99 replies to this topic

[Freedom2008]

Hey sakul

Just want to say that your a cool mum... he should feel so special having a mum that stayed by his side... throught up and down... and of course logging for him too.. that is so cool!!

Anyways how i wish im on day 122 like your son, unfortunately im way behind him... does he really have to take it for 30 weeks?

i remembered i still have spots on week 20 and thats when i stopped, after that i was spot-free for a few months... obviously came back now... so yeh im currently on week 5ish.

All the best.

[sakul]

So, sometimes he does get a pimple. The worst one that I have seen for a while was on his cheek last week, but it is gone now. His red marks seem to be fading a bit too.

Hey Sakul, so does this mean that his face has cleared up a bunch? If so, that's awesome! I just read through your log, what a good mom you are. Take care.

Yes, oh, my GOSH, his skin is soooo much better! I mean every now and then he gets a zit. This is NOTHING like what he dealt with before the accutane. I mean, his skin was so bad and too numerous to count pimples, pustules or whatever the heck they are... It was awful. I was helping him fight an endless battle.

Now, acne does not rule his life (or indirectly, my life). He has the red marks from past breakouts, but any new pimples are short-lived and gone quickly and it is just maybe and truly ONE at a time, not dozens.

I am so glad that I pushed for him to get accutane!!

Good luck with your course!

Sakul

[sakul]

Hey sakul

Just want to say that your a cool mum... he should feel so special having a mum that stayed by his side... throught up and down... and of course logging for him too.. that is so cool!!

Anyways how i wish im on day 122 like your son, unfortunately im way behind him... does he really have to take it for 30 weeks?

i remembered i still have spots on week 20 and thats when i stopped, after that i was spot-free for a few months... obviously came back now... so yeh im currently on week 5ish.

All the best.

Hi Freedom2006!

Good luck this time, I really really hope it all works out for you and you love your skin!

Yes, the dermatologist said my son had to take it for 30 weeks. That's because of his low dose of just 40 MG a day. She is wanting him to reach a "cumulative dose" that is optimal for the CURE. I can only hope that he only has to go through this once.

Do you know from your doctor why this didn't work the first several times around for you? Good luck and keep the faith!

Sakul

[sakul]

Day 174, June 10, 2007

OK! Hey, it has been awhile since I've posted to give the details about my son, age 15 and on a low dose of accutane - 40 MG/day for probably 30 weeks.

School for the year is over tomorrow. I am thrown back to memories of the start of his freshman, 9th grade year... so fearful because, well, he was a freshman, but THEN having to deal with the face also.. UGH. I wish, only, that I had started him earlier on accutane!

OK, so he started in mid December. I guess it has been ABOUT 24 weeks or so. I know he has to go at least 30 weeks according to his dermatologist. But this was a great decision for my son, because he is clear of the pimples and the marks are fading.

We have never tried to increase his dosage since he is tolerating it so well and the results are so great. I get a bit nervous as to what happens when he is off of the accutane, but that is for another day.

For now, he is clear. He now and then gets a pimple that clears fairly quickly. No special attention to his face. No cover up any more... He's a handsome dude, if I must say so myself. There is some redness.. I think this is due to sun exposure. Although he does use sunscreen... Not sure...

My heart goes out to everyone and if I can be of any help, let me know!

Sakul

[Cali04]

Sakul .. I am glad your son is doing well. Its good to hear and it gives me some hope. How are his side effects? When do you think he really started to clear? I hope you had a good weekend!!!

[sakul]

Sakul .. I am glad your son is doing well. Its good to hear and it gives me some hope. How are his side effects? When do you think he really started to clear? I hope you had a good weekend!!!

His side effects are a rash on his arm (accutane dermatitis, I am told) that is controlled with a cream. Dry lips (lots of Aquaphor and Dan's Lip Balm). He did have a few bloody noses last winter, but none recently. Other than that no side effects. He really started to clear within a couple weeks of starting. Now and then a pimple breaks out but I don't think he ever had that "initial breakout" that people talk about. His skin is clear and marks are fading. It is such a relief to not see him so burdened with the acne. It was absorbing way to much energy and emotion that can now get directed at something else. He takes a low dose of Zoloft for anxiety/OCD type issues but that has been just fine also, and no problems to mention.

