my body in many ways. But not realizing how important it was not to eat the glutens has caused the worst damage to me, I have problems with every organ in my body and my brain too. I still feel the Accutane planted the seed for other problems to happen.

Mary if you like to write me I can send you some information on an oil that has helped people get their hearing back. My husband has hearing loss due to a childhood ear infection, but his isn't fixable he's got missing ear parts due to the infection. To what degree are your daughters?

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I am currently on accutane I have been for 2 months and I am extremly happy I found this post, as of right now I'm not taking the drug anymore so thank you for all who shared there story rest easy knowing you saved at least one person. I have the same side effects as most others taking the drug, dry lips and face and I noticed a small rash about a week ago. Does anyone know if these side effects will go away since I have not been on it long? If not I'm going to loose it and rip my doctor a new one because I to was under the impression that they were temporary.

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@Shelly - Can you please post some details about the oil compound which you are reporting has helped people get their hearing back?

Thanks!

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@Mary if you email me I can put you in touch with the lady that can send you information on the subject. I can give you want I know and it's Young Living Oils one of the ones is Helichrysum, but there might be a certain combo that would work best depending on your girls needs. So email me and I can give you Julie's email and you can ask her to send you directly the information for the ears. She has me on her mailing list. She knows Dr. Gary Young and has work along side him many times.

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Actually, when I took accutane, we didn't have all the resources we have today. I couldn't just "look it up" online. Try not being so judgmental, it will improve the quality of your life.

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To Ronny:

I did not take accutane when I was pregnant. I had my first pregnancy ten years after the last time I took accutane.

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@brandon- As someone who came off the drug 2 months ago thought i'd send you a reply. I like you came off it as soon as I read this message board- The typical side effects stopped for me gradually over about 3 weeks.....I was on it for 3 months. I think the only difference about me now is I'm more dehydrated than I ever remember being. I think everything else is the same as before. Although it has cleared my skin considerably and my acne hasn't yet returned, so I guess it did all it was going to- (I find this really sad as I regret going on the drug, even with such results.....).When i first discovered all these messages I felt like such an idiot as I had always tried to steer clear of the drug (but my drs always pushed for it) and I was really upset for weeks afterwards. I guess I just wanted to say not to worry-that whatever happens you will start to feel yourself again i'm sure. I was even experiencing 'temper' issues and crying quite a bit- but now i'd consider myself to be back to normal. Yes its quite frightening- I was even aware of the changes at the time, i just saw it as 'if i can get thru this drug i'll be ok'. what a stupid thing to think! we trust doctors far to readily. I'm glad to have at least learned that- they're not always the answer, especially for things that arent life-threatening.

I wish you all the best, Melissa x x x

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Hi Brandy,
I read your post and although I ususally just read through others to see if they have symptoms that are similar to mine, I thought I would respond to yours. I took a course of accutane at age 16 (1994) and again in 2007. A year after that last course in 2008, I began having sever stomach cramps and pain, especially after eating certain foods. Most of the culprits would be fruits, dairy and anything remotely spicy. I lived off of Gaviscon antacid; I would take 2 immediatly after I felt like my stomach was headed south. I finally went to a gastro Dr. and had an ultrasound done, which showed some "sludge" in my gallbladder. That seemed to be the culprit, so I ended up having it taken out. It has helped tremendously, although I do wake up many mornings from a stomach ache; which seems to happen if I haven't eaten for quite a while or have had quite a bit of sugar the day before (sweets). The stomach ache actually goes away if I eat a piece of toast or something to absorb the acid? Either way, I would have some testing done. Who knows if its due to accutane or not, but I understand trying to live with stomach pain like that is unbearable and highly recommend looking into it! Good luck and best wishes!

