Accutane Long Term Side Effects
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I have a son that took accutane 60 mg a day for six months in a row three years ago. Now after many trips to doctors over strange medical problems, it seems accuatne is the culprit medication that has caused servere joint and muscle pain, severe dry lips, redness in face, eye infections of own immune system attacking itself, systems of osteoarthritis in both shoulders, both wrist and right hand, blood in stool, possible hair loss, abnormal liver function test results in AST and ALT. My son went from being a high school football and track athlete while taking this medication three years ago to someone that is in constant pain just washing a car. After I have researched this drug extensively, I can't believe that the FDA allows this drug originally made for cancer patients to be marketed for teenagers with acne. All one has to do is look online what vitamin A overdose does to someone and then you have the results of what this medication has done to my son. This drug needs to be taken off them market ASAP and the drug companies that make it need to compensate all teenagers that they have possible ruined their future. Shame on them ! What is going on here ?

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If it is lower back pain try and get her to do crunches. Have her take some Vit D and a good Magnesium and calcium. As Accutane is know to lower Vit D levels.

You can try and take her to a ortho, pain mangement or rhuem. Maybe some physical therapy??? If you mention Accutane though you may get shut down and No Help.

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Robyn,
Sorry to hear this about your daughter, Very Sorry!!. As for what Dr. to take her too, well it might take a few to start. I can tell you from my Son's experience after taking this POISON Drug as that is what it is...POISON... Do You know that it originally was a Chemotherapy drug?? Yah, then some WISE Person (NOT WISE AT ALL) said Hey this works on Acne, lets give it to Teenagers... Not knowing the EFFECTS it would have Long Term. VERY SAD!!! My son has seen the following dr's & still No Answers the Back Pain, he has had Ultrasounds & X-Rays they don't seem to show anything!!! He has been to... Rheumatologists, Gastrointerologists, Neurologists, Endocrinologists, Pulmonary Dr's, Dermapathologists, ENT'S, Psychiatrists, Eye Dr's (Suffers with Chronic Dry eyes now) You name it he has seen them..The Problem Robyn is that NO DR'S out there know enough about the LONG Term Side Effects or at Least NO Dr will ADMIT it... I wish You & Your Daughter Well & hope you can get some answers. I will say this ,it may take some time, it is a Process & with Years of going through this with My son, We still don't have the Answers as MANY others on this Board Don't have answers either... The Stories You will read on here are SAD & can BREAK your Heart.. I don't mean to sound Negative, sure I am coming off like that I am just telling You theTRUTH about this Drug.. I Pray for your Daughter, may You find some answers for her..Please keep Us Posted on here...Never know, perhaps You will find the Dr. with the Answers WE "ALL" Long for... Take Care, Nancy

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Hi Adele..
I Hope you are Well..Sorry just getting back to you now. Thank You for your Kind words and also for your Suggestions. Right now My son is not going to be trying anything else to what he takes. On Blood Pressure Meds , yah High Blood Pressure at 23, Not RIGHT!!! The reason he won't add anything is he received a letter from the Endocrinolgist 3 days ago they want him to have his Thyroid Re-Checked.. This is the 1st Time an Endo has suggested it be re-checked. All the others said it was fine. EVERYTHING is ALWAYS just Fine, Really????? Not so when you look at my son's Health....So now I am Curious as to where this ROAD will lead my Son. I know it's a matter of TIME before a Dr. out there will CONNECT the DOTS with the Symptoms & Accutane Use... The FRUSTRATION I have along with SOOOOO Many Others out there that have taken this drug.. They have Ruled out Sjogrens (Lip Biopsy) but he does have sleep apnea, (Confirmed Sleep Study) Pulmonary Dr. said he has problems with breathing, Why, I asked... Can't give me an answer... Aren't they the Dr's??? Shouldn't they have the Reason why??? The MORE Research I do and Believe Me I do it EVERYDAY, I see so many Connections with this Drug... I may get the DOOR SLAMMED IN MY FACE by all these SMUG Doctors who claim, I know Nothing about this Drug.... But I will say this Adele, I will FIND the ONE Dr. out there to HELP... Know this, when I do find that Dr. I will be SURE to POST what I find out to HELP ALL that have SUFFERED from ACCUTANE.... I am on a MISSION to find the answers and will NOT STOP till I do... God Bless you, May you feel Better with Each Day~ Nancy

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My daughter has just come off A six month course or accountant and now everyday she is in constant shoulder and back pain .i am not sure what sort of doctor to take her to?

