Isotretinoin (Accutane®)

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Side Effects

Isotretinoin is a vitamin A derivative called a retinoid that is taken orally and is approved only for severe acne. It is thought...

Isotretinoin is a vitamin A derivative called a retinoid that is taken orally and is approved only for severe acne. It is thought to clear acne primarily through its ability to permanently reduce skin oil (sebum) production.

Isotretinoin is available in capsule form and is usually taken twice a day. Your physician will prescribe an initial dose, and this dose may increase or decrease depending on the response to treatment and side effects.

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Used Isotretinoin (Accutane®)? Rate It:

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xohelloxo

January 28, 2014

Regret using this.

Cons:

Leaves red patches all over
Burns and stings

- I used the gel version - I've had bad acne on my back for about 3 years now but recently it's started to get a lot worse, not sure why. I've tried practically everything you can name for acne, all the spot lotions, zineryt, proactiv etc and nothing has worked. I got isotretinoin (isotrex) from the doctor and thought this would finally take my acne away but I couldn't have been more disappointed. I left this on over night but when I woke up my skin was peeling terribly, but that didn't bother me that much as long as I moisturised it. Then after a few days my skin started to feel really dry and itchy and was burning and then I saw loads of red burn patches which are still there a week after stopping using this and still burn and sting whenever my coat collar touches it or even a mild soap is used on it. I heard calomine lotion is helpful for acne and burns so I'm going to try that out tonight and hope for the best. Whatever you do, do NOT put this on any delicate skin such as your neck/chest.

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annieo93

January 13, 2014

destroyed my teeth and didn't work

Pros:

temporarily cleared up acne

Cons:

destroyed teeth
damaged eyes
general dryness

I took accutane twice when I was a sophmore in high school about five years ago. While it temporarily worked wonders, my acne has come back exactly the same as it had before. Much worse though was the effect that it had on my teeth and eyes. Because both were dried out, my eyes became infected and I have never since been able to wear contacts and I have to use a special ointment at night. As for my teeth, because my mouth wasn't producing enough saliva which helps clean out the mouth, I developed 13 cavities at once. I don't drink soda, I brush my teeth and floss daily, and rarely eat sweets. When I told my dentist this he asked if I had taken accutane recently and I told him yes. He said that was the problem and ever since I've had to use prescription strength toothpaste and a special mouthwash. If this is your last option then go for it, but understand that any medication which forces you to take monthly blood tests runs the risk of really f*cking you up. And for christ's sake don't take it when you're only 16. It really isn't worth it.

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mom1966

November 16, 2013

DON'T DO IT!

Cons:

Painful, bleeding ulcers for the rest of his life
Acne returned
Lots of medical costs for the rest of his life

Accutane is NOT worth the high risks. Use a TOPICAL treatment instead. My son had moderate to severe acne at age 14. He took an accutane generic for about 6 months and now has Severe Ulcerative Colitis. This means that he will have a lifetime of battling BLEEDING ULCERS throughout his colon which then causes severe pain and diarrhea. Now, at age 18, he had to do a medical withdrawal from his first year of college because his symptoms were so severe. He takes 3 medicines 3 times a day and it still hasn't helped enough. He will soon begin a new treatment whereby he has to go to the hospital and hook up to an IV line for about 4 hours every few weeks. Furthermore, we can't sue the drug company because the Supreme Court recently said that you cannot sue the maker of a generic medicine. In addition, my son still has moderate acne.

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tosta

November 8, 2013

Works if you will die with it

Pros:

