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1 hour ago, Gladiatoro said:DOES ISOTRETINOIN CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE ....ANSWER
1) Yes, the brain is affected in a negative way. Metabolism is measured to sink with 20% in certain parts of the brain.
FACT. What is interesting here is why it sinks. If it is due to pure nerve-cell loss, it is not good. If it is due mainly to altered cells, that is better. I think that the answer lies somewhere inbetween. The problem is that your lasting functioning metabolism has to carry a "greater load" through the rest of your life-time.If you look at face-expressions from people that have taken Accutane, you often see that their mouth doesn't move as freely as it does before. Does not necessarily mean that the person is unhappy at the moment and does not necessarily say that the brain-effect is life-threatening but it says something, about nerve-status.
2) About the life-effects
Definitely you are at higher risks to develop diseases later in life, due to weakened immune-defense, diabetes, you may also be prone to have difficulties finding a stable body-weight, due to a falling metabolism. Diabetes and metabolic diseases have become one of the leading theories regarding other more serious problems such as elderly dementia. This in itself constitutes a risk to life-time.
The effects on life time expectancy are currently being investigated both for vitamin A, and also for conditions such as diabetes, fat-metabolsim and insulin insensitivity.
It can not be clearly said right now, what the statistical risks are, but there is a likelyhood that life-time-expectancy drops after using Accutane.
So what your saying is its not that bad? good, I was worried there for a second.
1 hour ago, Fchawk said:What dosage did you have for vitamin A? Also do you have bigots spots on your eyes? I drafted a much longer response but my phone crashed.
long and short of it is that I think those who have the most adverse effects to even small amounts of vitamin a are the most likely to have a deficiency, as there body has gotten used to Isotretinoin, and that even small vitamin a supplements may help.
i am obviously a proponent of pro vitamin a, but I myself got eye floaters 5 months ago in one eye, which I believe could be very well due to vitamin a deficiency/isotretinoin over crowding, as well as taurine deficiency. My 2 cents
i think i got up to 75k iu briefly. then one day i started noticing all these extra fine lines on my hands that havent gone away since. stayed away from vitamin a for awhile. tried it again at 15k iu per day then I started getting eye floaters, now those havent gone away since. I told myself the same thing for awhile, that I just need to push through this. but i dont think that this was the case.
4 hours ago, Gladiatoro said:DOES ISOTRETINOIN CAUSE BRAIN DAMAGE ....ANSWER
1) Yes, the brain is affected in a negative way. Metabolism is measured to sink with 20% in certain parts of the brain.
FACT. What is interesting here is why it sinks. If it is due to pure nerve-cell loss, it is not good. If it is due mainly to altered cells, that is better. I think that the answer lies somewhere inbetween. The problem is that your lasting functioning metabolism has to carry a "greater load" through the rest of your life-time.If you look at face-expressions from people that have taken Accutane, you often see that their mouth doesn't move as freely as it does before. Does not necessarily mean that the person is unhappy at the moment and does not necessarily say that the brain-effect is life-threatening but it says something, about nerve-status.
2) About the life-effects
Definitely you are at higher risks to develop diseases later in life, due to weakened immune-defense, diabetes, you may also be prone to have difficulties finding a stable body-weight, due to a falling metabolism. Diabetes and metabolic diseases have become one of the leading theories regarding other more serious problems such as elderly dementia. This in itself constitutes a risk to life-time.
The effects on life time expectancy are currently being investigated both for vitamin A, and also for conditions such as diabetes, fat-metabolsim and insulin insensitivity.
It can not be clearly said right now, what the statistical risks are, but there is a likelyhood that life-time-expectancy drops after using Accutane.
So if you want to your GP to investigate about this, what would they get you to do - an MRI perhaps??
And even then, what would they put you on to improve nerve damage? Brain damage is a hard area to get improvements in from what I understand.
I know exactly what you mean by mouth dropping - even when I speak my mouth doesn't open that wide anymore 
At least I feel like my liver is cleaner having just finished another cleanse - but my poor brain is a whole other issue!
Have any of you men experience estrogen dominance? Amongst other things it shuts down growth plates.
Some signs would be fat around the waist area and sings of gynecomastia, male beasts, pain in breast area or just fleshy in breast area.
No improvement in muscle growth with exercise.
Men should have high T low E. High E will lower T and this can have adverse sexual effects.
I know accutane side effects are wide and varied but we really need to try and build a concise profile that could be a starting point
when first setting out on testing for all new accutane sufferers.
Vit D deficiency for instance seems to be reported by everyone.
