ACUTANE

Is there any person in this forum that has experienced any Acutane side effectes that can give  any advice?
Thanks

[loiloi]

Hi. Yes I have taken Accutane twice. Do you want general advice about potential side effects or do you have a particular concern?

[along4theride]

Just the person I was looking for. I did the Accutane treatment 1 course and want to go on another cousre, however I am now on Lexapro for GAD. I posted a ??? a few minutes ago and was wondering if I could take the 2nd course of Accutane while on the Lexapro. Let me ask you this, was the 1st course and 2nd course the SAME  ie: Same doseage, same amount of time on it, same side effects, etc.... Can I ask you if you had any BAD side effects???  While You were on it did you take it with any other Meds???? Any help/info You can give me will be appreciated. Just not sure what I can do. My Derm, said it should be fine as long as they check every month (Blood Test) but would like to hear from someone that took it TWICE.
Thanks, look fowrad to your reply~

[loiloi]

Hi. I took a higher dose of Accutane the second time for a longer period, in the hope of achieving a longer remission time.
The first time I took 0.5mg  X kg bodyweight per day for 20 weeks. The second time I took 1mg X kg bodyweight per day for 24 weeks.
I did not have any untolerable side effects. I managed my dry lips with Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream (better than Vaseline) and treated my fragilised skin with La Roche-Posay products. I had some muscle and joint pain whilst on the higher dose and took pain killers for this. Side effects are generally dose-related and they were a little more noticable with the higher dose. I was also more prone to sunburn so had to use a higher SPF. Some patients experience a temporary loss of hair (alopecia) but I had the opposite; a temporary increase in hair growth (hirsutism).
I was prescribed Effexor (Venlafaxine) for depression and anxiety related to my acne. Some dermatologists will not prescribe Accutane whilst you are taking anti-depressants because 1% of Accutane patients report depression/worsening depression during therapy. However, you have been honest with your dermatologist and he has weighed the potential side effects up against the expected benefit for you.
Eloise.

[along4theride]

Hi:
First I would like to Thank you for answering my posts, you have answered to a couple posts I have made. (Appreciate your Help)  I see you say that you had pretty tolerable SIDE EFFECTS with the 2ND DOSE of Accutane, (being at a higer dose) dry lips, skin, sun sensitivity......Yet with a HIGHER dose, (2nd course on Accutane) more noticable effects than the 1st Dose .... Yet, still Tolerable..... You say how you had muscle & joint pain that wasn't untolerable to you.... Yet,  you needed to take Pain Killers for this. I would think if you needed Pain Killers, it wasn't exactly TOLERABLE.... You also say that you were treated with Effexor for Depression/Anxiety due to your acne, Did you go on the Anti-depressant before you ever started Accutane due to acne issues? Or was it while you were on Accutane, or after you came off it that you needed the Anti-depressant?.... If it was before the 1st Treatment that you were on the Anti-depressant, what were your DR's. Main concerns regarding your Depression???? Now I ask this are you still on the Effexor?? How long have you been off the Accutane?

Sorry for so many ???'s, I just need some answers/advice.....Thanks....

[loiloi]

Hi. By 'tolerable' I mean that the pain was easily controlled by non-prescription painkillers and was not severe enough for me to stop the Accutane or lower the dose.
I was treated with Effexor Venlafaxine for psychological distress associated with acne. I am no longer on this, I gradually reduced to 37.5mg before stopping altogether. I had physical withdrawal symptoms (vomiting and loose stools) for a week when stopping but the psychological problems did not return.
I finished my second course of Accutane last June (9 months ago). I no longer have cystic acne but still get a few spots which can be controlled by standard acne treatments.
Eloise.

[nicco7]

Hi,
I was on accutane for 5 months and hope to go on again for my ance was extremly bad and it did subside after this but i still get some. I had dryness of lips and face and joint pain though I had just started a new sport. I dont really get the undergrounds but i do get whiteheads and blackheads. But going on this helped me greatly.
Nicco

[Mitch82]

is acutant, like Roacutane? I took that several years ago in 1999, it worked for me however I experinced major dryness of the skin, about a year or so ago the Australian media ran stories about links between Roacutane and depression in teenagers, difficult to gauge if this effected me as having bad acne would be a cuase of depression in itself