112 replies to this topic

[kaiji88]

Cleared it but came back. I was promised my acne will never come back.

The next big one is scarring.

But I am cured of acne now for the most part through my own method.

[VinnyLuvR]

6 MONTH COARSE!

FEMALE/110 POUNDS 80MG DAILY

SIDE EFFECTS: VERY DRY SKIN

SUPER SENSITIVE TO THE SUN,HOT FLASHES LITERALLY FEELT LIKE I WAS BURING UP

NOSE BLEEDS

JOINT PAIN AND SEVERE HAIR LOSS!

AFTERALL I HAVE TO SAY ACCUTANE WORKS WONDER IN CURING UR ACNE BUT DAMAGES OTHER THINGS.

VARIES BY PEOPLE

[tarahh77]

hi,
im 17 and I started it when I was 16, I had severe acne and was told to go on this. I was not for it, I actually cried when the doctor told em about ti ebcause he said the cons to it. I was on it for 7 months, which is the normal trial, well 6 but because of my weight and my dosage I was behind. Im 118lbs, probably lighter when I started. I have been off it for several months now, it caused severe back pain, extremly dry lips, and skin, and when it starts your acne gets WORSE at first, and for me that was a problem because my skin scars just by a pimple being there and me not touching it. Suicide thoughts are DEFINITELY there when on accutane, I dont care what any doctor says, try EVERYTHING before you go on accutane! I am off it and now i feel like my body is just ...rundown from it. We all react differntly on it, this I know, but the redness, extra acne, more scarring, intense flushing when in the sunlight, and sever back pains were NOT worth it. When I was in school a couple of months ago(we have t.v's in our cafeteria) tehre was a commercial that said " have you been on accutane? well then you may be entitled to blablaba", that was when I realized it was teh wrong decision.

[Charlie84]

So I just wanted to post my history with Accutane. In June of 1999 I took accutane for about 6 months if I remember right it was 40mg twice a day. I might be mistaken. The reason for not remembering was I was just a kid. I was 14-15 years old at the time. At the peek of puberty. Personally I don't believe this drug should have ever been given to anyone under the age of 18 due to most of the time the decision was not made solely by the patient but by the parents of the patient with little to know real information. The only two side effects ever reported were Pyschosis or Deformities in pregnancies. Let me just say this....my 9th grade school pictures looked horrible I looked like a decaying zombie because of Accutane....luckily i have clear skin on my face now. Let me point out my life since accutane....I am only 26 mind you. Shortly after taking tane my parent noticed my mood and demeanor changing...they attributed it as being a "teenager". I started Gaining weight, gynocamstia. Even though I was active in school and sports....i had major pains in my legs and joints and began to not be able to exercise as well. Doctors that I saw within a year of taking Tane of course said it was because I was a little overweight. My weight kept balooning all through Highschool and I started noticing reduction in just day to day energy. My eyes started to deteriorate and I continued to have extremely dry skin and such throughout my teen years. I have suffered with strange bowel habits since then Cycling from Diarrhea to Constipation. I have bad gas problems and even GERD issues. I still have yet to get anything diagnosed because I just thought it was my body....and I had to deal with it. By the age of 18 only 3 years after taking the drug I had my first major Panic Attack and Depression. I have been on Zoloft/Celexa/Lexapro since then...getting off of it to find out i need to get back on it or I can't function without either being depressed and unmotivated or extremely panicky. I have horrible joint problems in my back, neck and shoulders, and deal with chest pain that puts me in the hosptial thinking I am having a heart attack....just to find out there is nothing wrong with me...and they say I am crazy. Finally after pleading saying I know those symptoms aren't fake along, with the GI and other symptoms like no Enegery, Can't lose weight despite working out 6 days a week and only eating 1300-1500 calories a day and weighing close to 450lbs. Having horrible hot flashes and problems getting an erection long enough and hard enough to have good sex. Strange symptoms like funny feelings in my throat. My doctor decided to test my Thyroid and Testosterone levels. Both came back either low or on the low side. My Vitamin D levels are ultra low also. I keep asking my PCP to send me to an Endocrinologist because of my tane use....but he is telling me that tane doesn't cause these effects. Here is what my testosterone is at 26 years old......128 that is the level of a male before puberty.......wtf!!! Tane effects more than we know and I will spend the rest of my life working on gettting Roche...buried for this along with all others that prescribe ISO and make it. Again I was given this drug at puberty....this should not be given to adolescents as they have to much development to happen. It has already been proven that Accutane causes hormonal imabalances...which is probably truly why the sebocytes are reduced. Also it is known to cause children to stop growing. Any of you that suffer for any hormonal imbalance symptoms should really see an Endocrinologist..they may be able to atleast help alleviate some of your symptoms.

