Yeah I dunno, I just call em what everyone else over the years on forum has called them - eye floaters

What side effects are you currently combating?

23, M.
Diagnosis: Widespread Truncal Acne
Treatment: Isotretinoin60mg OD on week 10.

Side Effects:
Dry Lips, Blepharoconjunctivitis, Styes, Eczema, Mild Depression, Myalgias, Facial Erythema

The initial breakout was bad, but its starting to get exciting now because everythings improving.

WRT Depression. I was mildly depressed before taking Accutane, but i would say the drug has exacerbated it. However whether this is due to lifestyle changes (due to the drug - not going outside for instance) or a direct effect of the drug on the brain, I do not know.

Btw - everyone else is wrong- theyre not eye floaters and if were going to be serious about reporting side effects, we have to be correct.

24 minutes ago, Devolution said:

1 hour ago, Benjamin94 said:

23, M.
Diagnosis: Widespread Truncal Acne
Treatment: Isotretinoin60mg OD on week 10.

Side Effects:
Dry Lips, Blepharoconjunctivitis, Styes, Eczema, Mild Depression, Myalgias, Facial Erythema

The initial breakout was bad, but its starting to get exciting now because everythings improving.

WRT Depression. I was mildly depressed before taking Accutane, but i would say the drug has exacerbated it. However whether this is due to lifestyle changes (due to the drug - not going outside for instance) or a direct effect of the drug on the brain, I do not know.

Btw - everyone else is wrong- theyre not eye floaters and if were going to be serious about reporting side effects, we have to be correct.

They are eye floaters, I have cobweb like strings and circles that are translucent that fall down on front of my field of vision constantly.

Very well you do have Eye Floaters. I apologize.

8 hours ago, Devolution said:

I may as well add my side effect timeline to this form in full, I can't exactly remember what order and if more actually appeared on accutane. I thought a lot of the stuff was normal and gradually crept up on me until I went off the drug and things rapidly went downhill.

During Accutane
-Muscle weakness (went gym couldn't lift 5KG with left arm, thought I was unfit as I'm usually a strong guy)

-Skin not healing (red marks last months and scarring occurred, never scarred previously in my life)

-Blurred vision(One day had to go a few feet from my TV, couldn't see it and also noticed I couldn't recognise peoples faces while outside untill very close and also have night vision issue's)

-Eye floater

-Increased Tinitus (had very light ringing previously which I now blame on SSRI use, but it was not noticeable unless i tried to hear it, on accutane it gradually got louder)

-Ghosting vision

-Slight decrease in libido (women just didn't interest me as much, didn't feel the fire in my stomach, the excitement)

-Skin (odd feeling or sensitive to touch on chest, kind of sore)

-hair growth on upper cheek's almost reaching eye

-Flakey scalp, hair not as thick (I had VERY good hair, was the thing I liked about myself)

-Peeling skin

-Memory issues

Post Accutane

Mostly all the above apply but are either worse or have adapted into something else.

Hair (Dry, Flakey, shedding, receded slightly, can see through it with light and overall just doesn't look like it was pre tane, scalp also sore, sometimes itchy and has no sign of slowing down)

Genital anesthesia (one day my whole penis decreased in sensitivity, then it came back, then it went again and never came back yet, pressure in anus, testicles reduced sensation even if hit.)

-Libido (none existent, naked women do nothing for me, I feel a distant feeling in my body that I know I used to like it, but I can't access the feeling. If anyone ever saw the movie Get Out, you'll understand)

-Penis ( erections are a struggle to get and are barely rigid if I get one at all, morning erections almost non existent, ejaculation force basically gone, ejaculation pleasure is basically gone with no dopamine rush, reduced semen volume)

-Anhedonia (gaming, music and art the thinks I loved all my life now do nothing for me, no emotional connection, no excitement to play a new game or hear my favourite song. This affects everything I do not just those three)

Skin (red easily, burns if scratched, indents easily, very strechy like elastic and very fragile, can see some veins under it whereI compared pre Accutane and was fine, I also have weird broken down fat under my skin now which is painful)

