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My 16 year old son has some acne issues and has been on minocycline for a few months.. his acne doesn't seem to be improving much, but I know he doesn't take the antibiotic regularly. Now the dermatologist wants to put him on Accutane. He washes his face with special acne soap and generally seems to be careful with diet. What are your experiences with Accutane? I've heard it has serious side effects... thoughts?
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I had a high school teammate who is seriously interfered with his running, so he stopped taking it. I'm not sure how common that side effect is, though.
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I remember my dermatologist mentioning the countless side effects of accutane including muscle and joint paints. He kept going on like it was the end of a commercial or something. That was enough for me to say no. I've taken doxycycline for a while and it works pretty well (when taken consistently), and while accutane provides permanent success, the side effects and frequent blood tests necessary were too much.
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Pediatrician here . Isotretinoin ( commonly known as accurate) is kind of a nuclear option for severe recalcitrant acne. If nothing ( topical, oral antibiotics) has worked in the past and his acne is severe enough that possible scaring is a concern, it is well warranted . It is amazing how well it works and even though certain blood tests need to be monitored , it my experience it is overall pretty safe. You can’t underestimate the effect of bad acne on the mental health and self esteem of a teen. As a side, my brother used it and did well.
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1000x yes. Only thing hat cleared my Acne. If only I'd started in hs instead of grad school I would have had better social life.
It's a sample size thing but I think risks are overemphasized. -
Cut out junk food, processed sugar,processed oil and dairy in you diet. That should clear up your face.
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I'm on accutane right now, and besides the normal dryness which isn't that bad, I have some back problems. I am not sure if I have a legitimate injury or not, but my dermatologist said that either way the accutane is probably contributing to the pain. Anything that puts pressure on my back (squats, deadlift, etc.) or takes it off my back (pull ups) causes tightness or pain. The dermatologist also said that I could probably lift through because it's most likely just the accutane and not an injury causing the pain, but regardless I'm taking time off of lifting. Nothing else is out of the ordinary, and I can run perfectly fine. It's clearing my face, and after several years of being the one kid with bad acne while all my friends have clear skin, I'll take 5 months of sore joints or a bad stomach or something like that.
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I should add that I already have some scarring, so I guess I didn't have much of an option.
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After trying a bunch of different stuff, including oral antibiotics such as minocycline, I finally caved and decided to try accutane (not until I was done with college because I was worried about side effects while running). It worked pretty well. I get the occasional breakout but 90% of my acne is gone. I had tried cleaning up my diet and cutting out dairy and all that but it didn't work. The only thing that half worked was consistent, twice a day use of benzoyl peroxide, but that was 2 months worth until it started to work and that isn't as permanent as accutane.
As for side effects, the only ones I got were dry skin, sunlight sensitivity, and the occasional bloody nose during the first month or two. No noticeable joint pains or anything. I was running 60mpw and doing consistent workouts. I didn't have my best block of training or races but I also didn't really suffer or anything. The blood tests were not bad at all, they are only like 2 small vials worth and takes all of 15 seconds, tops. Additionally, when I finished up accutane they said they were phasing out blood tests for boys, so your son may not even need it. Looking back, I would have much rather got it done when I was 16ish rather than when I was 22. You only need to be on it for 3-6 months and I'm sure for most of that time he won't have any side effects other than dry skin. I say go for it, it'll be worth it in the long run (and it really isn't a difficult time while you're on it, anyways). -
As a pediatrician (actually still a resident) and someone who is actually taking accutane (isotretinoin) right now, I think I can give some insight.
