Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 3)
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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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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Sorry but you'll see down the track how it will affect you , just sayin

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Don't do it ! It will wreck your life ! Please trust me !!

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I have been on Accutane for 2 and half months and the worst thing that has happened to me is that my skin has gotten dry and my lips have gotten severely chapped. You do know what Accutane is right? It is basically just an extremely high concentration of vitamin A. I have had over a dozen friends take it and none of them of had any side effects. I'm really sorry about your son, but some of the symptoms you have described are not symptoms of Accutane. Furthermore, it's important to note that all long term side effects go away by themselves. It's easy to put the blame on Accutane, but the symptoms just don't fit. I really hope your son gets better.

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I took Accutane as a young teen and now I'm a 29 yr old with the same exact problems that you're saying your son is having. I was also a basketball and softball player and that came to an end. Like I said I'm now 29 going on what feels like 89 everyday. My face has also been severely scarred on both cheeks due to the medication so I have to wear makeup everyday/all day and night because I'm so insecure about it. That medicine has caused me so much pain not only physically but mentally with getting and still suffering from depression and anxiety from it. It's ruined my life in too many ways. I empathize whole heartedly with you and your son. This medication is killing people and it should've never NEVER been approved.

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So true about he drug companies. I'm sorry that your son and your family are having to live through the horrific effects of Accutane. Those of us who have lived through Accutane understand your suffering. I come from a family with 3 medical doctors and none of them knew these side effects before I took it in 1993. I'm 42 now and still suffering. Accutane caused me degenerative back disease, IBS, and interstitial cystitis, I have chronic sleep deprecation from being in "cancer pain" levels from the "cracked and bloody" lining of my bladder and gut, or at leadt that's what my urologist and Harvard medical school told me. Bless you and your son.

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Hi, I know this is an old post, but how is your son now?? My daughter is 18 and is even worse off then your son was at this time? ?? It's horrible, I'm sorry you are/we're also going through it! I hope things have improved!

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Ladies and Gentleman. I'm sorry about the conditions you and your children are suffering with, but I would like to counsel caution. Many of you are categorically blaming these conditions on accutane. Many of these conditions are extremely common (depression, Dyspepsia, IBS, idiopathic myalgias and arthralgias) and occur in loads of people who never took accutane. I accept that there is possibility that you are right and that you would never have got these conditions if you hadnt taken the drug, but i want you in turn to accept that its also possible that you would have got this condition anyway even if you hadnt taken accutane. Btw my argument doesn't apply to the people who have long term redness, xeroderma and cheilitis - I accept that those are probably due to the drug.

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Hi. I know this is years ago, but I am desperate to talk to someone who understands :( I'm mom to an 18 year old girl who is very ill and I am so scared. So is she. Please let me know how your son is now!! ?? Very well I hope!! Thank you!

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I'm a female who started Accutane in February. After being on many different expensive prescriptions (i.e. Clindamycin Phosphate + Benzoyl Peroxide, Minocycline, Adapalene) since 7th grade that did absolutely nothing for my face acne, my doctor said the last resort was for me to be put on Accutane. I was on this for 3 months and saw no results. I experienced only some of the many side effects associated with this drug. My skin was severely sensitive to the sun- it turned bright tomato red. My eyes started to bother me- it felt like something scratched them and they even turned red. Saline eye drops would only help for a couple hours until they would feel irritated again. I also experienced lower back pain so I couldn't exercise (running on elliptical) like I used to be able before 5 days a week. I also began to not have an appetite after being on this for about three months now. However, I didn't have the common symptom of super dry chapped lips but keep in mind I took this in the middle of winter when my lips are usually dry. This is when my dermatologist upped the dosage to 80mg instead of 40mg like I had been on for about two months. My fourth visit (3 months in) to the derm was when he put me on Absorica. It was supposed to be the stronger version and actually cheaper than Accutane- my parents' copay was $600 a month versus the now $5 it would cost for this Absorica. If only the doctors had mentioned that in the beginning of this already aggravating process! Also with Absorica I was told I didn't have to worry about eating fatty foods with my meal that I took the pills with and it was supposed to be the better option for athletes. I also took a 80mg dosage when I switched over to Absorica.

This is when I noticed a clear difference between the two drugs. So many more side effects came on. Loss of appetite (not eating nearly enough nutrients/calories as I should have been), stomach pain, joint and muscle pain, worsened eye irritation, severely chapped lips (I carried a moisturizing chapstick everywhere I went), change in behavior- I became really on edge and emotional towards things that shouldn't have bothered me (my family noticed a change in how I was behaving too). I also became sensitive to foods that my body was fine with before. I also wasn't able to excrete daily. Miralax didn't even help- I was constipated for more than a week. It's been three months since I've been on Absorica and there are definitely clear results on my face. I am now more confident about my face, I don't shy away when people talk, and I smile more. I will be getting laser treatment for my scars when my doctor says I'm able to. This certainly was a journey and I wrote on this forum to hopefully help people considering being put on this drug and what it entails. If I was put on Absorica during the winter months, I'm not sure I could've finished the treatment. This medicine made me isolate myself and made me lay in bed for days. Thankfully I had a good support system around me and I'm a naturally happy person. There is some truth when I say the results are worth it from taking these medicines. The results on my face are great but what the side effects put me through made me question at times if this treatment was really worth it in the end. Do your research, read these forums and know what to expect- it's different for everyone.

