Accutane

[prplkow]

Hi all, About two years ago my son took Accutane for severe acne for about six months. The acne is back and he has said he is going to make an appt to go back on Accutane. I told him that I started seeing lawsuit commercials stating that Accutane causes Crohn's. I already disliked the medicine from the beginning. All of the paperwork, blood work, (if he was a female then it would have also been a monthly pregnancy test), the severe dry and flaky skin from head to toe and now to find out it can cause Crohn's as well. I told him he can make an appt with the doctor, but he needs to find a med that will not have a potential side effect of Crohn's. Now he is freaked out because he has taken Accutane and knows he already has the possibility of having Crohn's because of me as well. I am a worried about it too. >sigh< I didn't know about Crohn's when he was taking Accutane. I could kick myself for letting him take that blasted stuff. :mad2:

 

[David]

Accutane is such an evil drug. In part because it works so damn well. It cleared me up like no tomorrow but good god do I wish I never took it. It's just plain not worth the risk.

I'm sorry you're going through such emotional turmoil but there was no way for you to know. It's not your fault and you shouldn't feel guilt. Easier said than done, I realize.

*hugs*

 

[PhoenixBird]

I had 6 courses of Accutane during my teens and my GI was not surprised my UC is so aggressive. He said the causal factors of IBD with the drug are huge.

 

[Polaris]

I also took Accutane as a teenager, and believe it has something to do with my Crohn's.

 

[mbishop]

Accutane has some serious side effects, but the best current research shows no causal link with Crohn's and only a very small link to UC that may not be statistically significant. This doesn't meant it cannot exacerbate already existing IBD, just that it is not the cause. The American Journal of Gastroenterology had a good epidemiological review:

http://dermatology.co.za/images/IsotretinoinIsNotAssociatedWithInflammatoryBowel.pdf

The earlier links were based largely on adverse event reporting, but the number of adverse events was not significant compared to the general pop and their likelihood of IBD. Hope this helps.

 

[flowergirl]

I bet it's coincidental in most cases. Acne is just inflammation. Probably a predisposition.

 

[Ihurt]

I am betting a lot of drugs out there can cause many different diseases! Drugs are toxins and our bodies are not meant to take these type meds. I mean it sucks because some of the meds we really need and some really help people and save lives. But then when taking any med, it is never without risk nor consequence. My mom when she was alive use to take high blood pressure meds( norvasc). Well she developed nasty Psoriasis due to that drug. It was awful. She had to get shots in the bottoms of her feet every week to help with the psoriasis. Very painful.

So I personally think ANY drug can cause a severe health issue. I also think it depneds on the individual as well.

 

[Hobbes650]

Accutane has some serious side effects, but the best current research shows no causal link with Crohn's and only a very small link to UC that may not be statistically significant. This doesn't meant it cannot exacerbate already existing IBD, just that it is not the cause. The American Journal of Gastroenterology had a good epidemiological review:

http://dermatology.co.za/images/IsotretinoinIsNotAssociatedWithInflammatoryBowel.pdf

The earlier links were based largely on adverse event reporting, but the number of adverse events was not significant compared to the general pop and their likelihood of IBD. Hope this helps.

That's correct. Those ambulance-chasing lawyers are using a study that was later proved not to be correct- sorry, I don't recall the name of it now. The US is really bad with allowing these shady lawyers to advertise on tv, and the accutane/crohns connection happens to be one of the latest scams. But because it's on tv, so many people think its true. Even my family was 100% convinced after seeing an ad, so they wrote down the lawyers phone number and urged me to call so I can sue the drug company. I then reminded my family that I took accuatane a few years AFTER my proctocolectomy surgery to help treat the Prednisone effects, so there's no way that accutane caused my disease. My family had forgotten that part, ooops. But it does illustrate to be careful when ANY lawyer is making claims like this since they are usually just trying to stir up some business

 

[Hobbes650]

Accutane is such an evil drug. In part because it works so damn well. It cleared me up like no tomorrow but good god do I wish I never took it. It's just plain not worth the risk.

I'm sorry you're going through such emotional turmoil but there was no way for you to know. It's not your fault and you shouldn't feel guilt. Easier said than done, I realize.

*hugs*

Accutane is controversial drug even without the IBD connection. It cleared me up too but I still have lots of scars on my back and chest some 20 years later. Luckily, the scars now mostly look like freckles. But now that I am back on Pred I am getting some bad acne again. Not nearly as bad as before, but bad enough I'll have to see the dermatologist once I get off Prednisone in February. I am sure I'll make a new post to share what I learned after that visit, and how we're going to treat it.

 

[theriddler]

Apparently in the US Accutane is prescribed at such a high dose that it can cause a lot of intestinal problems. However in Aus and the UK dermatologists have found that using low dose Accutane can have highly beneficial results for people with Crohn's.

 

[Ya noy]

Last I heard there have been over 5,000 lawsuits filed against the manufacturers of Accutane, who have pulled it from the market. Other companies are now manufacturing and selling it though.

One class action suit in New Jersey was awarded $13 million dollars, which was appealed, and recently affirmed . Link. http://belawfirm-accutanecrohns.com/2012/04/13-million-accutane-crohns-disease-case-remanded/

This individual was awarded $7 million in Florida, $5 million of which was specifically for future suffering and medical expenses. http://www.lawyersandsettlements.co...s-10014.html?utm_expid=3607522-0#.UT8zM4y9KSM

this man was originally awarded $2.7 million, which The manufacturer successfully appealed, and then in a new trial, the jury raised the award to $25 million. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRyzfbTsj3h8

Any lawyer can file a suit, but for a jury to agree to award those extreme amounts, they had to have been provided with some pretty compelling evidence.

Of course, it's also possible that there's a link between digestive disorders and developing severe acne as well.