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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More on ACCUTANE: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ACCUTANE | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Severe facial/ bodily acne | Nothing thus far.. | I'll just start by saying that no I have not been on it for a long enough time to know whether I experience negative side effects/ which ones I experience, but this is my logic with the drug: All medications that are prescribed have severe possible side effects, they all share many of the same ones. You are VERY likely to experience the minor ones from accutane (chapped lips, dry skin/ mouth/ eyes/ nose, joint pain, headaches, etc.) because you are being dehydrated by the drug. My belief is that people assume that since people usually experience THOSE side effects, that you are more likely to experience ALL of them. Everyone reacts differently to ANY drug, so that's why some people have had incredibly bad experiences with accutane, however, it has obviously worked for many other people too. What should be taken into account is the ratio of success to failures using this drug, that is how people should form their opinions. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and that is mine. | F | 19 | 2 days 40mg 1X day | 5/2/2010 | 5 | moderate to severe acne | dry lips | Had acne since 14. I was too afraid to take accutane because I heard so many bad stories. Now I wish I had taken it sooner. How much better I would have felt in high school. At the end of my third month and so much better. No initial break out and no bad side affects yet. Don't automatically believe all the bad stuff as it can obviously be different for everyone. Also you are checked once a month by the doctor so he/she can monitor for problems and adjust. | F | 19 | 3 months 40mg 1X day | 4/30/2010 | 5 | moderate acne | In my opinion, It's All Worth It!!!! :) The, Dry lips (completely under control w/ AquaPhor), Sensitive/Dry Face (Again, nothing that AquaPhor couldn't help!), Occasional Hip & Chest Pain,(in the second month only), Occasional Severely Dry Anal, causing a couple of painful bowel movements, and weirdly, eyebrow sweats no matter what my body temp is...(the eyebrow sweats may not be related to accutane as I have not shared this possible side effect with my doctor), and lastly, the best side effect of all, BEAUTIFUL SKIN! | AMMAZING RESULTS! :) I am on my 5th & final month of taking 2 generic forms of Accutane; Amnesteem 10mg (1/day), and Claravis 30mg (2/day), 70mg/day. I made it through high school with no acne and developed moderate acne at the age of 18. I am a model/actor/student and the acne was a night mare, absolutely horrible on my self-esteem and confidence! I tried several prescribed meds with no help. I was aware of Accutane through close friends who took it & I was fearful of it even though they did have amazing results from it however sites like this one scared me. Finally my acne got to where it was very painful and intolerable, at that point my Dermatologist recommended Accutane and I was now willing. I am highly involved in sports and only experienced occasional hip & chest pain in the 2nd month of taking, I believe, 40mg/day. I had not noticed any other aches or pains except those natural to the workouts & conditioning I do. My dry lips and dry skin are tolerable w/ the constant use of AquaPhor, (found at Walgreens). When starting Accutane my doctor started me at a low dose and upped it each visit until the 3rd month when she upped it 70mg /day… it finally worked. The 2nd & 3rd month I had a huge acne flare-up! After the middle of the third month my skin was beautiful, no pimples, not one!!! I’m acne-free! I have flawless skin! I would recommend to anyone dealing with moderate to severe acne that he/she takes with a (large) grain of salt many of | F | 19 | 5 months 30MG&10MG 2X day | 4/21/2010 | 3 | Bad Acne | Nose bleeds, dried skin, sunburn very easily, slight depression, etc... | I started when i was 20 years old and stopped about a year and a half later. Acutane helped all of my acne, but the after effects are horrible. Im convinced it caused my extreme heartburn, hair thinning, low energy levels, digestive problems, trouble concentrating, anxiety, and several other problems. If i could go back,would i take it agian? its hard to say if my acne going away was really worth all these problems. I just hate that there is nothing i can do about it now... | M | 28 | 1.5 years 2X day | 4/21/2010 | 3 | severe acne | mood swings while taking and depression has lasted 6 months after. Acne is 70% better but not as good as we expected. | not worth the depression and anxiety. This drug is more dangerous then they tell you. Marijuana seems