ACCUTANE: Dr. wants DS to do a 2nd round

KlassicalKat · 12-16-2002, 09:46 PM

Hi, Cysters,

I know that some of you have been on Accutane and was wondering if you could help me out.

My son is almost 17 and has had severe cystic acne since puberty (around 12). When he was 14, the dermatologist put him on Accutane. It helped. My son was annoyed by the chapped lips that it caused, but had little other side effects. It cleared the acne pretty well, not perfect.

Of course, you can't be on the powerful drug Accutane forever. As soon as my son went off, the acne returned very bad. So, for the past year, the dermatologist had him taking the antibiotic Minocycline brand name: Dynacin...100mg morning and night along with applyiing topical treatments: Benzoyl Peroxide in the morning and Tazorac cream at night. Again this cleared the acne pretty well, not perfect. He liked this regime because there were no side effects.

However, since you can't be on an antibiotic forever...because of the body becoming resistant to it, my son will have to go off the Minocycline.

Now the dermatologist wants him to go back on Accutane. The derm. is sure that my son's face would flare up if he went off everything. I guess we are willing to do the Accutane again, but it is such a strong drug that it scares me.

Have any of you done a second course of Accutane? Did it finally clear things up, or is he going to have to take this scary drug off and on forever?

Thank you for any input on this.

Kathryn

KlassicalKat · 12-17-2002, 02:22 PM

Just bumpin' this up. Maybe my post was too long to read through...just wanting to know if anyone has ever done more than one cycle of Accutane and your impressions as to the permanancy of the results.
Thanks!

KKat

Mazlynn · 12-17-2002, 04:10 PM

Is accutane the one that can cause liver problems? If I remeber correctly, my li'l sis was on that for a while, but had to be taken off due to liver enzymes elevating. I've been on many acne medications as a teen, although no oral antibiotics (mine were all topical treatments, they weren't prescribing antibiotics as readily then) - my general impression is that unless the underlying problems causing the acne (whether that be outgrowing the teen hormones, or some other cause) is treated, it's likely to come back at least to some degree unless managed in some long term way. I don't see how a course of antibiotics now could prevent later reinfection of pores if the skin is inclined to it. But, like I said, I've never been on these high power meds, so I can't say for sure. Just wanted to let you know someone was reading this!

Good luck!

frenchiebull · 12-17-2002, 04:37 PM

I was on accutane 3 times as a teen (17).I'm now 30(i will be on january 10th) and my liver has been tested a couple of times recently because i tried glucophage and flutamide and im relieved to say that my liver is in perfect condition.However i have severe allergies that started after the age of 19 and im constantly sick but i dont know if this has anything to do with accutane or pcos.I sometimes wonder because i was on accutane back when it was new and people didn't know everything about it so i wonder if this is why my body cannot fight off anything without antibiotics.As far as my acne goes i was one of the unlucky ones that accutane did nothing for.I think it is because my acne is hormonal and accutane will not do much for you if your androgens wont shut down.

KlassicalKat · 12-17-2002, 08:26 PM

Thank you, Mazlynn and frenchiebull
for answering this post!

Yes, Mazlynn, Accutane is processed through the liver and can elevate triglycericides (not sure if I spelled that right!) They will be monitoring the effects on the liver with periodic blood tests. They did this last time he was on Accutane, too. I think you are absolutely right that this drug and other treatments are just a stop-gap thing until the teen hormones causing this excessive oil production or whatever are outgrown.

frenchiebull, I am so glad to hear that there are apparently no long term effects on the liver. I am going to make sure that they monitor this with blood tests. They were pretty good about that before.

I am also going to keep an eye on other things. There were some reports a few years back about Accutane leading to depression and suicide in teens. I asked my DS if he had ever felt depressed while on Accutane. He told me that it was hard to tell, because when he had been on it, he was in Jr. High and he said that Jr. High was depressing enough, so how could he tell?

Despite all these fears, we will probably go with the Accutane. I just can't risk another acne flare up. He already has scars from previous ones and I don't want him to have more.

Thanks again and I will check back here to see if anyone else has any input.

Kathryn

frenchiebull · 12-18-2002, 02:17 PM

My personal feelings about the depression is this.....Acne is depressing enough.If your son doesn't show any signs of depression(like not wanting to hang out with friends,and giving up his hobbies)and his liver function is being monitored by his doctor i would go for it and put him on the accutane.I've heard of a case that happend years ago where this teenage boy was so depressed over his looks that he killed himself and he was never on accutane.If the accutane will clear him up and make him feel more confident i would put him on it if it were my son.And from what i hear accutane works better for boys because they dont have the hormonal flare ups that girls do.I never was depressed because of accutane but i was very frustrated that after 3 courses of it i wasn't clear!