Getting all the sex hormones tested - I know this rarely shows up anything but by gathering all info when there are notable results
will give us a pattern that can lead to investigation.
I have two doctors that are interested in looking at ED and myopathy (muscle wastage). I have actually had little response so it is hard to be taken seriously when I only have a few case histories. So please do PM your case - it may get some research going.
Veterans - maybe you could ask for case histories in other areas, each of you concentrate on one or two things like depression or collect
info on joint pain etc.
I just wish we could get organised on all this. I really believe we need experts on this and until such times when we can produce
consistent information we will never make any headway.
In many cases it seems like our rehab is not dissimilar to what happens after a rough bout of chemotherapy, though many of the post chemo studies are not optimistic, kinda like most of our long term sides.
If anyone finds positive post chemo rehabilition/recovery please share, as it may be relevant to us 
1 hour ago, hatetane said:Have any of you men experience estrogen dominance? Amongst other things it shuts down growth plates.
Some signs would be fat around the waist area and sings of gynecomastia, male beasts, pain in breast area or just fleshy in breast area.
No improvement in muscle growth with exercise.Men should have high T low E. High E will lower T and this can have adverse sexual effects.
I know accutane side effects are wide and varied but we really need to try and build a concise profile that could be a starting point
when first setting out on testing for all new accutane sufferers.Vit D deficiency for instance seems to be reported by everyone.
Getting all the sex hormones tested - I know this rarely shows up anything but by gathering all info when there are notable results
will give us a pattern that can lead to investigation.I have two doctors that are interested in looking at ED and myopathy (muscle wastage). I have actually had little response so it is hard to be taken seriously when I only have a few case histories. So please do PM your case - it may get some research going.
Veterans - maybe you could ask for case histories in other areas, each of you concentrate on one or two things like depression or collect
info on joint pain etc.I just wish we could get organised on all this. I really believe we need experts on this and until such times when we can produce
consistent information we will never make any headway.
I know some people reported DHT deficiency, and low levels can increase transference of Testosterone to Estrogen. That is a reason why I recommend creatine
4 hours ago, anthony180 said:Has the research done on these 357 pages pretty much concluded that people suffering from permanent post accutane damage have vitamin A stuck in their liver and we're not able to remove it which is causing all this?
that is the million dollar question. if we knew this for sure, then it would be much easier to go about treatment. alot of people say they have bad reactions to vitamin a either in supplements or food. but i also could say i have bad reactions to a host of other things/supplements that have nothing to do with vitamin a. but still cause problems ie dryness, eye problems, brain fog, fatigue. but yea for me supplementing with vitamin a in the past has left me sides that have lasted for years still to this day.( this would make it seem I was already overloaded to begin with).
5 hours ago, anthony180 said:Has the research done on these 357 pages pretty much concluded that people suffering from permanent post accutane damage have vitamin A stuck in their liver and we're not able to remove it which is causing all this?
I have no problem drinking a carot juice, full of beta caroten, and if I took the retinol form of vitamin A ( Fish oil for example ) i'll experience some dryness in my skin but I dont feel bad. It's difficult to identify the problem . But I dont think it is because vitamin A is stuck in Our liver. I'd rather think that we are deficient in some form of vitamin A And that we have probably too much of another..
Btw I will leave this thread for a while and focus on my recovery mainly through diet , cleanse etc. Probably try RSO was well . I find that some posts on this thread are too pessimistic and sometimes itcan rub off on meI think . Hope i'llcome back with good news.
Pretty sure of it. Good luck everyone 🙂
1 hour ago, ViceCaz said:I have no problem drinking a carot juice, full of beta caroten, and if I took the retinol form of vitamin A ( Fish oil for example ) i'll experience some dryness in my skin but I dont feel bad. It's difficult to identify the problem . But I dont think it is because vitamin A is stuck in Our liver. I'd rather think that we are deficient in some form of vitamin A And that we have probably too much of another..Btw I will leave this thread for a while and focus on my recovery mainly through diet , cleanse etc. Probably try RSO was well . I find that some posts on this thread are too pessimistic and sometimes itcan rub off on meI think . Hope i'llcome back with good news.
Pretty sure of it. Good luck everyone 🙂
Good luck Vince. Stay poitive. Maybe meet up in Colorado in the summer lol
read this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038963/
Gut,brain, mental health, skin, inflammation connection. they are saying those of us that had acne might have had low bacteria particularly Bacillus acidophilus and low stomach acid to begin with.
