How do you know this was caused by isotretinoin ?

1 hour ago, RRBells said:

How do you know this was caused by isotretinoin ?

Because we're educated, intelligent, and know our bodies very well. The problems also arose within the time frame we took Isotretinoin. And we share similar experiences with many others around the world.

On 3/9/2017 at 9:46 PM, macleod said:

Because we're educated, intelligent, and know our bodies very well. The problems also arose within the time frame we took Isotretinoin. And we share similar experiences with many others around the world.

I have taken 5900 mg of isotretinoin in a period of 2 and a half years, i started with 20 mg a day then went down to 10 mg every third day, the only symptoms i experienced were dry skin and solar sensibility and recenty i stop using it because i started having suicidal tought, i read something about neurogenesis and how isotretinoin afect this, i feel better now that im not using it
My acne is very moderate almost not a problem, i started using isotetranoin because i have an EXTREMELY oily face.
It's been a month since i stop using isotretinoin and my extremely oily face is comming back.
Im considering start taking isotretinoin again but all the thing i have read in this forum have terrified me.
When i questioned my dermatologist about all the side effects he told me that the dosage im taking is too low, that i dont have to worry about that
im 22 years old and 154.3 lb

On 9/24/2017 at 10:11 PM, RRBells said:

I have taken 5900 mg of isotretinoin in a period of 2 and a half years, i started with 20 mg a day then went down to 10 mg every third day, the only symptoms i experienced were dry skin and solar sensibility and recenty i stop using it because i started having suicidal tought, i read something about neurogenesis and how isotretinoin afect this, i feel better now that im not using it
My acne is very moderate almost not a problem, i started using isotetranoin because i have an EXTREMELY oily face.
It's been a month since i stop using isotretinoin and my extremely oily face is comming back.
Im considering start taking isotretinoin again but all the thing i have read in this forum have terrified me.
When i questioned my dermatologist about all the side effects he told me that the dosage im taking is too low, that i dont have to worry about that
im 22 years old and 154.3 lb

yes, low dosage decreases the chances of acquiring permanent side effects. its definitely the best way to go from what i've read over the years. but, the drug is very complicated, only scientists are able to quantify it, so just be aware that there are risks, however they are low, and even lower with low dosage.

https://rxisk.org/launching-the-rxisk-prize/

On 3/6/2017 at 1:20 PM, ACCUiTy_drANE said:

You should add this to your sources:

"In the case of patients reported to the Norwegian Medicines Agency, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain was performed in 15 cases who reported lasting neurological symptoms. Altered brain function was seen in all cases involving altered or reduced frontal lobe blood flow. Ten of these patients were evaluated to have organic brain damage." - Source

Notice the distinction made there. it's not just brain alterations we see with Accutane. There are actual documented instances of brain damage.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Accutane's effects are vast: It has been documented to mess with everything from testosterone, DHT, thyroid, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, microbiome, etc.  Some of us are probably affected by different facets of the drug. But your angle is certainly worth exploring, given the available literature.

Interestingly, it appears alcoholism damages a similar part of the brain that Accutane can. And it does appear the brain will naturally improve with time, so for those of us with predominately psychiatric problems, there is hope.

"Results showed a positive relationship between perfusion levels in the left inferior frontal brain region and years of sobriety. Alcoholics with less than 4 years of sobriety had significantly reduced left inferior frontal perfusion, compared with both non-alcoholic controls and alcoholics having longer periods of sobriety. The findings support the hypothesis that frontal brain abnormalities in alcoholics may subside with extended abstinence." -Source

Like Accutane, alcoholism can cause reduced bloodflow in a frontal region of the brain. Recovery is slow, but it happens. With the proper nutritional and supplemental assistance, perhaps we can speed this up.

As @hatetane alluded to, I think the documented hormonal disturbances and the documented and brain damage/alterations from Accutane potentially go hand-in-hand. Speaking of hormones, Progesterone has recently gained traction as a hormone that can assist in treating traumatic brain injury:

"A large and rapidly growing body of preclinical studies suggested that PROG has neuroprotective properties in many brain injury models. The mechanism for PROG's neuroprotection clearly does not target a single aspect of the TBI cascade, instead it works through multiple mechanisms to enhance the repair of damage to nerve cells caused by CNS injury; for example, neurotrophic, anti-inflammatory, anti-excitotoxicity, anti-lipid peroxidation and anti-apoptotic properties and so on." - Source

Excellent post, by the way. It serves as a reminder that there is so much more to explore before committing to something drastic and costly like testosterone replacement therapy.

