Antibiotics or Accutane

[KellyMc]

Im sure most of you have heard about crohns being linked to Acutane, I never took Acutane but I took Tetracycline for Acne for one month when I was 17. That is when my symptoms started and life has never been the same. I was just wondering how many of you have taken Acutane or an Antibiotic for Acne and if that is when your symptoms started.

 

[Lulu]

I also took Doxycycline when I was about 16, firstly as an anti malarial when I went to PNG and then on and off for acne for about 12 months. Makes me wonder if there is a connection as I was never sick, ever, then I suddenly get hit with Crohn's out of the blue.

 

[Lisa]

Nope, never took either.....first became sick when I was about 7 years old.....

 

[KellyMc]

I definately think it had something to do with my developing crohns. Guess I will never know for sure...just wish I could go back in time.

 

[Lulu]

There does seem to be a definite link. From what I have read, a lot of troops deployed overseas that have taken doxycycline for extended periods have developed crohn's. The leaflet in the box with the tablets sites bowel damage as one of the side effects. As with all side effects, it doesnt affect everyone, but if they drug company issues a warning that indicates to me that they are aware that the tablets can cause bowel conditions in some patients.

 

[Shirl F]

I believe that repeated doses with tetracycline in my teen years set me up for Crohns.....the antibiotics killed good and bad bacteria--leaving my intestines very vulnerable and probiotics were not available then...another factor that has been suggested is birth control pills....another trigger for me in my life after my son was born I was in remission and within a week of starting back on birth control pills....a big flare of Crohns.

 

[dvdgrs]

Definitely antibiotics. As far as I can remember, my stomach problems began at age 7 when I was treated with high doses of penicillin for Lyme Disease. It was not long after that I was treated surgically for a peri-anal abscess and then first diagnosed with Crohn’s some 20 years ago.

Now, for the past two years, I have been contemplating the surgical resection of a 15 cm long stricture that is proximal to my ileocecal valve. I was even scheduled for surgery at Stanford, but changed my mind a week before. I am really concerned about losing the ileocecal valve. It seems more important to me than the surgeons.

I would like to talk with more people who have had the surgery. I would like to know their state before and after the surgery. Mostly, I am concerned about diarrhea. Currently, I have a bout once a month, usually when I am stressed out and not eating well.

I am worried that if I have the valve removed, I will have much more frequent diarrhea. The trade-off is that now, I am kept awake by cramping several nights per month. I also wonder if I would have a lot more energy if I go ahead and get the surgery. The problem is that there is no going back from the decision to have surgery, unless surgeons begin doing valve reconstructions.

Has anyone else agonized over this decision like me?
I would like to know anyone who has had a resection or is considering one?

 

[Shirl F]

I am 55 and had a resection with ileocecal valve removal five years ago after being a Crohns patient for 30 yrs. The surgery has stopped my pain and I had no diarrhea problems. I am glad I had the surgery at my age. My 24 yr old daughter had the same surgery 5 mos. ago and has had small bowel bacterial overgrowth as a result of not having the valve. She is treated with antibiotics and probiotics...she has pain from the SIBO and diarrhea too.....she has not done so well with the surgery HOWEVER, she is on Humira which is a immunosuppresent that treats inflammatory arthritis (it is not Rheumatoid) and Crohns as well. Her new physician says that he can get her feeling better. Her colon was 90% blocked....it was a lifethreatening condition and she needed the surgery....hindsight is 20/20. Hope this helps. My direct email is [email protected]

 

[Lydia]

Antibiotics can mess your gut flora right up, and that gut flora is a huge part of your immune system, and crohns is an immune system malfunction, so I think antibiotics are linked to crohns. Lots of crohnies here say the antibiotics trigger flares for them.

 

[tflock]

I went on to a medication called Bactrim. I know now that I already had the disease when I went on it( but I had not seen a doctor yet). Bactrim actually gave me mild relief for about 3 weeks. Come to find out now after I was DX that Bactrim used way back when treatment was very scarce, to be used to help treat Crohns. But after the 3 weeks of very mild relief, it came back harder than every. Maybe all this stuff can be somewhat attributed to IBD.

 

[aliciars]

Never on any meds for acne. Had lots of childhood illnesses, then was healthy (and without insurance) for years, so no antibiotics. But....as I've been reading more and more of these posts tonight, I just realized DAH....I had 2 c/sections, which obviously required antibiotics to prevent infection. However, I really think looking back, I've had Crohn's brewing in me since I was a kid. It's just taken this long to bust out and now it's MAD MAD MAD. But that's a different post....

 

[lorraine]

I was on so, so many different antibiotics for acne as a teenager. That's also when my symptoms began. I managed to avoid acne scarring to the same level that my brother has it, but in hindsight, I'd take the acne over this if antibiotic treatment was indeed the cause.

 

[biteyshark]

Yep, I took both when I was a teenager - Tetracycline and 1 round of Accutane.

