12 replies to this topic

[ryanheath89]

Accutane has been big news since 15-year-old Charles Bishop flew a plane into a Tampa office building recently. The media focus on Accutane has brought this controversial medication into the spotlight.
The truth is, the attention on Accutane is long overdue. This drug, which has been on the market for over 15 years, has been linked with suicide for at least a decade. And for longer than that, with serious, even life-threatening, birth defects.

With a track-record like that, you'd assume this drug offers hope for some life-threatening or severely debilitating illness. Something so horrible that it justified the considerable risk associated with taking it - especially since the majority of people taking it were teenagers. But the only thing it's designed to treat is acne.

The cure is worse than the disease

Certainly to those who have it, acne can be serious. The type of acne Accutane is designed to treat - severe cystic acne - may be among the most embarrassing conditions of adolescence. And it can leave physical scars on the face that can last a lifetime.

But let's keep in mind that it's always hard to be a teenager. Whether it's acne, being overweight, or not being able to afford the clothes the "in crowd" is wearing, growing up is just hard.

We've all been through our own high school challenges. But in today's instant-gratification society, we think that there must be a quick and easy solution to every problem. Too often, that solution comes in a pill bottle.

You think we'd have learned by now that these "solutions" really don't solve anything - and in many cases, they can cause even worse problems.

Acne doesn't kill kids - but Accutane might

In the case of Accutane, the "solution" is MUCH more dangerous than the original problem. Consider this: between 1998 and 2000 - just three short years - Accutane was linked with at least 160 cases of suicide, attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, and hospitalization. That's roughly 53 cases a year. And that's not counting the kids who came before 1998, when they started counting - and those since, like 15-year-old Charles Bishop. As early as 1985, just three years after its FDA approval, reports started coming in about psychiatric side effects of Accutane, like seizures, emotional instability, and depression.

The effects of Accutane-related birth defects are even more far-reaching. Hoffman La-Roche, the company that manufactures Accutane, knew that the drug caused severe birth defects even before the drug hit the market. And in 1990, the FDA concluded that since the drug's introduction, there had been 11,000 to 13,000 Accutane-related abortions and 900 to 1,100 Accutane-related birth defects.

Over the years, the reports continued to build. The label warnings got longer and longer - even leading to the requirement for signed consent forms. But Accutane's sales continued to grow; in 1998, it was Roche's second biggest seller, bringing in $800 million that year alone.

Yet Hoffman La-Roche still denies the connection. According to a MedScape Health article, Roche has called the suicides "spontaneous," and suggested that they reflect "the multiple risk factors in the adolescents and young adults afflicted with the disfiguring disease."

Which scars are worse?

I suppose that Roche thinks that statement defends its position. But to me, it just shines a spotlight on the problem. Teenagers are already at an increased risk for suicide and depression. Let's suppose Roche is right and teenagers with severe acne may be at even higher risk. Then why give them a drug that may magnify those risks?

Defenders of Accutane say that it is an invaluable drug, the only drug available to treat severe cystic acne. They point to the terrible toll that serious acne can take on a teenager's self-image, and the permanent scars, both physical and mental, that the disease can leave behind. That may be.

But they can't be worse than the scars left on a woman who gives birth to a severely deformed baby. Or the damage done to a teenage boy who tries to kill himself, and has to endure the whispers and gossip in the hallways at school when he returns.

And I can't imagine a worse scar on a mother or a father than living with the knowledge that your child took his own life.

If your children or grandchildren are taking Accutane, please sit down with them and talk about the seriousness of the drug’s potential side effects.

I don't mean to excuse kids who tease - most do it at some point. I can think of several people I knew during my teenaged years who had severe acne. None of them had it easy. They probably all got some teasing and harassment as they were growing up.
But all of them had the chance to grow up - and grow out of it. And every kid should have that chance.

[lookingforsolution]

so in about the 800,000 or 900,000 people that took it, there were less than 200 suicides or suicidal thoughts, that aren`t necessarily linked to accutane..give me a break. Accutane is a great drug for most

Having acne causes more depression than accutane

[hatch]

So do you mean all of these people just made up their illnesses after taking this drug?


www.roaccutanesurvivors.com
www.ragforum.com
www.accutaneaction.com

Give me a break.

