ACCUTANE Reviews (ISOTRETINOIN)Average Rating: 3.3 (746 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ACCUTANE with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 |
More on ACCUTANE: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ACCUTANE | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | acne | less serious: dry/chapped lips, dry skin more serious: blood infection and staph infection | My dermatologist informed me that both my blood infection (very serious) and staph infection were caused by accutane. He also informed me that I had one half of one percent of a chance that this would happen to me. I never see these listed, however, in the possible side effects. I believe its important for people taking this drug to know this. | F | 21 | 4 months | 7/17/2006 | 1 | Acne | Dizzyness, headaches, dry lips, first floaters, then dimming of eyesight, completely blacked out while driving. | The doctor was told several times about the side effects with the eyes and we were told it would disappear after a couple months. The eyesight was getting worse, and asked if I should see an eye dr., but was told no. Finally my mom took me to an opthalmalogist. He took one look and asked if I was on an acne drug. He said it is a common side effect. I went into a ditch with my car as my sight went black just a short ways from a cliff. I now have only tunnel vision and can no longer drive. I am now a jr. in college working on a RN. I would not recommend this drug, expecially to people/girls that are heavy as I was at the time. The dr. told me it happens more in over weight people. It has been three years since I stopped the drug. | F | 20 | 6 months | 3/10/2007 | 1 | Minor Acne | Scar easily, lack of sex drive, no natural lubricant | NO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE UNLESS YOU'RE OKAY WITH NEVER HAVING SEX AGAIN. I used to get wet before my fiance even touched me... now the only way we can have sex is by using lubricants. I cry at least once a month because it's so bad. I loved having sex and wanted it 24/7... now I actually dread it. I've been off of Accutane for a year now and it hasn't cleared up. My sex life is ruined!! | F | 24 | 5 months | 3/21/2007 | 1 | acne, cystic acne | dry nose, dry eyes, joint pain, extreme tiredness and fatigue, hair loss, unable to concentrate, major tiredness, feelings of sadness, crohn's disease | While I was on it, I loved it. My skin, still, looks awesome and is perfectly clear. But, because of this medication, I cannot study and concentrate like I used to in college. I got Crohn's Disease from it (a terrible intestinal disease that has NO CURE!), and I am still unable to concentrate and am very tired. The clear face was not worth the embarassing, un-curable bowel disease. This drug is really bad. I would bear with the acne and save your body and you mind from the harshness of this truly un-safe drug. | F | 20 | 5 months | 7/14/2005 | 1 | cystic acne | Headaches, dry/chapped lips, MASSIVE HAIR LOSS - HASN'T STOPPED IN 12 YEARS - DON'T TAKE THIS DRUG. | It's terrible how they push this drug on vulnerable teenagers desperate for an acne cure. 12 years later I'm still sorry I took it, and I still get cystic acne. It's poison. | F | 31 | 2 months | 6/22/2006 | 1 | mild acne | HAIR LOSS,HAIR LOSS,HAIR LOSS!!dry mouth,lips,nose,face,rash on hands,HORRIBLE lower BACK PAIN! PAINFUL SEX, FREQUENT URINATION,sensitive skin,weight loss,insomnia,more energy,blurred night vision | I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS MEDICATION UNLESS YOU HAVE SEVERE ACNE, WHICH I DID NOT. MY HAIR WAS FALLING OUT EVERYWHERE. I STOPPED ACCUTANE 1 1/2 YRS AGO AND MY HAIR IS STILL FALLING OUT AND IS EXTREMELY THIN!! IT HASN'T GROWN BACK AND I DON'T THINK IT EVER WILL. I STILL HAVE FREQUENT URINATION WHICH WAKES ME UP ABOUT 3-4 TIMES A NIGHT... ACCUTANE IS A VERY DANGEROUS DRUG AND SHOULD BE USED WITH CARE | F | 23 | 5 months | 9/14/2006 | 1 | persistent acne | During the 5th month of a 6 month treatment, I developed depression and anxiety, moodiness, fatigue, night sweats, joint pain, vaginal dryness, decreased night vision, and worst of all a COMPLETE loss of libido. (Depression subsided after drug completed; however, the other symptoms persist 5 years later.) | I had a course of Accutane in the late 80's with good results and no lasting side-effects, so at 30, I decided to take it again. This drug WILL clear your acne, but I would caution adult women from the drug, because for me, the side-effects were far more serious than they were at 16. I lived 30 years without 1 day of depression, and I am convinced this drug causes it. After stopping, the depression completely vanished and has been gone for 5 years. Unfortunately, the other side effects developed during treatment such as loss of libido, moodiness, night vision issues, extreme fatigue and joint pain continue to persist. I'd take my old acne back in a second to get rid of these new problems! | F | 35 | 6 months | 2/5/2007 | 1 | - | This is for the girls/women thinking of using the drug. Since skin problems are directly tied to testosterone, either over production or a hyper-sensitivity to it, please investigate possible hormone controlling drugs in addition to the topicals to really get a handle on the problem. Some birth control pills help some women. (like Yasmine or Ortho Tri-Cyclin). Also, please check out websites on P.C.O.S., or poly cycstic ovarian syndrome to see if you have other symptoms, because you may have an underlying ovarian problem which can cause chronic skin problems too. So, look into these things first, because they have a much safer track record than Accutane. And note: all birth control pills are slightly different, so if you get bad results with one, try another before you write it off as a possible answer. Good luck! | F | 28 | 1 days | 1/25/2006 | 1 | acne | i wasnt the one who took it | i know a young girl who had a baby with defects (was missings a kidney) and the doctors said it was because of accutane although she got pregnant 2 years after going off the medication :( i have acne but would never take accutane after i heard of her baby..really scary medicine and my fiance does not want me to take it because of birth defect side effect ..he said its too risky ..plus you cant be 100% sure of not getting pregnant..even with two types of contraceptives also the thinning of hair side effect is really scary .. i love my hair and wont take any risks..i heard sometime the thinning does not stop :O i hope there will be a better alternative to accutane with better results soon..lets pray for that! ;) | F | 22 | 6 months | 3/22/2006 | 1 | 20 years of acne | severe dryness of skin (but the acne still manages to continue), severe dryness of eyes (still have that problem, depression (on and off), migraines | I do not recommend this med after two rounds of it. It worked short term for me, then the acne came back after about a year or so. Try chemical peels from a dermatologist's office along with the other meds they offer. The peels actually have helped the most of all. | F | 38 | 6 months | 8/9/2006 | 1 | cystic acne | Cracking and bleeding from every mucus membrane I had. Drying of my joints (knees, shoulders, fingers). Till this day I cannot sleep on my side unless I sleep on my scapula due to pain in my shoulder. Hair loss, hair loss, hair loss! Irritable bowel syndrome (maybe)... I think its worse as I am chronically constipated. I seldomly have pain as I won't have a bowel movement for over 2 weeks unless I take drastic measures! I can't smell due to chronic edema in my nose. | My face has no more acne, scars stopped forming after I completed my course but.....NOT WORTH IT with the MAJOR SIDE EFFECTS. To use the rest room once a day... priceless. I weighed 100lbs. Took 40 mg for extended period. | F | 43 | 1 years | 9/1/2005 | 1 | Acne | chapped lips, nose bleeds, hip pain, dry eyes-Now have Type 1 Diabetes, IBS, Arthritis, High cholestrol (all associated with this medication) | i took this medication in my early twenties. At that time,(1988) the only caution from my dermatologist was DO NOT GET PREGNANT, can raise triglycerides and cause some joint pain which will go away when medicine is discontinued. Within months of finishing my round of Accutane, my pancreas started dumping too much insulin and I suffered severe hypoglycemia for months. I then developed insulin dependant diabetes. In my mid thirties my skin begin breaking our again. My derm put me on 40mg daily and gave me a BOOK of cautions and side effects. A BOOK! Among them was "notify your physician of diabetes in your family" can cause IBS, pancreatis (which can lead to diabetes) depression, suicide, and on and on. When I spoke with my dermatologist she said there was no proof and to keep taking it, I stopped immediatley. For the month I was on it, my hair fell out, my blood sugars went out of control. I spoke with my endocrinolgist about it and she agrees that is caused my diabetes. Th | F | 39 | 9 days | 6/21/2006 | 1 | acne | I had very dry skin, however when I was finshed I broke out with a terrible rash that I still have. It covered the side of my face and got worse. I still have it and have since I got off of accutane. I still have mild break outs. To me I would rather have acne then a rash that breaks out over my body that hurts and itches. | F | 17 | | 10/22/2006 | 1 | severe acne | Did not clear up my skin and now have liver problems so my acne has gotten even worse. | Did not clear up my skin and now have liver problems so my acne has gotten even worse. When oh when will a dermatologist find something to help me??? It's been 9 years, and nothing close to a solution has been in sight! | F | 23 | 7 months | 11/19/2006 | 1 | acne | Everything in the book and many more. My health was devastated. If you care about your health, don't take it. If you are embarassed about acne and want to take it for vanity reasons, I wouldn't take it either since it made all my hair