[Cornjoelio]

Wow, I feel a camaraderie with the rest of the victims here whose lives have been devastated by this drug. I am 42 yrs old, and like many others, took it in the mid-eighties when I was a junior in high school (16 yrs old). Before I took it, I was a normal, healthy, easy-going and active adolescent boy. I have a caring, but overly-concerned mother who took myself, my brother and sister to the dermatologist because we had mild to moderate acne. Of note, my brother and sister have not suffered from the long-term side-effects that I have, for which I'm grateful.

Looking back, I believe that mine was just mild. We all took tetracycline first, which was not 100% effective; and then the derm said that accutane was the new miracle medicine that would permanently get rid of our acne. I thought that it was amazing at first, as it rid me of my acne. However, a few months after I STOPPED taking it I started to have dizzy spells/panic attacks several times a day(in school, nonetheless), problems with my vision(sensitivity to light and lots of floaters) and I slipped into a depression for which no one could figure out why. I had frequent suicidal ideations, however did not act out on them. All of this time, I just thought I was going nuts and that this was somehow my fault.

My mother sent me to a shrink who put me on Xanax, which made me into a vegetable. I went to one semester of college on a full scholarship but dropped out because I could not concentrate on my studies because I was so depressed. My parents wrote me off because they did not link my issues to Accutane, nor did I at the time. My father pretty much forced me to join the Army or move out(which was actually good for me, I retired after 20 years service).

However, I have continued to struggle with anger, depression and vision problems for the rest of my life, all because of this disgusting chemotherapy drug. It is not until recently, after receiving several accupuncture treatments and discussing accutane with my accupuncture specialist, that I have re-faced the root of many of my issues, and it is SO painful. Like the rest of you, I wish I could go back in time and just throw that first bottle in the trash - but I was just a good kid, thought it would fix my acne, and just did what I was told. My mother is a chronic depressive and hypochondriac, and in my home "pills" were the quick fix for everything; however, I cannot blame her for something which NEVER, EVER should have been on the market in the first place. I feel a common bond with the rest of you with similar issues. Please feel free to shoot me an email any time, if it is just to vent.

[guisopontex]

Hello

Above all do not want to scare or anything like that, but this is my story, and perhaps others will serve to decide whether or not to take the medicine.

My name is David I have 28 years, I'm from Madrid, and I also was taking Dercutane (Isotretinoin) for almost 9 months, a total of 10gram take that for my weight, 65Kilos is the maximum recommended dose can be given.

I had a mild nodular acne that is I got a few pimples but internal and took too long to leave, so the dermatologist decided to give me these miracle pills.

During the treatment, I had the typical side effects, like all people who take it, nothing alarming. But now, after almost a year after completing the treatment when I am suffering more: I have permament dry eyes, back and joint pains continued, headaches, generalized dryness throughout the body, nose bleeds, constipation, anxiety produced through all this trouble sleeping ..

My quality of life has been reduced by 70%, since I can not do almost anything he did before, I can not even bend over without pain in my back and knees.

My life has become a specialist come and go, orthopedic surgeons, ophthalmologists, rheumatologists, neurologists ... and none of them give me solution to my problems.

I created a website so that all who pass or have passed through what I promote it and to know what they can do this drug, which not even the laboratories that produce exactly know the mechanism of action is a poison, and certainly, at least I do, I devote my time and desire to spread my message.

