I took Accutane for my acne problem for about 2 months and realised that I started getting severe joint pains almost everywhere (feets, elbows, shoulder, knees, etc.). Never had this problem before. I stopped it after that. Its been about three weeks and the pain still has not gone away. I can barely walk. Back of my feets hurt so bad and so does the knee. It has been a very frustrating expereince. So, I would like to see if there is someone who has experienced the similar pain and how long it took them to start feeling better or to be able to walk properly. I am more interested in knowing about the joint pains from Accutane rather than knowing about how good the Accutane is for clearing up acne. It would be great if you could focus on these HUGE side effects rather than how miraculously it works for certain people. I would appreciate it if you could share your joint pain expereinces and its duration.Thank you.
How long does it take for the joint pains to go away after stopping Accutane?
Question posted by Emaa on 13 Aug 2013
Last updated on 17 October 2022 by BrandyLab
11 Answers
I stopped using Accutane about 2 months ago. I had the dry lips and swollen joints. I was on the medication for about 1.5 months. I was very active but couldn't walk. I also stopped my breakouts with dead seasalt spray. I am on glucosamine tablets to help my joints. They are still pretty swollen
I have been on accutane for about 3 months. I too have experienced extreme pain in my bones, joints, and muscles. I am very active, and I can barely move after sitting a long time, walk down stairs without holding the rails, or walk because the bones in my feet hurt. I have decided to push through the pain, and have been taking small regimens of IBU and Tylenol. I have a high pain tolerance, so I’ve been able to remain active. I just push through and take ice baths 2x per week (they help). Someone mentioned glucosamine; I’ll try that starting tomorrow. Hope this helps.
I took accutane for 6 months and had knee and joint pain. I just got off about a week ago and my legs and feet hurt alot almost like a swelling pain . Did anyone experience this and how long did it take to go back to normal?
Hi, I’m currently on Accutane also and also feel a kind of swelling pain glad I’m not the only one! In my knees it feels like they’re painful and swollen but they’re not if that makes sense... what dose are you on?
I took just 9 tablets over the course of about 3 weeks, and started to get severe aches in my thighs and calves. I have now stopped taking the medication as its not worth the pain. I am a runner and was preparing for a marathon but now I am hobbling. Running is very difficult.
I’m a 55 y/o female and am starting my 3rd month at 40 mg 2x day. I had the normal chapped lips, dry skin and increased break outs. My skin is looking amazing. Still having a few break outs but nothing like before. I have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and osteoarthritis so I hurt all the time. But I can definitely see an increase in my pain even in joints that didn’t really hurt before. My Dr suggested I go down to 30 mg but after thinking about it, I’m gonna push thru and be done. Just in case the extra pain doesn’t resolve itself until my regimen is done. I’d hate to prolong the agony. Hope this helps someone in the future.
I am a 39 y/o female. I have been on Accutane for 5 months going on 6 months. It has worked wonders for my skin! I am experiencing severe joint pain. My neck feels like it's constantly stiff! My bones crack and ache. I also have the normal dry lips. I have also had an issue with my left eye being inflamed which I believe to be due to the meds. I have been taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen for the pain and will continue to do so.
My son took accutane at 15 and we had to stop it after 2 months due to severe side effects. During the course he was experiencing severe chest pain and we stopped the drug. After that started a series of events. It started with a tendinitis while playing basketball and we thought it was a sport injury. Right after that he had knee pain and swelling. Then when the knee swelling subsided, his other knee started swelling up. For both knee to come back to normalcy, it took two months. During that we tested the knee fluid for Lyme and other infectious disease. After the knee swelling, he started having back-pain, we saw an orthopedic, got an MRI and finally saw a rheumatologist. After juvenile arthritis was ruled, we moved to antibiotic for his acne treatment. Basically it took nearly 5-6 months for aches and pains to go away. I gave him a lot of bone broth and it may be a coincidence, that his backache just went away.
Not sure why he had such a severe reaction. He was taking 80 for the first month and then dropped to 40 mg. I have reduced sugar, white bread and give him omega supplements which seems to have made a difference or maybe he is not hormonal anymore. Omega is supposed to help with inflammation and so does bone broth. Try it and see if it makes a difference.
I've started my third month of Accutane and my heels are absolutely hurting. It is the weirdest thing. I can barely walk at the end of the day after sitting at my desk. It feels worse by night. The pain began to permeate up my knees and my back now. It feels like I've been hit by a car at times. And the arthritic state of my body feels like I'm trapped in an 80 year old person's body. Overall it's a weak feeling and vulnerability of not being able to walk well. My doctor advised I cut back and take only one Accutane pill a day(40mg). But it only seems to minimally help. I think long-term it's going to be vitamin D and glucosamine as my strategy. Fyi before I began Accutane my vitamin D was already low. I do take Motrin from time to time to help.
I am currently on my last month of accutane. My heels hurt SO bad. My back aches alot. I walk slow and funny after driving for an hour straight. If anyone were to try to hurt me, I couldn't run from them because the pain is so bad. I'm hoping the pain goes away. Take motrin 800mg for inflammation and pain. Also, take some joint pain relief over the counter pills.
Hey I had severe joint pain from accutane in my knees since I am a runner and slightly in my back. I am very sensitive to medications and my dermatologist told me that it would take anywhere from 2-3 months to be 100 percent better she said there would be a significant improvement in 6 weeks almost 80 percent better. It’s kinda a long time but it does get better she ensured me that this is not permanent but to be patient since this take time.