-Eyes (Visual snow 24/7,blue field entoptic phenomenon, after images, shimmering vision, eyeballs twitch when focusing, eyes seem to not be aligning correctly and sometimes I see my left eyes image slowly merge with the rights, ghosting vision, light sensitivity which makes me stay indoors all day. Eyes adapt to light like a camera and dims everything around me and can flicker between light and darker. Multiple string's and dots that come down over my vision which are floaters. Struggle to see in the dark and I get random flashes of pink light in my peripheral vision, I no longer see details on plants or other things at medium to long distance)

-Hearing (ears ring very high pitched and feel a sense of fullness all the time, I can't ignore it and my hearing feels Weird, some days I find thing's to be louder and sometimes lower, I struggle to hear certain speech in movies now and while in crowded conversations.)

-Numbing/muted body parts (this is the weirdest one I find, certain parts of my body are now muted or feel like when i touch them they aren't mine. My bicep skin, my hands, my chest and my feet feel muted along with my lips which inget no pleasure for if i kiss someone. if I put a piece of ice on my chest it doesn't feel right, like it's not that cold or doesn't give me that "Get it off!" response, other parts are muted to pain, i got cut when i was working and it wasn't sore, i didn't even know i was cut till I looked, also my bladded just became muted recently as i call it, when my bladders full normally I'd of got a slight pain to notify me i need to urinate, now I don't really feel the urge to go but I know I have to if that makes sense?)

-Joint/Bone/tendon pain ( certain joints pop and crack and feel sore, my shoulders hurt if i move them around and crack along with my wrists and fingers, if i lift stuff my tendons hurt in my arms.)

-Fatigue/weakness (some days i feel like acid has been injected into my muscle's, they all burn. I feel weak most of the time and even find raising my arms tiring, my grip strength feels weak along with my other muscle's, sometimes I get an electric shock when i stretch my arms out.)

-Smell/Taste (Food is bland now, i have about 20% smell at best and none at my worst, I don't know what's wrong, i never heard of accutane causing this unless it damaged my nerves, this makes life bland and eating is just something I do to live)

-Twitching (My fingers twitch and i can feel the vibration in my forearm thats causing it, its a really weird feeling)

-Stimulants (Not even sure how this one makes any sense but alcohol doesn't really do anything for me anymore, I used to be a lightweight, took about 3 cans to feel drunk pre Accutane but now I don't feel anything, I gave up drink while on it and to be honest I don't really drink much as it is but recently I drank a fair bit of vodka and all it did was give me a headache, no feeling beyond that i didn't feel drunk or tipsy just felt the same, then the same went for cider a different day and other types of alcohol, it just doesn't do anything as far as i can tell but im not 100% sure on this one as I've only heard this one with antidepressants not accutane)

I don't really think or feel anything, im just in this very moment, i find it hard to recall anything and typing all this stuff is a challenge for me so I apologize if its a bit messy and if i missed stuff, I'll add onto it if i remember anything else, I'm very spaced out and the top of my brain always feels weird, I don't recognize myself in the mirror and my mind is very distant from me along with my body and I have this annoying left ear pressure which pops sometimes, my left side of my head feels pressure sometimes too. To be honest as much as I want to stay positive I'm not really living right now, im only 20 and im house bound due to my eyesight and other issues the past 10 month's, my mind keeps having odd memories of my childhood but the middle of my life is distant, sometimes I think what would i be if I didn't take accutane, I have no joy or interest or motivation with life. I feel that living a life of nothingness is much scarier than death which would spare me this torture. But i feel like I can't even do that because it'd hurt my family so im stuck in limbo, I can't live and I can't die. I found a post on Reddit which basically sums up my mind right now and will paste it in, it's almost me exactly and once again I'm sorry for this being a downer but I'm genuinely frightened even though I cannot feel that emotion, i just know some of this stuff hasn't even been experienced to this extent by people and i feel like im the most unlucky person in the world. If i could get my eyesight, penis and emotions bsck that'd be a life worth living at least. I shall give it time.

