on a site called soulcysters there have been a few girls who mentioned they only realised they had pcos after taking accutane and wish they had cleared skin hormonally instead of accutane because its a tough medication and some of their acne returned. I have pcos, my mom had/has it too but had no problems having 2 children. You can have children if you have pcos you just may not ovulate like clockwork so it can be unpredictable.
this is the number 1 reason i'm worried about taking accutane its because i dont know if i want to dry myself out and have it possibly return because i have pcos.
oh and my doctor told me that accutane can increase the sensitivity of the androgen receptors in females with hormone conditions - more acne/more hair. um?
Hi,
yes I've seen that quite a few women have developed all the hallmark pcos symptoms after accutane, hair growth, recurring acne and menstrual cycle problems after accutane.
I'm one of them.
And I'm one who's taken accutane and its completely failed and am now living with all the side effects as well as recurring acne.
I'm very scared to fall pregnant while all this is happening but my husband and I want a family but if I still have all these side effects who knows what could happen
Plenty of people have had babies after accutane, especially since most people that take it are teenagers.
Livetoregret - your acne is FINE. You had like one spot on your face in your pictures. If you do not feel healthy then no, you should probably not have children. Especially if you're mentally suffering.
Most women on the PCOS board agree that they were treating symptoms of their PCOS with accutane, not that they got it from the drug.
Lilyrose - if there's one thing I learned from my acne journey its that every derm says something different. I have not found any evidence that accutane increases androgen receptors. If that was the case there would be a lot more reports of those adverse side effects.
Oh Oli Girl is at it again http://www.prescriptiondrug-info.com/Discuss/Accutane-and-Infertility-205942.htm
Now livetoregret - that doesn't mean that accutane will cause you to be infertile, however the autoimmune condtions that your physicans there refuse to acknowledge can cause infertility, since accutane caused thoose conditions then indirectly I guess you could say that accutane can cause infertility!
I mean in general Accutane is still used for what it was orginally designed for cancer, we all know that potent and chemotherapy drugs have the possiblity to cause infertility in some!
ugghhhh- Please enlighten me how one treats pocs symptoms from Accutane! If mean by acne then possibly, but not a permanent cure by all means and not worth the risk. In fact my Endo tells his pts No Way to accutane, due to hormonal issues and the fact accutane is know to cause disrupt hormones in alot/some
Oh, and there have been numerous reports to the FDA here in the U.S. on infertility and sexual dysfunction from the 1980's they just refuse to acknowldege it! Yes, you can purchase the whole list of reported side effects directly from the FDA on any medication
my doctor told me that there is evidence that accutane can cause the androgen receptors on the face of women to become more sensitive. Thus, they may get more hair in places they didn't have before. This is documented.
if you have pcos and your skin is very bad, yes you can treat it with accutane, but it will do nothing for your hormones. it just treats a symptom of your disease. Some women take accutane because they never knew they had pcos to begin with and were just treating acne with accutane but i have never heard of accutane causing pcos.
hi,
I also "lived to regret" accutane, but only barely!
I had my son before accutane, I dont plan on any more children for various reasons but I only took 1 month of 10 mg and that was bad enough. I was actually diagnosed with PCOS 3 months after stopping accutane. I dont believe accutane caused it, I think Ive had it my whole life. I never had normal menstruation ( two periods per month, a week of real bleeding and a week of spotting two weeks apart) . I only had mild acne most of my life until last year my hormones went haywire and I developed cystic acne all over my jawline chin and some on my back. I suspected something was hormonally wrong, in fact I even insisted on being tested for high androgen levels, but my genius gyno basically blew me off--sure my androgen levels were a bit high at times, but I cant have PCOS-- Im not overweight and dont have ovarian cysts. And my blood sugar levels are just perfect....yeah :-I
The official name for PCOS is Stein-Levanthal syndrome, which is what we should call it because PCOS is a misnomer.
Fortunately for me, an endocrinologist prescribed yaz, which along with a supplement called Hairomega 3-in-1 (basically an anti-DHT supplement with saw palmetto, green tea and soy isoflavones) and spearmint. I was clear from acne in 4 months.
I NEVER had clear skin since I was 12, even at its best I had small pimples and at its worst, dear Jesus lets not go there.
This year, I only bleed a mere 4 days per month, I have clear skin and I am not ashamed to wear a bathing suit, and I dont even wear make up except for mascara and lipstcik.
I think a lot more women have PCOS than are reported, my mother probably has it and never realized, she had the acne, midsection fat, and never used birth control in 2 marriages, yet only had me.
If I wanted more kids, Id wait at least a year to be safe, even with my small dosage and time frame. If Id taken a full course and was left with horrific side effects? Id probably not get pregnant, if i really wanted a child Id adopt.
Thats my story.
Has anyone on here fallen pregnant after taking the lovely toxic poison accutane?
If so, did you have any complications?
has anyone been diagnosed with PCOS or infertility after taking it?
Please share your story
Thank you for all your valuable input.
