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 males first. 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 |
| 4 | for cystic acne | dry dry dry dry lips to the point of bleeding and open wounds. dry/scaley arms as well. middle back spinal pain (very painful). decreased night vision. depression and lathargy | it definitely cleared up my face. despite the side effects, i dont think i will stop taking the medication. it's benefit as been too great. | F | 19 | 6 weeks | 3/25/2008 | 4 | Cystic Acne | Some dry skin so far, but not too bad at all. Some joint pain in my feet and back, but again, not too bad. Dry lips. | I just turned 30 and can't take it anymore. I never had a problem until around 23...bamb. My cheeks were the main part and letting it go so long, I have developed scarring. I did try Accutane approx. 6 years ago, but didn't follow through with it due to the acne getting worse, but now, I sure wish I did! I have been on it for 10 days so far and am pretty happy. I still have some old ones that are fading, but no new cysts. I just can't wait to have my pretty face back!!! Acne has destroyed some good years. After treatment with Accutane, I will begin the treatment for the scars. Good luck to all. | F | 30 | 10 days | 4/2/2008 | 4 | Moderate Acne. | Depression, dry skin, eczema, dry lips, mood swings. | My boyfriend commented that I was really moody while taking Accutane. I was taking 10mg twice a day. I would be really happy, but when I hit my lows, I hit them pretty hard. The dry skin was not too bad seeing as I had oily skin in the past, but the dry, cracked, bleeding lips was kind of annoying. It kept my face clear for about a year after stopping the treatment, but now my face is still really dry and I still have rather horrible cystic breakouts. | F | 22 | 6 months | 4/24/2008 | 4 | Acne | Overall this is great! ive been on it for almost two months now and its dried me out great! Chapped lips; Back Pain; exzema type rashes on my forearms and on the top of my hands and knuckles. Shaving has become difficult. Now it just plain out hurts. | So far i highly suggest this. Im sixteen years old and So far its done more good than bad. My arms do look funny from the rash; so thank god its winter! long sleeves are a blessing ahahha. When i wake in the morning; I get these dried patches of blood in my nose which is very gross; and when you blow your nose or scratch at them; they peel off; taking some of your skin with it so you have a sore in your nose; and this repeats nightly. No moisturising Nasal spray has helped. But its nothing horrible. No depression. Just aches in my back; hip and legs. Sitting for long period of time becomes difficult. | F | 16 | 2 months | 1/27/2009 | 4 | severe acne since jr high | dry lips, dry mucous membranes (nose, ears, anus), watery eyes, back/neck soreness, fragile skin on hands/face, tiredness, and sweaty eyebrows. | I have struggled with acne since junior high. It has progressively changed and gotten deeper into my early 30's. I have tried multiple topicals, and nothing has really cleared up the deep cystic acne I had. I am on my 4th month of Accutane, on a 6 month course. So far I am very happy with it. Caused some minor side effects that haven't been too much of a bother as long as I keep up on treating them. I moisturize 3-4 times daily, and constantly use AquaPhor for my lips. The only side-effect that have caused some symptoms worth seeing a doctor for was anal dryness causing an anal fissure. I see a doctor once a month for check-ups and blood work to make sure my levels are ok and my symptoms aren't getting worse. Doctor says the tiredness could be caused by the muscle soreness. Accutane drys out the muscles so she said to drink lots of water and get rest. | F | 34 | 4 months | 3/30/2009 | 4 | Persistent, Nodular Acne | Dry lips-Aquaphor makes this not a problem. A little itchy on my arms where it's dry. I've experienced joint pain only twice. Two mornings I woke up and one of my ankles was sore. Advil took care of it immediately. A little bit of acne in unusual places like my shoulder. | I've read a lot about accutane on the internet and it is simply terrifying. I struggled with whether to go on it or not because of all the bad reviews. My dermatologist said not to worry and I went ahead and started taking it. I've been on it a month and a half and the side effects are basically nothing at all compared to the results I'm seeing. If I were you, suffering from acne, I would not let all these posts scare you. My hair is not falling out, my lips are managable, joint pain is very minimal and advil helps it. | F | 27 | 45 days | 3/31/2009 | 4 | Moderate persistent acne | Ribcage soreness and joint/back pain during the first week (went away), dry skin/lips throughout, stomach pains sometimes, slight mood swings (may have happened anyway=)), scabs do not heal as fast! soreness/dryness/blood when blowing nose, irritation over not being able to drink as much! | This stuff affects everyone completely differently, and you can't take any comments too seriously until you try it for yourself. Additionally, many side effects you hear people talking about may or may not actually be due to the accutane itself. If you feel as though you need a last resort acne medication, you should give it a try. I am not yet done with my treatment (at 3.5 months now), but my skin is now really starting to clear up big time. However, side effects such as the dry skin, chapped lips, and sore internal nasal area is worse this month. 