Reddit Post

I have no desire to go on vacation, and if I do, I cant enjoy it.

I dont care what I eat.

I get no enjoyment from flowers, art, sunsets, or other things of beauty.

I feel completely flat during special occasions or touching moments such as weddings, the birth of a child, birthdays and other celebrations.

I still have negative feelings such as anger, sadness and frustration, but sometimes they seem less intense than before.

I have no desire for, and get no pleasure from sexual activities.

I feel utter despair at times in having to live in this awful state, and yet I also dont care at the same time. I try to explain what is happening but people dont understand.

I fake feeling positive emotions around others. I pretend to care when I dont and smile when I feel totally flat.

I think my way through relationships, doing what I know I should be doing, like hugging and kissing people at the right times.

[Only for those who have lost someone close] I cannot grieve the loss of someone I cared about who died.

My life doesnt make sense anymore because there is nothing I can enjoy. It all feels pointless.

Other
Difficulty remembering things, learning, concentrating, or focusing.

Finding things funny, but not like before. Its a different sense of humor, and doesnt feel as good.

It was a sudden change when it happened. One day there was feeling and then it was gone.

Difficulty remembering dreams, or not dreaming vividly anymore.

Having a blank mind a lot. Not thinking about much or staring off.

Headaches when it first came on. Possibly due to sudden drop in dopamine.

What have you had tested?

So the only doctor youve seen is your GP?

How long have you been off Accutane?

Did you GP do a neurological exam?

I think most of your symptoms are mostlikely psychosomatic. Mental Health Conditions (Anxiety and Depression) can produce all sorts of weird symptoms all over the body. We all know that when youre very anxious (before an exam) your bladder becomes weak, you feel butterflies in your stomach etc. With mental illness similar things happen. By all means push to see a neurologist, but I doubt theyll find anything. Which is good - believe me you dont want MS or a polyneuropathy. The treatments for MS make accutane look like smarties.

On 6/21/2018 at 10:02 AM, Benjamin94 said:

Hi True Justice

So of course sebaceous output returns in some people - these will likely be the people for whom acne recurs.

Unfortunately accutane isnt a magic wand for acne. It has a mechanism and that mechanism is shrinking the sebaceous glands and that comes at a cost, which is xerosis.

On a side note, I dont think youre using the term Eye Floater correctly. An eye floater is a spot of vitreal degradation. Ive never heard of accutane causing eye floaters. I think you might be talking about meibomian cysts, often called styes (although strictly styes means hordeola its commonly used for meibomian cysts), which are caused by accutane.

Im pretty sure he's talking about vitreous floaters and I have them post accutane too along with photophobia and dry eyes.

5 hours ago, marshl1 said:

Im pretty sure he's talking about vitreous floaters and I have them post accutane too along with photophobia and dry eyes.

Yep - thats me too, esp The photosensitivity!!

Question: Why are people still suggesting cognitive issues are just psychosomatic??

Is it too hard to fathom that if we have these issues going on with our eyes, some of us also have brain impairment issues too? Why is that hard to fathom, are the conclusive tests posted not enough to persuade people?

Now I will also say, Im not entirely sure how to go about diagnosing these cognitive issues - is it a cat scan, an MRI, is it this chronic inflammation, is it a lumbar punch....Im just not entirely sure what is needed here??!

Hi,

Ive been suffering with acne for a very long time. Ive done a Roaccutane course 2 years ago and I had really bad side effects. It took me months to recover.

My dermatologist now gave me a topical cream that has 1% Retinol in it. Im actually a little bit scared to start is, because I dont know if Retinol goes in your blood and because its also a vitamin A could cause the same side effects as Roaccutane did.

So my question is: does anyone know if over the counter Retinol (not Tretinoin) goes in your bloodstream or there are any risks of side effects? I dont want to do any further damage.

Thanks!

We really should break up this thread into two; one for research and theories, another strictly for supplements and what's working/not working for you right now, etc..

