What are the real side effects of accutane?

[unruhe]

After twenty years of acne (I'm 28) my latest derm suggested Accutane. I've tried the creams, lotions, antibiotics, etc. and they have not worked.

My research online revealed:

1) Birth defects while on it. That's okay, I don't plan on getting pregnant. BUT: will it cause harm to a fetus even after the accutane treatment? I do know you have to wait a month before becoming pregnant. What about after that?

2) Hair loss, sometimes permanent. That's scary, but it seems to be a side effect in only some cases. Right?!

3) Joint aches and muscle pains. This makes sense to me, because if accutane "dries you out" it's like having a hangover, where you're all achy the next morning from dehydration. I've read that sometimes it's permanent joint pain even after stopping treatment. BUT: who are these people experiencing joint pain? Are they 60 pounds overweight and their joints are already stressed? Are they couch potatoes who never exercise?

4) Chapped lips, dry skin, dry eyes. Is this something that can be alleviated by drinking a lot of water? People tend to be chronically dehydrated to start with.

5) Libido problems, long term. Not even sure what to make of this claim.

6) You cannot donate blood after taking even one dose of accutane. I find this interesting. The manufacturer of accutane says you can, yet the red cross will not accept it. Perhaps this is an instance of the red cross being overly cautious? You also can't give blood if you're ill (cold, flu).

7) Depression and suicide. People are so lawsuit-happy these days, I don't put much credit into these claims. AND...acne is a depressing enough situation, liable to cause someone thoughts of suicide in itself.

I'm hoping you will post and give me some real feedback on this. I can honestly say I've tried EVERYTHING else. I eat well, am healthy and I'm still plagued by acne. It's not severe, but it's persistant. Twenty years of worrying if I can wear a cute little top on Friday night because I might have a breakout is Twenty years too long.

[desperate1]

Hi there,
I've taken two courses of Accutane in the past. The first time, in 1998, was for severe cystic acne. I got really dry skin on the backs of my hands that was pretty well alleviated with a good moisturizer (I uced Eucerin) and chapped lips, but I applied lip balm continuously and it wasn't too bad. I didn't expererience ANY other side effects during that 6 month period.
In 2000 I started to break out again--not nearly as bad as before, but my new dermatologist put me back on another course of Accutane, same dosage, and this time I didn't even get that much dry skin. No other side effects. I never experienced depression, aches, headaches, hair loss or anything. 7 years later, I'm doing great and have not seen any long-term issues from taking Accutane.
Hope this helps. Good luck to you!

[Enj]

The side effects I got when taking accutane was..


REALLY sore muscles after I played football, just for even 20 minutes. Do you do a lot of running? While on Accutane, even while playing football, I pretty much would struggle to walk as soon as I stopped running around. I found it hard to walk for a good 3 days after as well. I'm young though, I took the pain, and I enjoyed the football. (By the way, I really am not exaggerating about the pain...)

REALLY dry skin (face, lips). If you do apply lip bam and moisturise your face often, then it should be OK. I didn't apply lip bam a lot because I was in school, and I didn't want to look like a ... My lips really looked bad though until it was the weekend, when they wouldn't really get dry. My eyes were actually sore a lot of the time, I know now it was the accutane then. (I didn't know this for sure, but I guessed it).

You can't give blood, no.

I wasn't really depressed. I was bored a lot of the time though.

Another side effect that I had was bleeding noses. I would get them a lot.. I would just be eating my dinner, I wouldn't come close to touching my nose, and it would bleed.. (It really wasn't a little too, it was A LOT.. the accutane thins out the blood anyway, right? It wasn't clotting easily). Sometimes I would be in the bathroom for a good 20 minutes atleast trying to get it to stop. I got them every other day.

Also, if you do go ahead, make sure to moisturise the sides of your mouth. I got a cut on each side (just because of talking) and no matter how much moisturiser I put on it, it didn't heal. (Well, it scabbed over, but of course I can't stop talking for a few days to wait for it to heal completely. So when I tried to talk, the scab would just crack open and it would get really sore again).

I'm a boy, so I can't really tell you about the female side effects

However, although the accutane didn't really help my face a lot, it helped my back AMAZINGLY. My back is now looking great, whereas before, literally spots covered about 3/5 of my back.

[unruhe]

Enj and desperate,

Thanks for sharing. Enj, did the side effects go away completely once you stopped treatment?

I should have stated earlier my face acne (while BAD years ago) is virtually nonexistant now. I'm clear, though scarred and still very oily.

It's the body acne that plagues me. I have months where I'm clear and months when I'm a mess. I cannot seem to find any correlation to soaps, lotions, foods, nothing.

I was unaware the blood issue was related to clotting. If that is the case, it makes perfect sense why the red cross would not want it. I thought it was more an issue of it being "tainted" or something.


To readers: I assume people have had perfectly healthy children after treament? (Otherwise the FDA would have stepped in long ago..though I don't trust the FDA either...)

[Enj]

The side effects completely went away for me after about 1 week. I was really happy.. (I play football a lot...).

I've just turned 17 and my accutane course was 3 months long, so I took it at 16 years old.

Accutane thins your blood. Raises your blood pressure, and raises the collestoral in your body also.