I would agree with the posters above me - this medication is the definitive treatment for acne, and if the other stuff hasn't worked, it is your best bet. Sure, there are potential side effects, but they are almost all reversible, so if your kid gets unlucky and has a problem, he can just stop taking it. The bottom line is that after you finish puberty, the other medications probably won't solve your problems. Take it from someone who was very hesitant to take it - I used clindamycin, benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin/adapalene topicals very regularly. I used minocycline for a while until I had a lupus-like reaction (actually much worse than the isotretinoin, though shouldn't have taken it as long as I did). Bottom line, I continued to have breakouts that have led to scarring into my mid 20s. I finally bit the bullet and started accutane, and within 6 weeks have had nothing. Acne completely gone, and that is despite a schedule that involves crazy amounts of stress and sleep disturbances - surefire ways to trigger acne flares (at least for me). I have had some dryness as described above but no other side effects that I can feel. My lipids were up a little bit, but that will go back to normal when I stop taking it.
If I had to do it again, I would definitely have gone on accutane earlier. Many insurances won't cover it after a certain age. I would say anyone who has finished growing and still has acne problems after another year or two should strongly consider it. Everything else is just a band aid. And if your acne hasn't gone away by age 20, it probably won't go away at all. Most of my acne scars are from acne I had after college.
If your kid is 16 and completely done with puberty, it could be a good idea. Starting it in the winter is great because then you don't have to worry about the sun sensitivity as much (here in the north at least). Any medication has side effects, this one has them as well, but they have been overblown a bit purely because of sensationalist stories. Luckily, your 16 year old boy can not get pregnant... -
I took it as a junior in high school. Nothing else would work and the acne really affected my psyche. It SUCKED while I was on it (I think 4 months??). I could hardly run due to the cramping. I remember struggling to run at 5:45 1600m and ended up running sub 4;30 the next year. But, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It kicked the crap out of the acne for 4-5 years, and when it came back I could manage it with OTC creams. Go for it. Seriously a life changer.
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It is going to completely tank your running. I had two kids who took it ( at different times) and they ran terrible when they did. My son went from running 27:30 8ks to 33 minutes. My daughter had similar results. A girl on our team started taking it midway through this xc season and her performance hit the skids. The dermatologists will swear it won’t effect your running but it really will and in a bad way.
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I took it during my sophomore year of high school and it completely nixed my acne. I went from having mountains and craters to smooth skin ... with just the occasional zit like any teenager. It was amazing and life changing. It worked wonders for my self-esteem and self confidence and I'm sure I was on my way to scarring so I prevented that as well. Assuming I there weren't any long term effects I don't know about yet (it's 11 years later) then it was definitely worth it.
I had the dry skin side effect, but all the blood tests were fine. I'll say this though, I did have a TERRIBLE track season while on it. I ran 10:10 as a freshman in high school and sophomore year I only managed 10:07 despite having a very good sophomore XC season. Now, I'm not going to 100% blame the Acutane because I normally played hockey in the winter, but that winter I didn't do much of anything due to a shoulder injury. That said, I got over the injury in time to play the very end of the hockey season and was healthy all track season, so I think it was more tha Acutane than the injury which killed that track season. I'd advise taking it out of season if at all possible so you can maybe avoid the negative side effects on your running. -
I lost my best runner to Accutane his senior year. He said he regretted it. He wished he had waited until June before college.
But having taken it myself it does work. Guess you need to decide what is the biggest priority for you. But don't convince yourself you can have both at the same time.
Good luck! -
It's easy for me to say to not take it because I did. It cleared up my face, although I paid quite a price on my back, chest and neck for several months and all 3 are scarred. The acne went away on my face, but came out in a serious vengeance on my torso and neck. I had to stop running and couldn't swim either since I couldn't be in the sun. My only option was to lift weights. Several times I had to stop my workout and go home because I was bleeding through my shirt from either my back bleeding or my neck cracked and started bleeding because I turned too abruptly.
My skin has been clear ever since and seriously I HATED my skin before going on acutane. I had so much more confidence in myself after my skin was clear. However, I do think it did some damage that can't fully be understood. My skin has continued to be extremely dry ever since then, whereas it definitely wasn't before. That was just over 20 years ago now.
