Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 7) (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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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I'm sorry to hear about folks having problems from Accutane. I took it back in the mid 90s when I was in high school and have had no problems. It cleared up my cystic acne and the only side effects at the time was dry skin and lips, which went away when I got off the drug. But it worked great for me because I never had acne problems since then, and I'm still a very active, athletic person so I think I would notice any physical problems.
Again, I'm sorry for all those having problems, but is there data for what percentage of users have trouble and those that don't? I'm not discounting anyone's experience, but I wonder if this forum is a bit one-sided. Please don't take that the wrong way.

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Lucky,
I am happy for you that Accutane has worked for you with no know health concerns. Yes, there are people that take that Accutane and it’s generic brands in United States , Clavaris and Amnesteem.

It seems with some but not all, that the length of time and the dosage prescribe may have a part in who has side effects and who doesn’t. It may also have to due with on how active a person is while taking the medications. And simply put, it just may have to due with the fact that Accutane is a chemo drug and should only be used as such.

When I started this forum last summer I had no idea, if anyone would reply to it. Fortunately This forum has become a wonderful place for those who have suffered, or family members that have. I personally am very grateful for those who have opened up their own personal experiences with the only thing they wanted was to let other know what these drugs have done for them. Personally if I can just deter one person from taking these drugs, I have succeeded in my reasons for this forum. I thank all those who have shared their personal story’s with us.

We welcome all replies to this forum, but it it obvious it has become a place of support than a place to argue.

Best wishes, Scott

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Our son was on Accutane from 5/2001 to 1/2003. The dermatologist also put him on Doryx which isn't suppose to be done. Now I know. He dropped off the swim team because of muscle aches. He didn't complain otherwise until he was driving home one day 9/2001 and had to stop the car because he had vertigo, was confused and disoriented. We took him to the doctor the next day with all the medical info from the dermatologist. They said he had a panic attack. He went on Buspar and then Effexor in college.
To make this story short, in his last letter to us, he said he loved us and then he said it all started when he was 17 years old. It was when he was on Accutane!
My personal opinion, don't take this. It does things to your brain, your muscles, your thyroid. It confuses a growing brain and your child's/teenager's brain needs to develop correctly and naturally. It is fragile. Put up with the acne now, and years from no you won't have any regrets.

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Please do not take this drug. I took it when I was 15 years old and it caused a lot of problems. I no longer have Acne however, I am having to deal with some of the less attractive side effects. I went to a radiologist last week and a GI the week before. Both have come to the conclusion that I have Crohn's Disease. My body is attacking healthly cells because of this Drug and I will have to live with the side effects the rest of my life, I am 24. I dont know what to do medical cost for Cronh's can be in the millions and it puts me at rist for colon cancer. I would rather scars on my fact to be honest. Just remember vainity is one of the deadly sins. Thank God I am a strong person, I can deal with this. Please don't do it to yourself. I was young and didnt know better.

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I'm 16 years old and currently taking Accutane (here in New Zealand they call it Isotretenoin) and after reading this entire discussion through, I'm really scared. Because a lot of things that people have said that is negative of Accutane (Isotretenoin) has been affecting me.

Unfortunately for me, I did not find this thread back when it was first opened and therefore only heard of all the good things about this miracle drug because when searching for Accutane related stuff all I found were YouTube videos of people who had just finished using Accutane telling me about how great Accutane is.

You all may think that people of today are a lot more knowledgeable about this drug and that we have come a long way from learning about this drug from the 80s. Unfortunately many of us aren't.

Now I'm not in the medical field, nor do I have a job (I go to school). And it seems like all of you in the thread talking about Accutane assume people out of your field were all told about all the dangers of Accutane. WRONG.

This is what's been happening to me since I started taking Accutane from almost 7 months ago until now:

When I was prescribed the medication, I was told I needed to do a blood test. Later that week, the doctor (yes, I said that correctly, doctor, not dermatologist) called me and my parents in, and I went to sign a sheet that told me of the side effects like the dry skin and muscle cramps and all that good stuff.

The thing is, if I remember correctly, the sheet I signed listed all this under TEMPORARY side effects and NOT as permanent side effects. Therefore, I was very willing to sign for the Accutane (Isotretenoin) because I figured that if it said temporary side effects, that it was to be... temporary and NOT permanent.

