137 replies to this topic

[debouille]

I have been suffering with acne since I was 13 y/o, I am 31 now.

I took Accutane 8 times .. it was only working only when I was on. It was always my last hope to end my acne and get a clear complexion.
The last time I took it I was very very depressed, that's why I am taking the time to warn those who also think it's their only solution.
I beg you to find another cure. I know it seems to work like magic but at the end it's not worth it .. your mental health as well as your overall health is too precious to risk with that poison.

I am available to answer any further questions.


Good luck to you all !

[shoes]

i am seriously depressed.
even though i stopped accutane two weeks ago, i still experience the side effects.
hair loss, pits in my nails, depression, dry eyes, night vision loss and rectal bleeding which is slowly healing.
i now have many problems including acne (i stopped accutane at the initial breakout phase), all because of my wish for clear skin.
i should have just forgot about acne.. i'm only 15, it's not the acne that's keeping me from enjoying life, it's me.
its not worth all this stress.. which are basically making my side effects worse.
i just don't feel like going outside.. doing the things i usually do.
i now frequently visit my doctor and am on many other pills.
i just wish i could turn back the clock and never have taken that one pill.
for anyone taking or planning on taking accutane, i wish you all the luck. i hope you never experience these things.
acne alone is so much better than acne with hair loss and god knows what else this thing did to me.

Edited by shoes, 21 October 2009 - 06:30 PM.

[=-(]

I weight 190lbs and I'm 18 years old. Was on Accutane for about 6 months. Dosage went 20mg-40mg-60mg-80mg-80mg-80mg. Took it for between moderate to severe facial acne and for severe back acne. It worked on my face but did nothing for my back. Although my face is clear of acne, I have red marks, scars, and redness on my face.

The worst side-effects for me would definitely be the drying of my rectum (really painful when taking a shit) and pretty bad back pain. The painful shits went away thankfully but the back pain never went, it's been about 4 months since my last pill.

I would not suggest for certain people to take Accutane. If you must do so please be healthy and keep it to a very low dosage. If you experience back pain while on Accutane you should immediately get off the drug so you don't end up in back pain 24/7 like me. (I, like any other person, assumed that the back pain would go away when I finished tane but it never did). Even though my face is clear now, I still regret even taking this drug, the pain isn't worth it at all. I used to be the person that would say "psh who cares about side-effects, a clear face is all I want."

I was depressed while on tane but not anymore. Although my face is clear now, I still regret taking Accutane. If you believe its your only option, then go ahead but just be careful

[jbail1212]

I am 25 years old and I have been on accutane twice. I was on it once when I was 18 and again when I was 19 because the cystic acne came back. It stayed clear until about 3 months ago, and now I'm breaking out all over my jaw line. Awesome. Both times I was treated for 8 months and had blood taken monthly to check cholesterol (I HATE needles), cracked/bleeding lips, dry eyes, back pain, and horrible vision, especially at night. When driving at night, the green light from the traffic light would scatter and cause me to not be able to see. I almost got in a few accidents. Minus that part, I didn't mind the side effects because my acne was clearing. I didn't get depressed at all. In fact, I was so happy and confident because my skin was clear. However, after all of that, the acne is back and some side effects are still with me 6 years later. My vision is bad still. It's not as bad as when I was on it, but still bad. I have to put in eye drops twice a day because I no longer produce enough tears. I didn't know why until reading some of these posts, but my hair falls out at a disturbing rate. I'm not balding (or atleast I hope not), but after blow drying my hair or even just brushing it, it's scary how much I have to pick up off the floor. If I go bald, I think that would suck much worse than acne (seeing as I'm a female). It was great at the time, but I'm concerned for my future health and for my head of hair.

