Did you know acne is the most common skin disorder in the United States, affecting 40 to 50 million Americans?
Nearly 85 percent of all people will have acne at some point in their lives. It can generally begin in the teen years, with more than 40 percent of adolescents being affected due to puberty and hormonal changes, and although it is generally seen as a teenage phase, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
More than 90% of clients I work with struggling with acne are over 30 years old. For some it does go away, and for others it stays, and for many, the first time they experience acne may not be until later in life, from late 20’s to even 50 years of age.
Acne affects individuals not just physically, but emotionally as well. The notion that acne is just a “cosmetic problem” is very off base. Acne is a reflection of something greater happening in the body that is not being corrected. Therefore, the skin continues to lash out in an effort to communicate that there is an imbalance, deficiency, or the mechanics within are just not working as they should be. But this takes time to figure out, and unfortunately, our conventional way of addressing acne tries to do this immediately with topical treatment and/or pills.
Though no matter what age acne occurs, the one thing everyone will feel as a result is pain and embarrassment. Acne affects an individuals confidence, mental outlook, and can greatly impact one’s social life. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one in five U.S. adults also suffers from acne, and for them the psychological toll is often no less severe.
So the question then becomes: How far would you go to get rid of your acne?
Would you compromise your health for clear skin? Would you gain more weight, lose your concentration, vision or appetite? How about put your unborn baby at risk for severe health consequences? Sounds crazy right? If you have ever experienced acne, you know the desperation one feels, literally being at your wits end to find an answer.
Once the topical products and treatments stop working (or may never have), it’s quite normal to start looking for other options. Go to your doctor or dermatologist, like most people, and you may find they prescribe a little drug called Accutane.
Accutane: The Most Dangerous Drug Ever Created?
Actually, this is no little drug at all, and definitely not something to just accept and take lightly.
The generic name is sold as, isotretinoin, and formerly marketed as Accutane (Roaccutane outside the United States). Other generic forms of Accutane are Claravis, Sotret and Amnesteem. Accutane is part of a class of medications that were originally marketed as chemotherapy drugs. The generic versions of Accutane are just as dangerous as the original.
The medication is a synthetic derivative of vitamin A and works by controlling the oil in the sebaceous glands for those who have not responded to antibiotic treatment.
In 1975 American researchers for Hoffmann-La Roche began studying the chemical, isotretinoin, and found it to be an extremely powerful antidote to acne, unmatched by any other treatment. They found that 85% of patients who took Accutane achieve full remission after a typical course of treatment (about five months). FDA Consumer Magazine pronounced it as “the biggest breakthrough in acne drug treatment over the last 20 years.” It was, and still is seen as a “miracle drug”, but at what cost?
Accutane Side Effects
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated:
All patients treated with isotretinoin [Accutane] should be observed closely for symptoms of depression or suicidal thoughts, such as sad mood, irritability, acting on dangerous impulses, anger, loss of pleasure or interest in social or sports activities, sleeping too much or too little, changes in weight or appetite, school or work performance going down, or trouble concentrating, or for mood disturbance, psychosis, or aggression.
Other side effects include:
- Diminished night vision
- Increased bone injuries and concussion risk due to weakened bones
- Severe joint and muscle pain
- Liver damage
- Autoimmune disease
- Red, cracked or sore lips
- Brittle nails
- Unusual hair growth or hair loss
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Increased reaction to UV exposure
- Nosebleeds
- Peeling skin
- Bleeding or swollen gums
- Slow healing of cuts or bruises
- Dry eyes
- Muscle aches
- Increase susceptibility to colds
- IBS
- Depression
- Aggressive Behavior
- Suicide
- Guaranteed birth defects
Drugmaker, Roche, who created the original version of Accutane has had 13 lawsuits from users who developed inflammatory bowel disease as a result of taking Accutane. In addition, it has been showed in brain scans that there was a 21% decrease in brain activity, leading to depression, suicide and aggressive behavior.
Accutane, which is currently no longer on the market, was only meant to be used as a last resort to treat acne, but prescriptions of its competitors and generic versions are just as health damaging and are being offered for even acute cases of a few spots.
Accutane Heavily Overprescribed Under Different Names
Remember, generic forms of Accutane are still on the market and heavily overprescribed. They are listed as Isotretinoin (originally Accutane), Claravis, Sotret and Amnesteem and are just as deadly.
According to Jennifer Hansen, a 21 year-old taking Accutane who keeps an online Accutane journal, “This medicine has given me my life back. . . . I am now confident, happy and very excited about life. I no longer feel inferior and can actually look people in the eyes.”