I keep saying
erectile issues

for me what has worked maybe have to test more

i use to be on anti depressants after accutane
for the flushing sleep issues and mental

from 19-23 I would watch porn and jerk off but was never fully hard and I never woke up with morning wood
i also dont sleep at all

23 I got a girlfriend it was semi and she only wanted sex 1x a week if that
and didnt turn me on

25 I meet a beautiful blonde whos a freak
i couldnt get hard
she said I was gay or not attracted

i stopped celexa as I couldnt lose her or have her cheat

sadly my mental dropped bad
i started getting erections 70% better with her
but would lose it if I focused more on her

she wanted it 3x a day
then I was on gabapentin again erections with her but still wasnt waking up with them

wasnt until I quit all the meds
and started taking magnesium glycinate 4x a day

i would get random erections maybe 1-2x week

again havent had that since 17 and took accutane 2x
18-19 Nd got
destofyed since then

now maybe being off meds
magensium
or the fact she was a whore
something helped

I stopped magensium so I will see what happens

also I tend to go few weeks without porn and mb

although sometimes I go overboard when I do watch it
and make up for time lost
workjng on this as this is not helping my chronic dryness

try magensium if u to erectile issues
maybe quit porn reporgram
stop any ssri with doctors help
maybe find a whore if that turns u on

also look into this brain stuff and more

accutane has fucked us but its good to see some improving

On 9/24/2017 at 10:11 PM, RRBells said:

I have taken 5900 mg of isotretinoin in a period of 2 and a half years, i started with 20 mg a day then went down to 10 mg every third day, the only symptoms i experienced were dry skin and solar sensibility and recenty i stop using it because i started having suicidal tought, i read something about neurogenesis and how isotretinoin afect this, i feel better now that im not using it
My acne is very moderate almost not a problem, i started using isotetranoin because i have an EXTREMELY oily face.
It's been a month since i stop using isotretinoin and my extremely oily face is comming back.
Im considering start taking isotretinoin again but all the thing i have read in this forum have terrified me.
When i questioned my dermatologist about all the side effects he told me that the dosage im taking is too low, that i dont have to worry about that
im 22 years old and 154.3 lb

Dont take this poison ahain
i was like u oil came back I was so sad acne too

oh it what I would do to go back dont take a second course

u Will never be same

Hi Guys,

Great to see many opinions and sharing literiture trying to find a cure together. Awsome
First post here, I have suffered from post Accutane symtpons for a long time. About 15 years

I beleive the main culprit is inhibition of the 5-a Reductase Enzyme 1 or 2, or boths, which prevents brain Testosterone forming to brain (DHT) - And then DHT doing its main jobs which are plenty (modulating hormones,T,pregnanenlone, LH etc etc. As with Finasteride sufferers they have similar issue with the 5-a Reductbase enzymes thus having similar symptons.

Once you upregulate the 5-a Reductase Enzyme 1 or 2 then you will start to see your symptons dissapear. Thats my belief based on looking and studying Accutane issues for many years. That Is what I beleive is the source of the issue.

Whats your guys thoughts on this Angle ?

On 22/05/2018 at 9:43 PM, Ronnie99 said:

Hi Guys,

Great to see many opinions and sharing literiture trying to find a cure together. Awsome
First post here, I have suffered from post Accutane symtpons for a long time. About 15 years

I beleive the main culprit is inhibition of the 5-a Reductase Enzyme 1 or 2, or boths, which prevents brain Testosterone forming to brain (DHT) - And then DHT doing its main jobs which are plenty (modulating hormones,T,pregnanenlone, LH etc etc. As with Finasteride sufferers they have similar issue with the 5-a Reductbase enzymes thus having similar symptons.

Once you upregulate the 5-a Reductase Enzyme 1 or 2 then you will start to see your symptons dissapear. Thats my belief based on looking and studying Accutane issues for many years. That Is what I beleive is the source of the issue.

Whats your guys thoughts on this Angle ?

Creatine and zinc would be the best safe/accessible supplements going by your theory.

