Accutane And Birth Defects

I am wondering if there are any women who have completed their suggested doses of Accutane and had children later. Have there been birth defects that seem as though they could have been triggered by previous Accutane use? I know there are significant risks of birth defects while actively on the drug, but what about the long-term after-use impacts on reproduction?

I wish I could ask some physicians to participate in a long-term, observational study for this but I'd have no idea how to go about it. It doesn't seem like anything is out there on this topic.

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Well, April….what I have to say on the subject is….

Having used sites like this for many years and having read/answered many, many posts there are a lot of people that have taken it and experienced health issues that have never gone away, even after they quit taking it. Thus, it is not a medication I would recommend to anyone…

And in light of that, I really don't think that any woman of child bearing age that intends to actually have children should take it, at any time.

If she really feels she needs to, I would say it should only be taken after all other options have been exhausted and then very carefully consider the possible implications.

Does anyone else want to chime in?

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Hi April I took roaccutane when I was a teenager. I had awful skin and nothing was working. It's been 13 years since I was prescribed roaccutane and have since had 3 girls aged 9,6 & 3. I feel very blessed to have had 3 healthy babies when I read about some of the struggles other people have had coming off the drug. I actually didn't realise how serious this drug is and the long term damage it has caused.
I get blinding migraines and really sore joints at times and I'm shocked to learn they could be linked to accutane use.
My skin has broken out again,luckily nowhere near as bad as a when I was a teen. I will struggle through it!

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Hi,
I took isotretinoin following a false negative pregnancy test. I immediately stopped the medication when realising I was pregnant and alerted the medical staff. However I was only advised to discontinue it at 24 weeks regardless of the normal ultrasound tests showing no visible deformities. I continues with the pregnancy against medical advice and now have a beautiful little girl. Unfortunately we will always remember the isotretinoin exposure and always looking for any potential developmental differences. I wish that there was more forums of people in a similar position and how they have coped etc and whether their child has been affected.

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I applaud you for having your child. :-). Please be aware that studies have shown that 30% of children with no visible birth defects have learning disabilities diagnosed once in school. Other things to watch for are sensory processing disorder and chronic constipation.

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We are aware of future implications. However, we had no choice and we intend to support our child throughout her life regardless.
I feel it is a real shame that parents have noone to discuss matters with and are often pressurised into making hasty decisions

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April, yes there have been children born years (3-7) after accutane use that have disabilities similar to those children exposed during pregnancy. Researchers, drs say this is coincidence but I have always wondered about damage to ovaries or genes or something that Just has not been researched yet. Or....maybe it is coincidence. Certainly there are children born to parents with past use of accutane that do NOT have any similarities to accutane embryopathy.

We never know the secrets of our unborn children.....or often even those born take years to be recognized. We all just need to learn to accept differences and to love unconditionally.......(not to minimize the importance of preventing what can be prevented by not doing/taking dangerous stuff thinking we will be immune to the risk.). ;-).

Kate, Yes, it is. Of course you will love and support your child, no matter what! You will find other parents out there who made the same decision you did, and disabilities or not, have absolutely no regrets about the love, joy, life lessons their child gives them.

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I have only one child, it wasn't easy to conceive and I've been trying for the second one for 4 years, no luck.. I took accutane for "7 years". It did wanders on my skin, I didn't have any secondary effect while taking it... I didn't know about the future infertility issues..

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I took Accutane when I was 28 because I was fed up with still having acne. My acne was not severe, but it was chronic. When I was 34, I started going through peri-menopause, but I did not realize it at the time. I still conceived at 35 because I was still ovulating. It seemed that every other period, was a normal 28 day cycle and I must have gotten pregnant on one of the normal cycles.
At 36 weeks gestation, my baby died inside me. That was devastating enough. I only had four more periods after my delivery, and then was diagnosed with POF at age 36. I was overwhelmed with grief. I do believe that the accutane probably affected my ovaries. In some cases, there is a genetic link(a defect in one of the chromosones) that leads to POF. In these cases the woman is usually still in her 20's. However, not all women who have taken accutane go into premature menopause. My baby's death can not be attributed to Accutane. My baby went into distress, which happens towards the end of some pregnancies. My doctor said, they usually have one patient per year that this happens to. Anyway, my husband and I decided to adopt. I have two beautiful daughters: 13 and 17 and I now consider myself lucky. I Hope this helps

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My daughter was on it for less than a year when she was 16 or 17. She's now 36 expecting her 2nd child. Her daughter will be 4 in Nov.
But in retrospect I think she & I agree there are just too many side effects & wish she hadn't taken it.

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I had a healthy son 2 years later. But now he's over 20 and sterile! Sounds fishy. There should be a legal case on this s***.

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