This thread is very important and I want to invite as many ladies in their 20's and 30's who have experienced various pcos associated symptoms diagnosed or not to share their experience after accutane.
In my case I believe the drug seriously exacerbated the hormonal imbalance that caused my mild long term acne as well as triggering the full list of pcos related symptoms .
Low progesterone is a massive issue, it has been confirmed that I am not ovulating with 2 rounds of day 21 hormonal panels.
I refuse to put synthetic hormones on my body knowing that my acne during my 20's may very well have been due to using the pill and see sawing hormones and yaz or yasmin specifically are known to induce hairloss issues.
I was on the pill throughout the whole time I was on accutane.
I have been with my now husband for 16 years, married for 6 of those. We want nothing more than to have a child of our own and with all the long term horrific side effects I've continued to experience I am so terrified to fall pregnant I know my body is suffering horribly and to pls inject a child to that would be so wrong of me, but I'm scared I'm never going to get better enough to actually prouduce a healthy baby
I take a pill called Belara, apparently the progesterone component in it is naturally derived rather than synthetic. i dont know if that would be a useful option for you.
Of course you will be able to have a baby with patience and gods will, you will get better, stop thinking you are unwell and focus on becoming better. There are options for everybody.
I take a pill called Belara, apparently the progesterone component in it is naturally derived rather than synthetic. i dont know if that would be a useful option for you.
Of course you will be able to have a baby with patience and gods will, you will get better, stop thinking you are unwell and focus on becoming better. There are options for everybody.
Lilly for someone who hasn't taken Accutane you can't really tell livetoregret to stop thinking she is unwell and focus on becoming better, when she has postive antibodies and abnormal labs contributed to Accutane and can't get 1 dam doctor to help her there in Australia. I posted a link of a lot of women who have been infertile since accutane for no reason at thier age...poor egg reserve and soo on!
Though I believe it is better to have postive thinking, I understand LiveToRegret as a accutane victim!
livetoregret have you considered seeking medical and alternative help outside of Australia ? In Thailand or elsewhere?
oli girl im not downplaying what she is experiencing at all, i know she is suffering from her posts and everything she has mentioned regarding her post treatment, i dont even want to think what has happened internally after 1 year of accutane, it can cause significant damage being on it for so long but the only thing i can think of is to seek help elsewhere and to remain positive that she will get better because by being negative it will only draw more negative thoughts and emotions in.
She wants to have a baby now and i think its possible as many women have had babies successfully after accutane but she wants to improve her overall health and if there is no help in Australia then i would consider an alternative.
It's really difficult to maintain a positive state of mind and rely on my bodies ability to repair itself when I have watched my rapid physical deterioration since December 2010.
The physical impact has then had a direct effect on my state of mind and the panic of losing hair,scalp, skin and mucosal dryness,skin deterioration and development of other unexplainable symptoms that have made each day a misery has completely put my life on hold.
Our plan was for me to finish my accutane course and then as I was advised it would be safe to fall pregnant after a month after finishing, of course this is not the case and I knew my body was in big trouble within 3 weeks of being off it.
The other symptoms I have developed which lead me to believe I have undiagnosed pcos are:
Development of fierce coarse hair growth on my legs, arms, bikini line and snail trail.
White/un pigmented hair growth that is like hypertrychosis on my upper arms, face,back, breasts, stomach and bum.
Continual hair loss for 2 plus years
Return of cystic acne on my neck, back and arms I've never had acne like this before.
Lift and short periods usually 3 days, and a short cycle usually less than 28 days
Low progesterone in my day 21 blood tests which is indicative of not ovulating
I've had 2 ovarian ultrasounds that show additional follicles with no dominant follicle but am told they are not in the 'string of pearls' formation commonly seen in pcos.
I have not fallen pregnant since 16 despite not using contraception reliably( but was never actively trying to fall pregnant)
I haven't considered trying to get help for my accutane sideffrcts overseas, I have been trying every possible method I my own country realising there are so few resources to help, no measure of toxicity from the drug and the fact that I honestly think after 2 years of persuing both conventional and holistic treatments for all my issues I am at the point where I have realised that we are in effect on our own.
The only hormonal treatment offered for pcos are both the pill or spiro neither of which I would consider taking after what accutane has done to me.
I've tried addressing estrangement dominance due to the liver not filtering additional hormones, I've tried homeopathic remedies, all manner of supplements, naturopaths who are ultimately only after your money and offer nothing but feel good physiological placebo and blaming the health on your state of mind.
My state of mind is directly attributed to my physical decline.
I have gr into many arguments with many doctors regarding their treatment protocols and lack of understanding of isotretenoins impact on the body.
All that really left for me is intergrated medicine which really offers very little where talking things like vitamin infusions and testing things like glutathione levels etc this is a very costly path and the only one I haven't yet gone down
I don't think until you have side effects as severe as these do you realise how much of a wonderful life you lead before all this and how fast things can change. It's akin to suffering from slow progressing cancer that just eats away your body and soul