Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 75)
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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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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REPORT

AVOID ANOTHER ROUND WITH ALL YOUR LIFE! Go to Tanda.com and buy a LED light to kill the bacteria. NOW with this internet we are open up to so much information. IF YOU DO GO THROUGH ANOTHER ROUND GET THIS DOCTOR TO GIVE THOSE WORDS IN WRITING AND HOLD HIM TO IT...I bet he will singing a new tune if you ask for it or get it legally recorded. Good luck...I am on disability for taking Accutane way back then. For a doctor to tell you the medicine is gone in a month isn't a good doctor it takes three months to regrow new cells. I am not buying into the lies!

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I am 18 years old and have struggled with acne ever since the 5th grade. I began accutane in the 8th grade for 6 months at 40mg. It cleared up signficantly, for about 1 year, then in 10th grade I was told to go back on it because my face began to break out even on prescription acne medications. I took that course for 10months at 60mg. Again, my face cleared up for around 1 year, because now I'm in the 12th grade & the doctors want me to take another round of accutane. I'm worried most about what's at risk permanently for my body, in particular if I will have any problems with having healthy children in the distant future before I go again onto another round. I'm really not sure what's the right thing to do, my doctor assures me my future children would be born healthy once the accutane is out of the system (1 month.) But I'm wondering if anyone has any stories and knowledge to share.

--Thanks for all the posts I read each and found them very informative to read other poeple's stories.

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Here is a great site for information on Accutane:
accutaneaction.com

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I was on accutane 12 years ago, 3 courses. It decreased my acne. I was an athlete and managed the symptoms such as dry skin, stiff and painful joints, and GI issues pretty well. They've persisted all this time, though to a lesser degree. I am still extremely active put I am finding that I'm in a lot more pain than my other 20-something peers. Also as I begin my professional career, IBS is hindering me in the workplace. I regret taking this drug, as well as the numerous antibiotics I took before. Good Luck to those dealing with problematic symptoms as well as those seeking acne treatment.

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@amy, When in my post did it display that I was downgrading anyone? I took Accutane before I even had any internet. I couldn't even afford a computer. I was simply implying if you do have the resources, then do some research towards it (I wish I had that ability at the time). My only research was my dermatologist telling me all the pros and cons about the product to my face while also warning me about the potential short-term and long-term effects.

I find it pretty "immature" that you just jump into this forum without any intention but to ridicule someone else's personal experience and story.

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Oh, and my prior post was directed at ex accutaneuser.

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Wow, so you were 18 and a legal adult, huh? How about people who ACTUALLY had severe side effects like myself, who were minors and trusted both their parents and dermatologists to make a competent decision for them to take this poison? I took it in the late '80s when there were no warnings, nor paperwork to sign. Grow up, dude, and have some compassion!

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no don't listen to these ignorant people. i personally was on accutane.

before hand i had a perfect diet ( you don't i assure you ) , my liver function was way above normal.

during the course i did not drink alcohol or consume anything that may have put extra stress on the liver.

now 2 years after accutane my liver is STRONGER by 50%.

point is your liver will grow back. now what i want to tell you and you may not like this is. IF you have underlying problems accutane WILL make them surface. This is not accutanes fault the problem was their to begin with.

the problem is not the drug it is the person taking it not doing enough research and preparing their body for it.

stay ignorant! love you all.

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I think in general is what she means(?), but what about RAW MILK it's help people with illness. Maybe it's the way our government KILLS the nutrition in our foods and adds bad stuff to it in the process!?!

You can use GHEE butter it's gluten free. Found at most stores.

And if anyone is thinking why talk about this with the Accutane topic, is because the glutens seem to affect us in many ways and one is giving us stomach aches that many of us that took Accutane experience. So maybe the medicine has affected the gut and this has made us sensitive to the glutens more then most?

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Are you implying that drinking milk while on accutane is a bad idea? or just milk in general? I'm not sure I follow you completely.

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I am about a year off of accutane now after taking it for 6 months. I have already had some interesting visits to several doctors. All of them putting me on antibiotics and telling me one thing or the other. I have had blood work done and a cytoscopy (not fun). Nothing was found and I still experience late night abdominal pain. The strangest thing for me though, is that I now get nauseous after small amounts of alcoholic drinks! I used to drink quite a bit before going on treatment and now even after one beer I am nauseous and flushed. I do not think I have an allergy, otherwise it wouldve happened before. But the scariest thing for me was a set of 3 days I felt absolutely miserable. Extreme nausea to the point where I was dry heaving throughout most of the day. Fever, cold sweats, insomnia, you name it. I don't believe I was sick because I have never felt this awful without vomiting so call it what you will but if you want my advice, it is best to fight acne in other ways. I felt much healthier before the treatment.

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I read that dairy is bad because of casein, the protein found in milk, is similar to the gluten. Some people think it's the lactose (of which many gluten intolerant people are intolerant of as well) but it's actually the casein. I figured it out when lactose free milk still bothered me. Hope that helps.

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Dear Juanita,

I am so sorry to hear about your son's apparent growth problem. If you read through the post here, you will find other people with the same situation. They may be able to give you more information. My son never grew an inch since 9th grade when he finished his 6 month treatment of Accutane. Thankfully he had his growth spurt before than. He is still 2-3 inches shorter than once projected.