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To Ioanna, I doubt your dermatologist would even dare take accutane on himself. Please do not think just because your friends took this pill and are ok that it means you will be ok when you take this. you are not with them on a daily basis and you dont know what it can do to someone. they will only see the side effects many years from now. They may seem ok now, but I tell you once you get to your 20s, you will see the bad effects. I have watched people go in and out of hospitals because of taking accutane. You dont want to be doing the same. Why spend all that time in the hospital? WHen you can be outdoors, spending time with friends, and learning about life. Instead of being stuck indoors forever and doing bloodwork like a fool. Please choose life. It is a choice. Do not make the same mistakes as other people. There are so many other things you can take aside from this drug. Please think otherwise.

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Reading both Tammy and Nancy's post brings a tear to my eyes i dont know how you cope i really dont ,its nice to see people supporting you on this site .May be a question to Nancy would your son take tablets that are vitamins? Its just some people wont take anything after being on Accutane because of what it has done ! Its just i'd mentioned on previous post that i'd started taking 5-HTP now just only three weeks ago started taking magnessium citrate it's a muscle relaxant it helps with anxiety, stomach, bowel, heart problems the list goes on but if you look these two up to see for yourself .I would seriously recommend them,I've seen three different specialist to ask questions about the conection between how i was and Accutane no one wants to know .But hand on heart ive felt like the old me has come back since taking these vitamins.I just hope your son Nancy will feel better one day along with everyone else that is suffering .

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Tammy, Reading your Post on is HEARTBREAKING!!! Even Harder to read on Mother's Day :-( When I read this, HIT ME HARD~ My Thoughts with You today. I can't IMAGINE the PAIN of losing your Child, Unthinkable to me... May NO other MOTHER have to Lose their Child to this POISON DRUG. This is something that could have been Prevented, a TRAGEDY to say the least...I watch my son SUFFERING with the Horrible Effects from this Poison Drug Accutane & it ANGERS me to know this Drug Caused it and NO-ONE will ADMIT it!!! I have ARGUED with so many Dr's and I tell them I know it was the ACCUTANE, they either say, well it can't be the Drug it is OUT OF HIS SYSTEM or they say well I don't know enough about that Drug. I say Yeah I bet You don't, nor do the Dermatologists that Prescribe it!!!! When I try to tell them it is a CHEMO Drug, they shrug me off don't want to HEAR what I have to say...It's like they are in a CULT (These Dr's) Bonding together to keep SILENT and act like they don't know NOTHING... I will NEVER stop FIGHTING for my Son and will SEARCH for a Dr. out there that will LISTEN & BELIEVE Me... I would like to talk to you further if you wouldn't mind... Just not sure how I could get you my email address without putting on here. May GOD Bless you Today on Mother's Day and Everyday... May your Son RIP.... Nancy

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I am sitting here reading this on Mother's Day and am missing my son who died in January. The more I research Accutane, the more I am convinced this drug killed him. He had anxiety, anger, intestinal, skin and last cardiac issues which was his cause of death. He was 27 years old and died from heart disease. I am telling anyone and everyone who will listen about the horrific side effects of this drug. I would have never let my child take it if we would have known exactly what it was. I am going to live the rest of my life without my son and it was totally unavoidable. Please do not take this horrible drug.

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i have many friends who took this drug and they are fine..i dont have pimples but i have scars..my dermatologist told me its ok..but i read this kind of sides and i am scared..