 

[Sue-2009]

Funny..or not funny. I'm feeling like crap and a saw this post. I'm not going to stay on line long because I get to obsessed with my thoughts..Or I should say with m yworries. And worries today rob you of your tomorrows...ANy way, I'm rambling. I took antibiotics--tons & Accutane. Now my young daughter was just very upset because she has some bad acne..Bad for a young girl. Bad for even a teenager to deal with. She is on strong antibiotics...What do you do..is it the antibiotics or the accutane. My heart is breaking...I know there are other very sick children out there. but when your kid is so emotionally upset...what to do....Can we like pass the age up and fast forward...???? I feel like crap, my kid feels like crap...my crohns is bothering me...I think I'll go cry on spilled milk...or whatever...Thanks for listening. Sue

 

[David]

I've added a proper poll to this thread

 

[ALI_101]

Hmmm, it looks like i have the answer as to what caused me to develop Crohn's. I accidently stumbled across a video earlier tonight on YouTube where it was loosley mentioned that Accutane was linked to Crohn's, this was the first i'd heard of it. I knew i had been treated for acne when i was younger, and as i happen to have have my entire prescription history from 1997 to 2005 on file, i immeadiately sought to check it.

I did not take accutane, but in 1997 i did take a one month course of Tetracycline, and in November 2004 i began a 4 month course of Doxycycline.

Although the first mention of Crohn's only came to me in January 2011, my symptoms go back many, many years.

I have to say i'm extremely annoyed right now. Other than wishing i had a time travel machine, my immediate thoughts turn to wondering what is being done to bring the manufacturer/s of these drugs to justice?

 

[CLynn]

I always think back to the first GI telling me that many thought it was caused by a virus we caught at some point, that went on to lay dormant in our bodies, until a stressful event triggered it. I came down with my Crohn's within a year or two of having had strep throat, whichever type of strep that can lead to rheumatic fever and damage the heart. Think it was type A or type 1.

 

[Polaris]

I was on Accutane as a teenager for my acne. I do believe it might be a factor in my Crohn's developing.

 

[JustThatGirl]

I was on accutane when I was 17.
Symptoms began when I was 20.
Diagnosed at 23!

 

[shelikescats]

Four small rounds of accutane from age of 14-17, many prolonged periods of antibiotics (Keflex). Years later and my stomach is acting up way more than usual (undiagnosed still).

 

[GroverCat]

Still undiagnosed with IBD (pending colonoscopy this week), but i took Accutane for 6 months at age 21, and by age 22 I started having severe nausea and the start of GERD and constipation. Now it's chronic and more and more painful...

I wonder about Accutane... While on it, I got back pain that was so crippling that I couldn't bend over to tie my shoe or lie down in bed without tossing and turning for five minutes before I could rest comfortably. It lasted a year after I stopped taking those pills. My dermatologist shrugged and said, it had been known to cause bone spurs on some peoples' spines (?!)

The damn stuff did cure my acne, but I've always wondered if I would regret if over time. Who knows?

 

[shelikescats]

While on Accutane I experienced zero symptoms beyond mega dry skin. On Antibiotics I didn't experience any discomfort either. I simply read about how bad staying on antibiotics could be for the body and asked to be removed from them. I'd rather have acne than continually destroy my gut flora.

 

[ce1210]

didn't take any for acne but had chronic sinus problems until I had surgery on my nose a year and a half ago...docs were always giving me antibiotics and a shot of steroids to help kick the infections and let me breath again. right before the surgery I had a really bad infection that wouldn't go away so the ENT had me on 7 diff antibiotics over a period of 5 months without a break. I believe all these antibiotics led to my first flare.

 

[tincho_lavie]

I went throug two Acutane treatments, But i was lucky, it didn't affect me that much in that moment. About 4 years later (this year) i found out i had Crohn and my medic told me about the negative effects of Acutane.
I still have acne, not as much as i had before, but i still have it.

 

[PsychoJane]

Yes but it was after my CD diagnosis

 

[InstantCoffee]

My crohn's got much worse after Accutane but I have no real proof or link to it for sure.

Before accutane I could eat anything I wanted if i had remicade. I could tell when I needed another dose because I'd get foul smelling burps but otherwise I was an example of a great success case.

After accutane everything stopped working for me except dietary limitations. Even prednizone only had limited effects. There was never any sign of humira or remicade helping me at all.

 

[DamnitCrohns]

2 types of antibiotics for acne, probably at least 2 years in total. Plus a 6 month cycle of Accutane. 3 months after the accutane course finished was when crohn's began.

Damnit.

 

[wild_one353]

i took at least 3 courses of 2 month duration of doxycycline for acne from 2000-2006, then only after taking amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, brand name augmentin, did my entire health change for ever. 2 weeks after the augmentin i started to lose my hair, and then just felt aweful, then totally fatigued, then had panic attacks, then mucus and diarhea started 8 months after augmentin. so it took a little time for the gi symptoms to emerge, but my entire health decline was after the augmentin for bronchitis. yes the antibiotic wiped out my bronchitis just fine, but what else did it wipe out? good bacteria?


fecal transplants may cure IBD by restoring good bacteria that have become extinct. here's a thread with more info -http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=52400

 

[VeganOstomy]

I was also on accutane as a teen and developed Crohn's on my 20's and while I convinced that it played a part in my disease, the latest studies show no links:

http://consumer.healthday.com/kids-...drug-accutane-and-crohn-s-colitis-673621.html