Accutane Long Term Side Effects (Page 93) (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 After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne.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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REPORT

I took Roaccutane 11 years ago because I had bad acne. It wasn't severe and didn't cause scarring but was persistant. I took a moderate dose (1 or 2 a day) on and off for many years. It cleared up my skin completely and it was the happiest time in my life when I was taking them but I couldnt take them without a break and once I stopped the acne came back and I got depressed. Acne caused me to be depressed and not Roaccutane. I get angry when people say to ban it because it has helped many, many people. My life in my teens and twenties would have been a complete misery without it. There would have been no hope. Looks are so important at that age. It's always the terrible and usually rare side effects that are always heard about and not the good stories. It's too easy to blame every health problem on Roacctane. I'm sure most health complaints would have happened anyway. All drugs have side effects. Dont ruin it for everybody.

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Now, I understand that side effects suck, but I have taken Accutane for two 3 months trials when i was 18, I am currently a 33 year old chiropractor and have no problems whatsoever from taking the drug.

What completely drives me nuts, is that the predictable long term side effects WERE warned about in the beginning. I had to sign an entire folder's worth of information before I was even permitted to take the it. I had to get regular blood work.
There is a listing of side effects from the pharmacy when you go to pick the drug up!
I'm sorry, but when you took the drug, you knew almost all of the risks.
The other undisclosed risks... yeah, that's an absolute problem, but if you think any medication on the face of the planet is side effect free, you are out of your mind.
I and my parents did extensive research on the medication before I ever started taking it and accepted the risks.
If you didn't, then SHAME ON YOU. People need to start having some personal responsibility and stop blaming others for their own decisions. There is always a chance that the warned about side effects could happen to you.
Just remember, nobody forced you to take it!

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Anthony Seeking Help:
You are proving my point in that people just DON'T READ. Why don't you read my original post again, where I said that the undisclosed risks are a problem.

My point is that the disclosed risks, which people accepted when they popped that pill, aren't something to bitch about taking the drug off the market for.

I am VERY cautious when I take meds. Every single medication out there, even over the counter ones has a side effect. If people don't realize that, they're idiots. Most of society today thinks that it's alright to pop pills as a silver bullet like they're candy.

Sure, let's take antibiotics improperly that will create superbugs, sure, let's take birth control pills while I smoke because blood clots could never happen to me, sure, let's pop ibuprofen because a 1/25000 risk of getting gastric ulcers could never happen to me.

THAT is the personal accountability that I am referring to, and if you took the time to actually READ my first post, rather than starting a rant assuming everything is about you.

As a parting thought, I hope you've fully checked out the side effects of the medications you are taking now, so you're not surprised if something else happens.

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helllo are you guys sill or just plain stupid????
we all know that accutane is ment to be prescribed AFTER ALL OTHER acne TREATMENTS HAVE FAILED, most people have tried antibiotics and every other fasj was out there. DO you guys realise the side effects of antibiotics? they can burn wholes in your stomach! a guiy i know was on antibiotics and it burnt the enzymes in his stomach that help digest fruit.... he now cant eat fruit and vomits everytime and he took this antibiotics years ago! before your blame accutane and turn that many people off taking it, think about ALL the medications you have taking in the past, cuz every singleee medication has a whole list of side effects, the pill is just as dangerous for woman as it can cause blood clots and lowered immune systems and most woman have to take the pill in order to be subscribed to accutane!!!!!!

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I think that Accutane has different effects on different people. I had a rare skin disease that would have spread all over my body if I hadn't taken Accutane. I took it for three years. I may have had a little depression while I was taking it, but my skin remained clear and smooth as porcelain. That was like ten years ago. The only side-effect that I can detect is that my eyes very easily become red as if they are blood-shot and I have to rely on eye drops to not look like I either haven't slept in a few days or just smoked a ton of weed. While the accutane was for my skin disease, I definitely did not see ANY acne appear at all. I am grateful for accutane for making my disease go away...otherwise, I would look quite grotesque. I do not think that banning it is the answer...I think that more testing should be done to determine what kinds of people CAN take it with low risk and what kinds can't.

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I took Acutane 80mg a day in the 1980's for over a year.
I am ill, please help me.

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I have hid the fact I have taken Accutane and now have various side affects due to the medication. Please read this if you have the time,

About 15 years ago a friend of mine approached me in regards to this medication. I was in high school played football / basketball / wrestling by the time I hit 17 I started developing horrible acne. I went to my doctor who agreed to put me on Accutane, I was 6-2 215 pounds and put on a higher dosage.