[yowasup]

So, I went on Accutane during my Freshman Year. At that time I was a very popular kid... I had some moderate acne, and my derm recommended that I go on accutane (75 % of people on Accutane have moderate acne)... it is only supposed to be prescribed for those with severe acne! I noticed that I stopped going out with my friends while I was on accutane... and three years later I am not friends with these kids at all... let me just cut to the chase and list my side effects-

1. Anxiety/Depression (still experiencing)
2. Dry skin/Chapped Lips (still experiencing)
4. Joint pain (mostly subsided after stopping accutane, but I am very susceptable to injury now. i had a grade 1 shoulder seperation which is not that bad at all---it has been a year and it has still not healed fully--- usually this grade of seperation takes a few weeks to a month)
3. Thinned hair/ Dry scalp and flakes (still experiencing)
4. Ingrown toenails (they absolutely suck, and yes, I started getting them while I was on accutane and I still have them... after two surgeries....
5. Possible stunted growth (took accutane when I was fifteen... I'm a 5'8" guy and haven't grown an inch since my freshman year).
6. Root canal-- dentist said accutane could've caused it... i had perfect teath before accutane, and I've had five cavities discovered after taking accutane...

Let me sum it up for you- Accutane is a chemotherapy agent-- it therefore reduces cell proliferation and increases the rate of cell death... it cannot determine the "good cells" and the "bad cells", it simply targets the rapidly dividing cells (skin cells, osteocytes, etc.)... this is why you get such bad, flaky skin.... not just because of the fact that your sebaseous glands are simoultaneously being shrunk. Don't take the drug, if Roche pulled it off the market, it is obviously pretty damn bad for you.
Write to Congressman Bart Stupak-- Just go on his website- he has a special email for accutane users...

[crystal_clear]

I won't pretend I wish I hadn't taken roaccutane, because it changed my life and has given me the skin i dreamed of. However, this wasnt with its problems....

- Very painful ankle joints, when i stood up to get out of a chair, or even out of bed in the morning, i struggled at first, very painful and made me feel much older than 24!

-Chronic thrush, the worst side effect I experienced. From march, through to october, I suffered very uncomfortable, it effected my mood, my confidence and mostly my sex life. No medication would stop it because I was continuing to take roaccutane.

-Vision -I have always had perfect vision, and this made me slightly short sighted. It has improved since coming off of the drug, however not completely.

-Back pain, I did experience various pains and discomfort in my back whilst on the medication.


Despite all of those, I would do it all again for my clear skin, because that effected me inside and out. At least with those I could go through the day without making it (overly) evident to others.

[Tequila]

I took Accutane 4 years ago. Whilst on it I experienced low libido, erectile dysfunction, and depression. After years of hating my acne for holding me back from getting a girlfriend and destroying my confidence, when I finally was able to do this with the clear skin that being on Accutane gave me, I could hardly care less! Attempting to have sex was hopeless, and seeing as this side effect is not listed on the information packet, I thought I had some terrible psychological problem or nervous issues around sex. Even when I came off the drug, my libido never fully recovered, though I was able to maintain a (somewhat diminshed) erection. The psychological trauma that this caused me was profound, as for years I was confused and upset about my dwindling interest in the opposite sex.
However, the lasting side effects of this drug are not only of a sexual nature. With my low libido and other separate depressive symptoms, I rarely experience the range of emotions normally associated with love and happiness. Despite having some otherwise fantastic relationships with some amazing and beautiful people, I feel nothing of the joy and exhilaration one should feel in being close with someone dear. My heart doesn't skip, my mind doesn't race - frankly all of my strong emotions have been blunted and dulled.
Further depressive symptoms I have suffered for years after Accutane include lack of concentration and restlessness. I get little pleasure in having free time; it is not far off the mark to say that I spend most of my time pacing the room. Activities that used to bring me pleasure are now largely pointless. I am nowhere near as interested in or passionate about my many previous hobbies as I used to be.
What's more is that I never attributed these problems to Accutane because of the criminally deceptive and unclear nature of the information published about its effects by Roche, and I actually went on on another course a few months ago. I stopped when I noticed my symptoms worsening, finally able to see the source of my misery after all these years. The way that this drug is marketed to desperate acne sufferers is utterly despicable. It's a crying shame that even healthcare is distorted because of the lure of profit to greedy pharmaceutical companies.
After this second course, I have started to experience different side effects too. None of these occurred during treatment, instead have manifested 2-3 months AFTER finishing treatment. I now have joint pain and muscle weakness, including quite bad back pain. I get tired very quickly after usually mild physical activity. My hair is also thinning and my hairline receding.
Perhaps what hurts the most is that all this was for nothing - I still get very oily skin and although my acne is definitely significantly better than it used to be, I DO get acne still. Accutane is rarely the 'long-lasting cure' that Roche markets it as. Plus, the initial breakout I suffered on Accutane coupled with the slow healing and thinned skin that the drug seems to cause meant that I accumulated some of my worst scars during this treatment. So you could argue that Accutane made me look worse!
Accutane is not the miracle long-lasting cure that Roche say it is. It should be used as a last resort. Try EVERYTHING and with an open mind before trying Accutane, as the information that pharmaceutical companies would like us to believe about acne is distorted by their vested interest in keeping people buying antibiotics and other acne 'treatments'. Try diet, alternative therapies, whatever it takes - just don't rush into this very serious treatment.

