I've been on 30 mg of Sotret for 9 days. The first time I popped a pill, it was before bed. A few hours after I went to sleep I woke up with a throbbing head. So I skipped taking it the next night and took my second dose the following morning. Within 2 hrs the headache returned and nothing worked to make it go away. My Halloween was awful =/ On day 6 the headache started to subside but I took my 9th pill today and I could still feel it, although it's not as painful. Has anyone had this experience? Does it go away or is it likely I will feel like this for the entire treatment?

Other side effects have been

- Swollen red nose first few days
- Red face that got worse if I was hot or doing any activities (first 5 days)
- Really bad break out on chin
- Tons of bumps, but not cysts, on my forehead..a couple have come to heads
- Itchy/dry skin on body even after using tons of moisturizer
- Chapped lips but so far seem to be okay when frequently using aquafor and aveeno lip balm

Again, it's only my 9th day so a lot of the side effects might just be because I'm not used to the stuff. Or it might get a lot more annoying..heh. I don't have very serious acne, but I did up until last yr when I started Doxycycline, Spironolactone, Differin, and Duac. Those things helped for a while but after my skin got used to the topicals, the oil production went back to how it's always been..which is really bad. I have to use over 10 oil blotter sheets a day, and if I don't..my face will be dripping oil. I know it's gross, sorry! I'm 24 and I've had acne since I was 12...which is half of my life thus far. A few yrs ago I started getting really bad hormonal acne on my jaw line, sometimes it was so bad that people at work (I'm a receptionist at a record label) would ask me if I had a rash. I tried birth control pills but did not like the way I felt on them so never really gave them enough of a chance to see if they'd be effective since most dermatologists have told me it's hormonal. So at this point I am desperate. People close to me tell me I am risking a lot just to have clear skin, but they don't understand what it's like. They get to wash their face and not feel bumps, my girlfriends can easily walk out of their apts without any makeup when I haven't went without foundation and concealer since the time I was first allowed to wear it. I just want to know what it's like to be able to look at myself in fluorescent lights without cringing. I want to stare at my face in a mirror from all angles and see nothing but smoothness. I honestly feel like acne should be considered a disease because it can limit a person from living their life to the fullest.

Wow I didn't intend to write a novel haha, so I guess I will go back to my initial question which is, did anyone who took accutane experience really bad headaches, and should I be worried?

Thanks a lot,

- Angela

This post has been edited by MissNarNar: Nov 5 2009, 06:00 PM

It is hard to say if it is serious or not....Some have had headaches and upped thier water intake and said they felt better. Some had headaches and ended up with pusedotumor or something elese....
My suggestion is to may sure you are well hydrated and let your derm know about the headaches. Accutane effects everyone diffrently...

good luck

Your dermatologist would be very concerned if you were to tell him/her this(mine was when I mentioned I had bad headaches), so ensure to inform your dermatologist just in case.

In a worse case scenario you have the rare side-effect increased intercranial hypertension, which basically means increased pressure in the brain cavity. It is characteristed by a "cauliflower" at your optic nerve in the back of the eye. Therefore, your dermatologist will probably usher you to see your regular doctor and have them look into the back of your eyes to check.

Thank you guys so much! 10th day today and the headache is still here, though not as bad. I called my dermatologist and he told me to stop the accutane and see if the headache goes away. He said if it goes away to start back up in 7 days and if it doesn't, to see my doctor. Thing is...I do not want to stop the accutane and start all over again. I am very headache prone and I think this is just how it is affecting me. And they have gotten less painful, which I feel is a good sign because if I was developing some kind of serious condition, wouldn't they be getting worse?

Thanks a bunch.

I have another question..do I ABSOLUTELY have to stop all topicals right away? I've kind of cheated a couple of nights and put Duac on some spots. I feel like it would be a problem further into the treatment and not so big of a deal in the first couple of weeks.

Thoughts?