My first round of Accutane caused intense paranoia / depressed feelings. I was suicidal and no longer the same person (weight loss started rapidly). Doctor decided to expand the period a few more weeks. I went down to 160 pounds

Second round of Accutane came approx a year and half later same doctor. HORRIBLE head pains, fell over a few times. Tried to shoot myself however gun was found by my brother / mom. Weight loss 135 pounds no longer eating any food exceptionally depressed taken off medication. No treatment for adverse reactions due to Accutane

Years and years passed and I found the following

- Mood swings (depression comes when least expected) this can be anger / sadness etc

- Headache / Migraines constantly

- Constant stomach acid / pain

My life has changed drastically and I know the medication has taken away so much from me , I have never discussed this subject to anyone.

DO NOT take this medication, parents do not allow your children to even think of this poison.

I have never been told about any type of legal action against the company, and I am sure that it may help some. However I could careless about the money, I only wish I could go back and say NO to this poison that I had ingested.

I went from being one of the top athletes / happiest person you can meet, to this.

I hope we all find a cure / peace to what has happened to us

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Some of you people worry me, blaming all your problems on Accutane. Can you honestly tell me you believe you wouldn't have a single problem if you hadn't taken Accutane? I know a woman who took Accutane well over ten years ago, and she has absolutely nothing wrong with her. Yet, I know numerous other people who have tons of problems, such as arthritis, which causes them so much pain daily, IBS and they've had to have numerous surgery. Remember, they haven't taken a single dose of Accutane. All you people are foolish to think your problems are all because of Accutane, sure, some probably are, but they can't all be.

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I have been on accutane 4 times since I was 19 and I'm now 34. Usually 80-120mg/day for 4-6 months. Don't remember much details. It has been a freaking godsend and it seems to last only about 3-4 years before needing another course. My skin is a oil tanker disaster before accutane. After a course I have perfect skin for approx 2 months after then I need a topical gel called benzamycin and oiliness returns. I have no pain or any problems whatsoever. Just dryness which is controlled with lotions. I get laid ALOT whenever I'm on a course. Some pretty faking hot chicks too! So how's that for a good reason? Anyways, I luv the stuff so much if I could i would buy a accutane factory and eat all it produces. I know that would kill me but I would die happy, with perfect skin, and a hottie on top of me telling me how pretty I was.

Cheers!
Me

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Yeah, I took accutane and then 10 years later slipped on a banana peel. Who's fault was it? Obviously the accutane's fault. What else could it be? It's not like anyone can get sick if they don't take accutane right? It's got nothing to do with flawed genes or bad health habits. It's gotta be the accutane. Gotta be.

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I'm sorry to hear accutane messed all of you up who have these nasty side effects. Because if you're desperate enough to buy it illegally or get a rx for it legally then you would be very, very, happy if it worked like it does for the majority of us. Just speaking on their behalf. Unfortunately, like a "net troll".
From Wikipedia: In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory[citation needed], extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.
Awesome work whoever called me that. Now I know I'm not alone!

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Wanna hear something even worse.

I drink like a fish while on accutane. Like. I get hammered at least 3 times a week and do a few other illicit things to go with the drinking. I also have a drink before bed at least 2 more nights during the week but I think that's negligible. My liver seems to check out ok. *knocking on wood*

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I have been on two rounds of Accutane in the past four years and never had any problems. During my first round, I was freshman in high school and going through a lot of stressful situations. I began Accutane and my mood was off the hook. I was crying all the time and contemplating suicide. When I was asked if I wanted to go back on Accutane after my cystic acne flared up again, I hesitated. I thought the Accutane was the CAUSE of my depression, but I realized that I was suffering from it beforehand. It only began to get worse after I started the drug. Everyone wants to assume that Accutane is causing all of their problems several years later, but they don't want to take into consideration the fact that they may have had a pre-existing condition that they were unaware of or maybe the combination of all of the other drugs that people were on including Accutane may have caused their problems. EVERY drug has side effects. But if you read all of the comments that people posted about all of their horrible problems that they say are linked to the drug several years later, then you would never take any form of medication again. You have to do what is right for you and trust that your doctor and the FDA aren't lying. If they can release information about how Tylenol causes liver problems, then I'm sure they would have released information about Acctuane's side effects. If you have problems 10 years after taking Accutane and you're blaming it on the drug, that's like saying "I got punched in the arm, and ten years later I got cancer." It's ludicrous to link those two together without medical evidence.

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Lisa, are you referring to temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) from degradation of the jaw joint? I have developed this on my left side, but would attribute it more to teeth grinding than Accutane, but who knows. Your son, being young as he is, should not have this yet, so it's possible.