This is the website that I created, in SPANISH


Greetings
David

[santa21]

i dont know whether it wrked more fr me or d damage accutane done was more, althogh d acne vanished, barring sm on cheeks, it was too tough to be on accutane for 60 days, n i was just given a 20mg dose daily. my lips bled almost everyday, d skin flaked, intensive moisturising twice a day wasnt enough. my appetite reduced to zero. n the continuous back aches. even sensitivity to sun increased manifold. i dont think i wud advice anyone to go fr oral isotretinoin:(

[pleasehelp123]

READ THIS BEFORE TAKING ACCUTANE

I took accutane for MODERATE acne. The derms hand it out like candy, be aware! Course went for 4.5 months, and only at a dose of mainly 40mg a day. Im now 8 months post accutane.

While yes, it MOSTLY cleared my skin, not all, but mostly.. i now have what could potentionally be life-long or atleast long term side effects. These are:

Facial flushing - While i do think the topical cream Differin i was told to use escalated this, accutane didnt do it any favours. embarrassing burning red face, can last for hours, triggered by such everyday things as emotions, stress, lifting weights at the gym, hot rooms, drinking alcohol .. thats right.. no more alcohol or enjoying yourself with a few drinks on a weekend. This can even happen sometimes for no reason at all. Nearly every day!

Dry lips - Yes, i still use lip balm everyday. Being a 22 year old guy its heaps of fun trying to hide it all the time. Its worse after i eat or drink something, i need lip balm straight away. If i dont use it my lips will burn, peel etc. Will this go away? Maybe, maybe not.

Sensitive, thin skin - I feel the heat, i feel the cold. If i get a cut on my face, the skin is easily broken and takes longer to heal. More prone to scarring.

Excema - This isnt full blown excema, but i have flaking red skin on the inner parts of my nose, on top of my eyelids and next to my ears. Its a constant battle to keep this moisturized. Right now i also have this weird red mark next to my mouth, maybe excema? I dont even know. All i know is im off to the derm, again $$$

These are just my personal side effects, 8 months on. Dont think if you take this, all your problems will be over, because theres a good chance you WILL suffer from something afterwards. Its statistics. Search around. Everyone deals with different things within their own body while taking - and after - accutane. You will be no different.

Like i said, on top of this, my acne is better, but not 100%.. i have 4 small pimples right now, and mainly unnoticeable but many clogged pores on my forehead. But had i known id be dealing with other bullshit after accutane, to be honest, id have lived with acne and let it go away on its own.

Just my 2 cents, if you're going to use accutane, READ stories, know that it CAN happen to you. Then weigh up your options. I thought if i took this drug, all my problems would go away, but thats just not how life is. Cheers for reading and good luck.

Edited by pleasehelp123, 02 July 2011 - 11:52 PM.

[Matt5686]

Hello everyone,

This is my story of my Accutane experience. Before all this I was an active teen, always playing outside, laughing, had many friends, having a good old time. But you know the pressures of acne, next thing I know this happened...

I got put on this drug as a young teenager, around the ages of 13-14, cannot remember exactly, I am 25 now. I took 2 rounds of it, but cannot remember how much dosage, but it had to be alot. It did not clear up much acne the first time, so they put me on another round of it, forget how long, probably another 6 months, so a year plus in total. Eventually it cleared up for the most part, still have acne here and there. I had some upper back acne and some facial acne, not as bad as some people, but bad enough I suppose. If I had to go back I would change this in a heart beat. It is not worth to take this to have a clean face in your youth, you will grow out of it naturally anyway one day. Acne is normal. THESE SIDE EFFECTS ARE NOT. Don't take this poison, PLEASE. Save yourself, literally.

Little did I know of any side effects or dangers of this drug at all, I was just told it changes my body forever, and oh how it DID, but not in the ways I would have imagined. My father was on accutane as well, but I am not really close with him so never talked to him about it. My doctor never said anything bad things about this drug, neither did my mom, who got this started in the first place, no offense to her, she didn't know any better either.