This statement sounds like a contradiction knowing the dangerous potential that Accutane has to destroy lives. If Jennifer had tried other natural methods that addressed her real cause of acne, she may have truly gotten her life back, both in clear skin and health, but unfortunately for those who have used Accutane, the consequences may not come until later in life.
Accutane: FDA Pregnancy Category X
The deadliest side affect of them all was announced when the FDA slapped the strongest warning available, as an FDA Pregnancy Category X rating, GUARANTEEING that whether you are pregnant or will become pregnant, taking Accutane can cause birth defects, miscarriage, and death in babies.
According to Julia Green, who wrote the article, “A History of Accutane Regulation in the United States” through Harvard Law School, “One quarter of babies born who have been exposed to Accutane during gestation have major congenital deformities. Those babies born without major malformations frequently develop severe learning disabilities.”
Is this not reason enough to avoid this drug?
According to the FDA’s iPledge system:
There is an extremely high risk that severe birth defects will result if pregnancy occurs while taking isotretinoin in any amount, even for short periods of time. Birth defects which have been documented following isotretinoin exposure include abnormalities of the face, eyes, ears, skull, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and thymus and parathyroid glands. Cases of IQ scores less than 85 with or without other abnormalities have been reported. There is an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and premature births have been reported.
Dr. Edward Lammer, a medical geneticist and consultant to FDA, states,“There is no other medication that poses an absolute risk anything remotely close to this, even medications used to treat cancer during pregnancy”.
Profits over Health
In addition to it’s life threatening side effects, Accutane has been one of the most profitable drugs on the market. It has brought in over $700 million a year for the Swiss company’s creator with 12 million people worldwide having taken it. In 2000, Accutane sales totaled $759.4 million, which accounted for 8% of total prescription drug sales.
It’s no wonder Accutane is as easily prescribed as it is, even in the most acute cases. Think about who profits with this, or any drug when it offers the easy option to treat symptoms only. It’s not the patient!
Get to the Root Cause of Your Acne and Say No to Accutane!
The answer isn’t as black and white as we’d like to think. If we take a step back and look at acne for what it is, like almost every health condition, it is inflammation at the root. Since there are many causes for inflammation, getting to an individual’s cause of acne is a bit of an investigation. It starts with a whole foods anti-inflammatory diet to encourage healthy digestion. This process includes looking at possible yeast infections, pathogenic bacteria and parasites as possibilities. Strong immunity, balanced hormones, blood sugar control, and stress management is also important. In addition, undergoing a comprehensive and supportive detoxification program can help tremendously. At the simplest level, following a nontoxic, noncomedogenic skin regime works from the outside to compliment your internal work.
Sources:
FDA Drug Safety Information
A History of Accutane Regulation in the United States
My husband took Accutane as a teen. He developed IBS later and his skin is almost always dry. Since we married, his health and skin have improved dramatically with natural remedies, organic diet, and no drugs. He was already on the right path searching for natural ways to live better when I met him. I came from a family that tried to live healthy before it was “cool”. We work well together. =)
Sarah might I ask what natural remedies he does for his skin? I love some new tips- the Accutane made my skin very dry too. Thanks!
Important to keep your fluoride consumption in check: fluoride ingestion has been linked to acne.
My 16 year old nephew just had a fluoride treatment at the dentist (without the consent of his parents) and PRESTO: acne appeared practically overnight never having had it before.
I don’t allow my boys’ pediatric dentist to use fluoride, nor do they brush with fluoride toothpastes and my teens struggle with mild acne. I can understand there are toxins contributing, but hormones are a key factor.
I think this article is misleading. First of all, isotretinoin is a naturally occurring vitamer of Vitamin A. It acts on retinoid receptors on cell membranes, albeit in an extreme way when given in high doses. Vitamin A regulates cell growth and retinoids do not affect cancer cells the way toxic chemotherapy drugs poison fast growing cells. Comparing the two treatments is apples and oranges.
All of the possible side effects of taking isotretinoin are also side effects of taking high dosages of Vitamin A supplements, including the horrendous birth defects.
Isotretinoin affects the liver because it is a retinoid. It is likely that people who experience the worst side effects on Accutane had preexisting diminished liver function (a lot of teens and young adults consume a lot of sugar and alcohol or pharma drugs), low Vitamin D status (epidemic now in the Western world and Vitamin D balances Vitamin A intake. Low D can cause depression), or excessive dosages as prescribed by doctors.