-Ange

This post has been edited by MissNarNar: Nov 6 2009, 01:50 PM

Personally, I would stop the Accutane. Just in case. I'd rather be safe than sorry in this case, headaches are no joke, my mom has migraines almost everyday and her life isn't the happiest in this world.

I know about headaches, like I said I'm really prone to them. A few months ago I had one for 5 days straight, and I wasn't on any medicine at all. I think I'm not going to stop, but I am going to get an appointment with my regular doctor for this Monday to get a complete check up and get his opinion. I see that you're on it for a month, have you had any side effects?

i got really reallyyy bad headaches during my first couple weeks of taking accutane. nothing could kick it and they would last for days at a time. although i knew it could be a warning sign of something dangerous (cranial hypertension or something?), i continued to take accutane anyway and didn't tell my dermatologist. i just kept with it and hoped they would go away...anddd they did! one day they just disappeared and throughout the rest of my 8 month course they never came back. and i'm perfectly fine, healthy & clear

8 months is a long treatment, any reason why it wasn't the standard 5-6 months? My derm was skeptical about prescribing it but I pretty much told him I'd go to someone else if necessary lol. He also wouldn't start me at anything higher than 30, how many mgs were you on? Congrats, I am happy to hear good stories, I NEED to actually haha. You look beautiful =)

i know 8 months seems long, but i'd been seeing my derma FOREVERRR and we just reallyyyy wanted to kick my acne for good...and since the side effects were very tolerable, we just thought why not? i was on 40mg...80mg...40 again....then at the end was 40mg every other day. worked out really great. best decision i ever made in my life!

I'm on day 11..no SE

The documentation that comes with the drug is very clear about bad, persistent headaches. You should be reading that and heeding those warnings before putting the question out to the acne.org community...

First of all I've read all of the warnings and side effects. Like many other people on this board, I've done and am continuing to do my research on Accutane. And if you read any of my posts, you'd realize that I said the pain has subsided and the headaches are not as bad. Frankly, it's up to me to decide whether or not I am going to take chances with a serious pill...and obviously I am. I will put whatever questions I want on the boards, that is what they're here for and I've gotten more help here than from any dermatologist that I've seen in the past 12 yrs. Thanks for your input though....

This post has been edited by MissNarNar: Nov 9 2009, 11:14 AM

Hey!

I know you already pretty much figured it out for yourself, but I think this is pretty normal. I'm also very headache prone and I've been having horrible headaches on Sotret. I'm on day 21 and I feel like it's just now getting better. Anyway, just letting you know you're not the only one!

Oh, also.. my doc told me to keep using my topical (Acanya) throughout my course. My skin is starting to burn so I might use it every few days instead. Good luck! It all sounds totally normal to me.

Thanks for your response =) Yeah I definitely think it's normal. After doing more research it seems that the really serious headaches to watch out for are those that accompany blurred vision and dizziness, 2 symptoms that I don't have. The headaches are now on and off, I'm on day 13. The pain feels like it's mostly in the front of my head, what about you? I have another symptom as of a few days ago and without spelling it out I will say that the med has made me irregular. Not sure if you're supposed to change your diet a bit but in my case I'm going to have to incorporate more fiber. What have some of your other symptoms been?

Just noticed that you're from Brooklyn! So am I =) Live in the city right now but all my fam is still there.

My doctor told me to get off all topicals including any face washes that have Benzoyl or Salicylic in them. I've been using the regular Cetaphil which is weird for me because I've used the fancy acne face washes for like 12 yrs haha. I cheated and used Duac (Clindamycin + Benzoyl) a couple of nights to spot treat pimples that I'd gotten frustrated with and popped. Instead of the usual scab that forms when I do that, a really tight clear film formed over the blemishes. I left it alone because I felt like it looked sketchy lol.

My skin is super dry and my lips are tight and cracked, but I'm loving not being oily. Even with the dry canvasy texture that Differin made my face, it was still oily. Don't think I had an "IB" just yet, a couple of minor breakouts which I can't say wouldn't have happened without the Accutane. So far so good.

=)

This post has been edited by MissNarNar: Nov 9 2009, 10:36 AM