Hope that helps and good luck!
Sakul

[sakul]

Day 214 - July 21, 2007

Well, my son has been on the 'tane now for 214 days (or seven months)! He is taking a low dose of 40 mg a day. His dermatologist said last week that to get the "cumulative" dose that he needs it will be another two months for him. He is still doing really well. The worse issue he has is dry lips.. No nose bleeds for a long time. Every now and then the dermatitis comes on his arms. Oh, and I have noticed this summer that he is sun sensitive, so even with good cover from sun screen he is still "red" when he comes in after being outdoors for a period of time.

He is clear nearly always. Occasional zit. There was a BIG one about a month ago that took several weeks to clear. It was all by its lonesome on his right cheek. I don't get what that was about.

To all of you newbies - good luck! This has been amazing for my son and has changed his life so dramatically for the better. I just pray that it "holds" once he comes off the drug. I am so worried about that. I wonder how often that the skin stays great and how often the person has to repeat the course. Any one know?

Have a great weekend~~

Sakul

[whatthechelle]

I wonder how often that the skin stays great and how often the person has to repeat the course. Any one know?

according to the pinned thread by Rossignol in the Accutane posts forum, '-Dermatologists claim that typically 90% of patient's acne is put into remission through use of the drug, and 60% is completely cured. It is possible that your acne may return after a course of the drug, but it is likely to be much less severe.'


i hope your son's course continues to go well.

[livelaughlove]

Sakul, I just came across your log and I just want to say I know how hard it is to be 15 and have severe acne. On one of your posts when you say someone made fun of him my heart goes out for him because that happens to me but I don't have anxiety/OCD so it must have been ten times worse for him. Sometimes I think people my age don't realize what it's like to have a skin problem until it happens to them. I'm also happy to hear everything is going well. I just started accutane on July 18th, so I hope my course goes just as well as your son's did!

-livelaughlove

[sakul]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has been months since I posted. Started a new job, etc. My son was done with his Accutane in mid August. So it has been about 7 weeks now without. So far so good.

Face - He had one largish pimple that did not last long and nothing since. His red marks from the past are still there but do continue to fade. His forehead in particular looks great. Chin great. It is just sides of his cheek that still have red marks. His doctor said that if he wanted to do laser that might take care of it. We will look at that down the road.

He has two red bumps on his upper chest, they just seem to stay around no matter what so I am going to ask the dermatologist about this when we go back next month. I noticed today a zit with a white head on the back of his neck (where did THAT come from??? Never saw acne there....).

The dry lips are gone.. YEAH!!!! That was really his major side effect. We did not really notice much else, except an occasional nose bleed.

We are so pleased with the results. When I think of how miserable he was last fall with a face full of pustules and self esteem suffering, I am so glad that I took this step to get him on accutane.

His doctor said that 50% do not get acne again. Some get it milder. We will deal with it! It is amazing - was amazing for him.

Thanks for all the support we received here! I will continue to check in now and then to update this log.

Sakul

[betterTomorrow]

congrats to ur son.. i'm sure he will be more confident and happier

[sakul]

Hi there folks,

My son has now been OFF of accutane for six months. He continues to do very well. Every now and then he gets a pimple but it does not last long. His life so sooo much better than when I first logged in here in late 2006. I hope that our log helps those out there who also have special needs of some sort.

My son is diagnosed with OCD/ Anxiety disorder and other things, but he did well on low dose accutane for an extended period of time. I don't know if he will "flare" again and get so darn bad as he was when he started, but I pray not.

He started to really get better within several months of starting accutane and continued to improve throughout his treatment. He uses a topic cream if he gets a pimple, but again, they do not last long. They come one at a time when they do come instead of dozens of pustules at a time.

I hope everyone here is well and good luck to you in your course of treatment. This place is the BEST place for Acne support! No doubt about that!

God bless

Sakul

[sakul]

Hello to all who read the accutane messageboards!

I am just coming back to say that it is now 10 months since my son has been off of accutane. He continues to be fine, with very few pimples - ever.

Every now and then he gets one and it is easily treated with topicals and gone in a day or so.

What a joy it is! My son is a such a handsome young man now! This whole thing really boosted his self esteem.

