Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 28)
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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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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Hey Anthony,

yes I do plan to continue using this supplement in the long run simply because of what it is doing for me. I liked it so much I ended up becoming a distributor for them.
Getting the ingredients separately wouldn't have the same effect because of the way it is combined in the one pill, plus it is easier to take just one pill instead of 5 or 6 different ones. You could actually be what is called a preferred customer which is what I was doing when I first tried it and it is $40 plus tax and shipping which is roughly 49 to 50 a month. I know it is a bit pricey but for me it was worth it. It made me feel just so much better overall and I have hear many stories how it is doing the same for so many other people too.
I don't think no one has ever really correlated it with accutane side effects.
I saw how people treated with chemo were given Protandim and it showed to help them re cooperate with their treatment. I know people are saying how accutane is a chemo drug, so that may be the reason I am feeling better taking Protandim.

And as for the dry eyes, I don't think it is really doing anything for that, but went to the eye doctor recently and was told how my oil glands in my eyes were really dry which caused me to have a couple little yellow dots in my eyelid. He prescribed me some prescription eye drops called azasite, which seem to be helping a bit.

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I like hearing everybody's stories, I have yet to have any serious side effects like the ones that have been posted. After long periods of time, I come back to this site because I'm sad. I'm sad because I completely stopped growing at age fifteen and I was already a little behind in growing and puberty starting about a year later than everybody else at my school. Fifteen you may say I was already fully matured, but the truth is, I am so underdeveloped. To other people, I'm just the kid with the baby face who ages well... Sometimes I believe this is what I was supposed to grow up to look like, until I look at my family members. I have the smallest hands, feet, head, and genitals in my family, although this is not necessarily important or severe, It truly messes with my head. Being an athlete size matters! I'm not saying I would have been big, but I know there was more development left in my body, for example Lebron James was 6 foot 2 when he was a freshman in high school. Having intercourse is a struggle because the base of my genitals is not strong enough to support women on top of me or even strong enough to penetrate, the girl usually has to grab it and stick it in, not to mention my balls hardly dropped. My whole body is proportionate... so having small genitals goes along with my baby hands, feet, and my small immature face. I body build to eliminate the immaturity of my body, as to where naturally I am around a 120 pounds. I have been 5 foot 7 in a half since I've taken accutane at 15. I am in my second year of college, I'm not just some depressed person doing nothing with his life, I am trying to feel as much like my self as I can.. Not your average twenty year old.

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@patty Is that really what you read? That most people that took accutane have big improvement and only a few got side effects? or is that all people get side effects and its something you are not wanting to accept so you can suffer the consequences on your own and learn from your own mistakes? have you not seen how many people are on this board complaining about their pain? why can you not see it? why are you reading and researching about this drug if you plan to take it anyways and suffer the hardway? I guess you dint read about the statistics that for every 220 people that took accutane at least 7 people or more will try to commit suicide? depression isnt from the acne.. its probably from the lack of hormones coz accutance destroys everything? or maybe because I read somewhere that there was a man who was stuck in the wilderness and it was snowing and that the only thing he found to eat was bear, when he ate the bear for his meal, he accidentally ate an organ that was apparently super rich in vitamin A and he developed mental problems like schizophrenia. well... huge doses of vitamin A does this to any human being. its not just coincidence. I hope you dont destroy your future since you are so young. try to learn from other peoples mistakes. The earlier you realize it the sooner you will be saved from misery. there are millions of other things you can trip on and take instead of accutane. Please for crying out loud.... get it through your head... this isnt a miracle drug. It is false advertising. Of course they want you to believe it coz they want your money. do you even know how much a pill cost? maybe you never had to worry about money but you might need to shell out a lot of cash just to take this and kill yourself slowly. id actually rather you take a pill that has a hit than this drug. of course im being sarcastic coz reading your response is very irritating. Please open your eyes.

