My mother took this when she was a teenager, one of the first people to take it.
My older brother was born with a birth defect because of it, the crazy thing was is that she had him years after it was supposedly "safe"
I'll never look at drugs or anti-biotics the same again,
I won't touch any of them with a 10 foot pole.
He was born with a middle finger that only grew halfway if you're wondering, and his other fingers grow in to fill in the gap.
Sucks, I just really hope that people explore the natural route before harming their health with this horrible anti-biotic.
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.
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.
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.
Yeah, this is one of the Accutane side effects that has given me the most stress. I've become very conscious of my hair since Accutane, especially because immediately before the drug I had very thick hair. A good number of us are going through--or have been through--the same thing you are so you're not alone.
Keep us posted on your progress!
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.
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.
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.
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.
You may just have telogen effluvium. If there are little white bulbs on the end of your hair when it falls out, that's the cause. If that's the cause, the hair is falling out because new hairs are pushing it out. It'll take 6-8 months to stop shedding, but it will probably take 1-2 years for the hair to catch up with the rest. You won't be bald... you'll lose a lot of hair, definitely, but you'll never lose all of it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Alright, it's been an extrememly long time since i've started having side effects from the accutane and i'm FINALLY deciding to post my negative experience on this thread. i only wish i had done it sooner though but i guess i didn't have the mood with all the depression. i took 4 rounds of accutane starting in around july 2007 i believe at 40mg/day for 4 months (thats 1 round for me). last round was 10mg per day for 3 months. let me tell you, my life has not been the same since finishing the drug at the end of 2009. thats when the REAL bad side effects showed up. for a couple months i had bad diarreah. i started to have serious mental problems in late december. i had terrible concentration/memory/ocd problems. i thought it was my fault somehow. i didn't link the psychological problems to accutane until it got worse forcing me to research on the accutane thinking it could be the source of my problem and finally realizing it is. it shattered me. i couldn't believe it. i'm in college and i've been constanly failing classes lately. my chance of finding a career is severely diminished. just can't concentrate in school, can't remember things. people dont understand me. people judge me. i've cried many times before asking why me? why do i deserve this? i also have Irritable bowel syndrome. everyday my stomach is bloated. my stools are aren't normal these days. better than before but still not good.
whenever i'm stressed my stools tend to be really runny. occasionally i'll have this sharp pain in my lower right area of my abdomen. it's like a heart attack but not really directed at the heart. i was told it could be a gallbladder problem caused by accutane from what someone told me on this forum. everyday i wake up feeling extremely exhausted feeling like an old man. it's fucking depressing. i've never smoked in my life, never drank. always been a good boy to avoid all the unhealthy habits/food and then this shit happens. all because some idiot doctor recommended it to me saying i'll be safe as long as i'm on regular blood tests monthly. not to mention he said every round that i take, the accutane will flush out of my system within a month saying that i'd be back to normal. he didn't even take me off the drug when i told him i was feeling some depression just not a lot. i also hate the manufacturer of this drug ROCHE. they are responsible for causing so much suffering in young teens and not to mention suicides. they get away with it just by saying the mechanism of the drug is unknown so there is no evidence accutane causes suicides or depression.
why they've allowed to sell and market this drug for so many years and still not in jail boggles my mind because evidence had shown they knew of the dangers but continued to market it anyways. and in the early days they've purposely omitted serious warnings of side effects causing many vulnerable/unsuspecting victims unreversible, permanent damage to their health and some consequently having their colons removed. i would highly HIGHLY suggest no one ever take this drug no matter how bad your acne is. i know i've had my share of cystic acne and i thought cystic acne was the worst ever and i'd do anything to get rid of it. unfortunately, i was just one of those desperate young vulnerable victims and my doctor and ROCHE took advantage of that. i only wish i could reverse time and never take accutane. i wish i could of been smart and found other more natural alternatives to fix my acne than take some screwed up drug that's called a "miracle" drug. oh and this "miracle" drug is actually a form of CHEMOTHERAPY in case anyone doesn't know.
chemotherapy should be used for CANCER, not some stupid acne. but hey money hungry drug companies will do whatever it takes to make a profit. even if it means causing people to die. so their brainless logic is if it works on clearing acne then it's good for selling. maybe it's a miracle for the duration you are on it, but not when you stop it. and it is NOT worth it just to go through a few months or few years of clear skin. the side effects that show up post tane are often permanent and irreversible and there's nothing much you can do about it which is why so many people chose suicide. if not permanent, you will suffer for many MANY years for sure but i have not heard 1 single person who has recovered from these kind of serious side effects. there are better options out there people!!! learn from my experience! and don't think i'm that 1% of people in the stats who suffer from serious side effects. the stats are so screwed up. not everyone reports their side effects to the FDA. and besides, Roche has an advantage by saying less than 1% of people suffer serious side effects, thus convincing people it's not as dangerous.
