10 replies to this topic

[Zitophobe]

I have one week left to decide whether to start accutane. After reading everything here I finally decided to go for it. Then I came across the Accutane Action Group forum and bloody hell there are so many people suffering so many bad effects and permanent damage!

I really don't know what to do. Life is difficult enough living with the pain and misery of depression and M.E. Sorry to moan I'm just scared and confused, and don't know which decision is best I don't want to end up damaged for the rest of my life.

I'm slim and 5'3 - do you think a 10mg dose would have any effect???

[aebales00]

You need to make the right decision for you. My person feelings are this... If it were that unsafe it would be ban. You will have people who may have not taken the drug as prescribed and had adverse effects because they took other medications or did things that interferred with the treatment. I did allot of research before I even asked my derm about TANE and thats the best advice I can give you, keep researching and don't make any decision that you aren't 100% comfortable with

[aebales00]

I was just looking at the site you referred to "Accutane Action Group". I am not going to try to tell anybody that TANE can't potentially cause some VERY SERIOUS side effects, but most of them are very rare. The AAG seems to have a few members that have had bad experinces and are now blaming every physical and emotional problem they are having or may have in the future on TANE. I also found some information that was absolutely incorrect. There are risk with any substance you ingest, if you are not comfortable with something I would not do it, but I do not think the AAG is a good source of info.

[lucy_87]

acutane was/is the best decision i ever made. im just over 3 months in and its changing my life. i was scared too about the side effects. i also 5'3 and slim and ive been taking 30mg a day with no problems at all. ive had no side effects other than dry lips. id say go for it. on a low dose its highly unlikely u will experience anything more than dry skin and lips now and then

[chaz (charlotte)]

I have one week left to decide whether to start accutane. After reading everything here I finally decided to go for it. Then I came across the Accutane Action Group forum and bloody hell there are so many people suffering so many bad effects and permanent damage!

I really don't know what to do. Life is difficult enough living with the pain and misery of depression and M.E. Sorry to moan I'm just scared and confused, and don't know which decision is best I don't want to end up damaged for the rest of my life.

I'm slim and 5'3 - do you think a 10mg dose would have any effect???

I'm slim, 5 foot 3 to 4 too and i'm a 20 yr old female who has 5 days left of accutane. I staarted on 10 mg and then he put me up to 20 mg after the first month. It was the best descision of my life. I cried all the way home when he told me i had a week i didnt no wot to do. But now i'm clear. My acne was Very bad and now there is nothing but a few scars. honestly best descision ever. Theres nothing else better as far as i no wso wot is there to lose? your on a low dose so side effects should be minimal. Read my logs if you search on other posts i've left. Its up to you but i am a beliveer of accutane working now its worked for me just hope it lasts when i finish xxx

[Azrael]

Then I came across the Accutane Action Group forum and bloody hell there are so many people suffering so many bad effects and permanent damage!

Have you taken the time to look at any other medications and read the potential side effects?
From my bathroom-

Ovranette (birth control pill) leaflet:
Possible side effects-Feeling/being sick, Changes in body weight, Changes in libido, Depressive moods, Headaches, Tender breasts, Brown patches on the face/body (chloasma), Irregular period bleeding.
Reasons to stop Ovranette immediately- bad Migranes, sudden changes to your eyesight, difficulty in speaking, pains or swelling in your leg, sharp pains in your chest, shortness of breath, persistent coughing, numbness in arm/leg, skin becomes yellow (jaundice), fainting, increase in blood pressure, change in blood lipid levels, severe abdominal pain.

Ibuprofen (minor pain killer) leaflet:
Possible side effects- Stomach pain, nausea, indigestion, stomach ulcer, bleeding of the stomach, itchy/swollen skin/rashes, peeling skin, blood disorders which can cause bruising/abnormal bleeding, kidney damage which can cause kidney failure, liver problems, headaches, dizziness, hearing disturbances.

If you believed all of these symptoms would effect you , would you take the birth control pill or Ibuprofen????

My point is, by law the drugs companies have to include all known side effects experienced by anyone who had taken that drug. it does not detail how likely these are to occur, but i dont know anyone who has experienced kidney failure from taking ibuprofen.

Isotretinoin (accutane) does have some scary side effects, but so does every drug out there.
The majority of people do not experience the bad side effects. But it is detailed on the leaflet 'just in case' you do.
You have to put those risks into perspective, and decide what is more important to you.

when we have a headache and have taken ibuprofen, we have all risked those side effects above, but we still took it and it was fine.

bad news always travels faster than good news. so you will always hear more bad stories about accutane than good. but if you read thru the blogs on here, you will get a good balanced view point.
on the Accutane Action Group forum - i'm guessing you only go on there and report your bad experience? and no-one has reported a good experience?

[Zitophobe]

Thank you so much for your replies, I appreciate it xx

Azrael - I agree about the info leaflets, I realize there are potential side effects with most drugs. My concern is not with these warnings, but with the literally hundreds of people who have taken accutane, and 1+ years later are experiencing irreversible damage.

These people (much more than 'a few') have been there, taken it and are now living with the consequences. Just one example, there are photos of people whose lips are now permanently blistered and deformed. And most seemed to know the correct method of taking it, not combining with vit A/alcohol etc. but still it went wrong.

Don't know if I'm allowed to link to the forum, mods please delete if not - http://www.xsorbit1.com/users/davec//index...Your_Experiance

I don't know what dose my derm will suggest, I was hoping to start as low as possible but not sure if it will have any benefit.

Thank you once again.

[droplette]

i knew that site contained lots of scary stuff and so i refused to read it. im 6th months in and as far as i know, im fine. ive done some bad things whilst on tane: got drunk 3 or 4 times etc. I really wouldnt worry.

[The_miserable]

Like every other pill they have side effects. But only in the beginning. It will be better and it's defenatly worth it. Having acne is hard enough. My big dilemma now is if I should take Diane or not. Cause if you have taken the tane what's the point of taking Diane. Which of them have the strongest effect on accutane.

[iloveuk]

Zitophobe, I'm struggling with the same issue...I'm set to start Accutane September 5th and I just can't decide if the potential long-term damage risk is worth it to me. My acne isn't even that bad, but my skin is oily and I get some breakouts on my jawline and back that scar. I'm the kind of person that won't take ibuprofen or any other drug for that matter because I don't want to stress my liver, so going on Accutane feels very scary to me. To complicate things, I already suffer from fatigue, immune system dysfunction, and other random problems and I'm only 27 so it's hard to imagine what Accutane might do to me. I am also very small (5'5 and 108 lbs.) and my dr. wants me to eventually be on 60 mg. a day which I am not at all comfortable with based on my current health and the fact that my acne isn't that severe...of course it gets me down that my skin has scars and still gets breakouts but I don't know if I'm willing to take this gamble...Good luck with your decision

[Zitophobe]

It sounds like our situations are the same (I'm 28). Wishing you lots of luck, let me know what decision you make.....I'm sure it'll be the right one. Hugs.