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Hi Lou,

Thanks for sharing. Is this something you envision taking for a long time? It's extremely expensive for a supplement. The site lists all of the natural ingredients. Granted some of them like turmeric and green tea extract are quite pricey as well. Have you considered getting these herbs separately and potentially stocking up and saving a bit of money?

Their website looks pretty gimmicky too, no offense. I'm really happy you seem to be having success though. Are you experiencing any improvement in dry eyes, assuming that was a side effect you dealt with?
Thanks.

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My husband has similar issues, with his bowels and indigestion. He has recently been getting these odd nosebleeds. For no reason.

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Everybody,

I have been reading about some natural cures for acne and I have seen a few treatments. Most of the treatments include at least 50,000 IU of Vitamin A along with other vitamins for at least three months. Would this be like taking Accutane? Would it be ok as long as I get my blood work done?

treatment example
books.google.com/books?id=6cjgo1IixvEC&pg=PA1100&dq=acne+iu+vitamin=onepage&q=acne&f=true

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Hi Marla I am hanging in there and I will be getting my vitamin D level checked next week.

Hi Patty I understand what you are saying and I am glad Accutane has worked with you with no long term side effects. I can also see why others like yourself would call it a wonder drug and would recommend it. However, I want to try any natural and alternative options before I even think about taking Accutane.

Please don't do anything to harm yourself and give life a chance.

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Hey everybody,
first of all I would like to express my deep condolences to everyone on this message board who has suffered from the horrible effects of accutane or had someone close to you suffer from it.
I am a 22 year old male and I could relate on the fact that I took it and suffered from taking it.
The list of everything it has caused me since taking it were:
mind fog
Joint and lower back pain
horrible hair loss (I know its from accutane cause hair loss isn't genetic in my family)
extreme dry eyes
Nearsightedness

A few months ago I was introduced to a product called protandim. Never really thought about taking it but decided to look into it. It is a nrf2 activator that lowers oxidative stress by 40% in 30 days.
I did my research on it and found how oxidative stress is actually related to hundreds of diseases which could be looked up on google.
its pretty amazing how it has shown to help people recover from various types of diagnosis es and disease. One supplement made of natural ingredients doing all these amazing things. Hmmm, so I decided to give it a try.
WOW, after about 2 months of taking it, my joint pains and mind fog feel as though they are disappearing. I will continue taking it to the point where it hopefully does completely.
Also I researched how it helped people with their acne as well. So far I never really broke out since taking it so it doesn't seem to have an affect on my acne.
I wanted to share this with all of you in light of a potentially new hope in what is helping me at the moment and what could help you guys. Do your research on protandim and ask me any questions you have or how you could get it.
Thank you

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Bro needs help

I am sorry for your brothers mental issues but are you sure that his schizophrenia was caused by Accutane? Something like schizophrenia may have just been a coincidence.From what I see most people don't develop long term side effects. If you look at articles on Accutane even the negative ones there are many more good comments than bad. Most people say it's a miracle drug that has given them their life back.

Ernest

Acne and diet has little to do with each other. When I got acne I was healthy athletic 17 year old with a good diet. There are also people who smoke, do drugs, or eat lots of junk food that never get acne. Cutting out milk can help but it doesn't produce results in everybody. Diet is not going to do much to help cystic, nodular, or conglobate acne. You do have a point on antibiotics though. There have been research that stated that long term antibiotic use may cause bowel problems. So that means that the bowel problems some people are claiming Accutane caused may have been caused by their antibiotic use.

Anthony,

I agree that Accutane should only be taken when the acne is severe and cannot be helped by anything else. The reason I told Jacob to try it is because he fits that description. Yes it shouldn't be given in mild or moderate acne but I cannot imagine no option at all for people with extreme acne like in Lana's links.