all, still looked like human, probably not the worse
over 10 years

Hello, this product will work as long as you keep using it, after that it does not, I used it for 6 months(I do not want to throw my life away)(maybe it's because i had acne problems so long, don't know)), and it's really dangerous product so I better use BP without any problems now, it's a miracle product (just use BP like smart people not like desperate people and it will work. !!!! About the BP miracle (I had acne over 10 years, now my skin has scars) -- I have noticed more better results than BP clean solutions, I recommend Dr. Wolf , Acne fug (it's was the only thing with BP in my country, and now I can not stop using it!!!), Acne fug is 5% BP and has alcohol and some other clearing skin agents(it's stored something like 2-7 decrees) (the paper recommends it for hormonal acne (hormons cause acne etc), the acne that other products can't fight), I use it once a day and works much better than any BP solution so far (It can't get any better, so I stay at this product. If I will not use acnefug for several days(and not showering) the acne comes back, some pimple or pimples appear, but if using this product they disappear after 2-3 days completely), no flakiness or anything(BP makes skin look a bit lifeless, but this product not). Only once a day!!!!(I shower once a day!)(it's quite effective so please not use that often) I also use moisturizer with lipids and after that my skin is not try and feels good. Note: I am promoting healthy living and am exercising a lot. ///

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What1f

October 4, 2013

Horrific drug.

Pros:

Temporarily clear face

Cons:

Hairloss
Wrecked skin
Premature aging

I was prescribed claravis for very mild acne and it essentially wrecked my life. Thinned out my skin, I have wrinkles 3 years later at 20. Thinned hair, rosacea, pale skin, rectal bleeding, still dry years later . I was a normal person before accutane. Now my life will never be the same. I honestly can not emphasize how life altering (for the absolute worst) this drug was. It is possibly the most sad thing in the world to thing how different my life would have been had i just not gone to a dermatologist. Derms should be the absolute lowest paid doctors. Unless theyre performing surgery they are ignorant, ignorant people with little skill. IF YOU are reading this, just think for 2 seconds. Look at all the one stars you see. You dont see that with anything else. When you go to buy a tv if there were 30% 1 stars you would quickly look to another tv where there were only maybe 2 or 3. Just look at all the severe side effects that you could endure. Avoid it. Dont take this drug.

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mes6890

July 29, 2013

Very Scary Depressive Thoughts...in no time at all.

Cons:

crying spells, suicidal thoughts
brain fog
permanently thinned out skin, destroyed eyelids

After 8 years of living with acne, I finally decided to try Accutane and was excited to get it done with. I was on 40mg/day, and my mood plummeted faster than anything I'd ever experienced in my life. I had terribly dark thoughts and couldn't get away from them. My hair started falling out after two days. I couldn't think straight at all and had crying spells. I didn't even last a week on this stuff. It may work for you, but I regret taking ANY of it and am waiting for this miserable feeling to lift. I am happy for the people who have success with isotretinoin. But brain fog and seriously depressive thoughts cannot be ignored. Update: Literally FIVE days of this stuff has permanently eaten up my skin - eyelids, earlobes, forehead etc. You'd be insane to play Russian Roulette with your life for moderate to severe acne. Learn from me...I guess I never thought I'd become an Accutane victim. Good. God. Just because this experience didn't happen to you doesn't mean it isn't helpful.

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Hmusic

July 25, 2013

Clear skin but terrible side effect including sever depression

Cons:

severe depression
effects liver function
just not worth it

After having a few months of dry chapped lips, dry eyes ect my skin as very clear however the worst part was to come when I became severely depressed and it really changed me as a person. After suffering with acne for over 10 years I can honestly say that having bad skin is way easier than dealing with emotional issues that developed for me on this pill. Would not recommend

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James P

May 21, 2013

Pros:

Your skin may clear

Cons:

You may lose your life

I would like to address to you who are about to run a course of Accutane. This pill takes lives every year and almost got mine as well. It's a harsh chemical with countless of side effects on body and mind and is to be considered a high risk solution and not to be coursed at all. Looking at it from above its a vitamin A overdose. It does actually help cure acne in some cases, in others ruin peoples lives. I took two courses on doctors prescription orders and as for the physical side effects you can expect dry lips and skin, stiff joints, impaired nightvision, dry mucous membranes (especially nose) that may cause nosebleed, tendencies to tooth loss and headache to mention a few, For the mental side effects however these are much more extensive and can be considered life threatning. While on course you will experience lowered mood. As the course laps this may worsen and develop inte full scale depression if unlucky and may cause insanity if not stopping on time. Post cycle my speech was slurry and everything had slowed down. I used to have countless of ideas flowing inside my head. This was all gone after the last cycle. Other physical side effects post cycle were heavily reduced sex drive, reduced sperm quality and semen colored yellow. This caused panic by itself and a lot of pain on ones mind. The primary function of accutane is to lower your testosterone levels and its this effect that makes your skin clear, reduced sebum levels and so forth. This is of course also what causes mood swings and its not mentioned in the PIL that follows. Also brain injuries as mentioned above, because its a vitamin A overdose it does damage your brain as well. We are looking at permanent loss of brain cells. Before the last cycle I was in one piece This red pill produced by roche should be banned and not to be sold in any state or country. If you think of running a course heed my warning. This is not something you want A few thoughts on accutane

