Scared of accutane...

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Ok I'm somewhat nervous about it again haha. I got it today, and am about to start. It makes me feel better that its monitored so closely. But I'm nervous...is there really a direct connection between Crohn's disease and accutane? Or is that just coincidence? I don't see how it can be linked if it doesn't show up until years later. I've been seeing lawyer commercials about it, but I'm being told they're scamming to get money. I really hope that's true!

I also talked to a friend who took it and he said that it made him depressed. I talked to some other frienRAB who had taken it and they said the only side effects they got were dry lips and at times some back pain. I mean I guess its different for everyone, so I will see how it goes.

Thoughts anyone? Haha
 
So im new here, and Im sure this has been brought up plenty of times by plenty of people. But my doctor has now turned to the last resort for my acne: accutane. My acne really isn't severe, I mean its annoying but why wouldn't it be. I have blackheaRAB in my nose as well, and other than the actual pimples/acne spots, i have random just blotchy red blemishes.

But anyway, I've heard so many things about accutane that have scared me so much. All of this stuff about permanent decreased vision, joint pains, depression, decreased hearing, etc. Well for one, is that stuff permanent? I assumed they were.

Anyway, I just need some input here...do I need to be scared? Is it worth taking if I'm 18 years old and my acne isn't extremely severe? Are the side effects that terrible? I mean I can live with chapped lips but the others are scaring me.

And another thing, I'm going to be starting college in the fall and its summer anyway, so being a teenager I do like to party and drink (not like every night of the week or anything, but a normal amount for a teen). Does it affect anything to drink while on accutane?
 
Hi jshmo,

I am a 28 year old woman who has used accutane. I wanted to let you know about my story so that you have an idea of the possible side effects of this drug. I'm not trying to scare you, I just want to make you aware of potential problems. I took accutane as a teenager and then later as a college student. I know that while I was on accutane my hair started falling out and my lips became very dry and chapped and I was seriously depressed. Because I am a woman, I was warned about the high risks of birth defects caused by accutane use and was warned not to get pregnant while on the drug. For years I have suffered from depression and anxiety and then about two years ago I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. I don't know if these things are directly related to my use of accutane, but I have started wondering about it with all of the media attention over the effects. I've heard that it has been linked to crohns disease and irritable bowel, among other things. Before using accutane I think that you should do some research into the many possible side effects of the drug. Just google "accutane side effects" and see what you come up with. It's scary. So please be careful. Good health is a lot more important than good looks!!

Sincerely,

Meskhenet
 
I was on it as a teen and guess what... a few years later i was diagnosed wit IBS and some anxiety. Had no idea they could be related to accutane until all of these commercials. I was only 13 when I went on it and the Doc even extended my time on the medication. I would never had taken it if i knew what I know now at 24.
 
I took accutane for about 3 months with no side effects. I took myself off it because i didnt like the prospect of the long term damage and found myself living a life style in which i could manage my acne in different ways. I dont drink much, but the one time i did while on the accutane made me very dizzy and nauseous, so I dont recommend mixing it with booz. I too have moderate achne and have recently stated using "NormaDerm" lotion by Vichy - it's an over the counter lotion and it has worked miracles. You can buy it at CVS or on their website. Good Luck.
 
I went on Accutane when I was 15 (5 years ago). I was on Accutane for about 6 months, and went off it 2 months after my 16th birthday. I had been on two acne antibiotics prior to Accutane, a few Rx topical treatments, and a gazillion over-the-counter treatments. My acne was never terrible--just extremely stubborn. Nothing helped.

Accutane dried out my skin quite a bit, specifically my body skin (as opposed to my facial skin). I got dry spots on my arms that would chap and sometimes bleed. To fix this, I simply rubbed Vaseline on the area at night and slept in a long sleeved shirt. This helped a great deal.

I no longer get dry skin, although my eyes dry out easily.

I am SO glad I decided to go on Accutane! Now that I'm in college, I'd say about 25% of the frienRAB I make have also been on Accutane. I haven't heard any of them regret their decision.

Of course, there are risks. Typically, they start you out on a very low dosage of Accutane and work you up every month. Monthly blood tests are administered to make sure the medication isn't damaging your liver, kidney, etc.

Hope this helped! :) Good luck.
 