Hi Guys,

Lots of great material i've been reading from this thread I appreciate the findings. I'd like to know your thoughts on my brother who has experienced this issue.

Context: It's been about 2 months so far, he took 1 dose at 20 mg and stopped. He explains that he feels, brain fog, dry eyes, dry skin, joint pain, anxiety, depression, and suicide. When I asked him to describe the pain he says the biggest issue is his eyes always feel like there is sand in it. That when he wakes up his eyes feel like they were never asleep.

Action Plan: So far we found a natural path who has got him on a bunch of supplements such as, multi-vitamin, zetox, berberine, and about 6 other natural supplements (sorry I'm not at his house at the moment so i can't see the rest) He's been getting massages, runs daily, acupuncture. So far it's been two weeks on this detox program he's mentioned that his bowel movements have become much more regular than when he took accutane. And sorry it's not accutane but the generic version of accutane in the states. A theory we used was that the accutane was every where in his body and it needed to find ta type of food while digesting to bind to while excreting it from his body.

Results so far: So far there were two days out of the 2 month period where he said his eyes were burning, but recently he says that his eyes have felt like they're getting better. As mentioned, his bowel movements have become much more regular. However, we do continue to go through these mood phases of confident it will leave, to the initial mood type of depressive anxiety, and the biggest is anger. I almost feel like he cannot get past a mental block. After reading what you've shown do you think this is related to his hippo frontal lobe?

So far i've reached out to everyone locally, a handful of derms all of which said that accutane side effects only have a two week half life and should leave the body soon(yikes they have no idea about how many patients are going through this) I'm considering speaking to oncology department to see if they can provide me with more insight. I've reached out to a doctor that claims fasting will work but very dangerous(we're against this). Lastly, I found someone named Lewis Rowlands in the UK who has experienced the same symptoms my brother has gone through and claims to be fully recovered and reverted his symptoms. So we've gone forward with his strategy of providing a hair analysis and will circle back with an action plan.

Lastly, after seeing videos and doing research, I did suggest to the natural path if zinc would be good for him and 4 days after taking the multi vitamin with zinc he mentioned that his eyes felt better. Not sure if thats the direct correlation or to now increase the % of zinc in his diet.

My goal is to document as much of this process as I can and to share my brothers experience and story with as many people considering this drug because the numbers published are simply skewed when it comes to side effects. I browse reddit to see all these people with success before/after photos but internally i hope theyknow they might be paying for it years later. Is that really worth it? Quality of life will suffer dramatically.

Looking forward to the feedback and support!

On 6/1/2017 at 2:52 AM, User497083 said:

I tried megadosing vitamin A, I wouldn't recommend anyone else trying it. That said 5000IU can't hurt, I was taking much more than that, I think it was around 100,000IU/day for a few weeks. It was because I thought it would "reboot" vitamin A regulation, because I thought any problems I might be having may be due to poor vitamin a regulation. But I actually think the negative sides are due to changes in brain metabolism brought on by accutane, and megadosing vitamin A didnt help that. Maybe a little would have been good, but having years worth in a month was excessive.

Today I'm healthy and hearty, but not thanks to vitamin A

Creatine - increases Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and testosterone. Increases muscle power and improves neuroplasticty
Fish Oil - improves joint pain, helps heart disease, and improves neuroplasticity 
Zinc - increases levels of male hormones and improves neuroplasticity
Magnesium - helps with chronic pain, fatigue and insomnia and improves neuroplasticty 
Multivitamin - makes me less likely to be malnourished  
Vitamin D & K
Sorry for the late reply, I totally agree with the diagnosis, but not the treatment. Not saying the treatment wouldn't work, but for many people its not feasible, especially seeing we can not get an offical "diagnosis" anyway, much less validate the fact that accutane causes changes in the brains metabolism(even though its a scientifically proven fact) 

Personally I think the natural ways of promoting neurogensis through diet/supplements and meditation can do just as much as much as stimulation can. These are also scientifically proven, but yet much more accessible. If it is within you means to do the brain stmulation, then by all means go ahead, but if you are going to such great lengths you may as well do the other things as well  

Old Post but does anyone know was this person megadosing beta carotene, retinol palmitate or acetate?  

Not that I'm going to try it, not safe, but I respect the theory behind it.