Anyways, while taking this drug I am constantly severely dry, but never think too much about it. And a year or so after I take this thing, still in high school, I get these random lower back pains, that hurt really bad but go away. They would come and go through the years, and I never really accounted it to anything. Then I noticed I developed a rib intrusion, like a deformity, never had this, before, where did this come from? Oh it just happens the doctors say, its genetics. Yeah, ok. Also, around this time too I started to notice I was developing erectile dysfunction, this just came out of left field. It felt like my blood supply was just off, and it still feels like that to this day. Also seemed to be not going out as much, having trouble concentrating in school, and just wanting to stay inside all day. Also I was having trouble and phobias speaking in front of people, I NEVER had this problem pre-accutane. I mean sure I'd be a little nervous, but now it was like I couldnt even talk in front of a group of people, its crazy.

Few years later, I find myself in the ER for insane IBS, but really the doctors didn't know what was going on. I went to the ER 3 separate times for stomach issues, but they could not find anything. They just said it was IBS, and to watch what I eat. I am one of the healthies eaters, thanks to my mother, that you could possibly be. So I try all kinds of different varities of foods, to see what was bothering me. ried cutting milk, eggs, cheeses, bread ... was I wheat intolerant? Gluten? Tried everything, it all feels the same, doesn't matter what I eat now, it feels weird.

A year or so later, my stomach seemed to settle down a little, then I have random bouts of anxiety, out of nowhere. Sometimes it would happen when I get in the shower.

Now I am 25. I have been doing yoga for about a year now, trying to get healthier and to fix my spinal issues and posture and I have come to this realization. This poison has deteriorated my lower back and messed up my ribs, it doesnt matter how much yoga I do I will never be normal, it is all deformed. I don't have as much energy as I used to, I'm tired a lot, and my face is stretched-thin looking, you know, just not a normal 25 year old face.

To sum it up, accutane has provided the following to me,

underdeveloped lower spine, and chest intrusion
trouble focusing and concentrating
social anxiety
erectile dysfunctions
IBS
bouts of anxiety, depression

And who knows what else. This drug is a poison, please people, you do not want this in your body. It's toxic, and kids are taking it everyday, little do they know what the side effects are. I didn't even know there was any when I was taking them!

Please help the world, this is just like what another poster said, it is a slow painful death. NOT COOL. Let's stop this now, it's insanity.

Peace and love to everyone, thank you for listening.

[headtrip_honey]

Length of course: 6 months (20 mg/day for the first two weeks, 40 mg/day for the next two weeks, then 60 mg/day for the next 5 moths)

Side effects:
Eczema on my hands and arms
Dry lips
Frequent bloody nose
Dry skin
Hair shedding

It's been a year since I finished my Accutane course, and it took me that long to decide where I would fall - negative or positive?

Accutane did amazing things for my skin, and my side effects at the time were really minimal. However, in the last month I was on it, my hair started shedding. A lot.

A year later, the shedding has (for the most part) normalized. My hair density is down, although it looks normal to the outside observer. I know I've lost hair density, because (really random example!) I used to struggle to put my hair in a certain hair clip, but now it goes in easily. Also, more of my scalp is visible when my hair is wet.

I'm not sure what happened with my hair. Was my course too much? I went well over the "target" dose. Did Accutane just, as it's known to do with guys, accelerate the natural hair loss I would have had? (Women often experience hair thinning when they hit menopause)

I'm not sure.

I am sure, however, that the amount of anxiety I experienced in the last year was not worth the clear skin. And that hasn't even stuck. My skin isn't nearly as bad as it was before Accutane, but I still break out occasionally.

I still experience panic attacks because of what happened to my hair. I'm hopeful it'll stay where it is, however.

This was a very rare side effect, however, and if you're suffering with very severe acne, I don't want to dissuade you from using it.

[mooshoo]

eczema

Edited by mooshoo, 06 August 2011 - 11:23 PM.

[dichi]

I took accutane and it cleared up my skin, but I get heat rash easily from working out. I know its not much, but you can never really tell with accutane and what it can do to you in the future. My friend now can't digest certain foods after accutane. My skin is fine but if you are reading this and are desperate, I KNOW, i've been there and I was willing to do ANYTHING. Go see someone to help you clear it naturally, don't make your body go through watered-down CHEMO for your acne. I didn't want to read this Topic during my entire experience, but your life and health is soo important you won't regret going another way with this. Please look at all your options.