Before I even started taking any pills, I researched about Accutane and its negative effects. Seven months ago, I didn't find this site so when I looked around for negative side effects, all I found was people telling me about extremely dry lips, and on the rare occasion muscle pains (as I have explained I watched a heck of a lot of clips on people going through Accutane). They all mostly seemed to have positive experiences with this drug with the exception of one person. So I figured that all would be good right? WRONG!

The three months were the scariest because all my acne (which was probably a bit more on the severe side since I had lots on my head, chest and back and some cystic on various of those parts) started getting worse, I got dried lips, and I couldn't see any good change and only BAD change. But I kept at it as my doctor told me, as well as pharmacies I went to (where I bought cream for my dried lips) told me that it would get worse before it gets better).

By the way, my doctor NEVER weighed me NOR did he tell me how long I would be on this drug to come to the conclusion on how many miligrams I would consume. It was all based on one blood test unlike many of you who said it was your dermatologist who based the consumption rate on weight.

A couple of weeks into school, I fell down and got this massive bruise on my left arm. I didn't feel hurt nor did I fall down really hard, but it still caused this massive bruise. About 3 months later, my friend (who was not on any drug) got a bruise and I still have this bruise. A month later after that, my friend's bruise had almost completely healed while mine was still almost as bad as it was.

Anyway, before I went on the drug, I used to have very oily skin - so oily that 10 minutes after a shower I'd become oily again, and it's not even hot in Autumn in New Zealand. Then, about 3 weeks into the consumption of the pill, my skin became dry - so dry in fact that the sides of my mouth started cracking and skin peeled off my face.

I also saw and read that people had higher doses of Accutane (since I was on one of the lower dosages of 20 mg). So I asked the doctor about that and he brought me up to 80 mg: one tablet in the day, one in the night. With this, I am experiencing a lot of the things being described.

Being a Malaysian-Chinese, I have a slightly darker complexion. Well at least I had before the pill.

Now, at the time I am taking the pill, my hands and feet get really red really easily and change color sometimes which never happened before.

I also admit that I have trouble getting out of bed when I never used to. At first I thought it was because I was a teenager and this was all because I was going through a teenage state of mind as my parents said. But after I read of some of you people are talking about, I'm beginning to think that I couldn't get out of bed as well I as before because of these damned pills!

My hearing also has been getting more sensitive, and sometimes while walking around, I can sometimes here the echoing of sounds; only slightly though.

And another point I forgot to mention is that my doctor never told me that these pills were once used to treat some of cancer patients.

I've also lost my memory a heck of a lot. I know this because since I was in year 10 (2 years ago) I was able to memorize lyrics to songs in no more than 3 days. Now, I can't even memorize the lyrics to songs in a week.

This next point may just be me, or it could be the drugs: I also noticed that my school grades have been going down from slightly-above average grades to failing.

One more thing: I'm already a really short person; for some reason, my parents still measure my height. And my parents took my height around the time I started taking the drugs. Anway, about 5 months into the drugs, my parents decided to measure my height again to see if I had grown. And to their surprise and my surprise, I had shrink by I think about 2 cm!

I'm so angry that my doctor did NOT tell me about the long term effects of the use of this drug. He just told me to read this paper that only listed the SHORT TERM EFFECTS of the drug. If I had known it would have caused me to shrink, if I had known that it could cause chronic muscle pains and cramps, if I had known about how S**T this drug was and STILL IS, I never would have taken it in the first place.

Basically, when I went to see the doctor, he told me something along the lines as you may remove or substantially decrease the amount of acne you have by taking Isotretenoin (Accutane). And if it isn't removed, the acne would easily be treatable with normal acne removal products.

To me, that is a big load of S**T because 7 months later, still taking Accutane, sure, it has reduced some acne, but I still had it bad and had lots of it on my face, back and chest.

And now that I know of the stuff that is most likely to happen to me in the future, I am regretting so much. Because not only will I more likely have problems with other things with me, but the acne could come back AND I STILL have the SHlTLOAD of acne on my face.

I wish I had never taken accutane; I wish I had known the full story.

And I think those people who commented are right when they say the doctors and dermatologists are still giving it to unknowing people for the amount of profit they can make of it.

