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 Date added. 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 |
| 3 | severe acne | very dry lips. hair became wavy/curly | I started accutane when I was 16 and had incredible results. My skin looked great for about 2 years after my last pill then I started to break out again, but not nearly as bad as I was before starting. 6 years after accutane, I get the occasional pimple but overall my skin is pretty good. And my hair is still curly to this day! which is my only complaint. I consider myself lucky judging by all of the horror stories i have heard about accutane | M | 22 | 6 months | 4/7/2009 | 1 | acne | TERRIBLE HAIR LOSS, now forced to wear a wig, completely destroyed self confidence. disagnosed with CROHNS DISEASE. did not even have that sever of acne, wish i would have never taken it and would have read these warnings. DO. NOT. TAKE. THIS MEDICINE. unless you want to be bald!!! | F | 22 | 6 months | 4/4/2009 | 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 | 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 | 3 | severe acne | very dry lips, dry nose, eczema on hands, hip pains, blurred vision, loss of hearing, mood changes | im in my third week of this drug, first dose was 20mg, the 2nd week went up to 50mg, first 3-14 days i had a massive flare up. Huge cystic lumps formed across my jaw and washing my face everyday was so painful, i dreaded having to pile on the makeup, which didnt even hide anything. after the 14 day period things have started to look up. There`s been weeping, bleeding and soreness across my back but to everyone taking this drug, if you relax and sleep more often it really changes the way your skin heals, it basically can work overnight! =) today is saturday and ive decided to stay makeup free for as long as possible because its on my face 5 days a week -_- without makeup on it looks less bumpy whereas, the makeup piled on adds to the lumpy effect. The areas of acne appear dryed out but its terribly itchy. My doctor told me that that the more severe it flares up, it shows its working. Im keeping my fingers crossed but no one actually understands accept people on this drug. its frustrating. | F | 18 | 3 weeks | 3/28/2009 | 1 | moderate acne | My first round was age 20 and I had good results. I do remember feeling depressed at the time but it stopped shortly after the last dose. At age 40, I tried another round as I still struggled with mild-moderate acne. Worst mistake of my life. I knew about the depression side effect, but had no idea about the joint pain. After about 5 months when my provider happened to mention it, I finally figured out why I could hardly move. . | Unfortunately, I'm still having problems with my joints, I get easily fatigued, my mind is cloudy, my hair is thin and dry. These things started out of nowhere. I was VERY active and healthy, hardly ever sick and had all kinds of energy. I wish I would have read this forum and would have never taken it. It's absolutely not worth it. And to the person who believes that all of this is in our heads--if you knew me, you would never believe that. | F | 41 | 5 months | 3/23/2009 | 3 | acne | Much skin dryness while taking the drug. Mostly my lips, face, and hands. The dryness was tolerable and went from severe back to normal once I was off the medicine. It wasn't until about a year after finishing accutane that I experienced disappointing side effects. To keep this short I will just comment that I now have what my doctor thinks is fibromyalgia and it's symptoms started within a year after finishing accutane. There is no doubt in my mind that the accutane, at the very least, was a major contributor to fibromyalgia, if not the cause, although this isn't proven. And unfortunatly, my acne has returned. The accutane seemed to suppress the acne for only 2-3 years. | F | 27 | 7 months | 3/19/2009 | 5 | cystic acne | Dry eyes, dry lips, cracking on the inside of my nose, dry anus, possible joint pain. | This is my second round. This time I took 20mg instead of 60mg. Far less side effects. My acne started coming back after 2 years off accutane. The derm put me on the low dosage of 20mg and I cleared up almost immediately. I will use accutane for as long as it's available. It's been a lifesaver for my painful, cystic acne. | F | 43 | 4 months | 3/16/2009 | 5 | Sudden Adult Acne | Dry lips, spots of excema on arms and legs, some joint pain, dry eyes. | After the sudden onset of adult acne at age 30, I had visited three dermatologists that prescribed over the counter meds that did nothing. I began to get hyperpigmentation and scarring, so I begged a new derm for accutane (sotret). It was the best decision for my skin. I had, at any given moment, 10 - 30 spots on my face prior to accutane...now I have zero. I get the occassional pimple, but it resolves in one or two days. I also never have to carry around oil absorbing sheets any longer. | M | 30 | 6 months | 3/16/2009 | 1 | acne | Crohn's Disease during treatment. | I have lost my life the past 5 years from taking Accutane. Caused Crohn's disease which has required surgical resection of my bowel. I am sick every day still. DO NOT TAKE THE RISK WITH THIS DRUG. IT IS NOT WORTH IT> | M | 25 | 6 months | 3/15/2009 | 5 | Back and neck aches requiring chiropractor help, gnawing abdominal discomfort and digestive problems (helped by enzyme supplements), occasional nausea, chronic chapped lips, bloody nasal discharge, dry eyes, itchy skin, headaches, sleepiness, insomnia. | The side effects were NOTHING compared to on and off YEARS of my adult lifetime being unable to take off my shirt in public, go swimming, being embarrassed when my wife touched me, due to severe