[Frazetta]

I really hoped I wouldn`t be posting in this topic. Infact I totally avoided it when I considering starting accutane, how naive of me. I took 40mgs of accutane daily for 4 months. Currently I am about 5 months post accutane and in addition to some bad side effects my acne wasn`t cured.

First lets talk about the worst, hairloss. Having a very thick head of originally I took it for granted. I saw threads here about hairloss and though ``hey it couldn`t happen to me``. Boy was I flippin wrong. It started during the last month of my treatment, I started noticing hairs in my sink and in my hands when I attempted to style my hair. Even when combing. It`s really disgusting to see all those hairs all over my sink to be honest. I think the worst though is the side of my head. I see short hairs constantly all over my pillow. When my hair is not clean you literally can see through to my scalp at my temples and around my ears. My dermatologist acknowledges accutane is causing hairloss but literally cannot do anything for me other than give me topical steroids and that ``may`` work. She tried reassuring me that it`s normal for males my age to lose hair (I am 20) but who the hell loses hair on the side of their head? Looking back, I`d rather my hair than acne.

Next is sexual dysfunction. Let me first say I am so thankful this was only a temporary side effect. I noticed not long after the first pill. I found it increasingly hard to maintain an erection during sex. My girlfriend at the time was very understanding but I could tell it bothered her. I was absolutely terrified this side effect would follow me post accutane. My libido is now much stronger although I can`t say it`s entirely recovered.

Trouble concentrating. This one is hard to quantify because the only person who can quantify it is you. You can`t show your doctor your trouble concentrating and they can`t write you a prescription to help you concentrate better. I`ve seen a lot of other people on these forums have similar issues referring to them as ```brain fog`` and ``chemo brain``. I can`t concentrate on subjects as long as I used to. Looking and thinking about it and topic are a struggle. I really have to force myself to think clearly. I don`t think I`ll ever be able to cure this because I have absolutely no idea how accutane caused it (much like the hairloss).

My lips are always dry. Yes they are not nearly as bad as when I started accutane but they haven`t quite recovered. My face is always red (yes always). It`s bright red when I get slightly hot. My skin scarred in the first bit of accutane. There are other side effects but at this point I think you get my point.

If I could go back in time I would smack myself upside the head. Recently I`ve started breaking out again which I guess is what prompted me to make this post. I am literally back where I started before accutane but with a whole lotta side effects I could have never imagined.

[76ers1985]

I'm so happy that I'm posting in this thread...

Let's back track a month and a half ago... I was recently over a divorce and feeling down about myself because of it. My self confidence was shot. I was a normal 26 year old, but my face was not normal. I was so oily that I had to wash my face almost every hour and HAD to shower every day. My hair was thick to the point of being obnoxious. I had to get it cut every 3 weeks. I didn't have severe acne, but over the years, my scars were piling up, and I almost always had atleast once cyst.

I tried all sorts of OTC, then topicals, and antibiotics. They worked mildly, but the topicals irrated my face so much that it wasn't a long term option. I decided, after reading all the posts on this forum that I wanted to try Accutane. I wanted to be normal. I wanted to stop having to wipe my oily face all the time, and wanted to be able to stay somewhere over night without worrying about how greasy I would look the next morning. Most importantly, I wanted the cysts to go away, and start fixing my scars.

Anyways, you can see from my post history, I'm not one of the fear spreading people that bounces around from forum to forum trying to scare people. I was just like you guys. I went to the doctor and asked for Accutane, and asked specifically for a low dose. I was told, "we don't do low doses, we hit it hard, and it should never come back". I was put on 80mg a day to start. After about 7-8 days I noticed the drying. My face was bright red, and my skin was peeling. No big deal, that's what we signed up for...

Two weeks in (3 weeks after a haircut), my barber mentioned that my hair on the sides were very thin. I didn't really even think much of right then. The next couple days I started thinking more and more about it. Then I noticed my hair thinning. My hair is short, so at first I didn't notice the clumps falling out. I just could feel how thin it was getting. The texture changed, and the sides still didn't grow properly. Although I could count more hair than usual falling out, it wasn't the hair falling out, but the obvious thinning that I noticed.