8/8 people who I know that have gone on this stuff are still void of acne after 2 or more years. Accutane can be a lifesaver; side effects should definitely be monitered closely though. | F | 21 | 3.5 months | 3/8/2009 | 4 | Acne on Face | Very Dry cracked lips, Dry skin, Respiratory problems,mood swings | I really thinks it works my acne started clearing up like in 3 weeks I saw a major diffrence.I took it for a year and I have no acne | F | 23 | 1 years | 5/19/2009 | 4 | Moderate Acne | very dry lips, dry skin, rash, dry anus with painful bowel movements, joint pain, tiredness. My hair is not oily anymore :) | The side effects sound bad, but they are easily managed with a good quality chap stick, lotions, and facial moisturizer. Avoid all products for treating acne, they just add to the dryness. So far, lots of clearing. However, it is not completely gone. My back broke out very badly but is starting to clear up. I am on 40mg two times a day and I am at the end of my 2nd month of treatment. So far, triglycerides are fine. | F | 23 | 2 months | 5/6/2009 | 4 | Acne | Dry and itchy skin, chapped lips, flaky scalp, joint pain (especially in my knees), diagnosed myofascial pain in upper extremeties and irritable bowel syndrome | I first took Accutane 5 years ago. I never thought about why I suffered from IBS until a couple weeks ago when someone brought to my attention the severe side effects of taking the drug. The summer after my first treatment, I began having symptoms of IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I was formally diagnosed a few months later and had my first colonoscopy at age 24. This is my second time on isotretinoin, and I just completed my last dose 4 weeks ago. Last week Tuesday, my left eye was blurry as if my contact lens wasn't strong enough for that eye. I continued putting the lens in my eye thinking it would get better, but on Saturday I tried a stronger lens, which worked, but left me confused and slightly disturbed. Well this morning I woke up and after putting in my contacts, my right eye isn't seeing at 100% like it should. I'm calling my doctor to see what's going on. I'm convinced it is related to this medication. I didn't realize the severity of the side effects but now that I do, I would recommend alternative treatments for acne (maybe the blulight laser?). My skin does look amazing but at what price? Our health is all we have and I'm seriously rethinking my decision...although it's now too late. Lasers are the new starts of acne treatment. It may be worth a try. | F | 29 | 5 months | 5/26/2009 | 4 | cystic acne | dry/swollen lips, severely dry hair, exhausted most of the day, dry eyes, dry mouth, sexual dysfunction, joint pain | I'm beginning to re-think taking this drug. I was told by an aesthician that I'm way to old to start a drug like this and that it could kick me into early menopause?!? I'm going to find out if there are any side effects if I stop immediately. I'm wondering if anyone else suffers the sexual dysfunction?!?! I would really hate for my hair to be permanently damaged for the sake of getting rid of a few pimples. My acne was not severe. | F | 40 | 3 weeks | 5/29/2009 | 4 | cystic acne | chapped lips, occational bloody nose, sadness | I took this medication when I was in my early 20's. I am now 44. For the last 17 or so years I've had some back, joint and muscle pain. It has gotten worse in the last five years. I was told I probably have fiber myalsia by my doctor. I only recently realized that this could be a lasting side affect from taking accutane. I am in severe pain every day.... | F | 44 | 4 months | 6/7/2009 | 4 | moderate acne | dry eyes, skin and hair. | I weigh 150lbs and take 80mg once a day. My skin is clear but a bit on the red side. I get minor cuts and scratches very easily (mostly on my arms and hands) which take a while to heal. I take my meds at the same time each day and drink plenty of water. I haven't had a single major side effect (other than the dryness, which, after having had very oily skin my whole life, is actually kind of nice). I wish I hadn't been too scared to take this drug sooner; my skin is scarred from years of