StephUk · 12-18-2002, 03:06 PM

Hi there...firstly, Merry Christmas x
Secondly....when I was growing up...from the age of almost 11 (I started af at almost 10) I had bad acne....my doc had me on antibiotics and a lotion.....and it never helped...so he sent me to a dermatologist.....they put me on Roaccutane (same as accutane??)...they told me as a female if I was already pregnant not to take it (I was around 12-13 then) and if I got pregnant during or in the month after finishing it then I would have to abort as it would deform the baby....this wasnt an issue obviously.
I hated it....it made me feel worse than the acne....my skin shed about three layers quickly and I had almost constant nosebleeds (I was told this might happen) so I came off of it....I was clear of acne due to it though so I am happy I tool it....also a friend (male) took it for ages for his awful acne (worse than mine) and he has never had better skin.
I never had my liver or kidney function done....I stopped the pills and never went back to dermo....but any time Ive needed it doing since they are just fine.
I am prone to depression...and having such bad skin as a youngster did affect me more than I let even myself admit...so my advice is....let your son go back onto it...make sure they keep a good eye on him though xx
Good luck to your son...I know just how hard the comments your peers make can be xx
God Bless xx
Stephanie xx

KlassicalKat · 12-18-2002, 03:34 PM

Thank you, frenchiebull and StephUK for your input on this!

We decided to go ahead. I took my DS for a fasting blood test this morning, and we will start after they get the results of that. They will be monitoring this carefully, thank goodness. They have a detailed consent form with information about the drug that me and my son are both supposed to inital and sign, so that is good. I will certainly be watching for any emotional symptoms.

I do agree about acne being depressing enough. Since my son didn't have any signs of depression on the first course of Accutane, I am hopeful that he will be able to handle the second. Oh yes, StephUK I have heard of some folks getting those nosebleeds. And yes, Accutane can cause horrible birth defects. They recommend that females be on two forms of birth control while on it.

My son's main side effect when he took it about 4 yrs. ago was a slight backache at first and then very chapped lips. We will have an arsenal of lip balms and Chapsticks for him to apply frequently! Luckily there is a limited number of weeks that you take this.

Thank you all for your helpful comments!

Kathryn

P.S. frenchiebull do you still have your French bulldog? Or maybe I heard you have two now? They are so cute!

frenchiebull · 12-18-2002, 04:22 PM

LOL,I still have my lucille(my frenchie).She's my one and only though.She would be extremely jealous if we got another one.She's so attached to us that i think she would go into a deep depression.Besides she is so hyper that i dont think i could keep up with 2 of her!LOL.By the way,she's doing great since she was fixed no more hormone problems.

KlassicalKat · 12-18-2002, 08:30 PM

Ah, yes, little Lucille! That was her name! Glad she's doin' better!
Here's a cute drawing that I found for you!

Kathryn

frenchiebull · 12-19-2002, 08:52 PM

That is so cute!It looks alot like her except her ears are bigger.But she's got that adorable sour puss looking face!I wish i had a scanner so i could post her picture.After christmas we will be putting a new computer on lay away so i'll have to get her picture up here then.That drawing is great.It's so hard to find frenchie stuff out there.

RACHEL MOSS · 12-31-2002, 01:56 PM

Hiya,
I'm currently in the last month of my 2nd round of accutane!
After finishing my first 6 month course, I was not totally clear, and the acne came back, not as bad, but my chin was the worst it had been for a very long time.
I asked to be put back on accutane, as the derm should only take you off it when you are totally clear!
Anyway, here I am, nearly takin acutane on and off for a year! And at last, I am seeing results!

Have had no spots, not even white heads or around my period for about a month now. HOwever, silly me itched a scar last night, and because accutane makes your skin more sensitive, it looks like a scab this morning!

nevermind! just gotta keep my hopes up!
Hope you son gets on ok!
Happy new year!

Love Rachel

KlassicalKat · 12-31-2002, 02:30 PM

Thanks, Rachel

It's good to hear first-hand from someone currently doing a second course of Accutane. Is it called Roaccutane over there, or is that a different drug?

We do have the go ahead. You may have seen from the next post I made after this that the Accutane was prescribed and I went to get it only to find out that our insurance didn't cover the cost! But, luckily, the dermatologist's nurse told me that there is a new cheaper generic brand and luckily it was available and our insurance covered it! So, last night, my son took the first pill.

I sure hope that your spots are gone forever this time!

Sometimes it seems that Accutane is the only thing to work for severe acne. Yes, I have heard that your skin gets more sensitive. I am glad that it is Winter because around here as it is so easy to sunburn around here in the Spring and Summer (Sunny California!)

Thanks again!

Kathryn

RACHEL MOSS · 01-04-2003, 11:25 AM

Hiya, Just want to wish your sun the best of luck with accutane! Let us know how he gets on etc.
Yes accutane is actually called roaccutane here in the UK, but as the majority of people are from the states on this board, I usually just refer to it as accutane!!!

Good luck

Love
rachel

KlassicalKat · 01-04-2003, 02:59 PM

Thanks, Rachel!

I will keep you informed. It's been just a week now, and of course, as Accutane typically does, his acne is flaring up a little worse at first. No bad side effects yet.

That's interesting that it is called Roaccutane there. We visited the UK long ago when I was 15 and I noticed that even the over the counter drugs had similar sounding, but different names, such as Anadin (Anacin over here!) I think I like Anadin better...Anacin sounds like someone named Ana committed a sin!

Kathryn