Edited by Tequila, 11 January 2010 - 05:57 AM.

[brian99]

Taking accutane was legitimately the worst decision in my life. It's 2 1/2-3 years later and I still have bone/joint weakness and feel lethargic a lot of the time. At this point I'm worried that will never change, considering I'm 20 that is not a good prospect.

Before taking accutane acne was a problem but other than that my social life was very healthy and I was a lot more outgoing and enjoyed life a lot more. Anybody who knew me would say I became very reclusive at that time. It isn't an emotional thing, I just feel physically weak and exhausted a lot of the time, regardless of amount of exercise or lack thereof in my lifestyle. My body wants to rest. I expected side effects while taking it but to still feel like this years later

If anyone knows of ways to help counteract the effects of accutane, it would be very much appreciated.

[myleastfavoritemistake]

I have rosacea after taking accutane. I do have rosacea on one side of my family (paternal), but the onset of symptoms did not happen until exactly after accutane.

and the wikipedia entry for isotretinoin/accutane says:

"High dosages of isotretinoin have been reported to cause rosacea (a disease of severe facial skin redness and irritation)."

however there is no citation for this assertion...can anybody give me information about the link between accutane causing rosacea? any studies?

[PraisethelordforacneNOT]

Im post accutane 2 years and I have started to get side effects...

Mild Rosacea(never had that before)
Ithcy and dry skin
I burn very easily in the sun these days!!
Sometimes joint pain(not to bad thou)
Hair thinning
seb derm on my face
Ringworm in the groin

Thats all I can come up with now!

And by the way acne came back althou I found a natural way to get ridd of it, which I found out the weeks before I started accutane but I thought it could be good with accutane:(....

EDIT!: I woke up today with 3 linear scars that I have never had before! Guess I have AMVC like lamarr1986

Eddit 2: Removed decreased libido

Edited by PraisethelordforacneNOT, 15 February 2010 - 06:22 AM.

[SClippers]

I thought the hair loss would stop, in fact I thought my hair was starting to grow back thicker until most recently. This drug has seriously effected my self esteem in ways I never thought were possible, boy do I feel ugly.

Hair seems to be the bane of my existence...

[Siava]

Friendly reminder: Please read the original post and stick to the guidelines when submitting to this thread.

[john1234]

My accutane side effects make me feel like an inmate of my mind.

Compared to the severe side effects that some people have reported, mine are mild. Yet it frustrates me to no end. And no, I don't have erectile dysfunction, nor do I have joint paint. But I have peeling dry skin all over my face and arms. The eczematic patches crack and take, literally, 3-4 months to heal. They bleed, scale over, and the cycle repeats itself. My skin is a desert with no oasis: I can't find any moisturizer or pill that provide relief. In fact, after accutane, I'm afraid of putting anything foreign on my skin or in my mouth, be it supplement or topical.

I've been off accutane for almost half a year now. My skin has been getting a bit more oily, but the patches still don't heal. If you have normal or dry skin to begin with, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE. Trust me, you do not want to suffer what I'm dealing with now. I'm an Asian Male in his 20s. I've noticed that many similar cases as mine in this thread.

[homersimpson]

Ok so I was on accutane for the normal 6 months. Started off at 40mg for a month, than 60 for the next month, then 80mg for the rest of the time.

Pros:
Cleared my acne in about 2 months, and I only got like 3 pimples the whole rest of the time.
Got rid of my oily skin.(hopefully permanantly but from what i hear probably not)


Cons:

-I turned from brown to white. Yes I'm serious. I used to be brown[skinned] and now my face is a pale white. The derm told me i probably scrubbed my face too hard while washing my face and with the sensivity of my skin while on accutane, I washed the brown off my skin. Same with my hands. So now I look like a freak with white face/hands and brown arms and legs. Disgusting.
-My hair falls out a lot more than before.
-I used to have hyperpigmentaion before accutane, but now it has gotten worse.