He has some minor pink marks still on his skin. I know that the dermatologist said he could do a laser thing but so far we haven't done that.

I just wanted to stop in and update the group out there. I was afraid initially to put my son on Accutane due to his OCD/Anxiety diagnoses, but with close monitoring by both dermatologist and psychiatrist and low dose accutane there were no problems at all with his regime.

Good luck!

Sakul

[Brandy]

I'm so glad you are continuing to update this log. Thank you for taking the time to do so.

[soccermomsrock]

Hello to all who read the accutane messageboards!

I am just coming back to say that it is now 10 months since my son has been off of accutane. He continues to be fine, with very few pimples - ever.

Every now and then he gets one and it is easily treated with topicals and gone in a day or so.

What a joy it is! My son is a such a handsome young man now! This whole thing really boosted his self esteem.

He has some minor pink marks still on his skin. I know that the dermatologist said he could do a laser thing but so far we haven't done that.

I just wanted to stop in and update the group out there. I was afraid initially to put my son on Accutane due to his OCD/Anxiety diagnoses, but with close monitoring by both dermatologist and psychiatrist and low dose accutane there were no problems at all with his regime.

Good luck!

Sakul

Hi Sakul,

I am new to blogging and new to this site a well. I have been searching the Internet for information and found you. It is like looking in a mirror. Let me tell you my story.

My son is 15 years old. He is a freshman in highschool. He played freshman soccer and JV soccer this year. He is bright. He takes advanced classes. He has always up to this time maintained straight A's. He was just recenty ranked 1 out of 570 in his class. He is now running track with the school and continues on a soccer team outside of school that plays casually until the outdoor season kicks back in here in another month or so.

My son is a wonderful young man. Handsome, funny, smart, sweet, and seems to be popular with the kids and girls. So what is the problem?

Well, for a long time now he has had OCD...I say a long time but probably for a year or so according to him. But I noticed problems. Not so much the repetitive behavior but the length of time it would take him to get a shower or get ready for bed. He would "lose" pencils...a dozen or more a week. Last year in the summer between 8th grade and 9th grade we took him for testing. They thought he had CAPD...Central Auditory Processing Disorder...and ordered up more significant testing. He did not. They gave him an IQ test where he scored above average in all three areas of the test. They did some computer testing...can't remember all the details of this test...but the doctor said in all his time doing this...he had a handful of kids to get a perfect score and my son was one of them. So he is bright, right? So the final diagnosis is that he may display some ADD behaviors with a bit of OCD or turets with some twitching of the nose...basically tics that seem to come and go and they change. And that was that. Oh, but no!

Now for the acne. He has had acne for a while. But I started him off with a dermo immediately...back in let's say 7th grade or the 8th grade. He took mynocycline (sp?) and washed his face with Panoxly (10%). That worked for a while. Then hormones kicked in and he started getting acne on his back and more on his face. Worse on his back. But I had acne and it was persistent and I took and used everything prescription under the sun. The only thing that cured it was Accutane. That was about 16 years ago now. So off to the dermo we go. He says let's do Accutane. I am fine with it. I have been on it and my step son has been on it. So beginning about December 30th, we started with the generic of Accutane. We are taking one a day (30mg). Doing that through the winter to get pass the dry spell and then up the dose later to twice a day.

So we have been doing this for almost a month. But, the last three weeks have been hell. The ticks are terrible! I mean awful! Sad! Makes me cry but not in front of him. He has always had trouble focusing when needed in school...too much talking. But now he cannot get a pencil out of his bag. He cannot open the zippers without routine and rules to go through. There is so much more to get into but he has finally came out with his issues and now he cannot control hiding them as he was. I immediately hopped on this and contact the doctor from last summer. He put me with a therapist for OCD that is the best in our area and we do live near a major city where we can go into and get some of the best doctors. She has seen him once. After talking with him for about 45 minutes, she says he is definitely OCD. Good thing my son has finally opened up about it and tried not to carry the burden around. He was in denial and hiding so I was aggravated with him on his lack of attention, etc...slowness to do anything...but I didn't know. So now I have to help him get ready for bed and help him get a shower to cut down the urges to repeat stuff. We have our second appointment this week. We have really not started any therapy persay. That should be this week now that the initial visit is over. He is to be seen once a week.