@mariovitali
@Dubya_B
@ACCUiTy_drANE
So here we go. Possible correlations.
This could mean any number of outcomes, or not relate to this at all.
obviously we have heard of antibiotic resistance,
what about fungal resistance?
looking at dysbiosis the definition could fall in line with a microbial imbalance that's not a outright infection.
This in turn could trigger autoimmunity and inflammation.
To me this is at least evidence of possible microbial alterations.
That might remain permanent.

Antifungal properties of selective serotonin reuptake ... - Oxford Journals

5 hours ago, guitarman01 said:

@mariovitali
@Dubya_B
@ACCUiTy_drANE
So here we go. Possible correlations.
This could mean any number of outcomes, or not relate to this at all.
obviously we have heard of antibiotic resistance,
what about fungal resistance?
looking at dysbiosis the definition could fall in line with a microbial imbalance that's not a outright infection.
This in turn could trigger autoimmunity and inflammation.
To me this is at least evidence of possible microbial alterations.
That might remain permanent.

Antifungal properties of selective serotonin reuptake ... - Oxford Journals

https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/48/6/775/743783

by C Lass-Florl - 2001 - Cited by 66- Related articles

In conclusion, our in vitro studies clearly demonstrateantifungaleffects ofSSRIs. Animal studies are needed to evaluate the potential role of these psychotropic...

In Vitro Analysis of Finasteride Activity against Candida albicans ...

aac.asm.org/content/58/10/5855.full.pdf

by AA Chavez-Dozal - 2014 - Cited by 12- Related articles

May 16, 2014 -clinical utility offinasteridein the prevention of urinary candidiasis is ... with standardantifungaldrugs, andfinasterideis one of several.

Fungistatic activity of all-trans retinoic acid against Aspergillus ...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4857806/

by E Campione - 2016 - Related articles

Apr 29, 2016 -Recent reports hypothesize that theantifungalefficacy ofall-transretinoic acid (ATRA) is mainly related to its strong capacity to stimulate...

Is it harder to kill fungi in the body than bacteria? If so, why?

The treatment of fungal diseases is more difficult than those caused by bacteria. Because bacteria are prokaryotes, the makeup of their cells are very different than our own eukaryotic cells ( cells containing membrane-bound organelles) and pharmaceutical products, such as antibiotics, are able to successfully destroy bacteria without harming much our cells, tissues and organs. However, because fungi are eukaryotes, finding a treatment that will kill the fungus and not harm our own cells is more difficult. So most chemical treatments that are harmful to fungi are also toxic to us.

Its interesting where youre heading with this school of thought about fungus vs bacteria!!

What Products are currently available to treat fungus issues? There must be something already available surely - a drug of some sort.

Even some supplements, oregano oil is good for example but thats not exactly going to be the cure for us, something stronger would be needed.

Hi All, I recently found a protocol to cure PFS/PAS on Google, including soy, quercetin and sodium butyrate. The author claims that it's a long term solution. Has anyone tried this?

Post a link, thats vague posting without more info.

thank you

Sorry for not posting it earlier. Here is thelink [removed] . Take a look at the last 2 posts. I also registered to the forum linked in the posts and I found that one person followed the regime and saw some good results. I'm also wondering, due to hormonal differences between sexes, if there is a chance that it might work for women too. Please share any thoughts.

21 hours ago, TrueJustice said:

Its interesting where youre heading with this school of thought about fungus vs bacteria!!

What Products are currently available to treat fungus issues? There must be something already available surely - a drug of some sort.

Even some supplements, oregano oil is good for example but thats not exactly going to be the cure for us, something stronger would be needed.

The gist of it could be,
Ive seen antibacterial=anti androgen
Ive seen antifungal= anti androgen

Ive seen possible feminism type features in some that could be related to messing with the above.
(and that doesn't necessarily mean directly.)

pretty sure Accutane messes with this. "This" meaning the micro and myco biome.

Your genes could predetermine what your micro/myco biome is composed of.
Also more susceptible to.

The key of this school of thought would be,
what do you knock down? what do you promote?
is there a sort of gut/skin/mucosal protector missing?

What hasnt been looked at extensively?

