Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 57)

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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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 am a 26 yr old female. I took accutane when I was 17 and again when I was 21. It absolutely changed my life. I had cystic acne, crazy oily skin, was shy, no confidence.. Thank goodness I was good at sports and had something else to focus on.

I took 80mg which I'm told is very high. I had dry red skin, some rashes on the back of my hands, but incredible improvement. I tried everything before this and accutane is the only thing that works for cystic acne.

Since I started breaking out really early I already had tons of scarring on my face, chest , and back. As a female this was pretty tough to deal with.

I'm now spending $1,000s of dollars on laser resurfacing and my ONLY regret is not taking accutane earlier. Please consider this with your daughter as I wished my parents were more proactive and not afraid of modern medicine. Females deal with much more scrutiny when it comes to appearances. I think you should definitely go for it! Start with small doses and monitor closely, she will thank you for it 10 yrs from now.

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The same thing Pretty much happened to my son.He went on Accutane during break from college (sometime in the summer of 2010) . In January I get a phone call and he is in the mental hospital having a psycotic episode.He was on his second year working toward a PHD in electrical engineering when it happened.
Three years later he is still on antipsycotic meds, depressed. HeTried 5 or 6 times to go back to school , cant hold down a job, stays in his room basically 24 hours a day.
Theres no doubt in my mind this acne drug did this ! My son is,was a very kind, hard working person till he took this acne medication.Now hes a mess. Sczitzo-effective disorder.
And I cant find any quality help program for him either.
Most treatment programs characterize mental disease in the same catagory as drug addicts. My son is not a drug addict. He's never done any illegal drugs so Im not comfortible sending hin to these places.I want a good psyciatrist and psycologist that specializein Scitzoeffective dissorder but that is a tough thing to accomplish where we live.
This drug ruined his life

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Terry,

Try detoxification and check out Hulda Clarks Book. Please disregard anybody that calls her a quack. She was a genius and a researcher. She discovered every disease is caused by bacteria, yeast, parasites etc. Accutane kills our good bacteria and allows other bacteria, yeast, parasites in. These can carry metals with them. When we have metals in our body our brains exhibit schiz behavior. The only way to restore the immune system and save your son is through detoxification. Detoxification can take several forms... Rotational antifungals combined with sugar, gluten, and lactose free diets. You take natural herbs with food to inhibit the current organism in the body from eating. Sometimes mental problems are caused by brain flukes. Natural herbs can kill brain flukes. So all this is the result of accutane aka chemotherapy. Herbs used to detox... garlic, oregano, gse, golden seal, caprylic acid. Herbs for worms... wormwood, black walnut. Bentonite clay pulls metal from the body. As well chlorella does the same with metals. When detoxing headaches can happen due to the toxins... sometimes people feel bad before they get better. Also, probiotics are necessary to crowd out bad bacteria. Lastly, never give up and never ever dismiss anything as a hoax. Getting better is not magic. Forget everything you see and hear from the media. Once the mind is free from the programming truth sets in and once that happens there is a lot of work required to get better. I'm not afraid to speak the truth, because they already killed me with this drug. There is nothing they can do to me that they haven't already done with this drug. So I'm not afraid to help your son by giving you the truth.

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I never thought I would have any issues arrise from accutane either. I was just fine both times I took this drug. Never any side effects. Now 3 years after my second round of accutane I have found out that I have gastritis..I also have a condition called vulvodynia. Both conditions are linked to Accutane. Let me be the first to tell you that you may change your tune when it is you who are suffering from the reprocussions of this very potent dangerous drug. I hope you never have to go through what some of us have had to go throught. Several years ago I would have thought the same way you are thinking until my body started to break down. I have always been a very healthy person. I eat healthy, I exercise daily, I am not overweight, I don't smoke, I drink only on occasion. It is very devestating to be told that the serious health problems you are dealing with are probably a result of accutane. I wish I had never taken this drug

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I hope you reported theese side effects of your sons to the FDA or drug regulator in the country you live in. My heart goes out to you and your family:( I wish I had something that would help us all - Jen