Several months before Stokes and Pillsbury completed their theory on the 'emotional linkage' between the brain, gut and skin, another study had reported low stool levels ofL. acidophilusin 53 patients with a variety of mental health disorders
Cool I cant take italics off. anyways i know taneout said his test showed no growth for acidophilus when he got tested. bifido and multistrain probiotics seem to give me problems. all culturelle did as a bad effect was give me brain fog. this might be a die off type reaction. so i might look at this again. also mentions sibo in article due to low stomach acid and lack of good bacteria. going to make a gastro appointment.
23 hours ago, MovingOnMusicGal said:Is anyone else taking supplemental copper, and if so, how much, how long, and how long have you been experiencing any positive effects from it?
Thanks!
im for the moment taking 8mgs in the morning all at once. this is a safe dosage. though you prob want to start lower and see how you respond. 8 mgs should be a safe long term dosage.( at least long enough to see if it is of great benefit) i have read many studies on the safety of copper. here in the us the upper limit is 10mg from food and supplements.
I still dont know whats going on with copper. at times it feels like its putting moisture in my eyes, my shoulder/back muscles feel bigger stronger. I am/was concerned it is effecting the quality of my hair. but i look at fast growing hair like my eyebrows and sideburns and they seem to be doing alright. i dont know if its putting more color in my skin and maybe tightening it. it might be putting more moisture in my mouth and throat, my singing vocals seem stronger, this would be a muscle thing. i just cant say yet if this has small benefits like other supplements or its something better. also cant tell if its making me more or less crazy. i read a study schizophrenics are high in copper lol. So if you see me create a drumman profile, thats not good.
1 hour ago, guitarman01 said:im for the moment taking 8mgs in the morning all at once. this is a safe dosage. though you prob want to start lower and see how you respond. 8 mgs should be a safe long term dosage.( at least long enough to see if it is of great benefit) i have read many studies on the safety of copper. here in the us the upper limit is 10mg from food and supplements.
I still dont know whats going on with copper. at times it feels like its putting moisture in my eyes, my shoulder/back muscles feel bigger stronger. I am/was concerned it is effecting the quality of my hair. but i look at fast growing hair like my eyebrows and sideburns and they seem to be doing alright. i dont know if its putting more color in my skin and maybe tightening it. it might be putting more moisture in my mouth and throat, my singing vocals seem stronger, this would be a muscle thing. i just cant say yet if this has small benefits like other supplements or its something better. also cant tell if its making me more or less crazy. i read a study schizophrenics are high in copper lol. So if you see me create a drumman profile, thats not good.
LOL
I hope it helps my singing too! Being in a band is rough in and of itself!
What you say is true of copper, it is high in people with schizophrenia. Interestingly enough, many people with mental health challenges have methylation problems too. 
I'll give it a whirl and start with 2mg. Glad it's of some benefit to you. I agree with the supps though, sometimes it's hard to really tell. That's when I usually back off all the others for a few days or so and try only one.
I'm hoping that combined with the methylation protocol I'm doing it will only enhance the benefits if I genuinely am deficient in this. Seems like playing Russian Roulette, but having a slight edge with the research and other's experience.
Thanks for the response. Keep rockin
17 hours ago, guitarman01 said:that is the million dollar question. if we knew this for sure, then it would be much easier to go about treatment. alot of people say they have bad reactions to vitamin a either in supplements or food. but i also could say i have bad reactions to a host of other things/supplements that have nothing to do with vitamin a. but still cause problems ie dryness, eye problems, brain fog, fatigue. but yea for me supplementing with vitamin a in the past has left me sides that have lasted for years still to this day.( this would make it seem I was already overloaded to begin with).
Well if you can drink like a normal person in a social environment (more than just a drink) and are not having liver problems/pain after drinking, I would likely say your liver is working just fine. If vitamin A was stored there and we drank our liver would most likely let us know physically. Being the two don't combine well at all.
