Accutane for Acne

[andymattmom]

Took my 12.5 year old son to dermatologist today for acne. We have done oral antibiotic and retin-A; benziclean; OTC such as proactiv, etc. She recommended Accutane and said we have to have the blood work, visit every 30 days, etc. His acne is mild on the t-zone. She told usall the side-effects (the worse the the mild). I came home and read more online about it.

I am just asking for personal experiences with either children or youself on this medication. I realize each person reacts to the drug differently. It appears the "bad" are not posted online as much as the good.

If you did take it did you have more than the headaches, severe lip dryness and skin, etc? How well did it work for you?

Thanks in advance for any insight you might have....figured this was the correct place to post this...apologize if it is wrong but know when people don't know where to post it usually ends up moved here.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My DD (now 23) took accutane when she was 16. It worked great for her and we are glad she did it. She started with acne when she was 8 so after 8 years of gels, creams, antibiotics, birth control pills, ...... we switched doctors and tried accutane. It was very expensive and she had to have monthly bloodwork and office visits. She took it for 6 months. Her 2 bad side effects were the dry lips (which I think just about everyone gets) and her extreme sensitivity to the sun. Sunscreen to go outside for any amount of time, and we are a sunscreen family but this was even worse.

It does have a lot of side effects and I am surprised your doctor recommended it for your DS if he is only 12.5 years old and it is a mild case.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm also surprised. Most derms won't prescribe it except for cystic acne that is really severe.

DS also is having problems. We got a scrip for the new Rx med Epiduo. It hasn't knocked the acne out completely, but it's much less severe since he started using it. Really pricey, though.

Funny thing. We just spent a week at the beach early this month, and DS' acne COMPLETELY cleared up while we were there. I think that the seawater did it somehow, or the wind keeping his skin dry. Whatever it was, I wish I could bottle it!

 

[DawnCt1]

I agree. 12.5 years old seems very young to recommend Accutane. I would stick with the topicals and oral antibiotics for a while first. Also, with Accutane, if you miss so many doses, 3 or 5, I can't remember, the course sometimes needs to be repeated.

 

[aprilgail2]

Accutane for a 12 year olds mild acne is a bit extreem. My godson was on it as a brain tumor treatment (one of the benefits of accutane other than acne treatment is it shrinks brain tumors) and one of the most important things they told us was to watch him carefully for mood changes or behavior changes as it has a tendancy to cause sucidal thoughts/ actions in the people that take it.

 

[si-am]

I took it when I was 22 after about 10 years of other treatments that just did not work.

In some respects I consider it a miracle drug because it totally worked (and I haven't had any problems since), but it was a pretty terrible three months for me. Aside from the awful dry lips, I found myself becoming very angry, depressed and emotional while on it. I fought with my roommate/best friend so much during that time that she decided not to renew our lease and moved out!

Looking back, I can see that I was totally not myself and the rage I was feeling ALL the time was just not normal. I would not give it to my (hypothetical) twelve year old.

 

[lsyorke]

http://www.rxlist.com/accutane-drug.htm

The use of Accutane for the treatment of severe recalcitrant nodular acne in pediatric patients ages 12 to 17 years should be given careful consideration. Accutane is not tested in those under age 12.

The warnings on accutane are severe and not something that should be used for mild acne.

 

[georgina]

My DD was on it, but she was older and had more severe acne. She had dry lips but not much else. I would be very cautious with a mild case in one so young. My DS tried two different antibiotics, the second eventually cleared him up very nicely. After the first antibiotic didn't do much, they offered him accutane, which we refused. He is still using the sulfur face wash and retin-A gel, but is off the antibiotic.

 

[AshleyW]

My fiance went on accutane when it was 12 or 13. His acne was REALLY bad, especially on his shoulders and back. It worked really well, cleared up his skin completely, although he said it did get pretty dry. He didn't have any problems with dry lips or moodiness/depression/etc.

 

[andymattmom]

Thanks for the replies....have read thru info she gave us and the sites online. I know about the bloodwork ...have to have that before the prescription can be filled and the visit every 30 days. Our insurance covers the cost of meds so that is not an issue. The concern is the moods/depression. I know she would not recommend if she didn't think he would benefit from it or was a candidate for it. Hard decision as you want them to get better but don't want to cause other issues. Think we might try and if we see any differences in emotions or other side effects will stop and ask for something else.

 

[belledreamer]

I actually just finished Accutane about six months ago after dealing with severe acne since I was 11. (I'm 22 now.) Tried everything humanly possible and nothing worked, so I was finally put on Accutane.

The first month was the hardest. I was taking both pills at the same time and experienced mood swings, severe headaches, extremely dry skin, (It was at a point were my hands were cracking and beginning to bleed so I had to get gloves for my hands) and my lips completely peeled every 3 days.

Once they told me to take one pill in the morning and one at night, the symptoms were ALOT better. The most I had to deal with was the dry skin, dry eyes, (I had to wear my glasses while taking the medicine since my eyes couldn't handle my contacts) and the peeling lips. The only thing was while I was taking it and for a few months after, my skin was EXTREMELY DELICATE. (I actually got a cut from the shower curtain... ) But that's gotten much better. And the results are incredible! I haven't even had a blackhead in four months!