to increase depression and suicidal tendencies. | M | 16 | 4 months 30 mg 1X day | 4/21/2010 | 4 | Acne | Dry lips, dry nose, dry skin, back pain | Cleared up my back and chest completely and my face is 90percent better; though I've been off accutane for 3/4 months now, I still have back pains. | F | 21 | 6 months 20 3X day | 4/20/2010 | 4 | Cystic acne | Bloody nose, very dry lips, around month 3 ankle joint pain, around month 4 hip pain. | I never had serious problem with acne in high school and as soon as I started college it just flared up. After multiple other products and nothing working I decided to give Accutane a shot. For the most part this medicine seems to be working. I have this month left and maybe one more (TBD), for a total of 6 months. My doctor has me taking one dose Sat/Sun/Tues/Thurs and two doses (morning and night) M/W/F. So far it has cleared up most of the painful acne cysts I use to have constantly. It is not completely clear but it is much better than when I started. I know this treatment is not for everyone but for me so far it has been fine. I have had to cut down on the time and mileage I spend at the gym per-week due to the stiffness and pain in my ankles and hip. To any one considering beginning this treatment I'd say give it a shot. Tell your doctor about any side effects and use your own judgment if you need to decrease dosage or stop taking it all together. | F | 23 | 5 months 40MG 1X day | 4/19/2010 | 5 | Cystic Acne | Severely dry eyes & skin, nose bleeds, cholesterol & triglycerides sky-rocketed, continuous spotting (which means i have an approx. 3-wk period), bad sunburns which lead to weeks of peeling | I am in my last month of 80 MG/day Accutane (which I believe is the highest dosage possible). When I decided to begin it, I had 3 concerns that I'd heard/read about and I said that if any of these came true, I would stop Accutane. 1) That I'd gain weight 2) That I'd kill myself 3) That my hair would fall out. None of these came true. It is great stuff. I wanted flawless skin and Accutane gave it to me. I don't have to wear primer, foundation, powder, nothing. I wonder if all these people on here complaining about it didn't already have pre-existing tendencies that Accutane had no part whatsoever in causing? Like back pain. I had back pain before Accutane. I still have back pain while on Accutane. But Accutane did not cause my back pain. Also, I have been slightly lethargic and moody while taking it. But it has been winter and everyone gets a little gloomier during wintertime. The bottom line is that I am a young woman in college and therefore, I care what I look like. I am more than willing to put up with the side effects I'm experiencing in exchange for never worrying about disgusting cysts ever again. Highly recommend it. | F | 20 | 5 months 80 MG 1X day | 4/9/2010 | 5 | adult onset | dry lips/skin, rash on arms, hair thinning, back pains, fatigue | I was really skeptical about taking it, but now I am super glad that I did. It worked pretty quickly; my face looks 100 times better than before. The dry skin wasn't too bad if I used the Cetaphil mosturizer and constantly applied chapstick (Aquaphor)the only thing that really upset me was my hair thinning-it fell out like crazy! (Supposedly hair thinning is only seen in male patients 40+ yrs. old who are already balding, but I have my suspicions that mine was caused by the Accutane) My dermatologist promised that all the side effects would be temporary and that I would be back to normal 30 days after treatment...so we'll see! | F | 24 | 5 months 80mg. 1X day | 4/3/2010 | 1 | Joint pain, nose bleeds, swollen and sluggish lymph nodes, weight gain, liver disease, depression, hair loss, anger and mood swings, cracked lips, eye infectons, light intolerance, redness of the skin, skin sensitivity. Skin would break open with the slightest knock. | Its been over 12 yrs and I still cant wax my legs without having to scratch them excessivly for days sometimes weeks. Its only been in the last yr that I can squeeze my nose, as i the cartilage in my nose must of damaged or something. I was unable to pinch my nostrils together. I now have alot of lymphatic issues and Im fairly certain its due to this horrible drug. I cant believe they put teenagers on this. | M | 29 | 7 months 70 1X day | 4/1/2010 | 1 | acne | Joint pain, back pain, chest pain, very tired, anger, dry lips, dry face, redness in face. | Okay so I am 19 years old in college and just started accutane 10 days ago. I really thought I wouldn't have any side effects since I have taken a lot of other supplements whether for lifting or acne. After only ten days I started to have pretty bad joint and back pain. I am in good physical shape and lifting is a must for me. I have never