Isotretinoin for DS acne - any experiences of it please?

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DS has been put on this, and has been taking it for 2 weeks. He has had 3 nosebleeds and has a pain just above his right hip bone. I have spoken to the GP and have an appointment.
Am very interested in anyone elses experiences with the medication please.

Thanks!

I went on it a few years ago - so side effects apart from really dry skin on lips and inside of my nose?!

My skin was wonderful but now on contraception which I think isn’t helping plus periods each month - hopefully your son won’t need to worry about that!

I wish him luck on it and I hope it can help - hopefully the side effects will die down ASAP x

Thank you for your response Pippapug, so good to hear it worked so well! Hopefully these are just teething problems and his body will adjust x

I took it in my twenties. No side effects apart from dry nose and lipstick. Blisteze was the only thing that would touch the lips.
Hair didn’t need washing for days on end.

I'm 59, and I had that drug for Rosacea, about 12 years ago. It was fantastic! My skin started improving within days!

The ONLY side effects I had were very dry lips (used lipsalve), dry throat (drank more water) and dry eyes (used eye drops).

I think the pain your son has in his hip is probably nothing to do with the Roaccutane. Not sure about the nosebleeds but perhaps that's due to his nose being dry inside?

Took it a few years ago for 4 months. Cleared up horrendous skin up completely for over a year, after which point it slowly started coming back and now my body acne is severe again. :(

I've been waiting for a dermatologist appointment since December and they just pushed it back another 6 weeks because of sickness.

Only side effects were dry lips but I was on a lowish dose for my weight.

Those side effects after two weeks seems quite soon and I'd be inclined to hold off until speaking to a professional. Shouldn't he be seeing the dermatologist who prescribed it and not his regular GP, who I imagine aren't specialists in dealing with it? Perhaps I'm wrong!

Just thinking about your son’s nosebleeds - I was advised Carmex for my dry lips and also my nose by my consul ant - put a pea sized amount on my finger and put it up and round....feels really odd but did really help - nosebleeds could be because it’s so dry?
Don’t use the flavoured ones though - strawberry or mint up your nose is horrid 😂😂

Aches and pains in joints are a side effect of roaccutane unfortunately. I found they got better after the first 3-4 months. Gentle exercise and trying not to stay sitting down for too long at a time helped me as well.

Lots and lots of moisturiser for his skin and a cheap lip balm (because you'll be buying lots if it).

I've been on it since beginning of April and I still have spots but other people I know who've been on it have had amazing results.

Oh yes, vaseline in nostrils 2-3 times a day prevents the nosebleeds.

I've taken it OP. Unfortunately I was one of the (relatively) unlucky ones and had to stop it after a month due to side effects. Mostly it caused me terrible anxiety, proper heart racing stuff and I was just made to jump endlessly and tearful. It also made my er...bits very sore and dry (which nobody ever seems to mention!) All stopped a few days to a week after I stopped the tablets.
I think whilst the nosebleeds look alarming, it's broken dry skin in the nose that causes them (so said my GP at the time) rather than a traditional nosebleed.
There's every chance it will even out for him, though he should be under regular checks with the GP anyway for blood tests etc so you'll now if any real harm is afoot.
Definitely try Vaseline up the nose though, that does help.
Best of luck to your son for good results on it and less side effects!

I also took it for 6 months about 7 years ago. It really helped and cleared up my acne with the typical side effects of extremely dry skin especially around nose and mouth, terribly cracked lips. Definitely had a few nosebleeds as well. I would also assume the hip pain is a side effect and speak to the dermatologist if possible.
I hope it all settles down and works for your son as well.

Thanks so much for all your responses they really help. He is definitely suffering with the dry lips but his skin is looking much better already. We will keep going now we know its nothing too much to worry about!

Dd has just finished a course of it - she's 14 and she started it in Feb, finished in September. It seemed to take a lot longer to work than a lot of the cases you read about online.

I'd say until June/July there seemed to be very little change to her skin, then it really started to work. She's got no visible new spots now (well, she has one or two when it's her period) but she's still got the marks. The doctor said they would fade with time.

She didn't suffer from too many bad side effects - maybe one or two nosebleeds over the whole time, a few more headaches than usual and dry lips/skin. She barely had to wash her hair which was a bonus.

Does your ds have to go back for regular check ups? I guess it's different with girls - dd had to have a pregnancy test every month - but she also had a check up with the nurse who recorded any side effects and changes to her mood.

Crazycrofters that is great that it worked for her - I have noticed his hair isnt as greasy too which is a bonus! He has an appointment in 3 months but I have a phone number on the letter so will ring them directly if things get worse. The pain has gone today so hopefully his body is adjusting to the meds