So the results are definetly worth it!

Just some helpful hints: Get a good lip moisturizer! Your lips will thank you later! Be sure to get a good hand cream (Not Lotion! CREAM!!) Cream is much thicker and will keep your hands moisterized much longer. Don't get any scented or perfumed lotion. Watch how much you're in the sun too since the medicine will leave your skin rather delicate.

Hope everything goes well!

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

I hate to bring bad news but I would be very wary with this medication. I took it myself for about a year. I never had any problems with depression, thoughts of suicide but I knew plenty of people who did because of the medication. I had to eventually stop taking it because I was getting terrible stomach aches and didn't know why. It turns out the medication gave me pancreatitis. To this day I still have terrible stomach problems because of the medicine. And my skin was terrible again just a few months after getting off of it. For me the risks don't outweigh having good skin for a little while. I'm stuck with these stomach issues for life.

Please re think it.

 

[MIGrandma]

My daughter was on it when she was 17. She had the cystic acne and nothing else helped. She had to sign a paper stating that if she became pregnant she would have an abortion, because of the drug causing severe birth defects. Thankfully we never had to cross that particular bridge.

She had dry lips so used chapstick a lot but I don't remember any other severe side effects.

It helped her immensely. At first we didn't think it was going to, but towards the end of the treatment her skin started clearing up. She was completely pimple free for her senior pictures. And has never had any more severe problems with acne. She is 30 years old now.

 

[*JoGo*]

I'm going into month 2 on accutane. Actually a generic, sotret. My lips are extremely dry. My dr gave me a sample steroid cream to use on the corners of my mouth b/c they're cracked open. I can't open my mouth all the way, which isn't awful, but extremely annoying when I'm eating. I also recently got a lip balm by Dr Dan for severly chapped lips. Dr recommended it, the pharmacy had to order it. My skin is also very dry/itchy.

My skin looks fantastic already and I am thrilled.

HOWEVER. I'm 27 years old with moderate to severe cystic acne. I've done every treatment I've come across, OTC, antibiotics, prescription creams, even tried milk of magnesia when everyone here was talking about it. Nothing worked even a little.

I would be very cautious with your son. I think the moodiness/depression is worse in teenagers b/c their hormones are already crazy, then they're taking a medication that causes even more moodiness/depression. Also, it's a serious drug. If he doesn't take it like he's supposed to, he will have to start the process all over again. Is he responsible enough to remember his pills?

Also, with having such mild acne, I'd want to try all other options first. Acne in teens is pretty normal. He may outgrow it.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I used it when I was 16. It worked wonders. Don't remember any side effects. But 12 is too young. If its not cystic try and wait it out. Trust me I've seen pics of high school and grade school friends. Nobody really looks good when they're 13-16yo. If its not acne then its something else.

 

[Buckalew11]

Some great results here.

My niece took it and it did not help her at all. She peeled like crazy but that's about it. Her acne stayed about the same. She suffered hair loss though--probably 2/3rds of her hair. She still has problems after 1 + yr. being off it.

my nephew took it (her cousin) and it helped a little. However, his bloodwork came bad bad and he had to go off it.

 

[dicar123]

OP, please consider this carefully. My son was prescribed a medication which had depression/suicidal thoughts as a side effect. Back then, those warnings were not made as clearly as they are today.

We had to admit our child to a psychiatric facility for 2 weeks. It was an incredibly frightening experience for all of us. Please understand that while your son could experience with just some moodiness, or no side effects at all, the situation could become quite extreme.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I took accutane about 2 years ago. I never had severe acne but moderate stubborn acne that wouldn't totally go and stay away. I dont think the accutane helped it a whole lot, it probably helped some but not enough compared to the annoying side effects. My lips were extremely cracked, they bled all the time and hurt very bad. I also had random extreme nose bleeds, it would bleed so much that one time I had an entire pool of blood below me. Also I think 12 years old is very young to be on accutane. It really shouldn't be taken until you are pretty much done growing because it has been known to stop grow early. Good luck!

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

My son who is 15 just finished up his Accutane course. He had wonderful results from it and little to no side effects - only dry lips. It is important to just pay attention to everything while they are on it and if they are feeling funny or having aches and pains to let the Dr know immediately.

I also took accutane in my 30's and it really helped me, I wish I had taken it sooner. I also only had dry lips - no other side effects. I also have a SIL, Aunt and cousin who all took Accutane with no side effects except the dryness. It helped all of them.

Accutane does have some serious side effects so it is important to monitor while on it and there are some people who it does effect badly, there are horror stories you can find all over the internet about the bad news however there are also millions of good success stories with little to no side effects. So just be aware and watch your son closely.

 

[Free4Life11]

I STRONGLY recommend visiting www.acne.org. I have been following the regimen on this website and have great results, but even if you choose to not follow it, there is so much information on this website.