I did two rounds of Accutane at ages 18 and 21. It completely changed my life and personality and cured my body-wide cystic acne. I suffered no ill effects, but I also was healthy, had no preexisting vision or digestive problems, ate fish and eggs, limited sugar, got sunlight, and had never tasted alcohol. I think taking isptretinoin OR high doses of Vitamin A when in healthy condition and balancing with Vitamin D is probably not very risky. Isotretinoin levels drop after 9 days of discontinued use and does not toxify the bottom.
I would have chosen Vitamin A over Accutane if I had known, but I don’t regret my choice to take it, and neither did my dermatologist who had taken it as well. She monitored me well and tested my liver enzymes and everything worked out.
Lindsay, how long ago did you take Accutane? I took one round 30 years ago (1980), even after my mother’s strong recommendation not to take it. I think it was a 6 week round and for 30 years aftterward I had beautiful skin that people would comment as such. And then one day, it was like it just wore off. My skin became worse than it was when I was in school. I’m now working with a gal locally that uses muscle testing, homeopathic supplements and diet recommendations and for the first time in 4 years my skin is starting to clear up as she addresses poor organ and digestive function. I too, when I went through the round of Accutane was “thrilled” to have the acne clear up but had I known I might be going through what I’ve endured the past 4 years – 30 years later, I may have made a different choice.
My acne that I had for over ten years HEALED completely through NAET and possibly in combination with grounding/earthing. NAET stands for Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques which utilizes acupuncture to neutralize the body’s nervous system’s opposition to an allergen. I was willing to try anything other than drugs. I went NAET for over six months before getting results because it does take time. I’d tried many different diets (with a Nourishing Traditions/GAPs/Paleo combination over the last ten years) and natural topicals over the last ten years such as tea tree oil, ACV, neem oil, zinc oxide, etc. The grounding/earthing theoretically helps relieve inflammation by releasing the positively charged free radicals through direct contact (barefoot) with the earth’s negative charge (as humans and animals have been doing for years before the invention of rubber soled shoes.) I bought earthing sheets. These two actions cleared my acne and hope will help others!
Thanks for this important and informative article.
I took Accutane when I wan in my mid-thirties (before my journey to wellness started). I was informed of the side effects, but my vanity took precedence over my logic.
Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones and did not incur any negative consequences.
As an aside, I was also on oral (and inject-able) tetracycline for acne for 18 years … and as a result suffered a debilitating case of system Candida that literally shut down my body. it took me over a year to fully recover.
Hopefully this article (and others on you site) will educate people about the potential dangers of these harsh chemical drugs …. and enlighten them about how to cure their acne and other skin disorders from the inside-out through proper nutrition and the plethora of natural and extremely effective skin care treatments.
My husband was given accutane during his mid-teens. He experienced many of the listed side effects, including hair loss. IN HIS TEENS. My soul will always shrivel at the thought that he was given this poison, on top of his woefully inadequate and often poisonous diet, when my family I could have steered him in the right direction and saved him so much emotional agony. If only I’d known.
I’ve recently had some of the worst acne of my life. I was a blessedly clear-skinned teenager because I ate very well. It was not until our financial situation became desperate that I began to experience many of the health issues that plagued friends of mine from early in life. I think soon, though, we will be okay, and be able to begin the long journey of healing ourselves from the inside. It is demonstrable that my skin problems began in my gut!
*my family AND I…. Heh, see how this topic can fluster a person?
I took this drug and my Dr. went over in detail all of the horrible side effects. I chose to still take it. This is a decision for a patient and Dr. to decide not blog reader and internet nutritionist. If you are considering starting this drug talk to a Dr. and decide if the risk is worth it for you. If you are an adult who has never had terrible acne you have no idea how it feels.
Sarah..what is the matter with posting an article by the author to inform people of the truth of a drug. Carla did not just list side effects randomly. The information is from the drug company AND the FDA!. It is good that the Dr. informed you but not every doctor will do that. People have a right to know then at least investigate it further by talking to a pharmacist.
By the way, if I had acne, I would rather look into finding out other ways of treating it instead of taking a drug with horrible side effects. I would not have known other ways to help treat it if it wasn’t for this article.
Actually I DO know what it feels like to have had acne and I still would not have taken Acutane. I refused when offered as a teenager.
I took Accutane in the 80’s as a teen. I developed several of these side effects and at least one that’s not listed but found in only 1% of patients. Every time I tell a dr. that I was on Accutane, a look of horror crosses their faces and “Oh.”
As a Master Esthetician I cringe whenever I have a client that has taken or is taking accutaine, or antibiotics for that matter. I always ask about lifestyle and foods. My scope of practice isn’t broad enough for me to give medical advice but I try to steer clients in the right direction. But don’t think that what you put on your skin doesn’t matter. More than 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed into your system. You need to work from the inside and the outside.