On 6-3-2016 at 10:27 PM, Fchawk said:The things that I am 99% sure have worked at helping symptoms are:-creatine-taurine-BCAASThings I can only be 85% sure worked, and at doses I would not at all to hesitate to do again, also more long term-25,000iu vitamin a-10,000iu vitamin d-1000mcg vitamin k-1000iu vitamin eThings I did but would hesitate to do again- 100,000iu on average day for 6 weeks including 1.5m IU over 3 days, and if I did do it again I would take Vitamins D, E, K and taurine with itCurrently I'm feeling 100%, my hamstring which I tore 3 weeks 3 days ago is good. I ran out of vitamin k about 2 weeks ago and I might be missing that, haven't been having anymore wet dreams sadly. Still I honestly feel the best I have felt for nearly 5 years when I was 16, seems like the worlds at my finger tips again.I have been really busy with work and sport, training 20 hours a week and working 30 on top of that, as I decided to take a year off study to get some real world experience and pursue my sporting my ambitions. The megadosing Vitamin A really screwed over my preseason which is why I would hesitate to do again, but in the long term it may be worth it, at this stage I am just wishing I did it a few months earlier before preseason started, but some studies warn of permanent effects... Just letting you know both sidesAll my tendons and ligaments aren't bothering me, so I have more trust that my body can take the load then I have had in years. Basically I feel young again, 20 years old in a 20 year old body instead of a 40 year old one.I'm also cutting weight, have dropped four kilos (plenty is water but some is fat as well though) in the last 2 weeks, which may explain the lack of wet dreams because I am relatively catabolic.My endurance is completely back, my resting heart rate is down at 39 now, the lowest I had ever gotten it, lower than the43-44 it was around September to November before I started treatment and spiked to above 50 per minute for a month when I megadosed the vitamin a, specifically after 1.5m IU over three days. I only started to recover when I supplemented Vitamin D, E and K, taurine as well as coq10. The vitamin D didn't do it by itself, and I can't tell for sure if the CoQ10 did anything specifically, it just happened to be there when I felt I was improving. I feel incredibly fit at the moment less joint pain than ever, I'm doing 50km of running at training as well as at my job, and another 50km of walking a week for my job.
This can't have much to do with the weight loss seeing I was this weight around September last year and didn't feel as nearly this good, and the sports season starts in a month and I'm hoping to get a bit leaner before it starts.
Just an update with where I'm at with my self-experimental treatment, and at the moment I'm having no regrets about it more, though I wouldn't be able to recommend the massive dosing right before I finished because others may act more adversely, but I still think having sufficient quantities of vitamin A is needed to flush the residue Isotretinion from out bodies. I also experienced very few side effects at less than 100,000 iu day, so that may be a sweet spot of treatment where the sides are not to prominent back should be still cleansing Isotretinion from the system, though I am heavier than most so YMMV.There have been brain studies in mice/rats that also say there may be long term brain changes can occur with acute Vit A toxicity, not sure if that is high consumption then me, as I felt pretty fine taking it, it was only my fitness that took a hit, as well as much more sensitive to sunlight, so maybe they poisoned the Rats more than I poisoned myself, as a symptom of acute poisoning is skin peels a bit and stuff like that, but I didn't get that, and most human studies state there are no long term effects on humans even when that happens.
Anyway, that's all I have, if down the track I feel worse then I do currently, or better then I do currently, I'll be sure to let you all know!All for now forum
Add:
Yeah and a great addition to this regimes would be
NoFap --> 90 days
Add a good probiotic like VSL
6 hours ago, anthony180 said:Well if you can drink like a normal person in a social environment (more than just a drink) and are not having liver problems/pain after drinking, I would likely say your liver is working just fine. If vitamin A was stored there and we drank our liver would most likely let us know physically. Being the two don't combine well at all.
not sure about this. when i was taking accutane for the 4 to 6 months my liver enzymes were perfect. if it got to the point where your liver actually hurt and there was pain this would probably be bad very bad. like it would prob be game over soon or your life would be shortened and this would be a very serious condition. so i dont think this is the only way to gage this. also not just looking at the liver but other tissues, bones throughout the body.
6 hours ago, Walden Rev said:Add a good probiotic like VSL
not sure about this either. some of us might be dealing with low stomach acid or Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. taking the wrong probiotic could just make things worse, especially at a higher dosage. this has been my own experience so far.
This is from the article I just posted. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038963/
SIBO presents itself on a wide continuum between being asymptomatic and, at its extreme, a severe malabsorption syndrome. For many, there may be very mild gastrointestinal symptoms, including bloating, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation [14]. It is also reported to be prevalent in functional syndromes such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome [15]. SIBO can compromise proper absorption of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, B vitamins, and other micronutrients due to bacterial interference. Excess bacteria can successfully compete for nutrients, produce toxic metabolites, and cause direct injury to enterocytes in the small intestine [16]. Just as Stokes and Pillsbury had supposed, SIBO has recently been shown to be associated with increased intestinal permeability, whereas antimicrobial treatment of SIBO helps to restore the normal intestinal barrier [17]. Experimental studies show that psychological stress stagnates normal small intestinal transit time, encourages overgrowth of bacteria, and compromises the intestinal barrier [18]. SIBO is strongly associated with depression and anxiety, while eradication of SIBO improves emotional symptoms [19,20
On 14.3.2016 at 3:58 PM, anthony180 said:Has the research done on these 357 pages pretty much concluded that people suffering from permanent post accutane damage have vitamin A stuck in their liver and we're not able to remove it which is causing all this?
