cave canem Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 My kid is looking for acne help, and the doctor recommended accutane. My kid is concerned about side effects, especially any related to mood or cognition. We know that this is a ymmv sort of thing, but can anyone share a testimonial? How good or bad is this stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 My dd16 has been taking it since the end of November. We had tried just about everything else with not very much success. The major side effect she has experienced is very dry skin, especially dry lips. That is what the medicine does so we were completely expecting it. I don't think she has had any other side effects. As far as the mood thing, I was worried about that too, because she has been feeling stressed etc anyway. I can't say if it has made it worse or not, but she was starting to feel really fed up about having acne for so long and not being able to have it get better, so I felt like it was worth the risk. I think, from what her dr said, that the mood/psychological side effects are usually more severe than just depression, but I think they are fairly rare. I'm really hoping it works. She has had some really bad flares since starting the meds, and has had several short courses of steroids to help control those. Her dermatologist said it was unusual to have such bad flare ups so I guess she has been unlucky there. According to our dermatologist it is the miracle cure, so I really hope it is for dd. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) We tried everything else and wasted a lot of time because I was concerned about side effects. My child tolerated the medication without any side effects other than dry skin, and it helped. In hindsight, I wish we had not messed around with all the ineffective stuff for years. ETA: I talked to my child about my concerns re the emotional side effects, and he (correctly) pointed out to me that acne itself can cause the person to be depressed and moody and that he rather wanted the meds. Edited April 12, 2017 by regentrude 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 My former SIL used it while she was in high school starting at age 15 or 16. She was one of the ones it severely affected as far as mood. I was there to witness it, and saw the changes in her first hand. She had severe acne from about 12 or 13 and nothing else they tried had helped. They finally recommended Accutane. This was during the late 90's. I have no idea what dosage she was on. It resulted in extreme mood swings and depression for her. She honestly became quite unstable. They finally had to pull her off of it and it took a couple of years for her to come back around completely to herself. It was also unfortunate that even going through the treatment it did not give her long term help for her acne. I think it improved some while on the drugs, but it flared back worse than ever when she discontinued it. The problem with teens its is hard to determine what it meds and what is hormones sometimes because it's all hitting simultaneously. That makes it difficult to ever say A definitively caused B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdj2027 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 My son had no side effects other than dry skin/lips. It has been a year, a so far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I took it in my 20's and had no side effects other than dry skin. My siblings took it while younger and also had no serious side effects. I did work with someone who took it and she claimed she could no longer wear contact lenses because of dryness--even years after being off of it. This was a LONG time ago. There are treatments for dry eyes and better lenses with more moisture, so I wouldn't be worried about that. Oh, and it WORKED. I wish I had taken it when I was younger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 (edited) Our dermatologist said the warnings are there for a reason - some people who take accutane will experience side effects that include mood swings and depression. I have had three kids treated with accutane - thank you lousy genetics that inherited DH's cystic acne. It has worked wonders - all three had extremely good outcomes and only oldest DD has any scarring (we started her too late after trying every other solution). That being said, I really watched the kids for mood changes that were unusual because that side effect possibility made me nervous. No mood issues thank goodness. The only side effects were very dry skin and lips. I think it is reasonable to be concerned and to be very alert to possible changes. Edited April 12, 2017 by AK_Mom4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 When I was a teenager I had a bad reaction to accutane I became depressed enough to scare my parents I don't remember it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 We tried everything else and wasted a lot of time because I was concerned about side effects. My child tolerated the medication without any side effects other than dry skin, and it helped. In hindsight, I wish we had not messed around with all the ineffective stuff for years. ETA: I talked to my child about my concerns re the emotional side effects, and he (correctly) pointed out to me that acne itself can cause the person to be depressed and moody and that he rather wanted the meds. Our experience was the same. We kept avoiding it out of worry for side effects. I wish we had not waited so long to try it. I agree too that the acne itself can cause depression and moodiness due to the embarrassment. Also cystic acne can be painful. Acne on back and shoulders can make sleeping difficult as it presses against the bed or pillows. That said, the effects are not always lasting; my kid's acne is coming back. He doesn't want to to take accutane again if he can help it. But he said it's mainly because of the monthly blood draws, not any side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 My oldest son was on Accutane for a year when he was 16. He never admitted at the time that there was a problem but he looks back on that year as a "dark" year. I was watching him like a hawk and didn't notice anything that I didn't attribute to normal teenage angst but he has told me to never let the other kids be on it because it was a terrible time for him. I felt awful when I found out but we were asking him and his drs. were checking on him and he just didn't admit it or didn't recognize it until he was off of the meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I used it in my 30's and wished that I had done it much earlier. Even then, there were a million warnings, but it changed my life. I still will get a cyst or two if I'm under a lot of stress, but normally I'm clear still to this day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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