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I was on it for several years. At first it was only supposed to be prescribed for one year, because it was a very new drug, and not fully tested at the time. But by the end of my first year ('89), they said it was okay to take it for another year, as long as it wasn't hurting my liver (I took monthly blood tests to test my liver). I ended up taking it for 4 years in a row when my cystic acne didn't stop. I had all the temporary side effects like the chapped lips, dried orifices, etc., but it ended up really helping me, and now, after all these years, I've had none of the side effects that I'm reading about on here. I've got to admit, I'm kind of freaking out right now reading about all these bad experiences that people have had. I'm 40 now, and other than many acne scars from my college years, I have no more acne and I'm a happy and confident man.

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@Hunter,

That's pretty much how it turned out for me. I had the chapped lips like no other! Talk about chap-stick absorbing lips. Anyhow I've only been off of it since 2006, but have not experienced any internal/external problems afterwards. I only took it for about 6-7 months though; I don't know how you were able to manage it for as long as you did, but it's good to hear that you came out on the good end of it too.

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ALL drugs have side effects. I was on Accutane 40mg daily for two years, then continued with 40mg weekly for another 3 years. I think the extended amount of time of my treatment was not normal - usually a full dosing is 6 months or so...but my skin had a positive response with as little as 40mg weekly for years. I have not had negative side effects from this drug...I know folks who have and reading these posts, sorry to hear what some of you are experiencing. Is it possible to isolate all other health issues and blame one drug? Not sure, but note the risk in taking any pharmaceutical...it is your choice to take it.

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I took acutane 8 years ago and want to know if theres a link between this medication and not concieving, we are already on our 5th year wanting to have a baby with my husband. I would like to know if somebody outthere knows if this is one of causes of not cocieving . thanks

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I took Accutane when I was 18 years old. I told my doctor and parents that I was so sick of acne, I would take anything to make it go away. 3 years later, after countless (ineffective) doctors visits, I have been diagnosed with IBS, lactose intolerance, enzyme deficiency, and many others. on top of that, my acne has steadily come back over the last 3 years and looks similar to the way it did before the medicine. While not all people experience these side effects, it is common, and weigh both of your options carefully.

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Hello - Like the others, I took accutane for 4 months when I was 22 (about 8 years ago). I've always stayed healthy, but my acne got severe and painful and I thought that accutane was the answer and it did help - with lots of side effects. Three years after stopping treatment, I got a terrible intestinal infection - which was luckily treated, but also my liver had suffered damage. I did drink on accutane, but very minimally. My back has also recently had many problems that the doctors cannot explain. Personally, I know how awful acne can be - not just for the look, but it can be very painful. I have spoken with one dermatologist and am seeking another and would recommend waiting and finding a well-respected dermatologist that can treat your acne with another medicine. It is not worth the long-term effects associated with this drug. There are lots of options to treat acne and unfortunately, in my experience, the dermatologists that I've seen (over the past few years) seem busy, want to push whatever samples and other "hot" items they have, and do not take the time to understand you and your unique needs. That's just my opinion, but I would not recommend accutane to anyone. Not always, but it can really cause you a lot of trouble down the road. I hope that helps and best of luck.

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I took Accutane 25 years ago. For probably the last 15 to 20 years I have had bowel issues. On Feb. 3rd I had part of my colon removed because of diverticulitis and a twisted bowel. Three years ago I was in the hospital with ischemic colitis. Is it to late for me file a claim?

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I am going through the exact same thing. I am a twenty two year old college student and have all of the same side effects and sympotms. I pray daily and trust that God can heal me and everyone but we must trust him and elimante the things he wants out of our life.
Your brother in Christ

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Will be praying for you trust
God to heal

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Diane,
It would be worth your while to contact an Accutane Lawyer. Recentley their was a case won by someone that took accutane I believe atleast 10 years prior in his life. It was the first case won years after the drug was taken. I believe he had either Cronhs or Colitis and had lost part or all of his colon. All a laywer can do is say no and it wi not cost you anything to talk with a lawyer about your case. Check with any lawyer about his fee's beforhand to be sure.
Best Wishes,
Scott

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