Yes, tanning is bad for acne, in the long term, I agree. But not 1/10 of bad as Accutane in both the short and long-term, especially the effects on the brain, immune-system, and more. It's not good to predispose your self to diabetes, arthritis and more, because this is what Accutane does, by lowering adult stem cells systemically throughout the entire body. Believe me, tanning > Accutane, the less taken, the better. The latest science shows, a small amount of natural sunlight everyday, to produce vitamin D is healthy, anyways

Do you even read what you are typing? You said tanning is bad for acne than why even bother suggesting it to him in the first place? He's looking for a suggestion to clear acne, not going on a holiday. Even if you want to dissuade him from taking accutane, can't you offer him any other ideas instead of telling him to pack his bag and head off to mexico for a tan??

Is tanning = a small amount of sunlight? when tanning equates to excessive exposure of sunlight

Tanning means you get to much colour. Small amounts of sunlight is healthy, doesn't mean you need to tan. a very very slight 'pink' is not bad. Going to mexico for a week to tan, is not long-term tanning anyway, so will not cause any skin damage. And when she gets back she can expose herself to natural sunlight slowly, so the acne doesn't worsen. It will give her temporary relief, relax some, calm the hormones, eat fresh fruit and vegetables, which is full of vitamins and minerals, inturn, reduces acne. Minerals don't get rid of acne, but they have something to do with it. Plus, maybe the less stressful environment in the carribean can help rethink whether to take the drug or not. And yes, I can offer her different alternative treatments to try, but I do not know what she has tried already, need to know that first.

Tanning means you get to much colour. Small amounts of sunlight is healthy, doesn't mean you need to tan. a very very slight 'pink' is not bad. Going to mexico for a week to tan, is not long-term tanning anyway, so will not cause any skin damage. And when she gets back she can expose herself to natural sunlight slowly, so the acne doesn't worsen. It will give her temporary relief, relax some, calm the hormones, eat fresh fruit and vegetables, which is full of vitamins and minerals, inturn, reduces acne. Minerals don't get rid of acne, but they have something to do with it. Plus, maybe the less stressful environment in the carribean can help rethink whether to take the drug or not. And yes, I can offer her different alternative treatments to try, but I do not know what she has tried already, need to know that first.

Sun exposure and tan are 2 different words to be used. Tanning equals to exposing yourself to the sun till you turn bronze and that requires a long time. Who ever says tan will not cause skin damage. Every time you go for a tan, you are already generating oxidative stress in your skin due to the UVA radiation which in turn will cause the skin to start producing melanin as a defence mechanism to protect itself against DNA damage. That's why you turn bronze.

Quote"But it may not need a 13-cis intervention, do you live in a hot sunny climate? If not, spend the money and go to mexico instead, and get a tan, which will reduce the acne."

I'm sorry if I sound sarcastic but you need to phrase your words properly especially your first post( 5 posts above this) otherwise people will get mistaken. First you said small amount of sunlight is healthy and need not tan, then you said to head off to mexico to tan. Um what???

I'm going to stop here, I don't want to flame up this thread by deviating from the topic of this thread.

Duchamp: Good luck on your course. Accutane isn't that dangerous if you are well monitored by a good derm(One who is sympathetic and knows accutane well) and with your regular bloodtests. It would be a good idea to find someone close like your parents or guardian to monitor your moods and symptoms(should you have any) and listen to your body if it sends out bad signals , stop medication immediately and consult your derm. That should help prevent a lot of risks. Should you need any help, feel free to PM me, I will be happy to help.

I would much rather have some slight oxidative stress on my skin from a bit of excessive sun exposure, than DNA oxidative damage by taking Accutane, shown in this study below. Wouldn't you?

http://www.reference-global.com/doi/abs/10...5/CCLM.2005.204

*moderator edit, personal remark removed*

Im sorry for the way you feel. I know how you feel, and all other cliches. (but cliches are only cliches cos they're true!!)

But how do you know you got like this cos of accutane? Maybe it just gave you something to blame it on. Anxiety ISNT one of the side effects of accutance. A side effect of acne sure, but not accuatane.

 

 

anxiety IS an effect of accutane. please see link below. Please don't post up information that isn't well researched.

 

http://biopsychiatry.com/serotonin/isotretinoin.html

 

or read the article here.