I went on roaccutane (aus version of accutane) 6 yrs ago. I was 19 and had been putting up with acne since I was 14. I had previously tried the pill (Diane), antibiotics (minomycin and related drugs), and topical treatments (differin, clindmycin). Nothing worked. Then I went on roaccutane. The first course was for about 1 1/2 yrs. My skin improved greatly but not completely so I completed a second course. I was on roaccutane for about 3yrs in total. My skin is much better now. I get a little bit of congestion but nothing very noticeable and I get compliments about my skin all the time. I wouldn't change a thing! The side effects I experienced were minimal. Dry skin, chapped lips and sore back. I have a history of depression in my family but I was totally fine. In fact, I would say that my mooRAB improved greatly over the course of the treatment when I started to see results. My skin was often causing me upset, self consciousness and pain. I think anyone considering the treatment should consider alt treatments first and be prepared for changes in their lifestyle if they go ahead. It is really important that you don't drink at all while you are taking the drug! Talk to a dermatologist, they are the experts. They will provide you with all the pros and cons and decide if roaccutane is the best drug for your condition. Best of luck!
 
Thank you! I actually have been thinking about it and I think I'm gonna go for it. I had no clue how many people I know use/have used accutane. I was talking to a friend who used it, she said the side effects weren't bad at all. She said she got chapped lips and a little bit of lower back pain, but other than that it was fine. She also said the only thing about drinking while on it is that you get drunk faster, so to just watch how much you drink. I actually feel a lot more comfortable about it now.
 
My son started taking Acutane when he was 14 years old. Acne was ravaging his previously beautiful complexion. I weighed out what it was doing to his self esteem and the side effects which I knew I could watch closely myself. The only noticeable side effect were the dry lips. He is now 19 and although he has some scaring, his skin is basically clear. There are always risks involved in life and you have to decide for yourself which risk you would rather take. Acutane does work but make sure you stay on it for a long enough time that your acne clears up. My son took 2 courses of it and probably a 3rd would have cleared it completely. It was his decision to stop taking it. A few scars is nothing compared to some of my family merabers who never had the drug acutane and are totally disfigured from acne.
 
Accutane is a great drug as long as you take very low doses only 1 time a day(the medical journal recommenRAB 3 times a day which is to much for your body that is how problems start).As soon as your lips start to get very dry and all your are not producing any more oil on your face and back it is time to stop.Keep what you do not take for in case it comes back in a year or so.Please do not tan or take vitamins that contain vitamin A.
Most everyone i know who has ever taken Accutane usually is good in 1-2 months top!
Good luck and do not be scared,just know that Accutane is a serious drug that is not to be taken lightly but will work miracles if it is used properly....GOOD LUCK!
 
I took accutane for about 1.5 months. I started to get severe joint pain, depressed unlike anything I had ever felt, my vision seemed worse, and now I've had a dull pain in my right abdomen for over a week, which I can almost certainly attribute to something going wrong with my liver. If your acne is so severe and nothing has helped, maybe do it, but for me, if I could go back in time, I would never in a million fucking years take accutane. It's damaging. It truly is. My doctor under played the damages, and now I am supposedly 1 of 5 others that stopped, out of his supposed 1500 patients he's prescribed it to. I'm 21 and my parents think I'm crazy, that I have a parasite, that I'm attributing the accutane to problems that are irrelevant. But tell me this, I was a healthy girl before, nothing ever wrong with me, and why now, why after accutane, are the same things that people report happening. I wish someone had taken the time to tell me. I was so god damn skeptical. I thought yeahhh, 1 in 1000, that's not going to be me. But when it is you and you wish you hadn't taken the damn drug and you just wish for your acne back, then you'll truly realize what a terrible decision it had been.
 
Hello, my son took accutane. He was 17 when he started, 6' 6", 195 lbs. He was put on 90mg daily - 50 in the morning and 40 at night. He went through an initial breakout - hard to live with but you have to hang in there. He got pimples where he never got them before like around his mouth and chin. His lips did get dry and used lip lotion.

He has been off it for about six months and looks great! His back is still getting clearer.

It was a tough decision to go on this because of the side affects and horror stories out there. Being monitored is very important. And watching for any signs of side affects so you can alter dosage. He did very well and stayed at 90mg a day for five months.

good luck!
 
I was given the choice of accutane about 25 years ago. I didn't have a total mess but had persistant acne cysts (and general acne) that would pop up every 3-6 months that would have to have injections. I went back and forth about whether to take it or not. I just did not have a good feeling about it so opted not to. Did I regret my decision? Hard to say. There were times I didn't leave the house because I had a bad cyst and was swollen up, really bad icky stuff. But could I have been one in 1,000 with permanent side effects? Could have been. Finally at the age of 50 I haven't had many big problems. Maybe I would have had a kidney transplant by now if I had taken it. Who knows. It is a personal decision. But if your acne isn't severe I would opt out if I were you, just to be safe. Twenty years ago most Derm. wouldn't prescribe it unless it was a severe case and nothing else worked. It seems Dr.s now too quickly, in my opinion, prescribe this stuff.
 
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