acne, and accutane doesn't do anything to mend that. Don't panic about this drug. Its just a med like any other med. Take it, don't drink alcohol, stay hydrated and go about your life as usual. | F | 32 | 4 months | 6/1/2009 | 4 | Adult Acne | At the time I took it I had to usual very dry skin and LOTS of breakouts (at first). Then, everything went away and I had very clear skin that was not oily like before. Now, 10 years later, acne is coming back slightly, but I was warned that one course of treatment may not be enough. | All in all, taking Accutane was worth the 3 months of looking aweful. I think it's funny how the people on this site are blaming Accutane for every medical or physical problem that they're having. Come on people, if you didn't read about the side affects, then that's your fault, not the company. Do I have achy joints, yes slightly, but I am almost 48 years old, too. That's expected. Plus, there are lots of other reasons why people can have achy joints. Don't be so quick to self-diagnose! | F | 47 | 4 months | 6/2/2009 | 4 | moderate acne | very chapped lips, dry skin, mood swings, dry eyes and mouth, blurred vision, bloody noes. After effects: dry skin and face, dry eyes, hives/rashes, itchy skin, muscle pain. | Accutane deffinatly cleared pretty much all my acne; afterwards i did have the casual pimple or two.. but nothing like i use to have before. i do recomend this for people with sever acne if you have tryed all other possiblities and have considered the sie affects and longterm afters of accutane. i tryed everything you could possibly thing of to rid of my acne, but nothing truely worked, which left my with the choice of accutane. | F | 15 | 6 months | 6/30/2009 | 4 | Severe acne | When taking accutane I experienced very very chapped lips, dry itchy skin, peeling skin, thinning hair ( fell out in hand fulls), blurred vision (while on accutane I developed astigmatism and had to get special contacts, this later went away), flash headaches -this happened at least twice a day, a sharp blinding pain behind my eyes that lasted about 5 seconds then went away, last but not least I was extremely angry and aggressive. I was constantly frustrated and annoyed, I was either yelling or crying. I also had kidney stones 5 years after taking the drug...I am not sure if it could have been caused by accutane. | It works, but it is a very strange drug and you should make sure that you communicate all symptoms to your doctor. | F | 21 | 8 months | 9/1/2009 | 4 | acne | dry skin especially on face, at least. extremely dry face, rare nose bleeds & dry mucus. | it's easy & my family saw results in 2 weeks. still on my 6 month run. | F | 19 | 4 months | 9/18/2009 | 4 | Moderate Acne | Chapped lips, dry skin, joint pain, insomnia, moody/irritable. | I have been taking Claravis for almost 2 months, I started out on 40mg, my Dr. just upped my dose to 80mg every other day... the side effects just got worse. I got my first nose bleed today, that's how I ended up on this site. My acne is horrible right now and all I can do is hope that this is the process. I was warned that it would get worse, after the increase in dose it has really started effecting me. I would reccomend this if you have acne, but don't expect an overnight miracle. I was getting facials once a week and only buying the BEST products for my face, I also tried everything the Dr had to prescribe. I have spent so much $ over the last 5 years trying to clear my skin and this is the first one to give me some hope. | F | 26 | 7 weeks | 8/26/2009 | 4 | cystic acne | Severe drying and permanent increased prolactin level | Have not had any significant break-outs since taking medicine 16 years ago; however, I believe there is a direct connection to my elevated prolactin level. | F | 40 | 6 months | 6/4/2008 | 4 | acne | Dryness inside and out; skin is soft with the exception of dry patches on hands, arms; bloating; slight headaches; red bumps on legs like bites that do not itch; some night vision differences | I am a little over halfway through the treatment and couldn't be happier. I started to break out at 25 and have been on countless topicals and antibiotics since then. I wish I had taken it when offered by the first doctor a couple years ago, but wanted to wait until I was 'ready' and made sure that nothing else worked. It was refreshing to read other comments and see that I am not the only one experiencing some of these side effects. My skin already has a glow and is starting to even out. My breakouts are minimal and clear up within a couple days. I started at 40 mg/day, then moved to 60 mg/day. I will end the program at 80 mg/day. The low fat diet was hard to maintain at first but I've gotten used to reading labels and feel better about myself. I would recommend these meds to anyone who qualifies. | F | 28 | 4 months | 6/4/2008 |