Hi Devolution and True Justice. Firstly I again apologize about berating you about Eye Floaters. Evidently I was wrong there and you are using the correct term.

Can I also assure you that Im not saying that your symptoms are not real. Thats not what psychosomatic means. Facticious Illness means you are making the symptoms up. Psychosomatic means that your brain is causing the symptoms subconciously, due to depression usually. My example with pre-exam anxiety was just to prove to you that mental state can cause somatic symptoms. So if you have a permenantly ill mental state, i.e. depression, its very plausible that this can cause somatic symptoms. This is the psychosomatic theory.

Can I suggest you take a trip onto another medical forum, Patient.info for instance and look at all the people complaining of exactly the same issues as you who never had acne and never took accutane. A lot of these issues are very common and are currently believed to be psychosomatic conditions as far as conventional medicine is concerned. The main cause of ED in young men is Depression, i.e. its a psychosomatic manifestation of Depression. Tired all the Time and Cognitive Reduction are again two major symptoms of Depression. Eye Floaters are obviously not psychosomatic and you can pursue treatment for those if theyre bothering you.

I had a look at that paper Devolution and yes it nicely shows a link. But it certainly doesnt prove that any of those drugs have caused neurological degeneration of the Pudendal Nerve. I still think that its more likely that accutane is causing ED via causing Depression.

True Justice - I genuinely think your cognitive dysfunction will be due to Depression. I think if you were to have an MRI it would be normal. Lumbar Punctures are done to diagnose meningitis and MS. If you do want investigation, the first step would be to do a cogntive test, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Addenbrookes Cognitive Assessment.

@Benjamin94 ED is not due to depression, it has been induced by tane (For me at least). I was living normally and enjoying a shower wheni realized that i wasn't able to get an erection.

4 hours ago, Benjamin94 said:

Hi Devolution and True Justice. Firstly I again apologize about berating you about Eye Floaters. Evidently I was wrong there and you are using the correct term.

Can I also assure you that Im not saying that your symptoms are not real. Thats not what psychosomatic means. Facticious Illness means you are making the symptoms up. Psychosomatic means that your brain is causing the symptoms subconciously, due to depression usually. My example with pre-exam anxiety was just to prove to you that mental state can cause somatic symptoms. So if you have a permenantly ill mental state, i.e. depression, its very plausible that this can cause somatic symptoms. This is the psychosomatic theory.

Can I suggest you take a trip onto another medical forum, Patient.info for instance and look at all the people complaining of exactly the same issues as you who never had acne and never took accutane. A lot of these issues are very common and are currently believed to be psychosomatic conditions as far as conventional medicine is concerned. The main cause of ED in young men is Depression, i.e. its a psychosomatic manifestation of Depression. Tired all the Time and Cognitive Reduction are again two major symptoms of Depression. Eye Floaters are obviously not psychosomatic and you can pursue treatment for those if theyre bothering you.

I had a look at that paper Devolution and yes it nicely shows a link. But it certainly doesnt prove that any of those drugs have caused neurological degeneration of the Pudendal Nerve. I still think that its more likely that accutane is causing ED via causing Depression.

True Justice - I genuinely think your cognitive dysfunction will be due to Depression. I think if you were to have an MRI it would be normal. Lumbar Punctures are done to diagnose meningitis and MS. If you do want investigation, the first step would be to do a cogntive test, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Addenbrookes Cognitive Assessment.

Accutane is known to cause depression- fact.

Accutane has shown it can cause brain damage- fact.

How can we tell the difference, does the brain damage cause the depression??

These are the questions Id like to know, I think if I could repair my brain the depression would go - for others you might substitute depression with ED.

I want to know about deep healing without the usual medication they offer up - been there done that!!! for me going down the medication path feels like a bandaid solution.

What else is there? Hyperbaric oxygen therapy perhaps?

1 hour ago, TrueJustice said:

Accutane is known to cause depression- fact.

Accutane has shown it can cause brain damage- fact.

How can we tell the difference, does the brain damage cause the depression??

