Acne and Accutane

[jimmy18]

People like me who have (or have had) significant acne know that it reduces quality of life and self-confidence, both essential traits for a budding DJ.

Accutane is a very effective medication that not only characteristically eliminates acne but often puts it into permanent remission:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/post-a34387-TABLE.JPG.html

Furthermore, despite the negative media attention it receives on the internet and on television, severe side effects are quite rare (<1%) on Accutane like on all drugs. Importantly, Accutane has never been conclusively causally linked to depression or inflammatory bowel disease. Here are the latest 4 reviews pulled from PubMed summarising the potential link between Accutane ("Isotretinoin") and depression:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18395669

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16863513

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16112443

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15720936

______________________________________________________________________________________

Indeed, because Accutane very commonly clears acne and has a low incidence of severe side effects, it characteristically improves quality of life and depressive symptoms in acne patients:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21137117

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19126049

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19382995

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15897376

______________________________________________________________________________________

I urge people with significant acne to consider Accutane, especially if they have tried other treatments like antibiotics without success.

 

[SamTheHobit]

I went to a homeopath, worked wonders!

 

[ArcBound]

Fvck accutane

 

[Voice]

Accutane works better than anything else, but be ready for side effects. I'm now on it for the second time in my life.

If accutane doesn't work for you than really I don't know what else will.

 

[jimmy18]

bump

 

[ArcBound]

Accutane actually gave me dry skin all over my body (that lasted 3 months after I was off of it), gave me my first acne scars (I would never get scars before using accutane no matter how severe the acne) and made me depressed as hell for several months all when I was just on the 10mg pill. The side effects are a little more common than you think:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Accutane-posts-f46.html

If you look at the forum posts there are always people there experiencing side effects. Even on the first page right now they list chapped dry skin, vision problems, rashes on forearms, constant nosebleedings, dry cracking hair and etc. That's on the first fvcking page alone. No doubt accutane can kill acne but if you don't have the most severe, cystic acne, accutane is not for you.

I'm lucky to have stopped using it and have all the side effects eventually go away. Some people aren't as lucky. Also don't you find it funny every single pill has this image on it: http://www.accutanesideeffects.net/img/icons/causes_birth_defects.gif
and that the main ingredient in accutane is Isotretinoin, a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat pancreatic and brain cancers? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accutane That should tell you how dangerous this sh!t is.

 

[ArcBound]

Some more gems from the wikipedia page:
Permanent side effects
The following adverse effects have been reported to persist, even after discontinuing therapy: alopecia (hair loss), arthralgias, decreased night vision,[38][39] inflammatory bowel disease,[40][41][42][43] degenerative disc disease, keloids, bone disease, dry eyes,[39] and "dry skin". High dosages of isotretinoin have been reported to cause rosacea (a disease of severe facial skin redness and irritation)[citation needed]. It is not known how these side effects can be permanent, but several studies have shown it induces apoptosis (cell death) in various cells. Isotretinoin is one of the drugs discussed in a recent study[44] examining epigenetic side effects (for example, DNA methylation) of common pharmaceuticals.
[edit]Stunted growth in height
The FDA's medication guide for Accutane states the drug "may stop long bone growth in teenagers who are still growing."[45] Several reports state spontaneous premature epiphyseal closure can occur in acne patients receiving recommended doses of Accutane.[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Since the age until complete ossification of bones varies between individuals (17–20 years for upper limbs, 18–23 years for lower limbs)[54] and since many are prescribed Accutane in their late teens, when growth still occurs, but has begun deaccelerating, there is a risk for a gray zone with people being affected without knowledge about it. The effect of multiple courses of Accutane on epiphyseal closure is unknown.

Even the FDA says that Accutane can cause bone growth to stop in teenagers that are still growing. Nice.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
Several scientific studies have posited isotretinoin is a possible cause of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in some individuals.[70][71][72] Three cases in the United States have gone to trial thus far, with all three resulting in multimillion dollar judgments against the makers of isotretinoin; there are an additional 425 cases pending.[73][74]

 

[women haze]

Holy Crap that does not sound worth it at all...
Go through all of that just for Acne
I would rather keep trying topical solutions

 

[jimmy18]

Accutane actually gave me dry skin all over my body (that lasted 3 months after I was off of it), gave me my first acne scars (I would never get scars before using accutane no matter how severe the acne) and made me depressed as hell for several months all when I was just on the 10mg pill. The side effects are a little more common than you think:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Accutane-posts-f46.html

If you look at the forum posts there are always people there experiencing side effects. Even on the first page right now they list chapped dry skin, vision problems, rashes on forearms, constant nosebleedings, dry cracking hair and etc. That's on the first fvcking page alone. No doubt accutane can kill acne but if you don't have the most severe, cystic acne, accutane is not for you.