 

Depression Reflects A Genetic Trait:

Serotonin Study

New research has found that a drug used to treat severe forms of acne reduces the availability of the chemical serotonin, low levels of which have been linked to aggression and clinical depression.

 

In a study published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, scientists reveal a potential mechanism that might link the drug Roaccutane (Accutane in the US) to reported cases of depression in some patients taking the medication.

 

The researchers had previously reported that the drug caused depressive behaviour in mice but, until now, the mechanism by which this might happen was unknown.

 

Using cells cultured in a laboratory, scientists from the University of Bath (UK) and University of Texas at Austin (USA) were able to monitor the effect of the drug on the chemistry of the cells that produce serotonin.

 

They found that the cells significantly increased production of proteins and cell metabolites that are known to reduce the availability of serotonin.

 

This, says scientists, could disrupt the process by which serotonin relays signals between neurons in the brain and may be the cause of depression-related behaviour.

 

Serotonin is an important chemical that relays signals from nerve cells to other cells in the body, said Dr Sarah Bailey from the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology at the University of Bath.

 

In the brain it is thought to play an important role in the regulation of a range of behaviours, such as aggression, anger and sleep. Low levels of serotonin have been linked to depression, as well as bipolar and anxiety disorders.

 

Many medications aimed at treating depression seek to increase levels of serotonin to help overcome these problems," continued Dr Bailey. Our findings suggest that Roaccutane might disrupt the way serotonin is produced and made available to the cells.

 

This could result in problems associated with low levels of serotonin, which might include depression. We are currently looking into this mechanism in more detail.

 

the key word is LINKED TO. there is a correlation not a CAUSATION. it means in some cases there can be inferences drawn.

it does not mean in all cases accutane causes psychiatric symptoms.

use your head...if it did the FDA would be forced to take it off shelves or patients would be mandated to have psychotherapy during their treatment.

yeesh.

Christina there clearly is a causation:

Evidence about Accutaneas propensity to cause psychiatric problems had been building up all throughout the 80as and 90as, but nobody, not even the dermatologists were talking about it or acknowledging that it was happening. Despite all of the accumulating evidence, dermatologists announced to everyone that there was absolutely no link between Accutane and psychiatric side effects. A shocking report appeared in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology back in 1987 that was titled aoeHypervitaminosis A syndrome: a paradigm of retinoid side effects.a (J Am Acad Dermatol 1987;16: 1027-39) I guess none of the dermatologists bothered to read their own journal because this report should have raised some serious red flags about the connection between retinoids and psychiatric toxicity. In this report it says that physicians utilizing retinoids should be aware that in the past few decades patients have been committed to psychiatric hospitals for severe depression and schizophrenia when mental changes were due to hypervitaminosis A. The report also says that investigative trials of new retinoids have shown how important it is to become familiar with hypervitaminosis A syndrome because so many side effects associated with new retinoids (such as Accutane) have previously been encountered in patients with chronic hypervitaminosis A.

On the Accutane label it even says a May cause serious mental health problems a

aRetinoids modulate gene expression in the brain in a broad spectrum and have effects on several neurochemical systems, including the dopamine system, which has been hypothesized to play a role in dysregulation of mood and emotion;

a High levels of the enzyme involved in retinoid synthesis, aldehyde dehydrogenaseare found in mesostriatal and mesolimbic dopamine pathways;

a Dopamine mesocortical pathways involve release of dopamine transmitter in theorbitofrontal cortex and other parts of the prefrontal cortex;

a Administration of retinoids causes changes in dopamine receptors, while genetic mutations of retinoid receptors are associated with deficits in dopamine receptors as well as mesolimbic dopamine functioning;

a Retinoids are associated with the inhibition of neurogenesis in the hippocampus, a brain area with connections to the prefrontal cortical areas, including the orbitofrontal.a

Hoffman-La Roche has always continued to deny that Accutane can cause psychiatric side effects like depression and suicide, but they do not acknowledge the fact that vitamin A toxicity has been consistently linked to mental illness for centuries. In 1597, European explorer Gerrit de Veer spent the winter in Nova Zembla. His diary of the experience revealed how he and the rest of his men became aoegravely ill and feared for their livesa after eating polar-bear liver.