had any joint or muscle pain before taking accutane. The last two times lifting it hurt just to lift from how bad the back and joint pain was. My acne has started to go away, and only have a few pimples on my face. I think I am going to stop taking the medication though because I am not willing to have permanent joint pain for the rest of my life. Also I have been extremely tired, taking naps all the time which I usually am very energetic. And also very angry for no reason, feels like I want to punch something over any little thing. Unless your acne is really really bad do not start this, the side effects are no joke. I think I am going to go back to using Differin, all though it did not cure my acne it at least didnt make me feel like a 80 year old man with all my joint pains. I think I can deal with a little bit of acne rather than going through all of these side effects. Try It, but if you have these symptoms I would stop right away. | M | 19 | 12 days 40 mg 1X day | 3/31/2010 | 1 | Adult-onset acne | IRREVERSIBLE, SEVERE JOINT/BACK PAIN, THIN HAIR, VISUAL CHANGES | I am absolutely amazed at the people on here who are basically calling the ones with permanent side-effects from Accutane liars!! You have no idea! I was a 5'8", 135 pound, healthy, non-smoking, active person when I took this HORRIBLE drug. Just because everyone doesn't experience the debilitating side effects doesn't make them untrue for others. I am a nurse, and there's NO doubt in my mind Accutane caused every one of my symptoms. A study has been done that confirms this drug causes cell death all over the body. It's the same drug as chemotherapy! That's why the body ages so quickly, thin hair, vision deficits, aging joints,etc. http://www.topix.com/forum/drug/accutane/T9QJ8DO1TLI41VBPN It's hard to go from doing EVERYTHING to near disability! How can you sit in judgement of us when you have no idea the pain we suffer. We can't all be crazy; just read how many of us have the same symptoms, and they all started after taking Accutane. | F | 39 | 2 months ? 1X day | 3/26/2010 | 1 | Moderate Acne | Life long dry lips (Extreme during treatment, never back to normal over 10 years later), Dry skin (face and hands), joint pain (over the years it gets worse and worse.. Knees click and have pain, wrists and elbows are easily fatigued (Can't handle doing a gentle yoga class). Thinning hair (might be genetic, many of the women in my family suffer from this condition) | Over all, my acne never went away completely.. just during treatment. But, I am left with a life-long pain of the joints. I feel like a woman in her 70's or 80's sometimes..not normal. I used to be active and athletic. I have an abundance of energy and am a slender woman, weighing 130 lbs at a height of 5'9. I should be completely healthy. I have now been diagnosed with chondromalaycia patella, a degenerative condition of the lubrication tissue just under the knee joint. This tissue is regulated by oils. Accutane shuts off your oil glands. Correlation: absolutely no coincidence! I am so upset to be reading these posts. There is obviously a link. I took this medicine at the ages of 19 and later again at 21, because it didn't work the first round. They up'd my dose the second time around, and my acne was still never cured. I still suffer from acne at the age of 31. | F | 31 | 6 months 10 MG 1X day | 3/13/2010 | 5 | severe cystic acne | Chapped lips, tiredness | I've just started my 4th month on accutane and I really can't say enough good things about it. I've always had bad acne and ran the course with all the creams and antibiotics - proactiv worked for about a year and then it failed too. It came down to me crying in my dermatologists office after I saw how horrible I looked in my best friends wedding photos! He started me out gradually at 20mg once a day and increased my dosage every month until now, where he's keeping me at a total 60 mg daily. My face has cleared up, I've had no major side effects (other than the fact I should buy stock in Blistex and Carmex!) Honestly, I can't say enough great things about it - and yes, I've read the posts and did the research...I believe if you start out at a lower dose and work your way up, it will give you the results you want! LOVE IT! | F | 27 | 5 months 20 mg 3X day | 3/12/2010 | 5 | Moderate Cystic Acne | Dry lips, Sensitive/Dry Face, Occasional (But Severe) Hip Pain, Mild Hair Loss, Occasional Blood in rectum, Mild Flaring of Psoriasis, and lastly, and weirdly, Mild Curling of Hair (weird, right?) | I started Accutane at age 18 after developing increasingly problematic cystic acne. I was hesitant to start, but now that I just finished treatment, I'm worried to stop! Unfortunately, there is the initial worsening of the skin within the first few