If we could answer this question, this would be an important step in the direction of healing the side effects. But clearly there are different opinions about this. It is not consensus, that the problems are caused through vitamin A stored in the liver.
heres a theory about increasing oil production . seems inline with some other ideas floating around.
increasing oil production
In theory your meibomian glands secrete oil to keep your tears from evaporating...This rapid evaporation of tears is what causes dry eye. The meibomian glands are the sebum producing glands that you are talking about. BUT, they don't produce sebum like the rest of the pores/glands on your face and body. They are different. They produce a substance that is called Meibum, which is a different consistency of oil from sebaceous gland secretions. Though you are right in saying that hormones such as androgens (testosterone) control sebum production. BUT this is not the case in the meibomian glands. In theory I believe the amount of oil the Meibomian glands produce is controlled by Estrogen's or estradiol in men (Hormones). BUT I also believe the viscosity and the quality of the secretions themselves is also controlled by Androgens (testosterone) too. In the case where you talk about how androgens cured some women in Menopausal forms of dry eye. What I believe to have happened was this...
In menopause the womens hormone levels dropped below normal. Since testosterone is already not a huge player in the womens bodies. I believe when the hormone levels plummeted due to menopause the testosterone in their body's was non existent. Thus I further believe that in this absence of testosterone there was an over abundance estrogen that was present in the cells of the meibomian glands that the time...This estrogen I believe caused their Meibomian glands OVER produce secretions (Oil). This over production of oil caused dry eye...How? I believe this over production of oil that happens in puberty that causes acne on your face...the SAME causes the meibomian glands to clog up causing MGD and blepharitis in a similar way.
So to explain how the women were cured of their dry eye. When the doctor gave the women androgens (Testosterone)...I believe that the testosterone caused the glands secretions to slow down and be made consistent. Thus their glands didn't clog up and there secetions were returned to normal curing blepharitis and MGD in their cases.
As for men an the rest of you who suffer with dry eye whose hormone levels are correct. I believe blepharitis is caused by a specific hormone imbalance in the meibomian glands cells themselves. This hormone imbalance is caused by the use of topical corto steroid eye drops used to treat conjuntivits.
In this case, Simply stated Your blepharitis was probably caused by a temporary hormone imbalance in your body...and when you took corto steriods for pink eye during that temporary hormone imbalance in your body...It some how changed the hormone metabolism of the specific cells inside the meibomian glands themselves. Thus causing them to metabolize too much estrogen causing them too over produce oil causing them to clog up and cause Blehparitis and MGD an infection.
Once the infection set in...the bacteria that ate on those oils secretions produced toxins which broke down the oil and oxidized it. Which mean the oil turned into air that was being produced from the glands. When the bacteria if it got in to far enough stages possibly had the potential to damage the meibomian glands cells themselves. This damage would cause the cells to produce anti androgens causing them to refuse hormones to create oil.
So where does this come into increasing that oil production?
Ill explain here
to increase said oil production, you must first eliminate the infection and get rid of the clogs in the meibomian glands that is causing the inflammation.
To do this would be to use antibiotics and an anti fungal eye drop.
You would also have to keep the eyes as moist as possible constantly with artificial tears, AND introduce more estrogen's than androgens to the meibomian glands cells themselves to stimulate gland production of oil (meibum). when the anti androgens are gone when the infection and inflammation is eliminated...when the hormones are introduced the glands will secrete oil, and the right amount of it again.
Like I have heard, It is even possible to heal the glands as well...As two German eye experts would say. See even if the glands pores or cells have atrophied(meaning scarred over), It is possible to open them up again with duct probing. It is a new procedure that takes a special surgical device and pokes it through the scarred over gland pore, thus opening it up again to function. If the infection is eliminated and constant moisture is present...the cells will finally have a chance to heal, so when said estrogen's and androgens are introduced they will be jump started out of death into producing oil.
44 minutes ago, TrueJustice said:What about turning on oil production in the skin
again, how do we do that??Dry eyes, dry skin, dry hair, dry joints etc - any tips on how to overcome this would be great and I've tried Baxyl which didn't work.
still trying to pin this down myself.sometimes I can hear my eyes blink,sometimes I don't.sometimes I hear all my joints crack moving around,sometimes I don't.dry skin ,not dry skin. Prob just like how my brain works as well,up and down.if I knew all this yet I wouldn't be on here.