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hello ionna.. please do not take this. It is very normal for a teenager to have pimples. I am in my mid 30s and i still get pimples. You just have to watch your diet and drink lots of water. Please for the love of God and life DO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE. IT IS A CHEMOTHERAPY Drug for people with cancer. you are healthy. you do not need this drug. It will destroy and ruin your life. Not just your physical body, but most especially your mental state. You will hate a lot of things and disagree with so many people regarding many issues and you will be narrow minded thinking people are wrong and you will go down a path of negativity. Please just get lots of sleep and wash your face regularly. do not ever take drugs for pimples. You do not want to regret this your whole life. My younger brother took this and after 7 years he suffered from schizophrenia. I dont think there is any way to reverse the harmful effects it will do to your body. The drug companies have made this drug to make billions of dollars from rich kids. they made it in such a way that when you get blood checks and things checked in your body, that they will not see anything wrong with you. that is why is is hard for them to make it illegal since there is no proof in the lab. but i am very sure that it will slowly destroy you. You can deal with your zits. trust me. its your whole life you need to live. not just your teens.

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heyyy..i am 15 years old..i have acne 2 years now. i dont have pimples but i have red scars (the scars are actually holes). my doctor told me to take accutane but i read many sides like this one with people having so many effects..i dont know what to do..any advice??

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I also wanted to share a conversation between my daughter & I, that took place before I found this website. I had asked her to pray about decision on taking Accutane. And this was her answer, "YOU GOT TO READ THIS, IT GIVES ME THE CHILLS"!!! WHEN SHE PRAYED, SHE FELT THAT HER ACNE WOULD CLEAR, BUT SHE ALSO FELT THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO BE WRONG WITH HER INSIDE" !!! And this was my reaction, because I didn't really know anything about Accutane. This is what the doctor had said that she was a little bit young. She will need to do blood work every month to check her liver. By state law she needed to be on birth control pills, which I was so against! When she had told me about her prayer, of course at that time, the first thought that came to my mind she scared to get it done, because of needle (blood work). But then I realized that I had asked my daughter to pray to our Heavenly Father & our Lord Jesus Christ for guidance. So I started to research on Accutane, and that's where I found this website, that was confirmed to my daughter 's prayer!! "PLEASE FOR THOSE WHO ARE THINKING TO USE ACCUTANE, PLEASE READ MY DAUGHTER'S ANSWER TO HER PRAYER"!!! I truly believe that someone was led by Satan to promote Accutane "BECAUSE of MONEY & GREED". "AND TO DESTROY GOD'S CHILDREN"!!! Like I wrote yesterday, I almost put my precious 14 years daughter in a " LION'S DEN" by giving her "THE POISON ACCUTANE" & " WATCH HER SLOWLY BEING SHREDDED". YES WE ALL WANT OUR CHILDREN TO LOOK THEIR BEST, BUT INSTEAD WE SEE THEIR DEATH!! I also needed to correct the last sentence, that I wrote really late last night. I thank God to send all the angels, that gave all us warning to help us, so that we "DO NOT TAKE THE POISON ACCUTANE" or persuade anyone else to take it!!! My heart goes out to all the angels that was effected by Accutane!!!

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This POISON DESTROYS YOU...As Soon as You take it..The effects..are IRREVERSIBLE!...
YES..it can Help with Acne...!..
Better to feel the sadness of ACNE..than to Lose Your Enjoyment of Life..and End up with a ruined BODY!...
Any questions?...
I can Show YOu just what it destroys..

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I just wanted to thanks everyone that had the courage to speak up and informed the effects of Accutane! If it wasn't for this website, I would of put my precious 14 years old daughter on Accutane. It like putting her in a "LION'S DEN", and watching her being shredded slowly for years to come. Can you imagine to live with that guilt? Because you want your daughter to look her best! But instead the look of death! This is something to think about for everyone who are thinking to use "POISON ACCUTANE"!!! I thank God for all the angels that was sent to help all of us from taking "THE POISON ACCUTANE"!!!