[nappyjim]

Hey...these people have NO room to complain. Accutane gives you a HUGE BOOK of possible temporary side effects and possible PERMANAT effects of taking accutane. Part of taking accutane is being RESPONSIBLE and making your own decision as to whether you want it or not.

This is about as stupid as the smokers who get lung cancer and then sue the tobacco companys saying, "i didnt know smoking was bad more me"

give ME a break

[MarkInMaine]

I think accutane is a little different. Doctors don't prescibe cigarettes. I think accutane should only be taken by people that are the top 3% of acne sufferers. Doctors will give you anything if you ask enough, but everyone wantsa quick fix these days. For every 1 person that has a legit reason for taking accutane there are about 10 people who could use something milder. Its your life and you can take it if you want, but don't cry when your 50 and have painful joints and god knows what else.

[AngelaJo]

Two things -

1. Is Gaz right? Did you cut and paste your message? I don't really care, but if you didn't, you're a very good writer. Were you born in 1989? (I'm guessing from your name.) If so, I'm even more impressed. Consider looking into journalism or something if you're young.

2. I've been seeing commercials lately about accutane. You know the ones - from attorneys. "If you've experienced any of these damaging side effects from the use of accutane, call our law offices now and get paid for your suffering." It had a whole list of very horrible supposed side effects. Like, REALLY bad ones, that I'd never heard of being associated with accutane before. I can't remember what they were, honestly. If someone else has seen the commercial, post what they were. But I've actually been waiting for someone to comment on it on these boards and I haven't seen anything. I just thought it was interesting and I was wondering how true it was!

[hatch]

Yes, you should take responsibility for what you take, BUT for me, when i was first prescibed accutane, i was only told that i would get dry skin, the acne may get worse at first and to keep out of the sun, thats it, nothing else. It wasn't until i went to the chemist and received a three page printout, that only chemists and drs usually see,(not patients) that i saw the full potential side effects. With the advice of my regular GP and chemist, i didn't take the drug. Which is good, as i found this site and the rest is history. Your forgetting that if your doctor prescribes this drug, by law, they are responsible for you, while on it, this includes all blood tests etc. So, it is nothing like going to the store and buying a pack of cigaretts, which is your choice, as yes, you know it can cause cancer, but what if, like me, you only get a small amount of information on the potential side effects? And from reading the posts on these sites, you can see, most of those people never got the full facts either. And lets be honest, even with the side effects, if your doctor says its okay, forget the side effects etc etc, you'll take it anyway, because you trust them to help you. Unfortunately, this help never saved the many hundreds of thousands of people who became ill from accutane. So saying its there fault, is very disrespectfull to them, because like you, they trusted the advice of their doctor.

[thatunoguyo]

hatch everything you consume has a side effect. vitamins, simple headache medicine, food. if you tell me any medication you are on, I'm sure I could find a list of potentially dangerous side effects. That doesn't mean it will happen, it means it could, in a rare case. This is a line that gets blurred often when people are arguing about this.

[ryanheath89]

yes, i did copy and paste that, from http://globalwell.freeyellow.com/
and yes i was born in 89, i am 14. i do feel very strongly against accutane, though because 2 days ago one of my friends who was 15 committed suicide (you mightve heard on the news if u live near) and she was on accutane. she did not leave a suicide note, and from what i know of her, her life was perfect. but obviously she was suffering from depression and led up to her taking her life.

[Animal]

Her life couldn't have been perfect if she felt she had to take accutane to clear up her acne...

[sixofnine]

I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend Ryan. This must be a hard time for you.


Thanks for posting that article. It's good to get people more aware about what potential side effects "the miracle acne drug" can have.


I had a friend that went on it about five years ago and he complained about the usual--dryness, chapped lips, but also personality changes and major mood swings. He lost he zest for life he told me and began to get digestive problems and worst for him at an early age, his hair began to prematurely thin. He regrets ever taken it. It's a toughy because most people that go on it, see it as a last alternative to being "normal."