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@ Coleen

I to am in my mid 20s, 25 to be exact and took accutane when I was almost 17. I have some scaring from before starting accutane but its hard to notice. A lot of people tell me they can't even tell I had acne. Just like in your case, I believe accutane if taken correctly can prevent further break outs. This drug really changes the way your oil glands in your skin work, by shrinking them. That can also impact your skin in many negative ways.. It's ruff for me to judge what someone should do when it comes to accutane because I have a little sister that is beautiful but also suffers from bad acne. I know that it has always bothered her. Unfortunately she started accutane and could not afford or have the right guidance to finish a cycle properly and was also having a lot of side effects. I know it's ruff for people that have severe acne but there is a lot of side affects that come with this drug that can be life long. In my case I didn't have extremely severe acne but it was pretty bad. For those looking to take this drug I would first of all defiantly wait until your done growing, because it is already proven that extreme amounts of vitamin A which accutane is, cause growth plate closure. Number 2, It does a lot of other things with the bones, joints and the rest of the body so you might wanna look at the extensive list of side effects when considering to take it. Lastly, there are many people who take more then one course and still suffer from acne and inharrit some of the life long negative side effects and have worse scaring from when they were on the cycle. When I took this drug I was young and did it have strong parental guidance, and wasn't informed properly by my doctor about the many risk. Before you take this drug make sure to do extensive research and make sure the positives weigh out the negatives for you. @ coleen> by the way I wouldn't call accutane modern medicine.. I know people that took the drug in the late 80s and it was the same thing back then.

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At least when you don't take accutane you know that your issue is your acne.. When you take accutane its more then likley to to experience so many other health issues and discomforts that might be cosmetic as well as physical. As for modern medicine, it would probably be safer to try other things. When I have kids, I hope I don't have to face this tuff discussion.. Good luck !

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Hello, my name is Tom. I am also a sufferer from accutane. I took accutane when I was 14 years old. I have had many long term side effects with accutane. I am now 19 years old and am still only 5 foot 6 inches tall. I was predicted to be 5 foot 9. Is there any way we could come together and come in further contact to discuss side effects or possible action suits. Please let me know.

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Tom,

I believe you are only allowed to sue within 5 years after taking accutane. What's bad is the effects of accutane are lifelong and sometimes don't even show up until 20 years down the road. In the meantime these people suffer, but doctors will tell them there is nothing wrong with them. I doubt you can sue, because it stunted your growth. My contention though would be what else did it do to your body from a biological standpoint that hasn't shown up yet. When I say biologically, I am talking about the immune system and the organisms/bacteria that now use your body as a result of immune weakening. The same can be said for immunizations, but as most people know you can sue for immunizations. Another argument is the premature cell death that have you been exposed to has taken years off your life that you don't even know about. Ok so now that I've said all that I think we can all agree that a drug that kills people over acne should not be on the market. Lawyers are only taking individual law suits of people with severe ibs or ibd. It's the cycle of life from our government. Doctors= Jobs Doctor prescribes deadly drug- Lawyers sue for deadly drug- patient forced on more drug- doctors then treat patient with severe problem with surgery- patient poor- doctors and lawyers rich- everybody happy except patient who suffers a miserable life and death. Medical industry= trillion dollars. Everybody in US unhappy, because of medicinals making them unhealthy :(

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Jrad, thank you so much for your insightful reply. Did you take accutane as well? I wish I could afford a lawyer to try to sue accutane..

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we read your story. Our son is suffering from long term side effect after accutane treatment, now 5 years ago. He can't concentrate anymore, he has sleeping disorder and is tired. Now we started detoxification. And yes he gets headaches- he never had headaches before-and is not yet getting better. So we wanted to know: how are you?

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we read your story. Our son is suffering from long term side effect after accutane treatment, now 5 years ago. He can't concentrate anymore, he has sleeping disorder and is tired. Now we started detoxification. And yes he gets headaches- he never had headaches before-and is not yet getting better. I understand you tried the detoxification.So we wanted to know: how are you?

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I am much better. I won't claim I am fully well yet. I've come up with techniques to help with the headaches. Sometimes I use ginger. Other times I'll use bentonite clay to suck up the toxins which cause the headaches. Another you can try is to oxidize it with ozonated water. When I was eating 4 raw cloves of garlic a day with food I would get headaches so I would take 1 tablespoon of betonite clay roughly 2 hours after eating. Reason for taking Garlic with food is to prevent the bacteria from feeding on the food and kill it in the process.

The headaches/toxins were so bad that I would pass out. I mean literally pass out from what would appear as drunkeness from candida toxins. My energy is slowing coming back and I don't pass out. It takes a long time to kill and replenish bacteria. I have also found colloidal silver as an effective treatment against worms/bacteria. I would not use colloidal silver when using clay. Most important thing is the avoidance of gluten, sugar, and milk. Organic veggies and chicken... no fruit. Anyways, I've developed my own protocals based on what I know, but it would probably benefit your son for you to see a natural doctor.

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SO my newest inclusion to my ever growing stomach problems is a lot of blood in my stool.... it never ends. They took 2 samples of my stool and found blood, but no cause as to why...... I currently hate life.

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John,

They aren't going to ever search for the problem. So they aren't going to search for the bacteria causing the problem. I'm not sure of your severity or your current medications, but keep in mind that prednisone is being used as an acid to kill the bacteria. Lialda or sulphur drugs are being used to inhibit bacteria spread. If you have a lot of yeast sulphur drugs will not work.

So if you are bleeding most likely you are too acidic. Three ways to neutralize acid. 1. Trace Minerals. 2. ozonated water 3. Bentonite clay.