250 years later, in 1856, the Arctic explorer Elisha Kane and his crew experienced extreme fatigue, drowsiness, irritability, headache, bone pain, peeling skin, vertigo, and psychosis after they consumed polar-bear liver, which was later determined to be poisonous because it contains lethal amounts of vitamin A. One-half pound of polar bear liver will deliver about 9,000,000 IU of vitamin A to your diet, an extremely lethal dose that will make all your skin peel off before you die. Fatal cases typically end with full-body skin loss, liver damage, delirium, hemorrhage, and coma. This danger of toxicity resulting from the ingestion of bear liver has long been known by indigenous Inuit people of the Arctic regions, but many Western explorers and hunters had no knowledge and ended up learning the hard way. A common practice among the Inuit is to bury polar bear livers deep under the ice or toss them into the sea in order to prevent their sled dogs from chowing down their last meal. Polar-bear liver contains about 1 million IU of vitamin A per ounce (the RDA for adult humans is only 5000 IU), which is why if you decide to snack on it, the top layer of skin on your hands and other places all over your body will come off in giant sheets. Not surprisingly, peeling of the skin on the palms and soles and skin coming off on various places of the body is also a potential side effect of Accutane. An article titled aoeThe Vitamin A Content and Toxicity of Bear and Seal Livera dated 1943 described what happened to these explorers after they ingested polar bear liver. The side effects of eating polar bear liver are very similar to the side effects of Accutane.

The Vitamin A Content and Toxicity of Bear and Seal Liver

http://www.biochemj.org/bj/037/0166/0370166.pdf

The abstract of Dr. James OaDonnellas article titled aoePolar Hysteria: An Expression of Hypervitaminosis Aa states,

aoeIsotretinoin (Accutane) is a drug closely related to the chemical structure of Vitamin A. The pharmacology and toxicology of these two retinoids is similar enough to warrant comparison. Accutane is a powerful drug which its manufacturer, Roche, indicates is limited for severe recalcitrant nodular acne. This potency is also reflected in Accutane's well-known ability to produce severe birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Less well-known is the risk of this lipid soluble chemical to affect the Central Nervous System. Reports of intracranial hypertension, depression, and suicidal ideation with Accutane use have prompted an examination of this serious and life threatening potential. Though Roche has added a warning to its product label for signs of depression and suicidal ideation, this product is being overprescribed for all forms of acne, including mild cases and moderate acne that have not been treated with alternative medications, which have a lesser risk of depression and suicide. There is no contesting that this drug is effective at clearing up the most severe forms of acne, but the public must be informed of its proper, limited indication for use; depression and suicide can follow in patients with no prior history of psychiatric symptoms or suicide attempts.a

Polar Hysteria: An Expression of Hypervitaminosis A

http://www.americantherapeutics.com/pt/re/...#33;8091!-1

Hypervitaminosis A and Fractures

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/348/4/347

Most animal liver is safe to eat (for people who have never taken Accutane), but it should be noted that bear, seal, and husky livers are not safe for anybody. In 1913, the Swiss explorer and skiing champion Xavier Mertz embarked on an Antarctic expedition with the Australian Sir Douglas Mawson and Lieutenant Edward Ninnis. While attempting to cross the Ninnis Glacier, Ninnis fell into a crevasse, along with six dogs, the tent and most of the supplies. With only a few days worth of rations left and 315 miles from the main base, Mertz and Mawson now faced the impossible challenge of getting back to safety without sufficient food. They began to eat the livers of their husky sled dogs and over a few weeksa duration both were poisoned, experiencing dryness of the nose, mouth, eyes, cracked lips, irritability, hair loss, fatigue, and loss of all skin on their legs, hands, feet, genitals, aoeskin coming off whole bodya according to Mawsonas diary. Even the thick skin on the soles of their feet came off, leaving areas of the underlying tissue bloody and exposed. Mertz consumed more liver and eventually became fatally poisoned after developing severe stomach pains, diarrhea, and going insane. The dreadful details of Mertz and Mawsonas ordeal can be read in the British Medical Journal articles aoeManas best friend?a and aoeVitamin A and Sir Douglas Mawson.a Several parallels to the side effects of Accutane are exceedingly apparent.