So here he is on Accutane and it is helping his face and back. About 30 days. Blood work fine. Now he has these angry moments and frustration beyond belief for his personality. We are dealing with this new found OCD. So the question is...is he relaxed and now we see it more? He says he does more at home than at school. I know he cannot keep up hiding it for long so is it coincidental that he has had this breakdown of sorts while he is taking Accutane. Is Accutane the cause? Was it a blessing because it is irritating the situation just enough that he had to expose himself. I just knew something wasn't right with the things that I could see but when the doctor tests him and there is nothing but minor stuff, what do you do? Could it have just gottent his bad all of a sudden? Maybe the Accutane has nothing to do with it. His father has those twitches and such. We are divorced. So my son could come by this genetically. He is taking no meds for OCD. We said that with the Accutane that we would not do both. The therapist was fine with that. She knew he was on Accutane. But now it has gotten worst. Very irritable with me and short with answers. He is exhausted with talking about it. He is frustrated he cannot control it. It is all at once and I don't know if one drives the other. Is the Accutane making the OCD worst? We are really considering meds...Zoloft or something like that. Maybe this is all coincidental. I read all 5 pages of your blog. I called my husband (step father to my son) and said this lady has an identical situatioin...starting Tane at the same time...son's are about the same age. But I am not sure what "learning disabilities" your son has. I don't think my son has them but having OCD is a disability of sorts...are you referring to that? Called my dermo. He says if I feel better, take him off Tane. But what about the acne? My son will have a fit about not clearing this up once and for all. The dermo says there is not much relation to it. But your son was on meds for OCD and you saw a difference after a week and upped the meds. To me that is a direct relation. I am thinking about stopping the Tane until we get the meds going. But now I got to get a doctor to do that. The therapist does not describe this. Maybe the general pedi will. I have a call into him since Friday late afternoon. Hope to hear back today.

Insurance? How does that effect your insurance or his future with insurance? My ex seems to think if we turn this in, that he won't be able to health insurance in later years himself or if I change my policy, I won't be able to cover him as a minor again.

I know. Lots of questions. But our stories are similar. I know this has gotten worst because his math teacher of the advanced class he is in e-mailed me about his lack of focus, borrowoing materials and pencils, never ready, frustrated with the rapid fire exercise she does. By the way, the pencil thing is that he sometimes does not have the energy to get into the backpack and get out pencils because of all the rituals he has to do to get in and out of his back pack. It takes so ong and he has to get books and folders out, too. So then he is never ready. Funny thing is the teacher's e-mail to me came two days after our first OCD session with the therapist. Talk about a sign from God that I need to talk to the teachers. Something that my son didn't want me to do but I have to do for his sake and he has agreed to that now.

HELP!

[styles-b]

Hey there Soccermomsrock,

Not trying to hijack Sakul's thread, but I wanted to reply to your post.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV But, my nephew has Tourette Syndrome and also displays OCD and ADHD-like characteristics (most likely due to the TS).

TS, OCD, ADHD and several other syndromes/disorders not only carry many of the same symptoms, but also originate from the same area(s) of the brain. TS and OCD aren't 'classic psychological' disorders, as they have a very strong neurological component. In fact, the peripheral symptoms of these disorders (such as anxiety, depression, etc) that cause the mistaken classification of these diseases as 'psychiatric' are the result of the deep emotional affects of the primary symptoms on the patient's whole self and self-esteem. The fact that these issues are caused by neurologic dysfunction (and its respective physiologic consequences) is why anti-seizure medications often help control the symptoms and prevent further progression/worsening of the conditions.

I understand your apprehension and hesitation to put your son on additional medications while on Accutane, but as someone who sees her nephew endure these daily struggles and emotional pain caused by TS; I would encourage you to reconsider your choice not to treat his condition with appropriate medications.

The frustration the sufferers of these disorders are burdened with on a daily basis is overwhelming and heartbreaking. I know that before my nephew was medicated for his TS, he would actively try to supress his tics and other symptoms because even at the age of 8, he was acutely and painfully aware that he was different from his peers. This suppression and internalization of his symptoms only led to angry outbursts, worsening of his symptoms and of course a further lowering of his self-esteem (which was already low because of having to deal with the disorder to begin with).