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I feel for everyone on this forum who is having trouble, but would like to represent the other side of Accutane users, too. I took Accutane three times over the course of a few years, and my brother did the same. It's been 7 years since I got off it and for him, more than 10. My clear skin has been exceptional and totally worth it. I haven't had any abnormal health problems and he has been in the best shape of his life, running marathons and races across the country. I trust my dermatologist who put me on the meds, and don't feel he would have led me to take anything risky just for clear skin.

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Hi Joel,

Thanks for your post.

I recently read that the medication Accutane and its generic brands ( Sotret, Claravis and Amnesteem).
are now considered to cause more deaths and health concerns then teenage car accidents.

I am grateful for anyone that has taken these drugs and claim to have no side effects, they have been truly blessed.

Gasoline and Clorox are known to kill poison ivy if you placed it on your skin, but would most people drink these products for 6 months to be free of poison ivy, I think not.

To all of your that are first time visitors to these post, please do your homework and have your parents also take the time to understand the risk seen here from over 500 plus people, then decide what actions to take. Look your doctor and dermatologist square in their eyes and ask them" would you let your son or daughter take 60 mg of these medications for 6 months". You may be surprised of there answer unless they simply receive kick backs and money directly from the makers of the drugs or they only believe what BIG PHARMA tells them along with the medical books they have read which BIG PHARMA claims to do there own test on the drugs and claim they are safe except such a so small percent or no risk at all . You may be surprised to find out they only had 1-20 people researched for side effects and write down damn well what they want for their results which they may have only followed for a short period of time.

Don't believe what the FDA tells you, do your own research. Remember its a government agency, need I say more ?

Parents...please do your homework, you will not get a second chance. If your placed on these drugs do to cancer, than the odds to kill the cancer very well may outweigh the risk of possible long tern side effects.

A huge percent of the people that have created this post have personally or their child doesn't just have what the drug company calls " less than 1 % chance of getting a certain side effect". Most past users of these drugs have more numerous side effects that seem that only seem to escalate every year and the PHARMA COMPANIES continue to add more and more side effects to their drug chart pamphlets to protect themselves as more and more people are proving these drugs can be deadly.

Even the FDA will admit that Accutane is on the top five list of there all time list of dangerous drugs. And that was before the internet has made it much easier to research drugs and read post like this one.

Bottom line...read what an overdose of Vitamin A will do to a human being.....that is exactly what may happen from taken Accutane, Sotret, Claravis and Amnesteem. Need I say more ?? I do believe their is a chance at a very low dose, someone taking these drugs can have a lesser chance of long term side effects. But the drug companies don't think like that, the more you take, the more money is in their pocket. Please do your research...... don't make the mistake I help make for my son.

May God Bless,
Scott

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My son is on accutane now at age 20. He was on oral antibiotics and topical treatment which his acne originally responded to, but then stopped being an effective treatment. He commented that there were days when his acne would flare up so badly that he would only go to class and other mandatory activities and otherwise would hang out in his room.

6 months ago, he consulted a new dermotologist in desperation. He is at college surrounded by kids who either never had acne, or got past it a long time ago. After researching accutane we decided it made sense to try it. He does say he is very tired and has to constantly moisturize his face and lips, but for him, he is once again hopeful about his appearance. My husband thinks we waited too long and had him suffer too long before trying it, but reading these posts I think our course was fine. He has only stopped growing in the last year, so having used accutane earlier might have cost him a couple inches.

I also would not have wanted the FDA to have pulled this medication as it has offered him a big improvement in acne. I will say his dr is very thorough in having him monitor for side-effects.

I am sorry for those whose stories have not ended as well. I do feel that as parents, we do the best we can with the information we have, but it is always good to do as much research as possible.

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I experienced similar paranoia, anxiety, and evenrage while taking accutane as a 20 year old. These attitudes destroyed me socially for the two weeks I was on it. I hope you find conclusions and help! I've since taken antidepressants, which seem to help some. Still have terrible panic attacks which doctors say are a result of low blood sugar / hypoglycemia linked to extreme adrenal fatigue.

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I agree- lots of carrot juice is not a good option if you have a bad reaction to it for whatever reason. However, carrot juice didn't give me any problems, despite my Vitamin A being near 15,000 IU months after discontinuing my 2 week low-dose treatment of accutane. I think it's safe to say that I'm not a doctor, and proceed with caution if you do try carrot juice; but it may help other people's IBS-C like it did mine.

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well I have been on accutane for about 5 months now and I am going on my last month--the drug has worked wonders for me.
I don't think anyone realized the depression I was in with acne. Almost to the point of killing myself. So when my derma told me about this, i knew it would be my lifesaver-literally.
So to all the kids out there who look at this site but know that there acne has lowered there self esteem into depression, i know how you feel. This drug has worked for me and honestly, i pray that i don't have long term side effects. But it has saved my life.
I am very very sorry to the ones that it may have effected seriously.

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