Roche has distorted the information behind vitamin A for the past 50 years, they've delayed and put off research that should've been conducted a long long time ago, they knew about the toxicity of vitamin A all the way back in the 1950's and 60's but that didn't matter. They went on to exploit and destroy the lives of thousands of teenagers and young adults by needlessly exposing them to one of the most toxic drugs ever created by the pharmaceutical industry. A drug supposed to be used only for chemotherapy that accelerates the aging process by reducing stem cell growth/proliferation and obliterating the water-holding molecule Hyaluronic Acid in the connective tissue down to levels of someone who is 90 year old, drying out the entire body before its time.
I found this paragraph to scare me the most not only because it seems true, but because I know that this is happening to me as I speak. I will not finish my current pills for Accutane, and I definitely hope I can still diminish the effects this fcked drug has been doing to me for the past 7 months since I didn't know better.

Sad,
WS-Yeo

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Scott, you handle yourself very well. I would have a hard time being so nice to a few that seem to think we are all making this up. Thanks very much to you for your story and for the story of others on here. They have meant a lot to me.

I need some help as I may be at a dead end knowing how to get my medical records from the early 90's. I am 99% sure I took accutane , and had no idea until very recently that there were so many side effects. I like many of you saw the commercial on T.V. I had many complications including one of the worst cases possible of Ulcerative Colitis you can get. The med's didn't work and I ultimatley had to have my large intestine removed. I still today many complications due to the UC, even though I had corrective surgery. I also had a very bad time with depression and lack of energy, dehydration etc. I don't want to get into all the details as they are many. Anybody have any ideas as to how I can get information back then as hard proof of the med's I ingested??? The doctor that I saw no longer has them. I have requests with both of the pharmacies we used back then but, both told me it was a long time ago and they will try. No guarantees though. I have a request in with the insurance company we're sure I was with but, who knows where that will lead. THANKS FOR ANY IDEAS, even the most stupid sounding may help. Again, I am very happy this message board is here.

For all you haters, the side effects are very real, and this drug destroyed my life, even today I struggle with the complications. Yes, you may have a great experience , and I hope you do. Like Russian roulette, Only one out of six end up dead. I would still very much tell anybody I know not to try that game.

Anthony

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Ex Accutane User:

I know you are not talking to me?????? I don't remember reading in the booklet about how the company knows about the connection to Ulcerative Colitis and I may get it. Maybe you had a special copy????? Not to mention I took it earlier than you before we were taught all of that.

Good for you for your experience, I am very happy you didn't get sick. I can assure you, that had you got sick like I did and then found out that the company knew it could cause this and tried to cover it up????? well you would have the opposite view that you do now. Shame on you for coming on here and saying I was responsible for reading up on all the things the company was hiding from its customers. You are Naive, and have no idea how those of us feel that have gone through the most dire of circumstances due to this toxic drug. You could never understand our point of view here because you were one of the very lucky ones. How about you take less time bashing those of us like myself that spent the good part of a year in and out of the hospital, mostly in. I also went through many surgeries, some emergency surgeries because I was close to bleeding out. You have no right to come on here and call me nuts. It has been proven in a court of law that this drug is truly connected to people getting UC. It has also been proven that the company hid that fact. Now go back to your crib you child, and hopefully you can come out when you have the ability to understand that this drug causes misery for some and miracles for others. THE PROBLEM IS, NOBODY KNOWS WHICH ONE THEY ARE.

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accutane changed my life for the better. 30 yrs later ... dry lips but its worth it! i use chapstick . i think alot of people like to blame things on this drug that they would have had anyway.

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Hello All,

I am curious to find out if there is anyone who has experienced the same symptoms that I have after accutane use. I took accutane for about a year when i was 21. I had used prescription face washes, creams and taken various antibiotics that just werent helping the problem. I quit taking the accutane because I started feeling depressed and my dermatologist reccomeded that i discontinue use. Approximately a year later I started experiencing symptoms similar to a bladder or UTI infection. I was constantly tested for these and that was not the problem. The problem has continuously gotten worse over the years and I am now 30. I have seen specialists who still have not been able to give me a diagnosis. They speculate that I may have something called intersticial cystitis. I have extreme sensitivity to most everything that I consume. I cannot have any type of alcoholic, caffeineted, acidic beverage. I can not have most types of fruit, and various vegetables, no seasoning condiments or sauces whatsoever. In short everything that I eat must be very bland and I basically live off of cereal and drink only water because these things do not cause me severe discomfort. It is not my goal to sue for my problems only to identify exactly what my problem is. If there is anyone out there who has experienced these symptoms please let me know so that I have a direction to go with my doctors. At this point I'm at a dead end.