I quit Accutane on day 24. I said, the heck with this, and waited for my hair to grow back. It's been almost a month since I stopped. It's been a month and a half since my last haircut, and it looks just as short as the day I got it. I can see visible thinning on my hair line, sides, and back of head. I lose a ton of leg and arm hair. My eyebrows are also falling out.

Now, I've done a TON of reading about this. From what I can tell from reading, I probably have some sort of diffuse alopecia areata. I feel this way because it came on quickly (two weeks) and I'm not losing it in any sort of pattern. There are several people on this board that have developed this within two weeks of taking the medicine and are still thinning years later.

This morning was very discouraging and the reason I'm writing this. For the first time, since I started thinning, I ran my hands through my hair and watched as about 20 hairs fell out. A month later, and it's actually shedding worse than when I started. I wanted to cry, but honestly, all I could do was laugh. Laugh that after 26 years of a problem, I tried to do an extreme fix and now I have two problems. The acne was obviously not fixed, and now I'll have no hair. Wonderful...

So, the lesson I learned and want to pass to others...

-If you are a male (women SEEM to have a better recovery rate with hair), and don't not have disfiguring acne, please think long and hard about this product. Make sure you know whether you are willing to trade your hair for your acne. Make sure you are aware that you can't just try it until you see a bad side affect and then jump off (that's what I thought). If you are just at your wits end and have to try it. PLEASE demand you start off at an extremely low dosage.

The chances of what happened to me are rare it seems, but I'm not exception to the rule. I really thought I could play percentages, and now I'm balding and extremely depressed.

Please keep in mind that a lot of people that are telling you negative stories are not here, wasting their time, trying to strike fear into people with acne. Many of these people would give anything to go back in time and be in a position where they could avoid taking this drug. Obviously we can't go back in time, so what we can do is warn other people and hope they don't make the same mistakes that we do.

I'm not one of those "Accutane is the devil" kinda guys, but PLEASE, do your own INDEPENDENT research before trying this medication. Do not trust your derm as most of they have no idea what they are prescribing and when things go bad, you're on your own.

Thanks for reading my novel.

PS: I've taken all the blood tests, and everything is normal... Thyroid, sugar, normal Accutane blood test. I even took an STD test. I didn't take the ANA, but I've never seen anyone in any of my reading figure out what they had based on an ANA test.

Edited by 76ers1985, 31 August 2011 - 06:45 AM.

[sbowlchica]

40mg Claravis.

Hair loss. (Telogen Effluvium)
Hair thinner in texture.
Mental fog.
Overactive bladder.
Sun-sensitive eyes.

[antisexaccutane]

Copied and pasted from its original thread:

Greetings, i signed up to this board for the sole purpose of making this post in this thread to share my experience with any men or teenage males who may be considering using Accutane.

I am now 27, but used Accutane for a small period of time when I was 17 and experienced sexual dysfunction for many years. I wouldn't say i am fully recovered now, but i am more function-able now 10 years on.

I started masturbating at a young age, approximately 9-10, and this was partly due to the highly frequent amount of rock-hard erections i would get day-in day-out. Once i 'figured' out masturbation, it became consistant and part of daily life. By the age of 15, internet was becoming more widespread and accessable, so along came porn and more sexual investigation. I had engaged in sex at 16, and was still a frequent masturbator and played masturbation games (how quickly i could make my already hard dick cum, how hard i could get my dick, how long i could stay hard etc). While i wasn't having frequent sex at all, sex drive was no issue and i was the owner of a rock hard, decent sized member.

I started getting moderate acne at 14, going through all the 'Chemist's shelf' cleansers and creams from 14-16 to no avail, then sought medical advise at 16. The doctor was skeptical at giving me Accutane, so i was firstly placed on a lesser acne medication (do not remember the name of it). After 6mths of that treatment and no significant results (side effects: chapped lips, dry palms) I returned to the doctor. I was then given a prescription for Accutane (do not remember Mg amount).

Hoping not to take 'credibility' away from my experience, but where the line was drawn between my intense sexual decline and Accutane is hazy. This is due to the fact that i had spent much time with both doctors going over Accutane side effects, and what i was experiencing was not something i was aware of, so it took me some time to draw a feint time line between the events. When it did click that it could be a possibility, a search of the internet and a topic on this site confirmed my suspicions. Side effects i was aware and noticeable of was depression and emotional 'blankness'.