Check with a few Accutane Law Firms found on Google. From a parents point of view, please take one day at a time and remember everything you hear about this drug will not effect everyone the same.

God Bless,
Scott

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My son also was on Isotretinion for 6 months when he was 15. After being on the med. I noticed he was not growing any taller,hands and feet were not growing either. He just turn 17 and was told his growth platelets were closed. He is 5'6''3/4, his projected height was to be 5'11" to 6'. I know this is what stopped his growth. Is there any class action suits out for this (premature bone platelet closed). I have lost much sleep over this, knowing what a terrible and life changing drug this is. I would have never let my son take this knowing what I know now, Thank you, and I would really appreciate anyones help on this.

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@Sue...

That is great news! I continue to follow Dr. Peter Osborne in his Glutenfreesociety.org because he has helped me so much with understanding the truth about the gluten problems. There are new studies out there, but I see still the old stuff is still be told to us. That's sad! I could be WRONG with this, so correct me if you know, but is it dairy is bad because of what they are feed meaning soybean and corn etc? Because a lot of gluten free people are eating from Grass-Fed only. I was on thyroid medicine and it was causing stomach aches it was compounded they told me the pigs were fed corn. I stopped taking it, not even sure I needed it the thyroid since my test were normal so hard to say for sure, but as soon as I stopped the stomachaches were gone. :) OK it makes sense we are what we eat and what they eat too.

I think everyone should be on a "TRUE" gluten free diet, it's just healthier I feel.

Best wishes!

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I was the same and then gave up Gluten and Dairy and I am much better now. It is worth a try for you. I never realized it could be related to Accutane until I read this message board. Google gluen free, casein free diet, it's easier than it first seems.

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Wow, I feel a camaraderie with the rest of the victims here whose lives have been devastated by this drug. I am 42 yrs old, and like many others, took it in the mid-eighties when I was a junior in high school (16 yrs old). Of note, my brother and sister did not have any significant issues from accutane, although my sister did have two miscarriages. Before taking accutane, I was an easy-going, happy and healthy kid who had friends, was athletic and very physically active. Unfortunately I have a hypochondriacal mother who took myself, my brother and sister to the dermatologist periodically because she wanted us to look perfect! None of us had anything worse than mild to moderate acne, mine being mild. So I took it because I was told by the dermatologist and my mother that not only do I need it, but that it would shrink my sebaceous glands and I would never have acne again. The only thing I was told is that my skin would be very dry and that I should avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight. Wow, that sounded too good to be true, and it was! I thought it was amazing at first, as it permanently rid me of my acne. I don't remember having anything but dry, crackly skin while being on it. However, a month or two after finishing taking it, the personal hell began. I started to have dizzy spells/panic attacks several times a day(in school, nonetheless), and I slipped into a depression for which no one could figure out why. I also developed anger issues, probably related to the depression. I thought it was "in my head", and I internalized it. I had suicidal thoughts. My mother took me to a psychiatrist who was completely worthless and just put me on Xanax. The Xanax turned me into a vegetable, and I quit taking it. I ended up attending one semester of college(for which I had a full scholarship), dropped out, and my father convinced me to join the Army or get out of dodge(which was actually good for me, probably because I had no time to think in basic training). My parents threw my issues under the table because they had no idea my onset of problems were related to Accutane, and neither did I! I was able to hold on to a 20-year career in the Army and finish my degree, and am now in graduate school; however, during my military career I had anger issues, self-destructive behavior and made some significant poor personal decisions, not to mention on and off bouts of depression, mostly later in my career. I also have very bad TMD in my left jaw which affects both my vision and my hearing often; not sure if the degradation of my left jaw joint is attributable to accutane or not, but I can't rule it out. I've been receiving accupuncture for about a month now. For some reason, not only is accupuncture effective, but it has "cleared my head" somehow and I am now facing the true cause of many of my past issues instead of repressing them. I do have a question for the rest of you, though - is it warranted for me to be angry at my mother for ever taking me to the dermatologist for mild acne? I just always wonder if she pushed for me to take it when I didn't need to take it, because I wouldn't doubt that. I know that the pharm companies are ultimately at fault, but still. Please, put me in my place if I'm wrong about this; maybe I need to see a therapist about this issue I'm having with her.

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I took Accutane for a couple months ended up with crohn's disease it sucks. While i was taking it I was so depressed and i couldnt understand why i started burning myself on my wrist i still have scars because i felt so unhappy. Now i look back on that i wonder why I did that but that was the time i was taking the Accutane soon as I stopped i snapped out of the depression I can't help but see that it might be related

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Hello DC Forth Worth,
I replied to your email on who to contact at ABC news but for some reason this site decides to review the post before posting it. I will follow up with another reply if I dont see it posted within a day or two.
Scott

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I took accutane over 20years ago and reading this board helped me to understand my many medical issues. I used to joke that I have the medical chart of a 90 year old. Early similar, scoped both ends in my 30's, diagnosed with fibromyalgia due to joint pain, osteopenic, can't tolerate gluten or dairy, recent swelling in face, hands and feet, issues with blood counts. Thanks for posting.

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