Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 60) (Top voted first)

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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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Hi Stephen,
I am curious.....were you a test case for Accutane; before it was released to Doctors for prescribing in 1982? You say that you are 50 and that you took it at age 15. If so, you would have taken it in 1977 or 1978, several years before Doctors could prescribe it in 1982. Are you sure that it was Accutane that you took? Just wondering....

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I took accutane when it was first released as an approved medication in the early 80's. It was 30 years ago.I do not remember the exact date I started accutane. It believe it was between 1980-1982. The point I been trying to make is accutane is a possible cure for severe cystic acne. It is not for typical teenage acne. It also has the risk of severe side effects. So if someone is deciding whether or not to take accutane,they better know these facts,and really need a cure. Because their acne is that bad. Not because of a pimple or two.

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Yes, there are quite a few. Here is 1 thread on it!
/Discuss/Accutane-and-Infertility-205942.htm

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thank gawd cause i just started taking it 3 days ago and after reading all this i was super stressed out. so i feel a bit better knowing that it doesnt effect everyone this way!

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Hi Nicole,
I just want to say that if you currently or in the past, have had any health issues AT ALL.......Accutane will most likely make them worse or bring them back. And the health issue will get worse over time. If you have PMS or painful periods......they will get worse. If you have any depression or anxiety, it will get worse. If you have dental problems, they will get worse. Accutane will PERMANENTLY alter your DNA and damage your Telomeres. Your body will NEVER have the same defenses to infection or disease. DO NOT BELIEVE THE HYPE. Even people who say that they did not have a "reaction" most likely do not realize the damage to the DNA and Telomeres has shortened their life. If you want a long, healthy life.......PLEASE RETHINK YOUR DECISION. Ifyou do not know what Telomeres are, read about it. I took Accutane 3 different times in my 20's. The dangers were KNOWN but NOT DISCLOSED by ROCHE.
I am now 51 years and suffer every day from this.

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Nicole if you do decide to continue accutane, be diligent with all the blood tests before and during use. Monitor your liver functions, and do not take accutane (because of the risks) if you can live with your acne. It was the best thing for me at the time 30 years ago. But all you have to do is read people's comments and understand it was the worst decision for a lot of people. So go in it with your eyes open. OK

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Marla - How bad are your food sensitivites and how restrictive is your diet? I'm also on a very restrictive (and boring) diet because I'm allergic/have a sensitivity to most foods. I feel bad after eating many fruits (cherries,blackcurrants, melons, pomegrantaes, pears etc etc...), herbs like parsley/basil etc (possibly because they are so concentrated in Vitamin A which seems to be a problem for some sufferers), I've tried things like high doses of Wheatgrass powder and other healthy supplments and again feel bad after (again wheatgrass is high in Vitamin A and could be the cause).I react very bladly to hot/spicy foods like garlic and chilli peppers. I could go on. Symptoms happen very quickly after eating and are usually eye pain/soreness/bloodshot/increase light sensitivity (i have all these 24/7 since Accutane but get worse if eating the 'wrong' foods), headach, aching body, feel weaker and my chest can what I describe as 'clog up'. Oh, and my skin gets worse after eating certain foods because I have rosacea.. another Accutane side effect I have. The few times I've tried food with gluten in the past few years it's been ever worse.. almost cold/flu like symptoms... racing heart, feeling very weak, faint even, runny nose as well as everything I've said before. I've had a few allergy/sensitivity tests done (hair analysis and the other I think was called EGG test) and they say I have hardly any problems with the foods I do have problems with so I just don't understand. My stomach is constantly bloated too, big time, (and I'm skinny), so that isn't right and doesn't look at all normal. I could go on and on about all my other problems too (and I did mention a lot of them in a post I made here 6 months or so ago) but I won't for now. But to say it's f***ed my life up is an absolute understatement. The person I was before Accutane is dead. Sorry - I've gone off on one a bit here but as you mentioned you are on a restrictive diet I thought I'd reply because I haven't read many posts that also have the same problem.

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I did not see your email address in the post but I need to talk to you about my daughter who has taken Accutane. I would like to know what type of diet and supplements work best. She is experiencing stomach pain, joint pain, and some psychological issues. Any suggestions would be awesome, doctors are no help at all!

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Hi Joelle,
This is MARLA, did you want to talk to me further, or was your message for someone else......
Respond back to this forum, with your e-mail address and say if it is me that you are wanting to talk to.

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Didn't even mention that if I eat hard/dry foods, and nuts/seeds, even a salad or take supplements in capsule form etc then my digestion just goes haywire, and it can make me feel crap for up to a week...

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I am sorry I am late to this board(years). Here is a postive story. I had acne all my teen years and it was miserable and I was depressed and always occupied with my face. I tried all kinds of antibiotics. Nothing worked. Finally, a new doctor gave me accutane. It was amazing. I know only generic version is avaible now, as accutane isnt availble, but that stuff as amazing. It cleared my acne 100%. I am pretty much fine, though I do have depression, but 10 years later, I assume it is just my life.
Anyway, I hate how others ruin everything, I know genric versions of accutane are still availble, but maybe they just should not give that to teenages, I was 21-22 when I started accutane and it worked great. It was an amazing drug.

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Marla, I want to talk to whoever has an understanding of how to cope with the awful effects of Accutane. I am researching and trying to find out how to help my daughter regain her life. My email is xxxxx@xxx {edited for privacy}

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Hi Joelle,
I would be happy to talk with you. It is quite a situation to deal with the accutane nightmare of side-effects. The forum deleted your e-mail address, so I am sure they will delete mine as well, if I include it. You can easily locate me on the internet. I teach piano and am listed on several web pages for teachers in Arkansas. Otherwise, I will share and you will need to share through this forum

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Do you have a Facebook Marla? Also thank you for caring....