Once my nephew was medicated with an appropriate drug for his condition, the change was absolutely astonishing. He was no longer fighting his tics and therefore had no more angry outbursts or fits of rage. His confidence increased and he was able to focus in school. He returned to the extroverted, friendly child he was before the TS had gotten so severe and began to have friends in school again. His concentration and his grades improved and he is better for it overall. The medication returned him to his life as he once knew it. He is almost 10 now, and is doing incredibly well. His symptoms are managed to the point of non-existence. Only rarely does he feel, or do we see any indication of the TS and he is a much happier child for it.

People take medications for any other medical condition- like diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, cancer, etc.- but for some reason have reservations about taking medications for neurologic/psychiatric conditions. The truth is, the brain is just another organ in the body. Sometimes it malfunctions, just like the pancreas, the heart, the liver or anything else. Symptoms of a disease are simply a manifestation/expression of physiological malfuntions and exist to serve as signals that something is wrong. Incidentally, the symptoms caused by these neurological conditions cause the patient an inordinate amount of emotional and psychological pain.

That said, why not treat the brain just like any other malfunctioning organ and alleviate the symptoms (that can and will increase in severity over time if left untreated) and thereby greatly reduce (if not eliminate entirely) the emotional anguish that these symptoms cause?

A person can be on Accutane and on other medications at the same time. I know this because I have been on Accutane since October of 2008 and I am Bipolar. My disorder has been successfully managed for some time now and I have a strong enough understanding of the disease and of myself to be aware of any 'red flags' or negative changes to my moods or personality throughout the course of this treatment and will stop taking it if these changes do arise, whether it be directly due to the Accutane or not.

The reality is that you can always have him put back on the Accutane after his other condition(s) and symptoms are successfully managed. The Accutane will always be there. But his self-esteem, sense of self-worth and quality of life may not be (and is not easily recaptured, if even possible in these situations); so I would err on the side of responsibility to your son's neurological and psychological health.

Whether you do or don't take your son off the Accutane, please reconsider the medication issue- for his sake. Trust me, I've seen the physical and emotional damage these conditions cause and it's not worth jeapordizing a person's physical and emotional well-being in the name of clearing their skin. Clear skin can come after a healthy brain- physiologically and psychologically.


Good luck, and all the best to you and your son.


-Megan

[stylesbigsister]

Hello to all who read the accutane messageboards!

I am just coming back to say that it is now 10 months since my son has been off of accutane. He continues to be fine, with very few pimples - ever.

Every now and then he gets one and it is easily treated with topicals and gone in a day or so.

What a joy it is! My son is a such a handsome young man now! This whole thing really boosted his self esteem.

He has some minor pink marks still on his skin. I know that the dermatologist said he could do a laser thing but so far we haven't done that.

I just wanted to stop in and update the group out there. I was afraid initially to put my son on Accutane due to his OCD/Anxiety diagnoses, but with close monitoring by both dermatologist and psychiatrist and low dose accutane there were no problems at all with his regime.

Good luck!

Sakul

Hi Sakul,

I am new to blogging and new to this site a well. I have been searching the Internet for information and found you. It is like looking in a mirror. Let me tell you my story.

My son is 15 years old. He is a freshman in highschool. He played freshman soccer and JV soccer this year. He is bright. He takes advanced classes. He has always up to this time maintained straight A's. He was just recenty ranked 1 out of 570 in his class. He is now running track with the school and continues on a soccer team outside of school that plays casually until the outdoor season kicks back in here in another month or so.

My son is a wonderful young man. Handsome, funny, smart, sweet, and seems to be popular with the kids and girls. So what is the problem?

Well, for a long time now he has had OCD...I say a long time but probably for a year or so according to him. But I noticed problems. Not so much the repetitive behavior but the length of time it would take him to get a shower or get ready for bed. He would "lose" pencils...a dozen or more a week. Last year in the summer between 8th grade and 9th grade we took him for testing. They thought he had CAPD...Central Auditory Processing Disorder...and ordered up more significant testing. He did not. They gave him an IQ test where he scored above average in all three areas of the test. They did some computer testing...can't remember all the details of this test...but the doctor said in all his time doing this...he had a handful of kids to get a perfect score and my son was one of them. So he is bright, right? So the final diagnosis is that he may display some ADD behaviors with a bit of OCD or turets with some twitching of the nose...basically tics that seem to come and go and they change. And that was that. Oh, but no!