Hi - I am a runner as well. Did your knee pain go away after the 3 month period? I have numbness in my toes too.
It all depends on the person.. I'd recommend taking Glucosamine Sulfate, 2000mg 2x daily. That helped me a lot. I took it for about a year and then got off it and didn't notice any joint pain from that point on.
Hope this helps.
Respectfully, Jay
Hi Jay, this sounds very hepful. Did you also take isotretinoine? How long did the side effects persisted? Thank you.
I did take isotretinoin (3 separate times over a 5 year period). The side effects depend on the individual. For me, it took about 2 or 3 months until my acne started to clear up. Side effect wise, my dry skin was getting better after 2 or 3 months and I only needed to apply lotion to my face and skin after I showered. Bloody noses persisted until I was off the accutane along with minor joint pain.
Hope this helps!
I know this post is old I just wanted to help someone if they stumble on to this. My son took accutane he was 17 at the time during and after he started having very bad joint problems with some muscle pain some days he could barely walk. Went to the doctor a few times with no help. I stumbled on someone's post saying to have him tested for vitamin D deficiency made an appointment with his doc. She didn't think that was the problem because he was only 17 and was in the sun. I asked her to test him she did. He was very low in vitamin D she put him on 10,000 iu a day he is doing much better. He can walk with out pain he's happier and healing. I read some things about vitiman A blocking Vitiman D plus using tons of sun block while on accutane probably contribute to his problems. I'm not an expert by any means. I just love my son I would read everything I could possible find. I wish everyone good health
Hi Mistyholms, did your son took 10,000 iu of vitamin D after he done or during Accutane? I am having the same problem with my joint.
I took accutane for 3 months and during that time I had extremely bad joint pain in my knees, back, and almost my entire body. My cholesterol was always low because I always ate healthy and was very active. 3 YEARS later after taking only 3 months of accutane... I have arthritis on my neck, shoulders, and back, carpal tunnel syndrome, pinched nerves on my sciatica, knee pain all of the time, and I can no longer wear high heels, do squats, or lift weights more than 10 lbs. If I would of known all this beforehand I wouldn't have gone on accutane. For anyone reading this please consider all your options, do your research, and be patient. I truly wish I could go back in time and change the decision I made 3 years ago to go on Accutane. Good luck to anyone dealing with severe acne.
May I ask your age? Curious about the likelihood of arthritis.
May I ask your age? Just wondering of the likelihood of arthritis in relation to age.
I also took Accutane for 3 months. Then I started having foot pain so severe I got X-rays. My Doc advised me to stop taking this medication. It’s been 2 years now and still have pain in my shoulders, my right elbow, my feet and now my left arm is numb. I have no other causes for the pain what so ever. I find it crazy the pain has not went away by now. I’m hoping these side effects are not permanent. I would not have used this medication if I understood this particular side effect. Life long pain should be explained more than chances of birth defects. That was the only risk my health care provider ever wanted to discuss.
My son has been treated for acne since he was 13 yrs old and after 5 years of retin a cream, various other therapy to include antibiotics with little improvement; his dermatologist suggested the accutane. He thought on it for days, it was not an easy decision for him as the side effects are scary.
My son was on Isotretoin for 7months and while on the med he started having the joint pain. He was hoping the side effect of the joint pain would stop after taking the medicine. Each visit he would described his joint pain to his dermatologist and together they decided when to increase the dose. Usually it takes 6 months to complete but my son needed the extra month as he delayed increasing the dosage due to the joint pain in his hands, wrist, * knees and back.
He’s been off the medication since Feb 2018 and his joint pain is still there with a pain scale of 8 out of 10 (ten is worst pain possible). He can’t game online/computer as much as he would like, it pains to type his papers for class (college), he is in pain if he helps me with the garden work. His joint pain makes him feel like he’s 80 yrs old and he just turned 20. I wish I had known about the vitamin D therapy I think my son would have benefited from that as he has had bone pain when he was in his growth spurt 14-16 yrs old.
Recently, he has done X-rays, blood work which resulted normal. He was then referred to a rheumatologist, scheduled to see next week. My sister suggested that an MRI would be the best diagnostics to view the joints and soft tissue. I’m hoping to convince his new specialist to order the MRI.
My husband and I are hoping that the joint pain will resolve on its own after the 1 yr off the meds. I am going to give him the supplements Vit D, Flaxseed oil and Glucosamine in hopes of some joint relief after 6wks of use. I’ll check in and let you know his status due to the little or no information from the medical community (research)/.gov that’s helpful for patients suffering from joint pain post Accutane.
My son saw the rheumatologist, he has no arthritis. She noted that 30% od patients on Accutane reportedly has joint pain and there’s no known treatment for the joint pain. She noted his alkaline and phosphorus blood work was high so she ordered a whole body bone scan, waiting for the insurance to approve this diagnostic request.
9 months post Accutane/Isotretoin my son joint pain subsides. Thank goodness his body, joints are recovering. He als had intense headaches which he had a MRI done which resulted normal. His skin is free of acne but the recovery was scary. This med is serious. His doc noted 30% of patients have joint pain, no study is available on the effects on those having with side effects of joint pain. Joint pain can be permanent so if you can wait till you’re over 24 in males or 26 or older in females, change your lifestyle to eat healthy - don’t take this drug.
Related topics
accutane, acne, osteoarthritis, pain, knee, elbow
Further information
- Accutane uses and safety info
- Accutane prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Accutane (detailed)
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.