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I guess these boards are helpful. But mostly I think it all just scares people. Everyone will have a different reaction to it. I totally agree that like many have said you are informed beforehand of the possible side effects. You should do your research and make your choice accordingly. I had a course about 5 years ago, had to go through regular blood testing, had the side effects including dryness of eyes, mucous membranes, etc. But nothing out of the ordinary. It helped me so much I couldn't believe it. I am now making the choice to undergo another course. After reading the posts I am still going to do it. In the end you have to make a choice.

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@ Jim .. I roughly skimmed through your response.. Yes , some teenagers diets are bad.. Fat people in America .. I get it !! But I know fat people in Eroupe and that are also unhealthy..

Your theory sucks!!! Your sitting back laughing at kids with acne drinking your wine with a clear completion... Lol .. Buddy your messed.. I know kids that eat junk food and drink nothing but soda and have perfect skin and are ripped in great shape.. It's heredity !! End of story!! I eat grapes and blueberries everyday, never drank soda in my life and I had acne.. Just like so many other people I know..

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Hello
I am a 28 year old female living in hell. I went on accutane when I was 17 or 18 on a higher dosage for a few months. Before this I was "normal" besides the usual teenage acne. I would get a couple bigger ones on my cheeks and chin, but nobody would ever consider it "cystic acne". I went to the dermatologist and he recommended I go on accutane and that it helps people get rid of their acne pretty much forever. The symptoms dry skin and chapped lips. OK - this sounds like a miracle drug what is the most that could go wrong? I can get rid of my acne and have beautiful skin. Sign me up! Biggest mistake of my life. I was young and had no idea about researching. I trusted my doctor and what he prescribed. Anyways, I took the medication and had the typical symptoms, dry skin, chapped lips, and nose bleeds. That is all I remember having as well as the avoidance of sun. I finished my round of accutane and my skin looked great. It was smooth and flawless. Although I still wore makeup it was lovely. I went on a trip for a few months shortly after. During this time I smoked cigarette, drank alcohol and dyed my hair (this is important). The day I dyed my hair my scalp was on fire and it felt like I had an infection. The next day I woke up with a handful of hair on my pillow. I was seeing doctors about this which they said my scalp looked fine and that the dye would be out of my system. Because accutane is so harsh on your liver, could it have become too burdened by the accutane and then the dye, smoking and drinking. Since that day my hair has been thinning. Thank God I had thick, thick hair so thick i had problems putting it in a ponytail. Now, I can use one elastic multiple times. This was only the beginning.... Over the years my health has declined. My current symptoms: dry hair/scalp, dry skin, dry red irritated eyes, vaginal dryness, scalp pain, hair thinning, facial flushing and rosacea, intolerance to heat and sun - my face feels like I have a bad sun burn while doing a handstand (the pressure) when it gets really bad, the flush can happen with just the slight amount of heat, I need to be in ac pretty much 24/7 and can not enjoy the things I used to do, it's as though my face wants to sweat but it has no release and just flushes. It's painful and embarrassing. I cannot go from hot to cold to hot again things like heat, cold, stress, happiness, sadness, exercise, food, etc trigger it. Basically anything and everything. I need to maintain my body at a good temperature not too cold and not warm/hot. My hands and feet go purple when cold and red/blotchy while hot. I have a weird purplish webbing all over my arms and legs. Like you see in old people. My menstrual cycle is every 26 days, but what used to be 5 days of regular bleeding has now become 2-3 days of light bleeding where I could probably change my pad once a day. My digestion has been slowed down and sometimes go back and fourth between diarrhea and constipation (not hard stools, but just struggle to go). Tender bones - sometimes in my hands and in my left leg. Always fatigued like I haven't slept in years, but get a good amount of sleep per night without waking up. Lack of energy. Depression and anxiety (I think my symptoms have brought this on). Bad breath. These are what I struggle with on a daily basis and I don't know what to do anymore. It's been 10 years already, multiple doctors and always ending up back at square one. I've seen acupuncturists, naturopaths, doctors, specialists etc. My life has been ruined and just because I wanted good skin! Can anybody guide me to some help, because I am so desperately seeking it. I don't know how much longer I can deal with it. I am trying my best. But after awhile too much is just too much!

