Accutane: 6 Side Effects of This Overused Acne Drug

The famous last resort acne drug Accutane, which contained the compound isotretinoin, was discontinued by its manufacturer Roche back in June 2009. But millions are still using Isotretinoin in other products while hoping to end their acne once and for all.

Hoffman La Roche sells the new-fangled Roaccutane, Cipla sells Isotroin, Mylan sells Amnesteen, and Teva sells Claravis. Sales of isotretinoin (which we’ll just call Accutane) show no sign of slowing…

…but there are some statistics I think you should know about: 92% of all Accutane users experience dry lips, 30% experience severe nosebleeds, and 52% experience excessively dry skin.

Those are just the mild side effects! Accutane is linked to birth defects, depression and even suicide in an ever expanding library of cases. The problems generally subside once you stop using Accutane, but they can be permanent.

Before we continue, I’ll make this clear – I don’t recommend that any acne patient uses Accutane.

For every two delighted acne patients, there’s always another who cries “never again”.

Furthermore, there’s a TON of lifestyle and dietary strategies which your doctor hasn’t even told you about. Avoiding wheat is fantastic for acne, lowering your carb intake improves oily skin, and eating just two Brail nuts daily can work wonders. You do NOT have to resort to dangerous drugs like Accutane.

Let’s get started:

 

Side effect 1# – pregnancy problems

Isotretinoin (Accutane) is the only drug developed globally so far that falls under the Federal Drugs Administration’s (FDA) category X. If you become pregnant while taking Accutane, you are virtually guaranteed to be giving your baby birth defects. The FDA itself says that “If you are pregnant or may get pregnant, isotretinoin can cause birth defects, miscarriage, premature births, and death in babies”.

The problems are so severe that all patients must sign the iPLEDGE system, a binding internet contract where you promise to not get pregnant during or immediately after your Accutane course. If you do, the doctor is not held legally accountable for the baby’s guaranteed birth defect.

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You’re forbidden to get pregnant for an entire month after ending Accutane. Henceforth, you’re supposed to be safe, but many of Accutane’s side effects, particularly bowel problems, are known to persist. Like the FDA’s overly relaxed stance on trans-fat, refined sugar, BPA, and other evils in the past, they could easily be underestimating the future harm from Accutane.

If you have any intention of having a baby one day, do NOT use Accutane.

Accutane might affect male reproduction as well. Officially, there’s no evidence, but I’ve seen several horrific stories. One guy taking accutane lost all traces of his libido; he had no interest in women whatsoever. Worse, his sex drive didn’t reappear for years after the course ended.

 

Side effect 2# – depression

Accutane is notorious for causing depression. It seems like every month that a story appears in the media about a user who ultimately committed suicide. Of course, the victims could have had other mental problems, but in 2008, even the FDA issued a statement to doctors about the “depression, psychosis, and rarely suicidal thoughts and actions” resulting from Accutane.

It began in 1983, with isolated case studies emerging of severe mood changes during Isotretinoin usage. Then in 2004, brain scans on Accutane patients noticed a 21 percent decrease in the activity of their orbitofrontal cortex. That’s a brain area known to constrain the symptoms of depression.

In 2012, a giant scientific review compiled every study testing accutane on depression so far. They found a clear link: “The literature reviewed is consistent with associations of isotretinoin administration with depression and with suicide in a subgroup of vulnerable individuals”.

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A similar study was conducted in 2015, and a similar result was found in 2015. Not only were depression and isotretinoin linked, it also exaggerated the symptoms of psychosis and bipolar disorder in people predisposed to them.

Hence, the FDA is officially taking action. Pharmaceutical companies have now strengthened the labelling to warn consumers about the risk of depression and mental problems…

…but all the fuss doesn’t mean that the risk has gone away. This is biological depression we’re talking about; the kind where your actual neurotransmitters get out of whack. Say no to Accutane/Isotretinoin!

 

Side effect 3# – elevated cholesterol levels

Nobody wants high cholesterol and triglycerides; they’re a massive risk factor behind cardiovascular disease and heart attacks. But research finds that Accutane gives you exactly that.

In 2006, a third of users developed elevated cholesterol levels, and 40% developed high triglycerides. The study was large; it examined 13,772 acne patients aged 13 to 50 from March 1995 to September 2002. Even their liver enzymes were elevated! Doctors had always been aware of these side effects, but believed they were confined to an extreme minority.

That’s not the case; the study concluded that “the incidence of abnormally high serum lipid levels during isotretinoin treatment may be greater than previously estimated”.

Luckily, cholesterol tends to normalise quickly, within a few weeks or months after stopping it. Nevertheless, after scouting testimonials, elevated cholesterol is one story I’ve come across a lot.

What’s more, an older study from 1997 found that HDL (good) cholesterol fell substantially, while the unhealthy LDL cholesterol rose. In cardiovascular disease, it’s actually the ratio between HDL and LDL which is most important, so this isn’t good news. Somehow, the scientists sounded pleased with the results, but back then, the importance of cholesterol ratios remained shrouded in darkness.

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In my view, it is unbelievable that dermatologists are prescribing this drug when there are so many easier options.  You can reduce acne massively within two or three days by slashing your daily sugar intake. I know that from experience. Yet most acne patients are never told this by their doctors.