That's my expierince wrapped up quickly.


My skin wasn't horrible before, It just wasn't great. I really regret taking accutane. I would rather have 5 pimples on my brown face, than having an ugly pale one.

Edited by homersimpson, 05 March 2010 - 12:57 AM.

[fishiefins]

I started on Roaccutane mid July 2001 for severe acne. It was prescribed by my dermatologist as nothing had helped before that. He already had me on oral contraception before that for about a year and a half to control my acne. Initially my skin got much worse which he explained would happen. It was the beginning of August, 2 weeks after being on Roaccutane. I was eating dinner with my family and had a very sudden severe pain in my chest and could not breathe. I fell to the ground gasping for air, the pain so severe it felt as though I was being stabbed in my chest with several knives and the knives being twisted in me. I don't remember much from then on that night. I mother tells me that she called my doctor since we lived in a small town in South Africa and the closest hospital was an hour away. My doctor who lived a few blocks away rushed over. She recalls that he gave me IM medication. I remember waking up slightly later than evening being in the worst pain and having a very hard time breathing. I was taken to the hospital an hour away where they sent me to a bigger hospital in the state capital where I was poked and prodded. After extensive tests they told me I had repeated pulmonary emboli which are blood clots in my lungs. I was put on warfarin and heparin. The treatment was not given soon enough and subsequently 20% of my left lung died. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks and was discharged with warfarin and Fragmin and besides losing part of my lung, I had developed pleurisy and a very painful pleural friction rub that continued for about 3 months. I missed a lot of school. In addition to this, I became severely depressed and suicidal and suffered from that until age 24. I had to be hospitalized 3 times for suicidal thoughts and attempts. I also in this time bled internally because my blood got too thin and had to have a laparoscopy and missed more school. I wish my doctor had never prescribed Roaccutane because in addition to still having acne, I have a tremendous amount of medical bills.

[fnaccutane]

Accutane fugged me over big time. I started getting acne in Junior High, but it was never as bad as other people I seen. I had a lot of acne, but only on my face and was small pimples. I started taking Accutane when I was 15 years old and it screwed over my life. Ever since I took the product I have struggled with Depression and Suicidal Thoughts and it made my Acne 10 times worse. I got a lot of Acne Scars all after taking the product and it gave me Back and Chest acne which I never had before I was on this BS. The Dermatologist gave me steroids(she told me this would heal my acne and acne scarring from the product). Needless to say that is when all Hell broke loose. I was an athletic, but skinny guy 6 ft 2 inch 180 pounds and after taking the steroids I started getting man boobs(a nasty side effect which can happen from taking steroids). I am now 24 years old and I can honestly say that this product single handedly fugged over my life. Because of this acne I got on my chest and back I quit my Varsity Basketball team, because I was ashamed of the way I looked. I cried myself to sleep just about every night wishing and praying why the Lord would allow this to happen to me. I had a future and it was all taken away from me after taking this drug. I couldn't even sue these fuggers, because they had me sign paperwork before going on the treatment which protected themselves whenever there product fugged up someone's life. I am happy for the people that this product did work for, but for the rest of(30% of people who used this product) it fugged over our lives and I believe we should be compensated. If I wasn't a christian I would have killed myself because of this product. this product is worse then Murder it not only ruined my life, but also the lives of others. People whom I cared about the most in my life(family and friends) I pushed away, because of the Depression and all other problems that happened after I took this damn Accutane. I will never forgive myself as one of my best friends was struggling with drugs and a sinful lifestyle and because of this product I was too depressed, suicidal to help my friend. A year later he died in a high speed car accident and I still feel that it was part my fault for not being there for him in his time of need before the accident. RIP Arthur I miss you man.

Edited by fnaccutane, 17 March 2010 - 02:14 AM.

[PrznKing]

I was on 2 cycles of Accutane, I think about 6-8 months apart. Now I'm about 1 year since the last cycle but anyways, my skin is cleared besides occasional pimples here and there. I still have to use moisturizer because I get flaky time to time, but the main side effect that bothers me is hair loss. I'm only 18 and the top of my hair is thinning and falls out. I mean, it's not BALD so if my hair is buzzed it's fine, but I wish I could grow it out longer without it looking bad.

