Accutane- third time, hair loss

[mrbig54]

Hey,

I'm a twenty year old male with moderate acne, but severe on my back...

and I'm about to start my third trial of accutane.

I've been reading a lot about hair loss online and the drug recently... and i was wondering, if i didn't experience hair loss with my first two trials, should I not be worried about experiencing it this time?

My dermatologist says chances are I won't lose my hair, and if I do, it'll be temporary.. but still, after all the complaints I've read, i'm seriously horrified.

Can anyone offer an opinion?

[loiloi]

Hi. 20% of Accutane patients (including myself) warrant a second or third course to achieve a long term remission from acne.
Rarely, Accutane causes temporary hair loss (alopecia) and very rarely it causes temporary increased hair growth (hirsutism) -which happened to me. I had increased hair growth on my face but this returned to normal after completing Accutane.
Although I cannot guarantee 100% Accutane while not effect your hair permanently, I think you are sensible to not worry as you have taken this drug twice before without this side effect occuring. Although side effects are generally dose-related, I have not read medical evidence to suggest that the more times you take Accutane the higher your chance of hair-loss. Accutane is out of your body within 5 weeks of finishing the course, and if you take another course you are "starting again". Some people have hair loss after just one course. I took a relatively low dose (20mg per day increased to 40mg a day) but this still had a temporary effect on my hair. The hair on my face was blonde and fine (I am female) but as with other side effects, I felt this way outweighed by the benefit to my skin.
Eloise.