I had a few bouts of pretty severe depression while on the medication, but it was bearable and would only last for a few days at a time. I remember my mom being a bit scared at times because I was so down. I couldn't move very well at all because my skin was so dry. If I moved my head too fast the skin on the back of my neck would tear slightly and I'd start bleeding and it was just embarrassing. That's not easy for an elite athlete to be unable to move properly. Showering was a nightmare and using a towel to dry off was out of the question. All of that happened after taking the accutane. Torso was just wrecked for about 4 months.
If I had it to do over again I'd be in a tough spot trying to decide. I'd like to think I wouldn't use it again because of the health effects, such as running 20% slower like the guy's son below, which means you've lost about 30% of your aerobic power! 30% is an insane amount. It's obviously wreaking havoc on our bodies.
Hounddogharrier wrote:
It is going to completely tank your running. I had two kids who took it ( at different times) and they ran terrible when they did. My son went from running 27:30 8ks to 33 minutes. My daughter had similar results. A girl on our team started taking it midway through this xc season and her performance hit the skids. The dermatologists will swear it won’t effect your running but it really will and in a bad way. -
I’m a 20 year old female and took it my senior year of high school. I was only running around 35 mpw at the time but had no issues with regards to running. I was very careful with running during that time and didn’t do workouts that were to hard or with the potential of hurting my joints; which sucked at the time. My lips also got really dry but i could deal with that. It boosted my confidence a ton and I really think it helped my running. If I had not had taken accutane, I probably would have overtrained at the end of high school to impress colleges and most likely would have gotten injured or overtrained.
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I did it when I was 14. My acne started when I was 10, and by 14 I had tried everything. I didn't have scarring because a crazy cocktail of two topicals and broad spectrum antibiotics (wtf, right?) kept it somewhat under control, but I still didn't want to leave the house more than necessary.
Accutane definitely sucks while you're on it (aches, pains, cracked lips, bloody noses every day, in my case), but I didn't care because I had clear skin within a month. It totally changed my life. I got my first girlfriend, made a ton of new friends, and even my soccer game improver because of my confidence. I used to just pass the ball and make tackles, but I felt so good about myself that I started dribbling and shooting, eventually scoring ten goals for the ninth grade team and getting brought up to varsity for the post season. -
I took it as a sophomore in HS. Had bad acne along cheeks and chin. And it got rid of it pretty good. I was on everything until then and nothing worked.
I didnt have joint issues or dry skin issues, though a teammate did. But he ran through them. The winter just sucked with the dry skin.
I did, however, develop some depression and ulcerative colitis, both of which have been linked to accutane. The depression - who knows if that was just being in high school, etc. or if it was really accelerated by the accutane. The ulcerative colitis - who knows either, I was also popping a ton of Advil while running which is also a possible cause.
I'd think about if your kid already has depressed thoughts, moodiness, etc. And, I'd be really on top of it. While my depression was managed with therapy, you just never know how any kid will react to it. The ulcerative colitis really sucks though and is something that has and will continue to impact my running and general well being. And the side effects of treating the UC have not been good either. I'd ask the dermatologist about that, check your family history for autoimmune issues, etc.
Good luck. Wish I had better news to share. -
Does your son have any desire to attend any of the US military Service Academies? If so, then the answer on Accutane is no. It is an automatic medical failure. Then would need to get a waiver, which is not always guaranteed.
Other than that, all I know is that Accutane is the last resort for severe cases. -
Please. Don't. It ruined me and that's not an exaggeration. I was a star soccer player and all-state golfer as a sophomore, started taking accutane for severe back acne. I had severe joint pain, and worse, it almost "stiffened" up my joints permanently. I lost flexibility, I lost strength due that too. I went from hitting a 9 iron 150 yards, to hitting a 6 iron that same distance. I was at one point very outgoing and confident. Accutane f'd up my brain. I became depressed, suicidal, and ended up the hospital because I wanted to die. It changed my entire personality. My kids will never go anywhere near it, and I preach the same to others. For every success story and a person who suffers no ill side effects, there's one of me. My story isn't unique. Be afraid. Acne will eventually go away, the effects (if you get them) of Accutane are life altering and forever.