Manas best friend?

http://student.bmj.com/issues/02/05/life/158.php

Vitamin A and Sir Douglas Mawson

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerende...ageindex=1#page

Acne drug has serious side effects

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/h...tane/index.html

Here's a quote from the above article describing the controversy over the psychiatric side effects,

"Hoffmann-La Roche says there is no causal relationship between Accutane and depression or suicide. Experts point out that no one factor causes suicide and that a high percentage of Accutane users -teens and young adults- are already more likely to get depressed. But some doctors say there's plenty of evidence to support a link between Accutane and depression and suicide. And they argue that evidence of the link dates back to Arctic explorers of the 19th century. Diaries tell of how some sailors suffered polar madness. Experts today say it was from eating polar bear liver, which is full of vitamin A. In large doses Vitamin A can cause brain toxicity, seizures, and behavioral changes. Accutane is a derivative of vitamin A."

I also am suffering from anxiety after Accutane but do not regret taking it. I am also on Adderall which can also cause anxiety so I cant really say. It seemed to come about after I stopped the tane though. I am now on zoloft for it and have stopped the adderall until I go back to school.

Only took Accutane for two weeks and during that two weeks I became constipated without any bowel movement at all! I had an incredible aggressive mood swing, and ended up getting off the accutane. Ever since, ive struggled with intense anxiety related to nothing I can wrap my head around- but this anxiety has also contributed to insomnia for the past 6 months. Anxiety is very real- and I never experienced anything like it before taking accutane. Due to my continued chronic constipation- I've researched so much to find a solution:

The limit in serotonin may affect your stomach (where 80% of the body's serotonin is utilized) causing mind-related stomach issues, hints the connection between anxiety and constipation. To treat this, acne, AND anxiety I highly recommend probiotics, a precursor to serotonin (less side effects and over the counter) called 5-HTP, and also consider taking wellbutrin for anxiety. If you have stomach issues, wellbutrin may actually make them worse.

I know how real the anxiety can be and can affect your life and sleep patterns, and I totally believe you and understand about the anxiety post-accutane, it's scary stuff and you feel like you have knots in the mind but can't find any reasonable loose ends to untie. Assume: you don't have any, and don't tug around in there thinking you do have something to fix- you may worry yourself even more or open up scars you never needed to! Aside from medicine- exercise and eat raw foods, organic if you can, and don't drink coffee or alcohol until you figure out the anxiety. Good luck Missy!

(My background- current college undergraduate at a prolific university on scholarship, with incredible family behind me. I'm not brilliant, but I've had a very successful academic life and social life, and even toured internationally as a singer/songwriter. I say all of this to reemphasize my past stability and abilities- which have now been compromised immediately after taking the tane.')

My story is similar to many of yours. Don't have the time nor the pAtience to go in detail... Any updates on your lives? Any successes?

Amazing what this drug can really do to you. It's like gambling with the devil, here is beautiful skin, however you might get such and such in exchange.

Took the drug and still suffer from tinnitus and horrible sweating problems. Didn't take accutane long enough to clear my skin, and I am still plagued with acne.

Hi, I was the original poster of this thread. Posted this thread back in 2008 and up until now I still have problems with anxiety/agoraphobia. I went on accutane when I was 16, I am now 21 - my dose was two 20mg tablets a day and three 20mg tablets every second day. I can't remember how long I took it for, but my last update in my accutane log on acne.org was posted on my 156th day, so a little under 6 months.

Right now, I still get anxious/dizzy/nauseous (throat feels tight, heart palpitations, and feel like i'm going to vomit) while doing the simplest of things:

- taking a train, bus or any other public transport (feel more anxious if I have to stand. if I have to stand, I get off at the next stop and take another train so I can get a seat and if I'm sitting down I feel more calm but still get anxious when I know the next train stop is far away)

- lining up/queing for something by myself, feel less anxious when I'm with someone else. I feel a fight or flight feeling where I feel anxious but I have to fight it because if I get out of the line because of anxiety, I'm going to lose my spot in the line, so I constantly fight the feeling until it overwhelms me)

- eating in crowded places (find it hard to chew my food because of the anxiety, get this tight feeling in my throat and feel like I'll throw up the food if I swallow it so I just swallow it bit by bit, but this anxiety from eating goes away when I'm eating at home)

- being in church or crowded places (get dizzy in church, light headed, heart palpitations, tight feeling in throat, etc. and it's gotten to the point where I have to get my family to sit near the back of the church because I feel less anxious there).