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Thank you Scott. I have not been in contact with the FDA yet and have never even considered doing that until now. It took me awhile to get this all off my chest, but i figured after reading this forum maybe someone out there could guide me in the right direction. I wonder if i brought this to my family doctor he would be able to order some of these tests for me. I've asked him straight out - have you ever seen anyone that looks like me at all? His answer, was no....never. It almost made me have a hysterical cry in his office. This is a new family doctor. My old doctor who referred me to the dermatologist 10 years ago has since retired. They told me about the side effects, but really only the ones that everyone gets. The long term side effects were "very rare". And i guess i was the lucky one who managed to get screwed up. Most people i tell my story too say "accutane would be out of your system by now", "it's in your head", "you look fine".....no one truly understands what i live with day after day, not even my family. I've seen several dermatologists and i remember telling one that i would never, ever recommend someone take accutane for their acne. Wow was she ever mad that i said that - she says "do you know how many people i prescribe accutane for their acne - it is a life saver and i would be sued if i didn't"....something along those CRAZY lines. If accutane weren't so bad, then why would they take it off the market and sell it under another name?? Obviously because theirs pants were sued right off of them and I am sure they KNOW that these long term side effects happen more often than none. A chemo drug for cancer, prescribed for acne....ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I couldn't believe what i read when i started researching accutane. The sad part is that when you tell people about your problems, they don't seem to care or understand because a doctor hasn't been able to "diagnose" you yet. If i told them i had cancer i am sure their way of thinking about me would change. That is what i feel like i am going through. I believe in the all natural way and i believe there is something that could help - but i have never been strong enough to continue down that road. I drink coffee, i smoke, i am constantly stressed with work and my health - i do myself no good. All of that i am sure makes it worse. But it truly is hard not to get answers from anyone. I find myself sitting here clenching my teeth, which i have been doing for months lately. I can't stop - i just want to curl up in a ball and never leave my house. I have even been working from home the last few days because of the heat and the variable temperature in the office. I have had a CT scan done on my kidneys to see if i had an adrenal tumor - showed up as nothing. Numerous ultrasounds on my pelvis for pain - again, nothing. I recently had a CT done with the contrast to check my blood vessels because of my circulation - i see him in September. My family doctor recommended i get an MRI of the brain to check for tumors - i just got the call and am not scheduled until June of 2014! I may have to take the route where i pay myself. It will hurt if nothing is there, BUT it will all be worth it if something showed on the scans. The doctors must think i am nuts when all the tests come back "normal", but i look the way i do. Thank you Scott for your response. This is definitely helping relieve some stress and having someone to listen to me.

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Hi Ernest!
Thanks for sharing. It helps that people are going through the same thing as most days I feel like I am the only one. I see people everyday and wish I was back to being "normal". It is the hardest thing to have to go through when not a single person can relate. They can have sympathy for you, but empathy? Sadly no :(. People look at me now as shy and anti-social, but what can I do? I need to stay in a place that is cool and "avoid my triggers" as the doctor suggested. I can't go lay on the beach, go for walks when it's sunny or hot, jump in my car during mid-day while having the windows rolled up because as soon as I get in my blood rushes to my face and I get extremely flushed and can't cool down. I feel like my face is literally on fire. When it gets super bad I can't keepy eyes opened because they dry out and I feel soooo tired. I've had times where I've been so overheated that I feel lightheaded and going to pass out. This can be as simple as just sitting in a hot room. I remember the times when I could go to a bar drink and dance and I was fine. Going for walks or excercising and I was fine. I wish I could go back to those normal days again. I wonder what my life would be like today if I never took accutane. I know I can't change the past, but there must be a way to reverse the effects. Or has it been too long now and I am permanently like this? The majority of my days are spent thinking of not being around anymore. How can I live when I CAN'T live the life I want to. While people are out having fun and not worried about triggers it's depressing. What happens if the restaurant is too hot, or I order something spicy? It's so sad. I usually have to wait until my food cools down to be able to eat. Even then sometimes food in general triggers the flush. I wash my face in the morning with Luke warm water and I feel like it soaks up all the water, dries out and a massive burning flush comes on. People tell you not to worry about it? But how can you not when you're face is on fire. How can you ignore that? It's not only embarrassing but physically painful. I don't eat at work because I don't want to risk getting a flush. I am exhausted by the end of the day after 12 hrs of not eating. Good thing I sit at a desk all day. I also relate to your dry hands. During the winter time my hands get so cracked and bleed as well. I live in Vancouver Canada and the weather has been brutally hot for the past month or so. I can't take it anymore. What the hell happened to us? Why do some people get the bad long term side effects and some don't. Why do they say accutane will be out of your system so there should be no long term side effects even though they list them?? Obviously it's probably out of your system but while you were taking it it caused some maybe irreversible damage. It's a mystery. I wish I could find a doctor that knows all the good and the bad of accutane. I was thinking about doing a colon cleanse like hydrotherapy. I've heard some people still have it in their colon and stuff. You read so much about it but where do you start? I can't excercises because I overheat. I used to be able to go in saunas, hot tubs do all sorts of things. Now look at me, my life is usually spent at home because I can't do those things anymore. I hope more people respond to this thread and share similar stories.