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My question is for you Marla - You mentioned you have food sensitivities/allergies and you have a restricted diet. Same as me, and it keeps getting worse. Could you tell me how bad or more details about it? Many, many fruits I don't react well to now. Spicy/hot food like garlic, chilli peppers and ginger the same. Straight fats like olive oil, flax oil and hemp oil I react terribly to and I badly need the fat (I am underweight). I haven't eaten any meat or dairy for many years because Accutane gave me rosacea (which has ruined my life alone) because it made it worse. Herbs like fresh coriander and parsley, and high doses of wheatgrass I also react badly to - I know these things contain very high amounts of Vitamin A so I wonder if that is the problem, as Accutane is notorious for giving some peole problems with Vitamin A rich food. Symptoms to these things can be headaches, increased light sensitivity/pain/soreness of eyes (my eyes are always sore/red/light sensitive/tired looking since Accutane anyway, sudden drop in energy - feeling achey and weak, drier skin an more dehydrated. I get what I call a "clogged up" feeling in my chest area/lungs where I feel congested and can't breath as deeply/freely. Some times I get random pains in my chest area. haven't eaten gluten much at all for a long time, but in the last few years that I have tried, I've got flu/cold like symptoms with things like a racing heart, runny nose and extreme drop in energy.

And as I mentioned in my posts below that did clear moderation, my stomach/digestion seems extremely sensitive, where if I eat things hard and dry, for example, my digestion just goes (it can take up to a week for my digestion to go back to normal). My stomach for the last 5 years has been permanently bloated and as I said, I'm underweight.

I've had food allergy tests in the form of a hair analysis and an IGG test (I think that's what it's called) yet a lot of the foods I have problems with don't show up on the test as a problem.

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To James,
I use a product called "Equalactin" to help with the digestive issues. It has been a life-saver.
I stay away form SOY, in any form. I drink Almond Milk (unsweetened) and try to stay away from processed foods and additives. High-fructose corn syrup and corn in general cause me problems.
I found out I ws totally Vitamin D deficient. I have been taking 10,000 IU's per day to keep my Vitamin D3 in the range of 70-100 on blood tests. It has made a huge difference. In general, if something causes a problem....I avoid it. I developed Rosacea as well; but I react badly to products from the Tetracyline/Doxycyline family of drugs. The only thing that I can use for my Rosacea is the Finacea topical product; nothing else has helped.
Hope some of this info helps.....
MARLA

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I started on accutane at 13. My brothers had both been on it and it was the only medication that cured us! I was on it heavily at times (40 mg/day) and mildly (10mg/day). I am now 22, I play volleyball twice a week, wakeboard all summer and snowboard all winter. I never had side affects other than the normal dry skin. My oldest brother is 28, works physically hard every day and never has experienced any last effects. My other brother is 25 and is a carpenter, snowboards, wakeboards, and hikes. He has never noticed any side effects either.. So I know it can hurt you but it has never affected us.

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Dear Eric,
I was wondering how you were doing now?
Before taking Accutane I was put on Minocycline (a cure which was meant to be for 6 weeks) which I accidentally took for a year (my doctor did not notice that she was maybe giving me to many prescriptions for this drug and so it basically lead to a miscommunication on how long I had to take it). This medicine caused havoc on my stomach and digestive system but after a year of not taking anything (and recovering) she then put me on Roaccutane telling me the basic risks (don’t have a baby, stay away from the sun) whilst on this, my stomach wasn’t quite back to its normal self (which I attributed to the effects of the minocycline, because it can easily take more than a year to recover from these things). I have now stopped my year cure of Roaccutane and a year on I’m still having stomach problems, my doctor has no clue what’s causing them as my blood and stool test are all fine. I’ll be seeing a Gastroenterologist hopefully soon and I would like him or her to take me seriously since I’m tired of my doctor thinking I’m crying wolf. My dad is trying to reassure me that all medicine side effects disappear once you stop taking the medicine, but I don’t think this will be the case since Accutane is essentially a poison right, I would love to know if your symptoms are getting better, because if I do get IBS confirmed by a Gastroenterologist I hope it’s not something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life (just because I had acne in my teens).

Thank you so much,

Emma

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MARLA... I also took the Accupoison more than 20 years ago...I have about ALL of the So called Discovered Problems..after effects...Except Death..
I am on facebook...to speak to chat with anyone discovering the Health problems..robert..(kevin) albany ny...IF We can all compare notes..sooner or later ROCHE....will have to Take REAL Notice..in the form of a Superfund..like the ones for Mesothelioma victims..

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@carilynn Im glad to hear that nothing has happened to you. I dont want to be the one to say that you should watch out for side effects but these come later in life. I know this for a fact because I have watched both my brothers suffer from terrible side effects that come years after taking this poison. Please be aware that accutane is a poison that changes your dna somehow. I hope you would try not to get pregnant and that means not just while on accutane but also afterwards. This is because I have a feeling this stuff will cause birth defects. I am of course no doctor but I want to find out if people who took this have had their children have problems. I know of another friend of mine that took this and his son has some sort of short tongue and has a hard time pronouncing things. side effects may vary, I am not sure about this but it is not just girls that are affected. Doctors are paid big money to prescribe this poison and who knows who can actually sue the doctors since people that took this are forced to sign something to prevent them from coming back. the marketing of accutane is insane and has made people curious about it for the past 25 years. i feel bad for even thinking about the evil this drug has done. this medication doesnt help people but actually ruin peoples lives. My younger bro had schizophrenia due to this drug and dont even get me started on what my older bro went thru. It doesnt just alter your dna. But also stops you from maturing or somehow you just get stuck somewhere... more power to those people who need help. You are all in my prayers.

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