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Spoken just like a pharmaceutical rep for a generic Accutane? You think we're all just making this up troll?

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I am 30 and I have been dealing with acne on and off since I was a freshman in high school; sometimes mild and sometimes severe. Over the years I have literally tried every cream and medication you can think of except for Accutane because I was afraid of the side effects. Recently, I got a new dermatologist and he recommend that I take Accutane. My doctor said that all of the side effects are completely blown out of proportion and that there have been a lot of medical studies published in the last couple of years that debunk a lot of the supposed long term effects. They have also altered Accutane where it isn't stored in your liver anymore which means you can have alcohol in moderation now. I feel like a lot of people don't realize this and if you look at all of the newer statistics, for the really harsh side effects, Accutane has only less than 5% chance of causing any of those and all of the side effects are temporary. Sorry, but I am very skeptical about the long term effects of Acctuane.

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Cindy, I took Accutane at the age of 24 for 3 months. I have suffered many health issues ever since. I am now 57 years old and still trying to cope with the side effects of this poison. I have bone and joint issues, neck pain, gastrointestinal issues, i.e. IBD, bouts of depression, headaches, brain fog, sleep issues, to name a few. In regards to your comment about your family's stomach problems, many people that have taken Accutane develop gastrointestinal problems. About 4 years ago I developed gluten intolerance which seems to be progressively getting worse. I can take just a bite or 2 of food with gluten in it and have stomach distress in some form. Try eliminating gluten from your diet and see if your stomach related/gastro issues improve.

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I used accutane many many years ago and the treatment cleared my cystic acne for 10 years. A couple of years later, i was very depressed, was very very tired and constant headaches and brain fog. For more than a year, i went from one doctor to another to find what was the problem until i met a chronic fatigue specialist who sent me to take a blood test to get my level of testosterone. My testoterone level was below 0. For some time, I took andriol which is a testosterone supplement. And it helped with the tiredness. A few years later, i took another acutane treatment (not knowing what it was doing to me). Then my testosterone level went down again. So i got on andriol again with anti depressants. I am 62 years old and i have been on high dosage of testosterone and anti-depression medication for approximately 15 years now. I will probably take these medications for the rest of my life. I have muscle weakness all the time now and i often spend days in bed because of the tiredness.

How can this medication still be on the market for acne when the side effects are so acute to every one?

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Hello, As you have heard everyone reacts differently to medications, but, I highly recommend that you do not take this drug unless you will be permanently disfigured from your acne. Myself and two children took this drug many years ago and we all suffer from permanent side effects. This sad thing is no doctor will admit it is from the accutane. My daughter, myself and son all suffer with constant neck pain and stomach issues. We all receive chiropractic care and my son and daughter periodically suffer, from vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. When my daughter went to the emergency room because of blood in her stool and severe stomach pain, they told her she must have ate some bad food. Was that possible, sure but her husband ate the same thing and was fine. Personally, I don't think enough research was done on this drug and doctors certainly don't educate you, they are only there to write the prescription.

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I totally agree with your posting. My 17 year old son started taking Accutane in November of 2016, in which he would experience severe nose bleeds, joint pain and by February 2017 he was having severe panic attacks and severe sadness. He never had any problems before this. He is a very good student, no drugs issues, athlete, loved going to school until now, in which he has severe panic attacks, feels sad, experiencing panic attacks, and he has missed 21 days of school because of these symptoms. I am a nurse and I have researched everything from vitamin A toxicity and Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A. Doctors keep telling me the drug should be out of the system but if it is a derivative of vitamin A, vitamin A stays in the liver up to 300 days. This drug caused this I know, even during his panic attacks my son said it is the medication because I was fine before this. Thank God he was only on it for 4 months!! If your child is experiencing these symptoms stop the medication, stay away from vitamin A for a little while, get them some psychiatric help, have them drink 6-8 glasses of water a day and don't take supplements for about 6 months. I wish I would not have let him go on this medication and the FDA needs to reevaluate this medication because it does cause chronic issues to these young teens and young adults!!!

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Yes, probably you are suferring long term side effects. You will find a lot of information and other people with the same problems that you described in acne..rg. Look for a post called "Repairing the long-term damage from Accutane",

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Wrong, the information wasn't on the internet in the early 90s. Hell there was barely any internet at that point.

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My daughter took Accutane in the med 1990's for severe acne. Everything else failed, antibiotics, facial creams, and the list goes on. She began talking about suicide asking me if she tried to kill herself would she end up in a certain hospital. Let's fast forward to 2017. She is now 32 years of age. She lost twins with a tubal pregnancy, she had a partial hysterectomy, countless miscarriages, gal bladder removed, near appendix rupture, and now a tumor on her liver. She can't afford the needed surgery so here's another prescription for pain. Gee doc another prescription drug addict is just what we need. My heart aches as I was the parent who took her to the doctors every month to get the blood work and needed pregnancy evaluation. The after effects long after taking this chemotherapy pill is dangerous. Stay away from it.

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I have been on roaccutane/accutane 2 times. Once for 9 months at 16 and then again for 10 months at 18. Had a very dysfunctional life since then with depression, anxiety, insomnia, nocturia, high intolerance to medication and so on. I wonder if it played a role.

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Watch the liver. It contains a lot of vitamin A which after Accutane with its perverted vitamin A can really mess you up. Vitamin A from veggies seems to be allright. Polar explorers got sick and died after ingesting polar bear liver.

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