nodular, pustular acne on chest and back. Its all GONE after 6 months of treatment. Scars are healing. Side effects are wearing off nicely. Tickets to Bahamas on the way! | 62 | 6 months | 3/11/2009 | 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 | 3 | acne on face, chest, & back | drowsiness(real tired and sleepy during the day hard to stay awake) loss of appetite, slight hair loss, dry eyes, heavy eyes, chapped lips(they hurt & skin peals off) dry skin, pealing skin, nail growth, dizziness, i get the feeling i am going to throw up, stomach hurts, back pain constantly, head aches, joint aches, and nose bleeds. | I really don't like being on it helps i have been on it for a while now and it has cleared almost all my acne up. but i am always sleepy. it is hard for me to stay awake at work, if i lay down i can go right to sleep where use to it took me about an hour after layin down to get to sleep. i feel sick all the time, & my back literally kills me! i thought it was something else but after reading the syptoms and side effects i new it was just the medicine. | F | 19 | 2 months | 3/8/2009 | 3 | Acne on back, face, chest | Joint pain, itchy flakey skin, and head. | Ive been on accutane for about 3 weeks now..face got somewhat worse during the first week but im starting to see some improvment. Skin is very dry and ichy. Also back and leg join pain. Side effects that ive experenced havnt been to bad. Eye sight same..blurry at times but same. Hope to see good results soon. | M | 17 | 3 weeks | 3/3/2009 | 1 | acne | exhaustion,mood swings, terrible anger, depression, irritability, dry everything, muscle and joint pain, scarring, skin that heals slower, pain during sex, lack of sex drive, abdominal pain. | I was CONVINCED I should to take it by dermatologists, all of whom assured me side effects would be gone within 6 weeks of stopping. I took it for 7 months. This was 10 yrs ago. Before I took it I almost never got sick, extremely active and strong, and was pretty much happy go lucky-nothing really bothered me. After I started taking it, I was sleeping 14 hrs aday, tired during the waking hours, my muscles and joints started hurting, I got terrible muscle cramping if I tried to do anything physical, and I mean like lift a gallon of milk compared to hay bales I used to easily lift on a regular basis. When I told them about the symptoms they said 'don't worry that's a normal side effect', and that they often have to prescribe Zoloft for mood/depression. so now I have another drug, yippee. I felt this way all the time, it did not go away. It did start to flip flop as the yrs went on, meaning more good days than bad. Now for about the last 3 yrs I have 'episodes' that come and go at will | F | 40 | 7 months | 3/3/2009 | 2 | facial acne at age 41 | dry lips, sensitive skin during and after sun exposure, muscle pain in arms | I was prone to acne as a late teen and during my twenties and did nothing about it except ineffective zinc, proactive sol. and over the counter acne lotions. Eventually, my skin was less oily in my 30s and okay. At 40, resurgence of acne, I was given accutane for 5 mos. it cleared my face but aged my skin everywhere else by 20 years. Very sad because I found out the acne was caused by a benign tumor on left adrenal gland, it was surgically removed. I wish I had not taken accutane. Avoid it if you can. Now I have seborrheic keratosis and the dermatologist says: your skin looks so old for your age!!! Thanks Accutane garbage. | F | 48 | 5 months | 2/28/2009 | 1 | Mistake by the pharmacy | Total Impotence | I took this drug by mistake for 4 weeks in April of 1996. I went from a fully functionable male to an impotent one in less than 2 months. Do not ever take this drug--deal with your acne and get on with your life, it sure as hell ruined mine as far as sex goes. | M | 54 | 30 days | 2/24/2009 | 3 | Darier's Disease | Severe joint damage in my left knee, dry lips, constant bloody noses, dizziness, severe depression, liver infection caused by accutane. | Don't be too scared by my side effects because I have been taking this medicine since I was 12 and I am now 28 so the length has played into the side effects. Especially the joint damage, and liver infection. Plus the reason I take it still is because no medicine has been designed to help treat the very rare disease I was born with and accutane helps to keep me looking like a normal human being. | M | 28 | 16 years | 2/20/2009 | 5 | Acne, mostly chin and cheeks | None | I was very conscientious to take each pill EXACTLY 12 hours apart with a little food so there was a continuous stream of medication in my system with no spikes of more. I was also very good about getting my blood tested on time. This is a SERIOUS DRUG! If your doctor is not making you get regular blood tests to get your prescription refilled, you need to get a better doctor. For me, this was a miracle. | F | 24 | 4 months | 2/11/2009 | 4 | cystic acne | after one week, slightly dry lips - nothing that some chapstick couldn't take care of. after 1.5 or 2 weeks, a severe breakout on my face, and my head/neck/back are slightly itchy. so many people act like this drug is satan in pill form, but for me the side effects so far are easily manageable. | i have had acne for at least 17 years. over the years i have tried everything imaginable and nothing ever made a difference. i've finally decided to take the plunge and try accutane. they've started me out on 40mg per day. my face used to be dripping with oil, and it's already noticeably less oily. i know that my current breakout is just part of the process. i'm really hoping that i've finally found a cure. i'll post another review when the treatment is over. | M | 32 | 2 weeks | 2/11/2009 |