Show me one peer-reviewed scientific study showing that the prevalence of _serious_ side effects from Accutane is greater than 1%. There isn't such a study, but 500000 people go on Accutane every year in the US and the minority (<1%) who end up with a severe side effect go on the internet telling others not to take it.

I'm lucky to have stopped using it and have all the side effects eventually go away. Some people aren't as lucky. Also don't you find it funny every single pill has this image on it: http://www.accutanesideeffects.net/img/icons/causes_birth_defects.gif

Accutane is teratogenic to fetuses. So what? This is a preventable side effect (don't get pregnant if you're a female on Accutane). Alcohol is also a teratogen. Does that mean that people other than pregnant women shouldn't and don't drink?

and that the main ingredient in accutane is Isotretinoin, a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat pancreatic and brain cancers? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accutane That should tell you how dangerous this sh!t is.

So? The dose of Accutane used in acne (0.5-1.0 mg/kg/day) is much lower than that used in cancer (~3 mg/kg/day).

Check out the following long-term (~5 year) follow-up study of 720 patients who took Accutane for their acne. There were no serious side effects recorded during the follow-up period in any of the patients.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7918010

 

[jimmy18]

Some more gems from the wikipedia page:
Permanent side effects
The following adverse effects have been reported to persist, even after discontinuing therapy: alopecia (hair loss), arthralgias, decreased night vision,[38][39] inflammatory bowel disease,[40][41][42][43] degenerative disc disease, keloids, bone disease, dry eyes,[39] and "dry skin". High dosages of isotretinoin have been reported to cause rosacea (a disease of severe facial skin redness and irritation)[citation needed]. It is not known how these side effects can be permanent, but several studies have shown it induces apoptosis (cell death) in various cells. Isotretinoin is one of the drugs discussed in a recent study[44] examining epigenetic side effects (for example, DNA methylation) of common pharmaceuticals.
[edit]Stunted growth in height
The FDA's medication guide for Accutane states the drug "may stop long bone growth in teenagers who are still growing."[45] Several reports state spontaneous premature epiphyseal closure can occur in acne patients receiving recommended doses of Accutane.[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53] Since the age until complete ossification of bones varies between individuals (17–20 years for upper limbs, 18–23 years for lower limbs)[54] and since many are prescribed Accutane in their late teens, when growth still occurs, but has begun deaccelerating, there is a risk for a gray zone with people being affected without knowledge about it. The effect of multiple courses of Accutane on epiphyseal closure is unknown.

Even the FDA says that Accutane can cause bone growth to stop in teenagers that are still growing. Nice.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
Several scientific studies have posited isotretinoin is a possible cause of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in some individuals.[70][71][72] Three cases in the United States have gone to trial thus far, with all three resulting in multimillion dollar judgments against the makers of isotretinoin; there are an additional 425 cases pending.[73][74]

In their medication guides, drug companies (to cover themselves legally) include all effects that have happened to people on Accutane, no matter their prevalence and no matter whether they were definitely caused by Accutane.

(Correlation does not imply causation.)

The following are possible effects from ibuprofen (Source: http://www.drugs.com/pro/ibuprofen.html). Have you ever taken Advil/Nurofen/Ibuprofen (which is available over the counter) for a headache?

• heart attack
• stroke
• high blood pressure
• heart failure from body swelling (fluid retention)
• kidney problems including kidney failure
• bleeding and ulcers in the stomach and intestine
• low red blood cells (anemia)
• life-threatening skin reactions
• life-threatening allergic reactions
• liver problems including liver failure
• asthma attacks in people who have asthma

• stomach pain
• constipation
• diarrhea
• gas
• heartburn
• nausea
• vomiting
• dizziness

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ALL drugs have rare severe side effects including Accutane whose prevalence is <1%.

 

[powpow]

I dont have time to go into it, but as a phd student studying this stuff, I wouldnt take it, or let any of my friends or family take it.

 

[Alle_Gory]

I went to a homeopath, worked wonders!

HAHAHAHA!!!

You know the medicine is just water right?

 

[ArcBound]

I dont have time to go into it, but as a phd student studying this stuff, I wouldnt take it, or let any of my friends or family take it.

^ this.

Like I said I speak from experience and have received a sh!t ton of side effects that luckily all went away. I've met many other people that did as well. Go on that acne.org site again, all the threads on the first page have all been replaced with new people who are all once again listing their own bad side effects.

Wonder why when you take accutane in the U.S. you MUST sign a waiver that says you know it can cause depression and pledge to stop taking it if you are feeling depressed. Oh and the fact that it can fvck up your liver so bad (worse than advil) that you have to take a blood test every single month while you are on it? And you can't drink alcohol while on it. I don't care if you say the the apparent side effect prevalence for Accutane is less than 1% lots of other extremely effective drugs for acne have MUCH MUCH lower rates of side effects like Retin-A and Tazorac. IMO if you don't look like a complete monster with cystic and nodular acne then accutane is not for you.