These are the questions Id like to know, I think if I could repair my brain the depression would go - for others you might substitute depression with ED.

I want to know about deep healing without the usual medication they offer up - been there done that!!! for me going down the medication path feels like a bandaid solution.

What else is there? Hyperbaric oxygen therapy perhaps?

I'm surprised that you didn't look into the vitamin A deplete diet more. It doesn't involve medication and there are two entire ebooks freely available explaining the theory.
There's a writer called Matt Stone who's really interested in the chronic vitamin A poisoning theory. Apparently he has quite a large following and he's going to be working to publicize the research presented in those ebooks. He's working with a nutritionist to devise a low vitamin A diet.
I've been doing it for about a month now. It's not that much time but I certainly feel better.
I don't understand why anyone suffering side affects from accutane wouldn't want to know more about this and actually want to give it a go and see what happens.

Thanks

Antipsychotics cause Tardive Dyskinesias and my understanding is we dont yet have a successful treatment for it.

Just to clarify the symptoms Im attributing to Depression would be:
Low Mood, Low Energy, Poor Cognition, Poor Memory, Anhedonia, Sleep Distrubances - these are classic features of Depression.
GI Disturbances and Pain, Muscular Pains, Weakness, Erectile Dysfunction, Paraesthesias - these are classic psychosomatic features of Depression.

Im not saying that Eye Floaters, Thin Skin, Bruising, Delayed Wound Healing and Skin Elasticity are Psychosomatic. But neither am I categorically agreeing that these are due to the drug. Again I really would advise going onto a non-acne medical forum and seeing how many people complain about Delayed Wound Healing. Everyone seems to think that they should heal the way they did when they were a child/teenager. Unfortunately its a fact of life - the older you get the slower your wounds heal. Once you get >50 they might not heal at all. Think of how thin and covered in bruises the skin of old people often is and they probably never took accutane.

Overall I agree accutane probably alters brain chemistry in some way and precipitates Depression. TrueJustice as far as I am aware - there is no macroscopic brain damage that can be detected with a scan. I think that a lot of the other problems stem from Depression. Just ponder this - do your other symptoms (the ones im saying are psychosomatic) get worse when your depression gets worse.

12 hours ago, Benjamin94 said:

Hi Devolution and True Justice. Firstly I again apologize about berating you about Eye Floaters. Evidently I was wrong there and you are using the correct term.

Can I also assure you that Im not saying that your symptoms are not real. Thats not what psychosomatic means. Facticious Illness means you are making the symptoms up. Psychosomatic means that your brain is causing the symptoms subconciously, due to depression usually. My example with pre-exam anxiety was just to prove to you that mental state can cause somatic symptoms. So if you have a permenantly ill mental state, i.e. depression, its very plausible that this can cause somatic symptoms. This is the psychosomatic theory.

Can I suggest you take a trip onto another medical forum, Patient.info for instance and look at all the people complaining of exactly the same issues as you who never had acne and never took accutane. A lot of these issues are very common and are currently believed to be psychosomatic conditions as far as conventional medicine is concerned. The main cause of ED in young men is Depression, i.e. its a psychosomatic manifestation of Depression. Tired all the Time and Cognitive Reduction are again two major symptoms of Depression. Eye Floaters are obviously not psychosomatic and you can pursue treatment for those if theyre bothering you.

I had a look at that paper Devolution and yes it nicely shows a link. But it certainly doesnt prove that any of those drugs have caused neurological degeneration of the Pudendal Nerve. I still think that its more likely that accutane is causing ED via causing Depression.

True Justice - I genuinely think your cognitive dysfunction will be due to Depression. I think if you were to have an MRI it would be normal. Lumbar Punctures are done to diagnose meningitis and MS. If you do want investigation, the first step would be to do a cogntive test, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Addenbrookes Cognitive Assessment.

The PIL is being up-dated to include permanent sexual sides!!