Now for the acne. He has had acne for a while. But I started him off with a dermo immediately...back in let's say 7th grade or the 8th grade. He took mynocycline (sp?) and washed his face with Panoxly (10%). That worked for a while. Then hormones kicked in and he started getting acne on his back and more on his face. Worse on his back. But I had acne and it was persistent and I took and used everything prescription under the sun. The only thing that cured it was Accutane. That was about 16 years ago now. So off to the dermo we go. He says let's do Accutane. I am fine with it. I have been on it and my step son has been on it. So beginning about December 30th, we started with the generic of Accutane. We are taking one a day (30mg). Doing that through the winter to get pass the dry spell and then up the dose later to twice a day.

So we have been doing this for almost a month. But, the last three weeks have been hell. The ticks are terrible! I mean awful! Sad! Makes me cry but not in front of him. He has always had trouble focusing when needed in school...too much talking. But now he cannot get a pencil out of his bag. He cannot open the zippers without routine and rules to go through. There is so much more to get into but he has finally came out with his issues and now he cannot control hiding them as he was. I immediately hopped on this and contact the doctor from last summer. He put me with a therapist for OCD that is the best in our area and we do live near a major city where we can go into and get some of the best doctors. She has seen him once. After talking with him for about 45 minutes, she says he is definitely OCD. Good thing my son has finally opened up about it and tried not to carry the burden around. He was in denial and hiding so I was aggravated with him on his lack of attention, etc...slowness to do anything...but I didn't know. So now I have to help him get ready for bed and help him get a shower to cut down the urges to repeat stuff. We have our second appointment this week. We have really not started any therapy persay. That should be this week now that the initial visit is over. He is to be seen once a week.

So here he is on Accutane and it is helping his face and back. About 30 days. Blood work fine. Now he has these angry moments and frustration beyond belief for his personality. We are dealing with this new found OCD. So the question is...is he relaxed and now we see it more? He says he does more at home than at school. I know he cannot keep up hiding it for long so is it coincidental that he has had this breakdown of sorts while he is taking Accutane. Is Accutane the cause? Was it a blessing because it is irritating the situation just enough that he had to expose himself. I just knew something wasn't right with the things that I could see but when the doctor tests him and there is nothing but minor stuff, what do you do? Could it have just gottent his bad all of a sudden? Maybe the Accutane has nothing to do with it. His father has those twitches and such. We are divorced. So my son could come by this genetically. He is taking no meds for OCD. We said that with the Accutane that we would not do both. The therapist was fine with that. She knew he was on Accutane. But now it has gotten worst. Very irritable with me and short with answers. He is exhausted with talking about it. He is frustrated he cannot control it. It is all at once and I don't know if one drives the other. Is the Accutane making the OCD worst? We are really considering meds...Zoloft or something like that. Maybe this is all coincidental. I read all 5 pages of your blog. I called my husband (step father to my son) and said this lady has an identical situatioin...starting Tane at the same time...son's are about the same age. But I am not sure what "learning disabilities" your son has. I don't think my son has them but having OCD is a disability of sorts...are you referring to that? Called my dermo. He says if I feel better, take him off Tane. But what about the acne? My son will have a fit about not clearing this up once and for all. The dermo says there is not much relation to it. But your son was on meds for OCD and you saw a difference after a week and upped the meds. To me that is a direct relation. I am thinking about stopping the Tane until we get the meds going. But now I got to get a doctor to do that. The therapist does not describe this. Maybe the general pedi will. I have a call into him since Friday late afternoon. Hope to hear back today.

Insurance? How does that effect your insurance or his future with insurance? My ex seems to think if we turn this in, that he won't be able to health insurance in later years himself or if I change my policy, I won't be able to cover him as a minor again.