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Andrea,
Very good comparison saying how different people would treat you if you had cancer over taking a acne medication. But we took a cancer drug for acne, go figure... Last week, while cleaning up my sons college dorm he just spent 2 years in, he has to clean the globes on the light bulbs on the ceiling. I watch my 22 year old son in pain holding his arms above his head to unscrew four screws holding the globe in place. His neck, shoulders and hand hurt so bad doing a simple task, I had to jump in and finish screwing in four new holes with a screwdriver. I ached inside witnessing this. A constant reminder of what Amnesteem ( generic Accutane still available in USA) has done and continues to effect his daily health. He has so many of the same problems you also have. What kind of world do we live in that lets pharmaceutical drug company's and their lobbyist ruin the lifes of so many innocent teenagers with their life ahead of them. Doctors protect each other by lying about their knowledge of the dangerous side effects this drug has. And the FDA honcho's turn their backs to the devastation this drug is doing to people due to greed and power that comes with their simple minded brains. SHAME ON THEM !
May they rot in Hell for what they are knowingly doing. The only thing that keeps me from going over the edge some days is knowing this forum may and has stopped just one person from going though the hell prior users have. May God bless you and give you daily strength to carry on. Together we are strong ! I continue to email Dr. Oz hoping he will do a show on Accutane. I would suggest we all contact him, a newspaper, National News broadcasting stations etc to bring light to our personal story's. It is the only hope I have left....is to help someone else and hopefully find out more and more homeopathic and natural ways to combat the side effects that have happen to the users of Accutane, Amesteem and the other generic drugs.
From the heart,
Scott

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Hello, I just want you all to know that my stepson who was 14 years old took accutane for several months. He started on a 20mg dose and was doing well on it, so the doctor increased it to 40 mg per day. This was in mid July of this year and that's when all of his problems really began. He became distant, quit eating or ate very little, had a .700 batting average at his travel baseball world series tournament and finished over .500 for the summer...2nd highest stats on a team that finished 2nd in the world series, but dropped to less than .100 for the first fall tournament, his lips dried out and bled and had cracks in them, he spent hours in his room crying for reasons he couldn't name (as reported by his mother as he doesn't live with us), lost 8 pounds in a couple of weeks and had nearly zero body fat to begin with, started arguing more frequently with his friends and girlfriend or just shut his friends out altogether. The doctor took him off the drug in late August, but it was too little too late. On September 9, 2013, two weeks ago today, he ended his own life. Please, please, please, please, please, please!!!!!! DO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE OR GIVE IT TO YOUR KIDS!!! My stepson had everything in the world going for him...most popular kid in school, stellar athlete that was already being recruited on the college level for baseball, star football player at his middle school, good grades, parents with means to secure his future no matter what he wanted to do, elaborate vacations with extended family, parents and step parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins that all supported him in all endeavors. Please, please, please don't take accutane!