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In 1985 as a 33yr female going thru a divorce I can't know if it made me depressed. I can tell you that acne gone but I can't wear contact lenses. To this day I still go nuts 3 out of 4 weeks because my eyelids secrete too much oil. It gets trapped under my upperlids and is very hard to wash out. I try to wipe out but now I have more wrinkles on the right side due to the issue. I wish I could make this almost daily irratate go away!

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Hello Patty, please tell your daughter that the side effects comes years after taking this drug. My younger brother took it and thought he was invincible until he had schizophrenia 7 years later. He also has a bubble in his lungs due to taking this poison. Please let her understand that the side effects takes years to take effect. it destroys our body slowly and lets the pharma companies make a s***load of money. so by the time you actually realize that the poison you are taking is bad for you, well there is no way you can battle the side effects anymore. understand that your life will definitely be a downward spiral. she will be mad at the world forever after taking this drug. I hope you can take it from her and just let her be mad at you instead of letting her continue with the damage she is doing to her body because the consequences after are harder to deal with. Trust me. Its not worth it.

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She could continue 60mg and end up with the acne coming back and major side effects that won't go away. I hate how doctors talk about being aggressive and prescribing such a high dose! I was 121 pds.

Personally I would say for your daughter to STOP Accutane and try Light Therapy.

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Patty,
Thanks for coming on here and telling us about your daughters experience. I understand that your daughter has to make up her own mind and most doctors these days sometimes don't like to involve other family members along during appointments. But PLEASE, try to convince your daughter for you to go along with her and ask her doctor all the questions you need to. Don't be shy, ask the hard questions. My son was put on 60 mg of Amnesteen ( generic Accutane ) for a month because pharmacy was out of the 40 mg. These is a huge mistake. It is very possible that these medications could be describe at a very very low dose and not have all the side effects. Although she may not be having all the side effects on the outside, there is a very strong possibility that long term side effects are happening inside her body. Maybe ask your daughter to come on heer and talk to another women about this. I am sure Oli Girl would be a good place to start asking about what happens 6 months, 1 year or 10 years down the road. Her doctor prescribing even more Accutane is a concern. You can only do so much and now is the time to do so. This drug doesn't give many second chances. Her cholesterol is probably through the roof, her AST and ALT liver functions are probably very high and may not return to normal. Keep an eye on her hair because it may start to thin. Watch for back pain, its a good sign that something may be going wrong. And especially watch her mood swings or unusual depression.

This drug is POISON. And as you may known, its was first marketed as a Chemo Therapy drug for certain kinds of cancer. There are many people on here that their major concern is to input personal stories of their own life or love ones only hoping we can just inform one person the liability's of taking these drugs.
Be firm with your doctor, maybe get a second opinion.
Wishing you the best. If you daughter has any questions, I will always be here to help answer any questions.
From the Heart,
Scott

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Patty.. My son took 20-30mg and started with pain on his 6th week on the drug. Within 10 wks had to quit college. His life is ruined from joint pain, stomach pain, muscle pain, chest ,and head pain so severe they gave him a lumber puncture for Intercraniel Pressure which he did'nt have.. Lost 21lb in 8 months. Could not eat and was sick amongst now Depression /Anxiety and a whole load of other things going on! He has just had his 18th B'Day. Has been off the drug since jan 2011 and did not complete the course. I recently met a guy who did a drug test trial for Accutane. He was also given Evening Primrose as well as Accutane . He did get pain on his 8th wk but his pain went after the course finished. He was also given a course of Antibiotics afterwards.
I would definately Not let recommend this drug to anyone !

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My goodness Patti. With all the posts on here of the everlasting side effects of that devastating Accutane and your daughter still wants to take it?! I pray ever day for relief for my son for the after affects he suffers and the injectable medicine he now must take to even function. Dreadful, debilitating drug - Accutane. The effects started within 2 months of taking it and the doctor promised his "muscle aches" would go away when he stopped accutane. Now he is forever changed and can't even move without a new injectable medicine. Thanks Accutane.

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