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JubilantFlow

September 30, 2015

Hey bbbmmm222, I think it's rude of you to criticize other's reviews of the drug, by picking on bad grammar and wording, are you wanting to take the drug but scared and offended by the bad reviews? It's well known that this is a dangerous drug. This person has listed out all of their side effects and they are not required to show evidence or dr's opinion on a review lol. I don't see why anyone would want to fear monger here .

September 30, 2015

April 16, 2013

Cons:

long term issues, older looking skin

The 7 pills that ruined my life. Truthfully, before I thought about taking this drug, I would read the reviews thinking that the people that said negative things about it where exaggerating. I started taking Claravis over a year ago and took it for only 7 days and I regret it every day. It did nothing for my acne at all but has made me feel like a 50 year old. I am in my mid 30's in within a month after taking the drug I have 2 ruptured discs in my back as well as arthritis now. Also, maybe because am older, but the skin around my eyes is parched and is full of wrinkles and the skin on my neck is always dry now. Of course, it would be uneducated of me to say that I am certain that the drug did this to me, but before taking it I was very athletic and an avid figure skater training to go into the sheriffs academy and now I am lucky if I can skate two times a week and sit ups are out of the question with my bad back. I have back pain daily now and I feel like I look more aged, all from taking those 7 pills. The truly crappy thing is that my skin is now flawless after finding the right topical and over the counter med after ten years of searching. I wish I would have just experimented more with other things before taking those pills and perhaps I would be my old self. Now I use Aczone and Alpha Hydrox 14% Intensive serum and I have never been happier with my skin. Maybe it's because I am older that this happened or it could be that it was bound to happen anyway and had nothing to do with isotretinoin. Who knows? My suggestion is to exhaust every avenue before you try this.

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Amanda

April 1, 2013

Pros:

Only cleared skin temporarily

Cons:

-LONG TERM side effects:
~Dry Skin
~Chapped Lips
~Night vision/ blurred vision
~Skin scares more easily
~Acne can come back worse and harder to treat
~Skin more sensitive to light/ sunburns

I did two courses of Accutane, one in 2003 and 2005. The first course I only made it through the first 8 weeks because the symptoms were severe. After that, my skin was clear for 6 months, after that my acne slowly started coming back, and by a year I had full blown cystic acne again. I decided to give it another try in 2005, and this time I stayed on it for 6 months. Again, the results were only temporary except this time I only stayed clear for 3 months and when the acne returned it was much worse. A few years later I had a Derm tell me that there were studies that show women with hormonal acne did better on a lower dosage for shorter time then a higher dosage for longer. He wanted me to try another course but I refused. The problem I have with this drug is that I think that people are to eager for a quick fix without realizing the consequences. Accutane should be a LAST RESORT before trying everything else. In 2011 left the US and moved abroad. This is when my acne cleared up without even trying. I later researched and found out about all the chemicals and hormones put into our water and food. I have to travel for work and my acne started coming back but not as severe as before. Now it is manageable with a combination herbal supplements, beauty products, BP, and a change in diet. I believe I could have done this when I was in the US. Derm's don't make money by telling you to change your diet or try herbal supplements. They need to sell pills and creams to support their lifestyle. If they work for you, great, but research the long term effects and make sure your not damaging your body! Since accutane, I have dry lips, dry skin, night vision, skin sensitivity, and skin that doesn't heal as well (not just on my face).

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JubilantFlow

September 30, 2015

Change of diet does in fact help with acne. Despite what some scientists believe . Anyone with acne notices more breakout after a soda or a greasy meal then after cup of water and a salad .

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