 

Side effect 4# – peeling skin

Accutane does clear a large proportion of acne patients, although at least 33% have a major relapse soon after ending it. However, it also gives your skin many side effects. Isotretinoin works “wonders” because it is a massively concentrated form of retinol (vitamin A).

As we discuss in my eBook Annihilate your Acne, vitamin A is a top acne nutrient. It mainly works by calming down your oil-pumping sebaceous glands. Consequently, accutane too works by making your skin as dry as a desert…

…but the results are often not pretty. Many users complain of flaking, peeling skin, skin that is apparently very painful. Some also complain of skin so sensitive that they can’t touch it with warm water: some women had such painful patches that they couldn’t apply makeup!

Dry and cracking lips are by far the most common symptom, affecting 92% of all patients. They’re the body part most sensitive to Accutane’s dryness, and in many cases, the user’s lips begin to bleed badly.

A long time back, I even read a story where a guy’s skin started peeling around the edge of his mouth. Eventually, it got so bad that his mouth actually got wider by a couple of centimetres.

 

Side effect 5# – hair loss

Hair loss or hair thinning is barely documented in Accutane studies, but it’s an extremely common testimonial. For example, I’ve seen one woman complaining that after originally having thick, heavy hair, she was left with only 25%. The remainder was thin and stringy. Thankfully, her hair grew back in two years, but only ever to 50% of its original thickness.

It’s possible that she was naturally losing her hair anyway, and just got confused. However another woman claimed that “my hair dried out badly and took years to recover”, and another’s hair became “straw-like and thin”. Thin and dry hair seems particularly common, just like Accutane sucking the oil out of your skin and making that dry.

Men have reported similar experiences. One 25 year old claimed that during the final six weeks of Accutane, his hair noticeably receded around the corners. He ended the treatment, and they regrew partially for three months, before stalling and leaving the corners noticeably thinner than before.

Again, this young man might have been another statistic in the premature baldness epidemic, but it’s equally possible that Accutane was responsible, or accelerated hair loss which would have otherwise occurred much later in life.

Another guy had “the worst hair sheds of my life”, another had “hair so dry it broke off at the scalp, and another “noticed hair just falling off”.

 

Side effect 6# – irritable bowel disorders

Roche, the original manufacturer Accutane and current purveyor of Roaccutane, lost 9 out of the 13 lawsuits it faced between 2007 and 2012. In 2010, Roche was ordered to pay over $25 million in damages, and in 2012, it payed another $18 million. Why?

The payments went to former Accutane users who developed inflammatory bowel disease. Accutane is linked to endless digestive disorders, also including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation of the large intestine.

The actor James Marshall who starred in the TV series Twin Peaks directed by David Lynch was one victim. He testified in court against Roche during a lawsuit in which he alleged that Accutane had given him IBS, totally derailing his career. He had to stay in hospital for four months, and he even had his colon removed.

Then you have this study, which chronicled the experiences of one female acne patient. She was 24 years old and took 30mg of Isotretinoin for 7 months to deal with a severe and persistent outbreak.

Within 2 months, she started developing abdominal pain. After five months, she experienced graphic diarrhoea which became bloody and full of mucous. She lost 10kg, developed iron deficiency anaemia and suffered from fatigue.

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Furthermore, she had no medical history or previous experience of IBS. Her condition reportedly improved after ditching accutane, but as of the study’s publication in 2012, she was still in remission.

This is probably a girl who was happily informed by her local doctor that Accutane was a miracle cure with a few mild side effects that would probably never happen anyway. Instead of clear-skinned paradise though, she got led into this. Don’t let the same happen to you!

What do Crohn’s disease and IBS do to the body? They massively increase your risk of food intolerances, weaken nutrient absorption, and give you painful symptoms like nausea, and constant burping after every meal. Obvious and severe symptoms include severe internal muscle spasms/cramps in the pelvic region, weight loss, diarrhoea, and vomiting.

It’s an unpleasant disease to have and contrary to popular belief, it can be healed, but why develop it when Accutane has numerous alternatives anyway?

 

Conclusion

Here’s the truth about Accutane right now. It may well clear your skin. You may well get lucky and experience no skin peeling, no depression, and no bowel problems. Hop aboard the Accutane train today, and you could well end your acne permanently, and live happily ever after…

…but Accutane is a gamble every time. It’s smart to take a calculated gamble or two to get ahead in life, but when the gamble has no reward it’s a fool errand. There’s no need to take Accutane, because you haven’t tried all the dietary and lifestyle strategies. Have you tried getting more zinc, vitamin E and vitamin D? Have you slashed your sugar intake dramatically yet? Is your diet carefully arranged to take advantage of the most nutritious fruits and vegetables?

If not, then excellent! The word Accutane doesn’t need to enter your head.

What’s more, by getting beautiful skin the natural way, you won’t trash your body; you’ll improve it. Back in the day, I was a classic cash cow for big sugar. My daily intake was almost certainly 120 grams plus.

Since then, I’ve slashed my sugar intake to below the acne-friendly threshold of 50 grams. My energy levels are more consistent thanks to stable blood sugar levels. My joints and muscles recover faster after heavy exercise. I’ve even gained intelligence thanks to less inhibition of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

If you too ditch Accutane and supercharge your diet and lifestyle, there’s no limit to the invigorating health benefits you could enjoy.

NEXT: learn the root causes of acne, clear your skin permanently

 

Thanks for reading!