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I am unable to put into words how drastically accutane changed my life. It literally destroyed the very aura of who I was. It completely changed my appearance, and I was not made aware of any of the side effects i now face, except depression, which i attribute to side effects not the drug itself. For me at least.. My hair thinned at 17 and never returned. I come from a family with thick, thick hair. My skin permanently thinned and my face became more pale. I experienced rectal bleeding.. And i recently found out that i now have celiac. With studies now pointing toward Accutane activating celiac, I have no doubt in my mind that it was caused from that drug. If you go to an endocrinologist for low vitamin d they will give you 50,000 IU vitamin D2 only once a week for fear of overdose. Accutane is like a mega dose of vitamin A taken every single day for 6 months. How in the world is this drug allowed. How are doctors so oblivious, so ignorant to all of the side effects. It is even worse when they tell you that it is impossible for a drug to affect you after you have been off for more than a year. So youre telling me it will permanently keep acne at bay, but it is impossible for anything else to occur after a year..... I hate accutane, and most all dermatologists.

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Patty,
I too, was on antibiotic drugs prior to my course of Accutane treatment. I was on antibiotics for at least 3 years. My Dermatologist started me on a drug called Sumycin. I took that until my body built up a resistance to that drug. Then my Dr. changed my treatment to another antibiotic. This went on for about 3 years. Then my body started rejecting the antibiotics. These antibiotic drugs "wash" your gut out so to speak. The antibiotics kill the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria. The result was Diarrhea for over 2 weeks, with a loss of 15 pounds of bodyweight. When I stopped taking the antibiotics the Diarrhea went away. Antibiotics are not the answer to Acne! Antibiotics should strictly be reserved for more acute serious health problems, i.e. strep, pneumonia, etc. If you over indulge in the use of Antibiotics, the body tends to build up a resistance to them. So when you really need them they are less effective. My suggestion is to go the natural route and clean up the diet of the person that has the acne problem. Stay away from the junk foods, processed foods and high fat foods. Dairy products can be a culprit also. If I could go back 30 years that what I would do. I would stay away from the over abuse of antibiotics and NEVER TAKE ACCUTANE!

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@maggie. I think you are misinformed about the side effects of accutane. Accutane is like a pure form of vitamin A. It does not leave the body. It remains in your cells forever. Vitamins A,D,E and K are the vitamins that once we take, do not leave the system. That is why people that overdose on this vitamin have side effects forever. It is very hard to not get side effects. only a lucky few say they dont but maybe they are not even sure that they did not get it.. maybe they have not observed themselves enough to say that they got the side effects or not. I think most that took this suffer permanant effects such as depression, allergy problems, and digestion problems. I hope that people realize this sooner and stop accutane as soon as possible. My brother suffered schizophrenic episodes for more than a year now. He doesnt have much of a life anymore. he came from an active very bright sports minded and got high grades in school to now cant go to school and have severe depression and have a hard time focussing on a task. He is now heavily medicated and there seems to be no more returning to normal for his life. I feel very angry at how accutane destoryed his life and how this drug has destroyed many other lives. Instead of living a healthy life and doing anything you want outdoors such as sports, being on accutane is like killing yourself slowly and taking the life that we have and putting it in prison. hope you have the courage and strength to know what is good for your body and try to be positive with life despite the side effects. it is a struggle. May Gods glory be with you.

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Hi everyone,

If you've used Accutane, or any meds for that matter, and had side effects from taking it, your can always stop and regain your health again. I know it's really disappointing that what we just wanted to remove Acne that has been affecting how we live. Unfortunately, some of us are not aware of the long term side effects of Accutane, and out of desperation maybe, we have tried it. But we can still regain our health by detoxifying all the harmful chemicals we have in our body and nourish our cells with lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

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Patty I am happy that things worked out well for you. While it is true that there are people who get lucky and don't suffer the long term side effects, I would really discourage people from taking Accutane before exhausting all approaches. I for one also believe a large part of acne troubles relates to dairy intake, diet, water (that we drink and bathe in) and of course hormones and genetics contribute. Unfortunately for women I also believe the hormonal changes play a larger role than in men, and that males more frequently grow out of their acne troubles.

