<p>I have heard crazy things about it. What are some stories you guys have heard? one thing i heard is that it decreases academic performance or makes you stupid. Is it true? have any of you experienced any such symptons.</p>
<p>Are you starting an acne medication? You should look at: <a href="http://www.absoluteacneinfo.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.absoluteacneinfo.com</a> </p>
<p>no it doesn't make you stupid - good lord. Accutane has had a few cases of mental instability ascribed to it, but as far as i know, there was never any conclusive evidence that the Accutane caused it. Every dermatologist I've talked to about it has been presribing it for decades and has never had a problem.
It is a powerful drug hower, and needs to be monitored closely. Make sure you follow directions if you ever start taking it.</p>
<p>One of the common side-effects is depression. I felt some depression when I was taking accutane in high school, but I was also suffering from senioritis. For me, the most significant side-effect was dry skin. I still carry lip balm with me today, 4 years after I stopped taking accutane.</p>
<p>i am high school senior and also on accutane. my grades and test scores have been lower than ever before. i dont know whether its accutane or senioritis</p>
<p>anyone else take accutane? how about your skin did it get better after it.</p>
<p>My mom was really against me taking it but after nothing else worked she was eventually convinced by my dermatologist. It did make my skin extremely dry but it is back to normal now. Other than that I didn't have any side effects, and I no longer have any acne problems.</p>
<p>I said this in another post over here, but I cannot urge you guys enough.... PLEASE DO NOT take it. Actuane made my friend commit suicide. He was an awesome guy and I am so angry that he lost his life from this stupid-ass "medication" which is supposedly intended to boost confidence. He wasn't the first to do this; acutane does severely depress people and as a result many people on it have killed their self. Yeah it clears your skin up but screws up your head like crazy. Especially to those of you who already are experiencing side effects/depression, I think you should stop now. Seriously it's not worth it, take something else that's safe.</p>
<p>I'm sorry about your friend macra, but as I said before, Accutane does not cause such severe depression. And if you are ever really depressed, you should see a doctor, but it is rarely (if ever) caused solely by a medication. There must have been something else going on in your friend's life.
I stand by my conviction that accutane is a very effective drug - and is very safe when used properly.</p>
<p>google accutane and suicide and look how much you find.... is it a coincidence that all these people had "other things going on"? I'm not trying to be sarcastic; you're really lucky that you, yourself have not felt severely depressed but I do not believe that is reason enough for it to be reccomended to others. How DO you know you are using it "properly"? Where is the line drawn? It's very difficult to tell and I'm only mentioning this because it is really important for people to know that it's a fatal risk.</p>
<p>*my friend was very accomplished and talented, gregarious... not a vulnerable person at all. we know it was the accutane.</p>
<p>i have heard many similar things that macramequeen has been talking about. Macra did your friend give any signs that he was going to do something. Before his death was he very withdrawn, did his academic performance decrease.</p>
<p>Well, the first few responses when I googled Accutane and Suicide are lawyers' sites looking to capitalize on all these false rumors. I'm not very inclined to believe these sites.</p>
<p>So, here's an blurb from WebMD, from the side effects section on Accutane.
"In rare cases, Accutane may be linked to depression, psychosis, and, suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts, although the link between Accutane and these conditions is not clear. Accutane may not be appropriate if you have a history of depression or a family history of depression."</p>
<p>I have talked to several established dermatologists about this, and all of them said that those warnings are CYA for the drug company because of a few cases a while ago that were never proved.
Now, you asked how you know if you're using it properly. You know this if you're following a doctor's directions, getting monthly blood tests, taking the right dose, etc. </p>
<p>my friend was very accomplished and talented, gregarious... not a vulnerable person at all. we know it was the accutane.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but no you dont' know it was the accutane. (although I know it is good to have something to blame it on) Many people who commit suicide don't show any signs before it happens. They appear to be perfectly happy and normal and stable. I (unfortunately) can say this from having known several people who have committed suicide in the past few years.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give someone is to talk to a doctor about it. If your doctor agrees and given the option, I would definitely agree with a course of Accutane. Just be sure to follow the directions of the prescription, and not drink alcohol, etc.</p>
<p>iv been taking accutane and just no got off it. i cut it a few days short just cuz of not being able to handle the way it makes u feel down and depressed-like all the time. and if people are only taking 10 or 20 mg then its no big deal and you cant really have a say on effects from depression. iv been on 80mg a day and let me tell you, it sucks. i always thought that the depression stuf just effected people that let those kinda things get to them, but after the 3rd month i really felt the change in my moods and how i thought about things. I also get reallly bi polar like. which probably falls into the mood swings category.</p>
<p>I used it. It works reeeeeeeally well, but I was getting migraine headaches so I stopped using it.</p>
<p>i'm on my second round of accutane because my acne came back after the first round...which happens for about half of users. my acne really isnt too bad, so ive only been on anywhere between 10-40mg a day. i guess i cant speak for those who take more, but for me the only side effect has been dry skin. and yes it does wonders for your skin and will most likely clear it completely.</p>
<p>i know that less than 1% of people get the bigger side effects, such as severe depression, migranes, etc. because i read it in the pamphlet. The dermatologist asks questions every month (such as have you been depressed lately) and if it raises concerns, you are taken off the medicine immediately. also you get blood drawn every month and if there are problems (mainly with the liver) you are taken off immediately. really, as long as the person isn't lying about depression, the medicine should be fine. if you have any thoughts of suicide, i think it would be common sense to stop taking the medicine. I dont know the full story of these people that committed suicide, but in my opinion, people make accutane sound a lot worse than it is because there are plenty of precautions taken, even to the point that they get annoying.</p>
<p>My cousin took it, and nothing about him changed; except for having an acne-less face. He also couldn't drink while taking it, as there would have been bad consequences.</p>
<p>u are right shad about he precautions, but not all derm. take pride in their job. mines some lady that put me on way more than i needed and has no idea how risky it can be. she only knos a lil about it from other doctors she works with and are associated with. from how people have talked, there seems to be alot of derm. that dont look into it enough. iv been reserching it for a while now looking at long term effects and if you are not being watch carefully while on it then it can create big problems with how your body functions.</p>
<p>cbakes, thats a good point that i didnt think about. in the case of a bad derm, accutane does have the potential to be very dangerous, although the percentages are still low</p>
<p>haha my brother drank while on accutane and lived to tell. But yah prolly not good for his liver and what not.</p>
<p>Watch out for extreme hair loss. My D lost over half of her hair last year--it is extremely thin now and still coming out. Thank goodness it was very thick to start with. A regular 2 inch diameter ponytail holder would barely go around twice--now it goes around 4 times. To top it off, 6 months after being off of it, she started breaking out again and is now back where she started. I refuse to allow her to try it again--extreme back pain too, although no psychological or academic problems. She did not take a high dose either. Maybe 20 mg. The fine print says 10% have hair loss--it is not publicized. It was definitely not worth it, and if I could choose again, I would not have her take it! Beware of this drug--it is dangerous!!!!!</p>