Basically, approximately a few weeks into treatment, i was noticing that porn pics and videos i had that would 'instantly' make me hard and be able to cum in a matter of seconds, were no longer having that effect on me. It first started with my erections still being full, but rather than rock hard, they were hard in the core of my penis, but the outside of it was spungy and soft. Soon this turned to only the base of my penis was seeming to gather blood and the hardness lessened down my penis towards my head. I could still manage to orgasm at this stage, but it was not what i was used to and had done 1000's of times before. It was getting incredibly hard to hold any blood in my penis, and i would (and still often do) strain and stretch my body as i am masturbating to "increase" blood flow. My ejaculation had gone from spurts with pressure and force, to slow drips. If i could explain the connection between my brain and penis, it felt like my brain would recognize something that i found attractive sexually, but it was unable to communicate with my penis. My penis felt almost not of my body because i had lost so much control and feeling from it. To put it in a % form compared to by best being 100%, my lowest point of erection was about 20% at its worst.

Further to this ED, i also noticed inline with these effects significant changes in my urination. Much like having a very strong erection previously, my flow of urine was very strong and i 'project' my urine a fair few feet in the air if i pointed it upwards and put some 'push' behind it. Now i was going to the toilet and getting no pressure behind my urine at all. At its worst it was just dribbling out in a very thin flow and i would be lucky to be able to shoot it 2inches in the air by holding my penis upwards when urinating. On top of this loss of pressure, i wasn't able to finish my urination properly. This means that when the main flow had come out, i would still feel urine in my penis, but was unable to use pressure to 'squirt' these remaining drops out. What this resulted in was urine usually dribbling out of my penis 5 minutes after finishing urination. Further to this i also noticed that my bladder was no longer holding urine as well. In the past i could hold on large amounts of fluid for a long time, but now it seemed sometimes i struggled to hold a glass of water in my bladder. My bladder felt at about 20% compared to a healthy 100%, and my urine pressure felt like it went down to about 10% of its original pressure capacity. My penis had also decreased in size.

I made the link to the start of the Accutane treatment, about 3mths into it and stopped immediately as soon as i came to that conclusion. I sat, waited and monitored the damage for about 1 year before looking for actual help. In this time, i was becoming increasingly depressed and mentally destroyed and confused being a 17/18yo male who was unable to masturbate or have sex. The social effect this has is completely devastating and those who haven't experienced it could not fathom it. This is where i believe this side effect is it's most evil, as what starts out as a physical effect quickly develops a strong mental partner.

At about 18, i was too embarrassed to tell my folks, did some internet research (as mentioned before, found topics on this site regarding the issue) and booked into a Urologist. I had explained the above cycle to the Urologist, explained my suspicions and he advised me that if the side-effects weren't listed, that it was highly unlikely to be linked to Accutane, and that i was just going through a phase as a young red-blooded male. His advise was to hand me some sample Viagra and go bang some girl to get my confidence back. This was no help, my brain was still attracted to females i met, or porn i was watching but no connection to my penis. This went on for about another year until i got found out by my parents. My mother had noticed a payment reminder letter coming from a Urologists office to our house and confronted me about it. I eventually had to confide in my parents, who were sympathetic but i didn't rate as very understanding of the impact of the situation on my life. Regardless, we booked into a 'highly regarded and award winning' Urologist.

By this stage (approx 2 years after treatment), i had experienced some recovery in all the above concerns. Erections were at about 40%, bladder 50%, urine pressure 30%. I had re-advised the new Urologist of my history above, and he pulls out a medical book that lists all medicines and their listed side effects. He advises Accutane has no recorded history of sexual/penile dysfunction. He proceeds to test my blood and testosterone to find nothing unusual. Then after many sessions advises me that there is nothing wrong and it's something in my head and i should perhaps see a psychologist. I don't argue the point that my Dysfunction is now a big part mentally, but he doesn't agree that my issues were first caused by physical damage. That's the last time i see a doctor regarding this issue ever. I decide that i will just have to live with it and hope my body recovers in time.