[Leo Messi]

i took accutane around 2 years ago and still have negative side effects, which i presume are going to be permenant. some of the side effects i still suffer from are impotence, muscle and joint aches, dry eyes, dry scalp, hair loss, oh and it gave me rocasea. to make it worse, it didn't even work to get rid of my acne. fuck accutane.

Dude, im so sorry for you, the worst of all is that u've got the impotence-this must really suck! i'm 5 month post accutane and guess what? i'm getting scars out of nowhere, i've recently passed a through a laser treatment for my acne scars, 2 month after accutane (the doctor-bitch, never told me that u cant do a laser unless a year after accutane).

1- I have a pain all over my body, my muscles are paining as hell, especially legs.
2- My skin is so fuckin dry and thined out like a paper
3- I'm 21 but I feel 60
4- And the worst of all is the continious depression which just doesn't leave me alone.

I wonder how da f*ck is this drug still legal

[crazy_angel786]

I took Accutane for 10 days and expirienced about six months of depression after I took the drug. Every day that I took Accutane my emotions were completely out of wack. I would go upstairs to the kitchen table for breakfast sit down and start bawling for no reason. This happend about three times a day for the duration of time that I was on Accutane. It took six months for my emotions to return to normal. During this time i went to the hospital because the depression got so bad I became suicidal. Many people think that the people that get these side effects are depressed before they take the drug that was NOT the case for me i was more emotional then what is regular but defintely not depressed. I defintely do not reccommend taking this drug.

[Shantelle]

During Accutane (Called Isotane in New Zealand)
Initially put on 3x 10mg day
- Massive breakout and extreme inflammation surrounding acne over first 3 months

Month Four
- Acne starting to clear but massive severe flushing begins so dosage dropped significantly to 1x 10mg day which helped immediately

Month Five
- Dosage dropped to 3x 10mg week as beginning to get flushing again

Month twelve and for next 2 years (no flushing at all)
- Extra low-dose course of 1x 10mg per week

Finished Christmas/Summer Jan 2010- ONLY THEN DID I EXPERIENCE POST ACCUTANE SIDE EFFECTS.
Now 3 months post stopping treatment I have been diagnosed with:
- Rosacea (Constant mid-face redness and flushing- cannot even eat warm or hot food anymore). I've tried Rosex gel (didn't work), Minocycline (made flushing even worse, severe reaction), Roxythromycin (macrolide antibiotic- didn't really do anything), and have now just been put on Doxycyline (day 4 so a while to see if anti-inflammatory properties help)
- Seborrheic Dermatitis on skin of nose (On 1x daily Sporanox antifungal capsules at the moment and use metroconizole cream). This arose when oil started comming back in this face area.

Also have:
- Constant dry body skin everywhere except nose where I have the Seb Dermatitis.
- Fragile, thin and very sensitive facial skin
- Constant cold hands and feet
- Difficulty breathing sometimes e.g. even with just making up the bed the other day- had to have a rest.
- No energy
- Odd random suicidal thoughts, but these have lessened over last month. Of course I know this is one other drug side-effect and the cause of these thoughts.
- Extreme photosensitivity (hibernated this Summer really)
- Temperature sensitivity


Acne is gone but the flushing and redness side-effect is unbearable at times and now I have to face the facts that i'll likely have to deal with the Accutane induced-Rosacea for the rest of my life. I wish i'd stopped when the first signs of flushing appeared but I had no idea this would ever happen and Derms don't believe these issues are related. Having read so many other's post accutane experiences Accutane clearly is the culprit of my skin issues.


UPDATE OCT 2010: After being tested for connective tissue disease and some tests comming back abnormal, have been on Plaquenil medication since July. Am being monitored by the Rheumatologist team at my local hospital over the next 6 months for either SLE or DILE Lupus. Thankfully Plaquenil seems to be having a good effect so far on some of my symptoms; it is my hope things will continue to get better for me over time as this drug accumulates in my system and helps decrease level of inflammation in my body.

Edited by Shantelle, 09 October 2010 - 02:53 AM.