fall out, my posture hunched and weak, my complexion grey, caused dandruff and grey hair and wrinkles and poor health. Not exactly a freaking beauty improvement. | F | 28 | 7 months | 12/27/2005 | 1 | Scarring Acne | Of course I suffered the dryness which was bad enough, but like many others on here I was also diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ulcerative Colitis), caused by the Accutane. | Since getting colitis from Accutane I have heard so many other horror stories (liver transplants, complete mental breakdowns) that I wonder why this drug still exists. Anyone reading this who is comtemplating going on it, do not. Although it seems that the odds of you developing some crazy side effect are small, it seems to be happening more than people realize, and none of them are worth the chance of no longer having acne. I would rather have the most acne covered face, than be now dealing with the much more embarassing and serious effects of colitis... | F | 23 | 6 months | 11/8/2006 | 1 | blemishes | 1.Swift & immediate extreme hair loss which became permanent. Also permanent unpleasant change to hair quality & texture (more coarse,dry,wiry,"old"). After taking it, hair now grows in more slowly than ever before. 2."Aging" effect, sudden appearance of wrinkles and grey hair practically overnight. Appeared to have aged 5-10 years in that many months! 3. Extreme joint pain/arthritis, temporary. Some joint pain/arthritis, permanent. Tendon damage & fragility, bone loss. Muscle soreness, fatigue with anxiety. 4. Although it did clear up awhile- my skin looked beautiful-, my fleeting experience with near-perfect looking facial skin brought no relief since I felt terribly weak & sore & achy and my hair looked like a gnarly baldy brillo pad. Pain made it difficult to continue exercising as much as I did before. At times, was too dispirited to get out of bed. Accutane cures acne like a fatal heart attack cures cancer. It just swaps it for something e | 7.Giant patches of skin (inches across at times!) flaked off around nose & scalp & ears especially. Still on ears over 6 yrs later:red, raw, flaky.8.Worsening of overall skin resilience & tone throughout body. Brittle nails, fragile skin tears easily, etc.Felt unexplainably "brittle", as if my "bounce" is gone. 9. Chronic, mild irritated, dry eyes. 10.To be fair, I was not traumatized EVERY day. I truly believed the troublesome effects would go & no serious harm was coming to me, as docs said. I had hope, so wasn't 100% dejected. Before, I was a happy girl, healthy, energetic & excited about resolving long- term acne. I was enthusiastic about living a great, suc- cessful life. I was NOT depressed & anxious by nature. I worked out, ate health food, & was a picture of vitality aside from frustratingly persistent acne. I had no idea what I was in for, in terms of years of physical problems afterwards, for the sake of self-improvement. I woul | F | 36 | 6.5 months | 12/27/2005 | 1 | Acne | Extreme dry eyes (I am now 6 months post accutane and can still not wear contacts. I have been to many eye doctors and am struggling to find relief) dry skin, severe depression | When I finished my course of Accutane, my face was perfect!! Sure, I had dry eyes so severe that they constantly burned, but hey I had perfect skin! Three months later, my acne all came back. This wasn't worth it and I wouldn't do it again | F | 22 | 8 days 30 2X day | 1/26/2015 | 1 | Severe acne | I took Accutane for 9 months when I was 14, then again at 16. When I was 17 started experiencing unexplained muscle loss, twitching, pain, aching of bones, sensitivity to light, heat intolerance... I'm 20 now and am scared I'm dying because of the muscle atrophy. I can't leave the house, especially when it's warm outside and spend most of the time in bed. Also my heart rate is over 90 unless I take a betablocker. Don't take this drug, it has ruined my life. | F | 20 | 9 months forgotten | 6/7/2014 | 1 | severe acne | Fatigue, vomiting, loss of appetite, severe liver problems, overall pains and aches | I took this medication in 2004 after spending four years trying to combat my severe acne. I went from one week being a healthy teenager to feeling like an old woman. I could barely keep anything down and lost my hunger for several months during and after usage. I was so fatigued and weak that I could barely sit at the computer. Bi-weekly blood tests showed that my liver count went from a healthy number of 5 to close to 1000. Needless to say I went off of it after a month. Worse, is that after six months of being off of the medication, my acne came back with full force and has been with me ever since. To this day, not only do I still have trouble with my acne, but I have joint pain, chronic dry skin, and I recently noticed that my hair is thinning in spots. I didn't originally correlate these side effects to the Accutane, but after reading the other comments, it's making me second-guess myself. | F | 23 | 2 months | 9/29/2009 |