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@brittany I just want to know first how old you are because your long term analogy of the negative side effects of this drug is very shallow. The side effects are permanent and do not show until years later after taking this drug. you may not feel this now but there are many negative things this drug does to your body without you feeling it. that is how it is designed so that no amount of blood exams can find anything wrong with you. this is the secret of drug companies to make lots of money from individuals who think they need this drug. chemo drug turned designer drug sold to innocent naive teenagers. Please try to think about your life 10 years from now after you had stopped taking accutane. Please listen to the thousands of negative experiences people have posted here. All of them are true. Please believe the sufferers since they are living proof. I am sure that you will be back to this website maybe a few years from now regretting taking this drug. I hope you can learn to accept the fact that this drug is poison. This isnt like the drug marijuana or other illegal drugs that have been around for hundreds of years. This is an experimental drug pushed to teens who dont know anything. The company making accutane doesnt even really know what it is for. I hope you can grow up and think with an open mind and heart. DO not let these drug doctors fool you into taking this. they just want your money and the more you get sick, the richer the doctors get coz you will keep going back to them. wake up and smell the reality.

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Daniel,

Thank you for your well-written and honest response. You raise some very valid points about the most severe cases being treated by accutane. So I don't disagree with you in that regard. The issue in my eyes, and I guess I never clarified, but the drug is prescribed for a lot more than just disfiguring cases now. Perhaps in your circumstance, and a girl named Brittany who shared her story here, have a much better case for using the drug and also tolerance for dealing with side effects. Severe, moderate persistent, and probably even some mild cases get accutane prescriptions.

I'm sorry if I come across as blunt or rude by saying this, but I do understand how bad it can get. I can't fully empathize because I wasn't one of the most severe cases, but there were a few points where I was pretty bad too. Bad to the point where it decreased my self esteem and confidence as well, but honestly I haven't felt more down than I have in recent years, even with clear skin. I believe accutane can potentially affect brain chemistry and other bodily functions that inhibit appropriate levels in the brain. It's no coincidence that Roche warns of suicidal thoughts and it just so happens people develop severe depression and even kill themselves because of it.

So let me restructure my initial thought. I believe this medication and prescriptions are highly abused and mishandled in clinics all over the world. It's become too much of an afterthought prescribing the drug and people who probably didn't need it in the first place are now suffering from problems just as bad if not worse than before treatment. I am happy that you are doing better and coping well with side effects. But as you said this is all relative. What I am personally worried about is the continued worsening of many of these side effects that will lower my quality of life before I even reach the age of 30. Hell, it already has. I can almost guarantee there are people who suffer from debilitating bowel problems large in part due to this drug and it makes going out in public awful as well. As I mentioned once, I already feel twice my age. So Daniel, it's tough. You're right that accutane can successfully treat the worst cases of acne. But for every extremely severe case treated there must be hundreds of cases in comparison where the medication will ultimately do more harm than good.

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I am sorry for your problems that you have encountered with Accutane, but personally I am very thankful for this powerful drug. This medication did wonders for me! I had the worse kind of acne that all the doctors I went to have ever seen... (I went to many Dr's btw). I did all sorts of medications and over the counter and every home remedy you could possibly think of. I started to hate my life and God for that matter too! I attempted to commit suicide, but I was unsuccessful. I was finally prescribed Accutane and honestly, I felt better by seeing the amazing improvements on my body! Yes, I did have some side effects, but really... The side effects that I encountered were way better than not being alive. I would rather have these side effects than be in the ground. I am so happy with Accutane, and with the people who have had problems... I'm sorry that has happened to you, but just like any drug... There are risks and side effects... You gotta just weigh what's more important to you I guess... I would not recommend Accutane to someone with normal acne. Accutane should be a last resort; mine was a last resort. Like I said, I had the worst kind of acne a person can have and Accutane has really helped me for the better. Like it or not, I'm happy with my decision of taking Accutane! :)

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I took it out of desperation my sophmore year. My acne was out of control, I was an athlete, then slowly progressed into fatigue, and anxiety. I then had stomach problems and I had to quit taking it due to liver problems. When I was nineteen I got a b-cell lymphotic tumor cut out of my neck, i had a ton of side effects and all that jazz, etc...moral of the story dermatoligists pitch this drug like the side effects happen in less than one of the population. They don't tell you the significant rate or level of confidence based on their sample size. There subgroups were diagnosed at twenty to thirty N , which would not pass any statistical analysis. I am 22 NOW, and I can't explain what this s*** has done to me..

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