I also get really bad anticipatory anxiety, where I get really anxious the night before and the morning of a day where I'm going to be doing something like going out to meet someone, interview, or if I'm going to be taking the train that day (especially if I have to take it somewhere far), etc.

I get headaches easily (less chance of getting a headache if I stay at home, but if I go out for the day I usually get tired quickly and get a headache by the time I get home), have allergies (dust mites, wake up with stuffy/runny nose in the morning), feel weak and tired most of the time and just never really get good sleep (always wake up really early and have to go back to sleep, never sleep straight).

Sometimes I think about how I was BEFORE I took accutane, and I really wasn't like this AT ALL. I really wish I could bring back the old me, now I feel severely limited with what I can do and accomplish with my life (didn't finish high school, constantly dropped out of various tertiary courses because of anxiety, never had a real job (mostly make my money online), and feel anxious when I think about my dreams of travelling to various countries in Asia because of having to take a plane.)

I'm considering taking 5-HTP (precursor to serotonin), which some people suggested in this thread to hopefully reverse these effects as I've also read on other forums it's also really good for anxiety/depression. If anyone is still suffering from anxiety/depression or any other psychological symptoms post accutane, PLEASE chime in and post in this thread. Would like to hear from you and see how you're going.

Almost another year has gone by since my last post in this thread. Happy to say I'm finally improving, but progress is VERY slow. I've tried so many supplements ranging from Vitamin B complex, Vitamin D, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, L-theanine, Maca, L-Tryptophan, Fish Oil, Probiotics, Zinc, Magnesium, and a few others that I just can't quite remember off the top of my head. Mind you, I've taken these supplements over the past 2 years and not all at the same time.

Most of the stuff I've tried has given very mild effects. Right now I'm only taking fish oil daily and lecithin every now and then. My attention span is really bad and I find it hard to concentrate in class, and lecithin seems to help with that ever so slightly. Looking into trying some new supplements soon to help with social anxiety and attention/concentration/memory - these include Bacopa, L-theanine (will try different brand), L-tyrosine, rhodiola rosea, and may consider St. John's Wort.

Also I'm back in school (Australian community college equivalent) and managed to get through 10 weeks and 2 presentations in the 10 weeks. I'm on a 2 week break right now and will be back this Tuesday. I've also attended social anxiety group sessions once every week in the past 8 weeks and that seems to have helped. Learned a lot about CBT and other coping methods. I've also been reading the book "Psycho-Cybernetics". I am now also able to take public transport and only experience minimal anxiety, anxiety is only an inconvenience on longer trips. And I can not take crowded trains or buses.

I can't believe it's been over 6 years now since I took Accutane and I am still suffering with not just anxiety, but I feel my brain has really slowed down in the past few years. Attention span/concentration is really bad, I have trouble processing what someone is saying when they're talking to me and I often have to get them to repeat what they said. My brain seems to have trouble organizing all my thoughts and what I want to say in response, so my response often lacks coherence and I have to speak slowly or I end up stuttering. I also have trouble remembering things (mainly short term memory). I honestly feel so stupid at times.

. I have bouts of depression every now and then because I feel like I will never be able to get back the old me (pre-accutane). I can't stress enough how much I feel like accutane has ruined my life. F*CK YOU ACCUTANE! Let me just have my moment to say that.

If anyone is going through something similar or managed to find a solution, please help me. Please speak up. It would be greatly appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

Another annoying thing is I think accutane has given me permanent dry eyes. No matter how much sleep I get, my eyes always feel dry/tired and sensitive to bright lights. If anyone has managed to find a solution for that, I'm all ears.

tfw no response

Have you seen an eye doctor recently skribby? What exactly have you tried for your eyes. I will say that Accutane left with sjrogren's type eyes and it also caused type 1 diabetes which can cause dry eyes, sensitivity to light etc.... I use drops, stay away from sugar, acidic foods, humidifier and a eye cream as my skin thinned so some times I get dark circles and tired look. If you have any other questions pm me. I would though see a eye doc though and if you are taking any other meds that can cause dry eyes fyi!

It good to see you came back to update, I remember reading your story when mine was hitting the fan!