@hatetaneIm not denying that it causes sexual side effects. Were debating mechanism. @DevolutionIts been thought for a long time that accutane would slow wound healing, due to its antiproliferative effects, but only whilst youre actually on it. Recent studies have even thrown this into doubt however and instead suggest wound healing is normal. If you search isotretinoin and wound healing on pubmed and select best match - and read the conclusions in the abstracts on the surgical study and porcine study, youll see what i mean.

Im sorry but i dont think the long term vitamin A toxicity theories are true and I dont think avoiding vitamin A will fix your problems - you can measure vitamin A levels in the blood really easily. I think it would have been found if this drug was resulting in that.

Made an appointment to see an endo. Never got my hormones tested/read by someone who actually knows what theyre doing. So itll be interesting to see. Idk if my high FSH and LH was just a random one time thing but could be that this chemo drug fried my nuts and left me primary hypo. Who knows at this point. Will keep ya updated. Honestly getting so exhausted fighting this shit.

1 hour ago, Benjamin94 said:

Antipsychotics cause Tardive Dyskinesias and my understanding is we dont yet have a successful treatment for it.

Just to clarify the symptoms Im attributing to Depression would be:
Low Mood, Low Energy, Poor Cognition, Poor Memory, Anhedonia, Sleep Distrubances - these are classic features of Depression.
GI Disturbances and Pain, Muscular Pains, Weakness, Erectile Dysfunction, Paraesthesias - these are classic psychosomatic features of Depression.

Im not saying that Eye Floaters, Thin Skin, Bruising, Delayed Wound Healing and Skin Elasticity are Psychosomatic. But neither am I categorically agreeing that these are due to the drug. Again I really would advise going onto a non-acne medical forum and seeing how many people complain about Delayed Wound Healing. Everyone seems to think that they should heal the way they did when they were a child/teenager. Unfortunately its a fact of life - the older you get the slower your wounds heal. Once you get >50 they might not heal at all. Think of how thin and covered in bruises the skin of old people often is and they probably never took accutane.

Overall I agree accutane probably alters brain chemistry in some way and precipitates Depression. TrueJustice as far as I am aware - there is no macroscopic brain damage that can be detected with a scan. I think that a lot of the other problems stem from Depression. Just ponder this - do your other symptoms (the ones im saying are psychosomatic) get worse when your depression gets worse.

Hi Benjamin.

Not sure if you are aware of this, but Accutane has been shown to decrease mRNA expression and metabolic activity of the 5-alpha reductase enzyme. This enzyme produces neurological steroids that are vital in maintaining both mood and sexual appetite.

Nearly all categories of depression are associated with lowered neurosteroid levels and one of these, allopregnanolone, is currently in clinical trials to treat severe postpartum depression.

So, I have to argue that it is better explained as an altered neurological biochemistry than psychosomatic. That's just a fighting word around these parts.

There are also many who experience severe ED after Accutane with no comorbid depression.
If you really want tangible evidence of Accutane causing bodily harm, then try cross-referencing information on isotretinoin and carotid artery thickening, decreased ovarian reserve, premature epiphyseal closure, rhabdomyelosis, thyroid gland atrophy, and meibomian gland destruction. Pretty solid stuff.

btw- Carotid artery thickening is a sign of atherosclerosis, which is strongly associated with ED. Maybe that's why I also had high blood pressure at 18 years old, after taking Accutane?

.

Hi Dubya

Whilst Premature Epiphyseal Plate Closure and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction are at present recognised side effects.

Carotid Artery Stenosis, Rhabdomyolysis and Thyroid Disease are not.

Most cases of Hypertension are at present idiopathic (i.e. we still dont know what goes wrong). Many doctors speculate its a problem with autonomic control of vasomotor tone. So again were back at a problem with CNS functioning.

Hypertensive at 18 definately requires investigation for secondary causes however, which I hope youve had.

I havnt read studies about Isotretinoin and 5-AR, but that certainly sounds a plausible theory for how it could lead to Depression (i.e. through down regulation of 5-AR within the brain, leading to decreased DHT synthesis within the brain). I also accept your point that reduced DHT synthesis within the brain could directly reduce libido independently of it causing depression. I respect this as a decent theory. Well see if it leads anywhere over the next 10 years.