why would they report lets say 70-80% of people suffer serious side effects after stopping it? most people wouldn't even dare take it then and the drug company can't make a good profit. if a drug seems too good to be true that it supposedly clears your acne forever then it is too good to be true. maybe you won't experience side effects soon after stopping the drug but are you confident it won't show up in the future? don't risk it. that's all i have to say. don't take accutane please. this is my experience and im warning against it. there are better options. acne is not worse than this.
I am 35 years old and have a bad experience with accutane from way back in time. I took it when I was 19 years old. First I took 40 mg a day for 6 months for a moderate/severe acne issue. This didn't work very well so I took it for another 3 months. And this while I was taking birth control pills. After a year my acne came back worse, so my doctor recommended another 6 months. After those 6 months it seemed to heal a bit. So I continued with only birth control pills for almost 10 years. But the side effects started to show. Joint pain, dry and sore throat, dry eyes, a combination of oily and dry skin, scars, muscle pain, mood swings.
My doctor advised me to stop taking the pill because it too could have some serious side effects, which for now thankfully I haven't experienced. But just about a month after stopping taking it, my acne came back at its worse, with big cysts that linger for more than 2 weeks without healing or changing in size. I am going to start the Regimen today. Will let you know in a couple of weeks how did it go.
I sincerely do not recommend Accutane, the side effects are way to high of a risk. I still struggle with acne, but I also struggle with other syptoms.
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 !
why on earth did u decide to take it 8 times???havent u considered taking hormones instead?they are also effective.
I took accutane a few years ago - during my final year of high school.
Prescription: 20mg everyday for six months (ended up taking it for only four months due to side effects)
I had severe acne and extremely oily skin and accutane cleared it up within a month. I had scarring left over, but I was ecstatic until the side effects started to surface..
I was fine with the dry skin (nice change from oily skin) but it got to the point where I developed some really really painful rectal tears.
These rectal tears lasted for years and I've only just begun to recover from them.
I've also developed facial flushing and sweating that still persists today with a vengeance It may not even be warm and bang my face is red as a beetroot for no reason and I also have a cold sweat on my forehead... It is very difficult to deal with it because it happens at least five times during the day and lasts for around 30minutes with my face progressively getting redder. I feel as though I have developed some anxiety related issues as a result (always feeling embarrassed around large crowds of people).
Although I am happy that my skin has cleared up, I wish I had never taken accutane because the side effects I am still experiencing is really affecting my daily life
I've come to accept that this may go on for a long time but it still sucks to deal with such sensitive skin now .
Hello acne.org, I'm a new member and a first time poster. Last month I began taking 40 mg of Claravis a day. I've just passed the one month mark, and I'm having a change of heart. I haven't experienced any severe side effects, just the typical face/lip dryness and a patch eczema on one of my hands, but I have re-evaluated the risks associated with taking this drug, and have decided that it's not for me. Of course, I have now put about 1400mg of this stuff into my system, and I'm worried that I may have already done irreversible damage to myself. So, I guess my question is, has anyone developed severe long-term side effects, like GI or bone density problems, after taking this little for such a short period of time? And if so, how long was it before symptoms of these problems began appearing?
Been awhile since I posted, but I wanted to report back since last time.
First of all, been on two courses of accutane and they never got rid of my acne.
I now suffer from constant, ridiculously bizarre tinnitus (screeching sounds in my head). I get heart palpitations all the time, I suddenly go faint every once in awhile. I suffer from vibrations when I try to sleep, and sometimes in the day, especially after certain foods and or drinking alcohol.
My vision is totally fucked up, I constantly see noise in my vision and lights streak across my field of view especially in the dark (like some sort of drug trip or something). I experience what I can only call flashing while I try to sleep. Lights that I can't actualyl perceive, flashing in my head.
My lips are permanently dry.
Have basically a constant minor headache permanently, and my hearing is generally fucked, as a lot of noises cause server feedback in my head.
Yeah accutane fucked me up. I suggest to try something else. There's worse things than acne, and you can probably solve acne without accutane anyways.
Imo, accutane should be shelved for everyone except extreme cases.