I know. Lots of questions. But our stories are similar. I know this has gotten worst because his math teacher of the advanced class he is in e-mailed me about his lack of focus, borrowoing materials and pencils, never ready, frustrated with the rapid fire exercise she does. By the way, the pencil thing is that he sometimes does not have the energy to get into the backpack and get out pencils because of all the rituals he has to do to get in and out of his back pack. It takes so ong and he has to get books and folders out, too. So then he is never ready. Funny thing is the teacher's e-mail to me came two days after our first OCD session with the therapist. Talk about a sign from God that I need to talk to the teachers. Something that my son didn't want me to do but I have to do for his sake and he has agreed to that now.

HELP!

Hello Soccermomrocks,

My son has tourette's syndrome (the nephew stylesb is referring to in the above post). OCD, ADD, and Tourette's usually go hand in hand with one another. May I suggest you get your son an appointment with a neurologist. I am not trying to make an internet diagnosis or anything but so many of those things sound like what we have gone through with my son. He takes Clonidine daily; since he's been on it his TS has virtually disappeared. I don't see what the harm would be in taking the Accutane along with clonidine (not saying that's what your son needs, but more than likely that's what he would be prescribed). I don't know you or your situation but I really don't think antidepressants are a good idea for teens (ie, Zoloft). This may not be an issue of depression; it's probably a neurological issue, not a psychological one. Perhaps you need to see a different Dr., because you should have been referred to a neurologist as soon as it was suggested to you that he may have TS.

[soccermomsrock]

Hello Megan and Stylesbigsister...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your replay. Glad to know someone is out there. I have never done this blogging thing before so bear with me as I am not good at all of these buttons and how to post and respond appropriately.

Well, this is what has happened in just a day. We were off of school today due to the weather. So I hopped on this opportunity to not interrupt school and sports and made an appointment with the medical doctor who has been following this whole thing now for about a year. FYI: I talked to him about 2 weeks ago to update him. Well, having some ADD issues himself as a child and still, he can sympathize. So he was wonderful! We have a script for Zoloft and will start with 50 mg beginning tomorrow morning. We will still continue the Accutane. As suspected, when I mentioned going off of it to my son, he was not happy. Part of the whole self esteem thing is the whole face thing as well. And that is what I understand because his acne issues come from me. His OCD issues come from his dad's side of the family...my ex.

Also, my son was diagnosed with OCD and some of the small side issues is some turrets like behavior. There is no doubt he is OCD. But he has been hiding it. Strangely enough, once he started on Accutane, it all became worst. But the therapist and the dermo don't think it is related. But funny thing, the teachers have seen a change since the onset of the new year and so have we. The therapist (maybe I am using a bad word for her title...she is a doctor but not one that can hand out meds) is highly recommended in the field of OCD for the large city we are located near. So I am comfortable going to her and not to a neurologist first but will for sure keep that in mind as an option as this thing progresses. Apparently, treatment for OCD needs to be a two part thing....cognitive behavior treatment and meds. Paxil is not the drug of favor anymore. It is Zoloft and it has less side effects and is better to treat young kids and teens. My son is 15. He is a freshman. Very good athlete. Very smart. Just ranked 1 out of 570 in his class. We are very proud of him. But he has been down. Obvious reasons....I have read and called and discussed and blogged myself to death it feels like. My husband and I are currently trying to find a family group where there are other parents discussing how they deal with OCD kids. But we are very much looking forward now to the meds and the results. I wish 3 weeks would go by so we can start seeing if the 50 mg gives us any hint of hope. Six weeks is ideal but after 3 you usually see some glimmer of improvement. I long to see that smile of his again. It is heartbreaking and as a mother I want to fix everything and right now. I am sure you know what I mean. But the good news is that we have identified it. We have found a combination of meds to cure both acne and OCD, or at least we hope we have, and with counseling things can only go up, right? When I was searching for Accutane and OCD and how they effected each other, I stumbled upon Sakul and her story was sooooo similar to mine I just had to log on and see what else I could find out. I know the doctor's say there is no connection, but I could put my life on the fact that the Accutane made the symptoms a lot worst...but it did keep him from hiding it to a large degree and now with it out in the open, we can deal.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am keeping an open mind. You always just hesitate putting your kid on meds but you are right, Megan, the brain is just another organ, why not treat it that way....I think it is just society that makes you feel ugly about the whole thing and want to hide it and insurance companies frown upon it. Or at least that is the feedback that I have gotten. My ex seems to think he will have a hard time getting insurance and not to go on meds. But I cannot watch him suffer like this. The change is remarkable. But he doesn't live with him every day either.