Over the years, it has been a slow recovery and things have improved, but not to what i remember things being. If i had to state how each part of me feels i would say erections are 80%, libido at 75%, urine pressure is 70% and bladder is 80%. It is incredibly hard to gauge how i really am however. Its been a decade since i first noticed these effects and its hard to remember what it was like at it's worst, and more importantly what it was like before when things were normal. I can say however that these bodily functions will always feel tainted to me. I just haven't felt right since i first noticed these effects, i definitely wasn't right when i was on Accutane and i don't think i will feel right ever again.

I can't say i have done anything to regain my function, i got no help in regards to that from Medical Practitioners. The only help i guess i gave myself was to try and keep masturbating in the hope that the act of doing so would help the body build (much like weigh-lifting to build muscles). The biggest part in my recovery was a understanding girlfriend and relationship i had for 2 years from 22-24. This was the first time i felt comfortable and confident enough in my abilities to be with someone sexually since 16/17. There were issues during the first time, and on the odd occasion about the 2 years, but for the majority of the relationship i was sexually functioning on an acceptable (not quite feeling normal) level. Anyone that has had these side effects, as daunting as it may seem, i cannot promote this any more as one of the best forms of healing for you. The relationship didn't return everything to normal, but it did significantly quell alot of the mental trauma i had built up over the years. The most important thing was having sex and having sex frequently after the years of impotence, knowing that you are capable of having sex again and not doomed entirely to be asexual your whole life. It is also important being able to have someone to be able to talk to about it.

Looking back over the last 10 years, i can say that the social side of this side-effect is life-changing and destroying to a certain extent. This post is large enough without me going into this side of things, but hopefully people reading the above will be able to grasp a picture and fathom what it is like for a male 16-27 to suffer from unknown Erectile Dysfunction issues for this long of a time. It has changed my personality, my social circles, my social skills, my social confidence, my relationship skills and view on life. Life is not terrible for me so much now, but i am still affected on a daily basis in someway, the effect Accutane had on my bodily functions. If its not physical, it's mental lingerings that have developed as of the firstly physical issues. I am now at the point considering psychological sessions to discuss these last 10 years in more detail to someone. It's baggage i have that still haunts me, even though life has returned to an acceptable warped post Accutane normality.

I just wanted to share my experience with those out there who have either gone through the same thing, or alternatively as a piece of information for any teenage males who are considering taking Accutane for acne. At 27 i still get acne and blemishes, but it really is of no concern to me at all anymore and does not carry the same mental weight as it did in high-school. After the effects i experienced, i realized that acne really is nothing bad in comparison, and when you leave high-school, no-one really gives a f*ck if you have acne or not except for yourself.

That is part of my story and experience with Accutane. I am sure there are millions of users out there that have had successful and happy Accutane treatments, but this is my experience. Take from it what you will and make your own decision. If i was asked if i would recommend a teenage male Accutane for his acne, even with the slight chance this "rare" un-listed side effect could happen, i would heavily suggest its not worth taking the risk.

Thanks for those who took the time to read. I hope it was somewhat insightful or assisted you in someway.

[Mamato3]

Hair coming out after 2 weeks...stopped taking it. Oh well

[fredjones]

well i been waiting to post in one of these threads but i think its official now the results are in

accutane did not work for me and gave me crohn's disease

i really wish i was posting in the positive section right now but unfortunately im not. accutane did not cure my acne at all, in fact after stopping accutane its gotten worse. its more manageable now i guess but still pretty bad.

the thing im most upset about is the crohn's disease. like fuck i really did not expect for this to happen, is this for my whole life? i really hope not.

[EasyWind42]

I was on accutane for a couple months a few years back and lost most of my hair because of it. I was still in high school at the time, which made things much worse for my self confidence. It took over a year for my hair to grow back, but thank god it finally did. Props to those whom the drug worked positively for, but I for one will never touch the stuff again.

[raf'solution]

Hello,
Just finished my accutane course. Have back pain when doing exercises suchas weighted squats, deadlifts and football. Why do we get back pain, i cant find the answer anywhere. It is a muscular problem, and it only hurts once the exercise is done! please help, im looking for something to supplement the problem.