weeks. However, as you stay on treatment, you learn to cope with the symptoms. As a college student, it was such a godsend to, for once, NOT have to worry about my skin, AND I could get away with not showering for a few days because of the lack of oils. To combat the dryness on my face, I used light soap and moisturizers (Cetaphil worked great). I was inseparable from my tube of Carmex. I finished my last month recently and I am now a bit worried about going off! It really has been a great treatment for me and I would highly recommend this product based solely on my experience. | M | 19 | 6 months 20-40 1X day | 3/11/2010 | 5 | horrible acne | The only side effect that i have had is very dry lips and very dry skin. In the beginning my acne got slightly worse. I never had cystic acne, but after starting accutane i got a few really bad cystic bumps. But that is because it pushes all of the gunk to the surface that has been hiding under your skin. I have now been on accutane for 4 months, with 2 to go. I have NEVER been happier, not one single pimple on my face at all! my discolorations and scaring is going away, my pores are almost invisible and i get compliments on my skin ALL THE TIME. i used to have insanely oily skin and now i dont at all. I use Aveeno mosturizing cream cleanser (the calming one) and i use the positively radiant spf mosturizer by aveeno. with both of those plus the accutane my skin is looking flawless!!!!!!!!my face would always breakout from mosturizers and just in general, now things that used to give me pimples within a few hours dont give me pimples at all! i would recommend accutane to anyone who has | F | 26 | 6 months 30mg 2X day | 3/5/2010 | 5 | cystic, persistent, adult acne | Dry lips, a few nose bleeds on higher dosage, no oil, soft hair. | LOW DOSE is the way to go! Ask your doctor/derm! After my first course of 40mg/day for 6 months, I'm now on a maintenance dose of 10mg/day and it's GREAT! All the advantages of accutane with none of the side effects. This drug is a miracle, period. People who complain are just trying to blame their problems on accutane, even when it's proven accutane did not cause it. Take responsibility for your own issues! Accutane cures acne, THAT IS ALL. | F | 30 | 4 years 10mg 1X day | 3/3/2010 | 5 | 12 years of cystic acne | Dry lips, dry eyes, dry skin, brain fog, fatigue, photosensitivity, short term memory loss, diminished night vision. Joint pain. All of these were temporary. | This drug saved my life. Being an adult over 30, it was extremely embarrassing to have cystic acne in the professional world. It has been 2 years and not a cyst in sight. No lingering side effects either. | F | 32 | 4 months 60mg 1X day | 2/24/2010 | 5 | Cystic Acne | Dry nose, occasional nosebleed | A wonder drug! I had terrible cystic acne starting before puberty and did all the usual treatments without any effect on it at all. Finally I went on Accutane in my mid-30s and it was a wonder drug. The acne quickly vanished and aside from a dry nose, I had negligible side effects. It's been over 15 years and I'm still mostly acne-free with only slightly oily nose and forehead. I'd recommend this to anyone, and, as my 9 year-old has started to develop acne, I'm keeping it in mind for when he gets into his teens. | M | 48 | 3 months unknown 1X day | 2/24/2010 | 5 | severe, cystic-type acne | I took acutane about 15 years ago after trying everything else on the market, OTC and prescribed. I don't remember the dosage, but I do recall alternating the dosage every-other-day as prescribed by the doctor (two pills one day and one pill the next). During the course of treatment, I began to have pretty significant joint and muscle pain and my cholesterol level went through the roof (450) even with a very low-fat diet. I also had some issues with night vision, some of which continues today. The cholesterol and joint/muscle pain resolved once I completed the treatment. I never had the very dry, flaky skin and lips or dry eyes others have experienced. I have not had a problem with any significant break-outs since taking the medication. I do have some fairly significant scarring though. My daughter completed her Acutane treatment about 9 months ago. She suffered with severe joint and muscle pain as well with the main pain occurring in her back. She also had very dry lips. Bo | Like many other medications, you need to be informed about possible side-effects. Unfortunately, I did not know about a possible link between Acutane and IBS as none was ever given at the time I took it. Although Acutane cleared my acne and I have not had a significant break-out since, I don't know if I would have made the decision to take it if I knew it was possible to develop IBS. | F | 49 | 4 months 2X day | 2/19/2010 |