For me, Accutane was merely a trade-off and I am finally realizing it. You know, I took it too. I was so desperate to alleviate my acne troubles that I was willing to risk my body by taking a chemotherapy drug to clear my skin. I don't think it's any coincidence people suffer frequent and quite severe hair loss and develop alopecia and telegenic effluvium due to accutane. It was meant to frickin' treat cancer! Again, Patty I don't mean any disrespect and I am happy you avoided the side effects. To Jacob and others, I've learned from my decision, but only too late. Take it from the hundreds of others here that suffered. I lost acne for the most part but also deal with multiple problems sometimes as frustrating as acne. I know it can inhibit your life, but imagine what can happen with your life if your whole body isn't functioning properly. People are dealing with long term effects for decades. In some cases it's a coincidence, but I strongly believe many of these problems can be attributed to the drug. I was too hasty with my decision on taking it. And once it does its damage, good luck finding any professional in the health care field willing to even attribute your problems to isotretinoin. Good luck my friend.

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Hi everybody,

I just wanted to give another perspective on Accutane. I have sympathy for your health problems but I am not sure if all of them are Accutane related. The fact is that while Accutane may caused side effects in others it has been a lifesaver for many people with severe acne. I took Accutane in 1987 and it was worth it for me. I had some joint pain while on it but there were no long term effects. My acne was so painful and unsightly that nothing else could work for me. To Jacob and others if you have severe, painful acne that is all over your face and/or body you should take the chance. There is only a small chance you will get these side effects. However, if you don't take Accutane it's guaranteed you will be left with cysts, nodules, and bad scarring that will continue to affect your quality of life.

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Hi Jacob,
Keep us posted on your progress. I know how debilitating and humiliating severe acne can be; the ridicule and emotional suffering, etc. HANG IN THERE!!
I wish I had known the facts about Accutane, but I was put on it in the early 1980's before there was the Internet or any real way of knowing how BAD this drug really is. I have had a multitude of issues that I can attribute to Accutane. I am 52 and now want to save others from this misery.
Feel free to post or ask more questions......we are here to help....we understand what you are going through.
Marla

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Thanks Marla I will take your advice and I am currently doing some research on natural treatments.

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Anthony
Nw i am trying to do exactly the same.overcoming all these with mental stability..guys u all can start with vitamin e it helps

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My son is on Doxycycline.It is an antibiotic given by his primary care doctor. He takes 2-100mg tablets at bedtime and he sees an improvement though his face is not completely clear, he also does not take it consistently.Maybe ask your dermatologist of a good face washing regimen along with an antibiotic.SO MUCH BETTER THAN ACCUTANE! I put my daughter on it years ago (6) and she has nothing but all kinds of intestinal problems,bloating,diarrhea,, gas,constant belching it is awful.She has had all kinds of testing done and they can't find anything wrong with her.I blame it all on Accutane,there is nothing else it can be.I hope this helps .Proactive is another great product too but please stay away from Accutane.If you look it up it is actually a chemotherapy medication why they use it for teenage acne with all the risks is beyond me.Had I known this before I would not have used it!!

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Jacob....
(1.)You need to have your Vitamin D levels checked. I found out that my Vitamin D was depleted. Taking Vitamin D supplements helped greatly.
(2.)Eat more of a "cave-man" diet; meaning avoiding processed foods. I found that soy additives and high fructose corn sugars are added into virtually every processed. I have lactose and gluten sensitivities as well.
(3.)Stop listening to most Doctors. Very few will go outside the norm and dig deep enough to determine the cause of your Acne. I truly believe it can be caused by many things including hormones, diet, food sensitivities, vitamin imbalances, etc. You need to get in tune with your body and demand testing for things outside of the norm such as Vitamin D, hormone imbalances, etc.
(4.)Accutane might seem like the answer, but in the long run, it will ruin you. Every system in your body will be damaged by Accutane. Any issues or problems will magnify and become worse. Your Acne most likely will come back....don't believe the drug manufacturers.....start looking for answers elsewhere.

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