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I am a mum who has a beautiful 22 year old son who has been left broken by taking this horrific drug. I admit I was completely naive to the possible side effects. My son was 19 at the time and was concerned about his acne, as he was an adult I let him decide. You need to know that prior to taking this drug my son was about to start university, was a fitness fanatic and excited about his future, there were no signs of depression.
After taking roacutain for one month he started to feel unwell, anxious and low in mood. He did the right thing and stopped taking it . One month later I received a phone call from him to say he was suicidal. He was assessed by our local mental health team who dismissed that the drug could have caused this episode and prescribed mirtazapine. This knocked him out for a month but didn't help. He was never completely honest with me about how bad he was feeling and the awful side effects that he was having. As a parent I thought he was improving so he went back to university. His mental health continued to deteriorate ( without my knowledge) , he remained feeling suicidal and started using heroin to self medicate. He had to quit university and is now a drug addict. This is not what he wanted , he has told me that if it hadn't had been for heroin to escape his awful thoughts then he would be dead by now. So this is our life now, I try so hard to support him but the damage has been done. All I can do now is try and help him come to a decision to try and get off the heroin, he however is terrified that as has happened before, when he tries to stop the suicidal thoughts return . I am desperate to help my son but don't know where to start , are there any positive stories out there regarding recovery ? If so please share. I just want my son to live a happy and healthy life. People need to be made aware of these horrific side effects. Roacutain is an overdose of vitamin A and a chemo drug !
All too common story over the last decade I've seen. Sorry to hear. Tell him to stick it out as long as he can. Science and Technology is getting better and better as time passes, albeit through trial and error, and there is progress that will eventually lead to attainable solutions.
I am sorry to hear this story Lillie. In my opinion Accutane side effects are still widely unknown and the after affects can last months, years, or even be permanent. Its a gamble, and nobody knows what the side effects will be for them until they take it.
I took a course of accutane around 5 years ago, and still suffer from permanently chapped lips, hypersensitive skin and mild seb derm,
I also had a bad case of facial flushing shortly after my course, yet used a combination of Mirtazapine (which your son was prescribed) and Propranol to manage this for 6 months until i had things under control. I was fortunate to not have any mental or emotional side effects, these drugs were solely used for facial flushing for me. I was a similar age to your son when taking accutane, i was 21 at the time.
Please know that things will get better, but it will take time with your son and the sooner you both take action the better. You will need his commitment and his buy in and desire to want to fix this. Its great you are online seeking help, Seek medical professionals for both the depression and drug use. Get him involved in support groups and networks. He is definitely not alone and the help is available.
Keep positive and work closely with your son. I wish you all the best.