My son is taking isotretinoin at 20mg once a day. He has serious side effects of nausea and vomiting. The sad part is it is working and now he has to stop taking it. Has anyone has a similar experience and is it realistic for him to go to 10mg every other day? Or, does anyone have experience with alternative treatments for nodular acne?
Has anyone taken isotretinoin 10mg every other day with success, what else has helped with acne?
Question posted by LoisLewis on 7 Feb 2012
Last updated on 9 February 2012
Answers
Have they tried treating him with something for nausea? I know it is not the best thing to treat side effects of one drug with another drug but sometimes it is the way to go especially if it is something that works like no other. Acne is so hard on teens self esteem. Sometimes I think it is even harder for boys than girls because they cant cover with make-up at all. I'm not a fan of Accutane (isotretinoin) by any means, anyway, but I know for some kids it is the only thing that works and in some cases can be a miracle. If your son continues on this medicine please, please watch his behavior VERY closely and be alert to any depression setting in. The reason I say this and the reason I dislike Accutane is this: I had two male cousins, one on each side of the family who commited suicide while on Accutane. Both were fine healthy boys with no depression problems prior to being treated with this drug. My cousin on the maternal side (my mothers sisters boy) was athletic, handsome, getting ready to graduate high school, had just went to State wrestling championships and did well-in fact he might have placed first. (It has been a long time ago and some of the minor details are forgotten.) He was also a football player. Had some acne-nothing too horrible-never had trouble finding girls to date. He started taking Accutane and within a period of time after starting he began to have some problems with depression. He had spoken to many of the adults in out extended family (we are all very close in my mothers family-I have grown up with my cousins, aunts and uncles very much a part of my life) about his depression but we really didnt think it was too bad. We most certainly never saw what was coming. My aunt had been out getting groceries with my mother. She had a deep freeze in the basement where she kept the extra meat and things she wasnt going to use right away and was going to take some of the groceries down there to the freezer but something told her NOT to go down there. It was just a bad, bad feeling. She put the rest of the groceries away and then my uncle came home. She told him she didnt know why but something made her afraid to go downstairs. My uncle then went with her to the basement. They had a couple of divided rooms down there-one had her freezer and wash machine etc the other was a little "weight room" my cousins used to work out in. My cousin was laying face down in that weight room and he was blue. My uncle flipped him over to do CPR when they noticed the hole in his chest and blood on the floor. My uncle tried CPR but my cousin had been gone too long. He had come home from school, made a sandwich and ate it then went to his room and put together a pistol that they kept in pieces so my younger cousin wouldnt accidentally hurt himself, and he used that pistol, once assembled, to shoot himself in the heart. He was such a beautiful boy with so much to live for. My other cousin (my fathers brothers boy) was around the same age. He was also 17, about to graduate and go on to college. He struggled with some acne too. His depression wasnt as apparent. He had never really spoken to anyone about it but there were signs that are loud and clear when you look back. He had given away some of his prized possesions (Like his guitar)over a few days time but my aunt and uncle thought he was maybe just growing up and getting rid of some things to start college. No big deal. He called his mother at work one evening "just to tell her how much he loved her" and shortly after that his older brother was on the couch dozing when something woke him up. His younger brother had his music up kind of loud so he called out to his brother to see if everything was ok. Well, his brother didnt answer-maybe he couldnt hear over the music so he went and opened the door. The scene he found haunts him to this day. His "baby" brother had taken a shotgun, placed the butt on the floor and the muzzle under his jaw and blew the entire back of his head across the room. They both had no depression or behavioral problems until being put on Accutane. I dont mean to say all this to scare you to death. I just say it as a warning. I wouldnt want any other family to go through what ours went through. I just want to warn you to watch your baby very closely for ANY hint of depression and if he has any please, please get him help and take him off this medication. Back when my cousins took it they didnt know that suicide was a risk for Accutane. Now it is a black box warning. I'm sorry, I know this is a dramtic story. I just want you to know how serious this drug can be. I doubt I would let my child take it unless it was the absolute last, last resort. I would try anything else I could before resorting to this one.
OMG Dzoo, I'm so sorry for your family's loss. That truly is a terrible occurance, life changing. NO TO ACCUTANE! It has been my experience, with my daughter, that the hormone changes associated with puberty is what really affected her acne. I took her to Planned Parenthood for BCP's and bought her acne treatments containing benzoyl peroxide... works also. Just sayin'.
Sweet Hippy
Related topics
nausea/vomiting, isotretinoin, side effect
Further information
- Isotretinoin uses and safety info
- Isotretinoin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Isotretinoin (detailed)
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