Megan, any thoughts on insurance and how your company handles your situation...have you had to change companies and be denied health insurance? We are self employed people, so we don't have a big company to fall under.

By the way, Megan, you sound just like a doctor! Very knowledgable.....

[katelo123]

Hello Megan and Stylesbigsister...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your replay. Glad to know someone is out there. I have never done this blogging thing before so bear with me as I am not good at all of these buttons and how to post and respond appropriately.

Well, this is what has happened in just a day. We were off of school today due to the weather. So I hopped on this opportunity to not interrupt school and sports and made an appointment with the medical doctor who has been following this whole thing now for about a year. FYI: I talked to him about 2 weeks ago to update him. Well, having some ADD issues himself as a child and still, he can sympathize. So he was wonderful! We have a script for Zoloft and will start with 50 mg beginning tomorrow morning. We will still continue the Accutane. As suspected, when I mentioned going off of it to my son, he was not happy. Part of the whole self esteem thing is the whole face thing as well. And that is what I understand because his acne issues come from me. His OCD issues come from his dad's side of the family...my ex.

Also, my son was diagnosed with OCD and some of the small side issues is some turrets like behavior. There is no doubt he is OCD. But he has been hiding it. Strangely enough, once he started on Accutane, it all became worst. But the therapist and the dermo don't think it is related. But funny thing, the teachers have seen a change since the onset of the new year and so have we. The therapist (maybe I am using a bad word for her title...she is a doctor but not one that can hand out meds) is highly recommended in the field of OCD for the large city we are located near. So I am comfortable going to her and not to a neurologist first but will for sure keep that in mind as an option as this thing progresses. Apparently, treatment for OCD needs to be a two part thing....cognitive behavior treatment and meds. Paxil is not the drug of favor anymore. It is Zoloft and it has less side effects and is better to treat young kids and teens. My son is 15. He is a freshman. Very good athlete. Very smart. Just ranked 1 out of 570 in his class. We are very proud of him. But he has been down. Obvious reasons....I have read and called and discussed and blogged myself to death it feels like. My husband and I are currently trying to find a family group where there are other parents discussing how they deal with OCD kids. But we are very much looking forward now to the meds and the results. I wish 3 weeks would go by so we can start seeing if the 50 mg gives us any hint of hope. Six weeks is ideal but after 3 you usually see some glimmer of improvement. I long to see that smile of his again. It is heartbreaking and as a mother I want to fix everything and right now. I am sure you know what I mean. But the good news is that we have identified it. We have found a combination of meds to cure both acne and OCD, or at least we hope we have, and with counseling things can only go up, right? When I was searching for Accutane and OCD and how they effected each other, I stumbled upon Sakul and her story was sooooo similar to mine I just had to log on and see what else I could find out. I know the doctor's say there is no connection, but I could put my life on the fact that the Accutane made the symptoms a lot worst...but it did keep him from hiding it to a large degree and now with it out in the open, we can deal.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am keeping an open mind. You always just hesitate putting your kid on meds but you are right, Megan, the brain is just another organ, why not treat it that way....I think it is just society that makes you feel ugly about the whole thing and want to hide it and insurance companies frown upon it. Or at least that is the feedback that I have gotten. My ex seems to think he will have a hard time getting insurance and not to go on meds. But I cannot watch him suffer like this. The change is remarkable. But he doesn't live with him every day either.

Megan, any thoughts on insurance and how your company handles your situation...have you had to change companies and be denied health insurance? We are self employed people, so we don't have a big company to fall under.

By the way, Megan, you sound just like a doctor! Very knowledgable.....

I also have OCD, but it's in a mild form. I choose not to take medication for it and I am doing very well. I have had the hardest time finding any information about Accutane and OCD. Did you put your son back on the drug? What was the experience like? Wish you and your son the best

[AKL]

I also have OCD, but it's in a mild form. I choose not to take medication for it and I am doing very well. I have had the hardest time finding any information about Accutane and OCD. Did you put your son back on the drug? What was the experience like? Wish you and your son the best

The post you replied to is 1.5 years old, that member was last seen here in February 2009. I doubt that she will respond. You could try sending a Personal Message, maybe she'll read that.