Bentonite clay is really strong and literally pulls candida of the walls of the intestines. If you have spots in your poop that is yeast. Look up colloidal silver on youtube. It will pretty much kill everything in your system. Use it sparingly. Well informed doctors in Africa are using it against Malaria.

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Hey Tom.. I wish I had the anwser for you.. My best advise is to try to stay positive . Like jrad try to find things that seem to make the situation better. I do the sAme as jrad, find little remedies to help ease the side effects. Some of the side effects I am guessing can't be reversed but I do my best to stay active and keep my mind off the situations . Stick to a routine that works for you..

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Okay, well I just figured out that I have Morgellons disease. I'm not putting this out there to cause a wild debate, but just to inform others of what I believe to be a consequence of Accutane. It's a parasitic/bacterial/fungal infection of unknown etiology. Whether or not it came from Accutane, I cannot be entirely certain because a lot of the side effect of Accutane are identical to Morgellons Disease, which I began to experience during a course of Accutane. Headaches, can't concentrate, debating fatigue, itchy dry skin, dry hair, vision decline, teeth issues, bone and joint issues, ect. This disease is progressive, sometimes slowly progressive. And the worst part is that physicians don't believe this disease exist, but it's serious! And it's so much more than sores on the surface of the skin, which you may NOT even have.

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I took accutane 2 years ago. I am now 19 and I’m suffering from severe joint pain at the knees, my shoulders and wrists. It is so bad that I cannot even walk up the stairs at times and I am also suffering from severe hair loss, my hair falls out like crazy. I know for sure that this is because of Accutane cause I have never experienced any of this symptoms before the course of this drug. I am only 19 and I am so worried about my health. Is there any way to treat these symptoms or get better?

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Chole,

Have you had any lab work? Such as thyroid, b12, iron, ferritin, labs for Rheum conditions. Accutane can cause autoimmune. Also interesting post CAT! Thank You I am going to spread the word to some suffers I know who have the same issues.

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@ cloe I am not so sure about the joint pain.. I've always been sore and just figured it was from the gym or work.. I guess I am used to it.. As for hair loss, I started to notice that my scalp was sore and very dry n flaky almost immediately after taking my corse of accutane. My hair and skin on scalp was literally shedding.. I had patches of dry skin that would shed and my hair with the folicules would come out. When I took showers I really noticed a lot of hair coming off into my hands.. My scalp was extremely sore! Like you I noticed there was a problem here.. I went to dermatologist and doctors.. Dermatologist said it was dermatitistcs . Basically when the scalp is really itchy and inflamed.. And they will give you steroid creams, drops, and shampoos.. Which have more side effects.. My doctor that prescribed me this hellish drug who was not a dermatologist, told me that accutane shrinks your oil glands and as you get older your oil glands shrink naturally.. He said this might be the reason I am suffering more as the days go bye.. Scalp and skin issues where a big one for me the first few years after taking accutane (dermatitis of the skin, peeling, and my hair falling out due to the harsh environment of the skin) even if you skin isn't flaking and extremely dry it's possible for your hair to be falling out abnormally in cycles, due to the change of your skin. It's been about 8 years for me and I still have skin issues that started right after taking the tang.. I ve learned some things that helped me..
1.)Try not to wash your hair with super hot water or to take more showers then needed, this will dry you scalp out worse and help the shedding ( I find that living at a house with well water helps compared to when I shower at my chicks house)
2.) Do not use dandruff shampoos , I went through a sloo of them and found it dryed my scalp even worse
3.) Try using natural shampoos like ( wen) and natural conditioners.. ( conditioner with a tea tree oil - found at a natural store) I ve been doing this for a few months and I find it to work really good. I can actually grow my hair out a bit long with out it being sore
4.) Guys- Try to keep hair short - I rocked a fade for a lot of years
5.) I found that moisturizers didn't help situations as well as they would help a typical persons skin- accutane makes the skin kinda lifless .. Dosnt really respond well
6.) If you work out or sweat the salts can dry you up even more sore it's a good idea to shower- make it quick and not to hot!
7. My skin situation has gotten better with time.. I prolly suffered some perminent hair thining while I was at my peak of shedding ..
If I can recommend anything to you it would be to see a dermatologist and try to explain how you are certain it is due to accutane.. If you have a good derm they won't find too unbelievable.. It is a side effect. Second try to be as healthy and active as you can.. I noticed a lot of shedding while usually on my computer.. Drink antioxidant teas and try to eat healthy.. I do all those things now.. But the truth is that when my skin was at its worst, it felt like nothing really helped. I am not bald and still consider to have a desent head of hair, even know I notice a bit of change its hard for others. So I think you will be fine, keep positive. Sorry for the lengthy reply and any errors, I am on my iPhone

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