Yasmin and Roaccutane

[girlnextdoor]

My DD is being given Roaccutane for acne. She is also being advised to take Yasmin- she is not sexually active, but that may of course change ( she is at uni).

She has tried Dianette and had awful nausea and depression but we are assured yasmin is lower dose and better.

Anyone experience of this OC?

I didn't have any problems with DIanette pre-pregnancy, but then was told I'd been on it too long post-ds1 and had to change. It was great for my acne and thankfully I didn't have any side-effects.
I changed to Yasmin pre ds2, but have to say I felt premensstrual with it for the first time in my life - I re-strarted post-ds2 but have have now stopped when the penny dropped and feel a lot calmer and less stressed!! It was as good as the Dianette for the acne though.

attila

I am sorry that you had PCOS- but at the same time the dermos DO know the cause- by taking a careful case history of when the acne began, and all other kinds of information they need to know, they can establish the cause! The usual cause of acne is well known - and i find it hard to know what "other " causes there might be. Acne is caused by too much oil- as a result of hormonal changes often. Men don't have their testosterone/androgens messed around with if they have acne, as the side effects of that are probably worse than treating the acne itself!

I don't know why my original post has resulted in this "query" from you, tbh, I was simply asking if anyone had had side effects from yasmin when taken at the same time as Roaccutane

GND one more thing if your daughter does take it - I got very dry eyes which resulted in yellow conjunctivitissy stuff in my eyes; so bad I went to the eye hospital. Turned out it was over-dry eyes and just needed this greasy stuff in them that lasts much longer than eye drops.

just in case it happens! called blepharitis.
nice, huh?

thanks fflf- the dermo did suggest Optrex etc but maybe there is something better from what you say?

I was put on Yasmin about four or five years ago - not for acne and not in conjunction with anything else. Just mentioning it to let you know that it gave me the worst headaches I've ever had in my life (and I'm a migraine sufferer) - I honestly thought I was having a stroke with the last one.

I stopped taking it. Did a bit of research and found quite a bit of similar feedback.

It was a while ago though.

It was brolene eye ointment (just had to web trawl as this was 10 years ago!). It worked really well. Think the trick is to recognise these things early.

Good luck to your daughter, it is such a nightmare condition; no-one really saw my face in daylight until I was about 25 unless it was plastered with make up (which probably made it a hundred times worse). I too was on anitbiotics from 14-16. I was then prepped up for roaccutane at Uni, then got scared by the things it said on the packet re side-effects etc and decided to wait a bit. Finally took the plunge a couple of years later, with general success, though even now I get break outs.

The good thing is I think dealing with such a disfiguring condition in my teens made me a bit more tolerable (only just) and has certainly made me more balanced as an adult.

Oh yes, the dry lips were a bitch. I'm still addicted to blisteze even now!

well I won't be recommending pregnancy just yet thanks- she still has another 3 years at uni!

starlight- sometimes thyroid tests can be suspect- normal when there is really a problem- I have heard that before. Might be worth having a 2nd opinion?

I'm on Yasmin now and it's the best pill I've had - no side effects at all and my period lasts about 2 days and is light, with no cramping at all.

And my best friend was on Roaccutane 10 or so years ago and it really cleared up her acne. She has some scarring now (which you can barely see) and has undergone microdermabrasion for it.

She did suffer some low moods but not exactly "depression" - she knew what to look for and could shake herself out of a low mood as she knew what was causing it. I do appreciate this isn't the same for everyone.

Good luck to your daughter.

I've took Roaccutane about 12 years ago. Didn't need contraception as I was 14/15 years old (had bad acne since 10, same as my mother who still had adult acne) and of course wasn't sexually active but did have regular blood and liver function tests. It was wonderful (well actually the drug made me feel awful but the results were good) in that it clearerd up my spots completely for a couple of years. They did come back a bit and I still do get spots again now but pretty much just on my back and so much better than before, very rarely on my face which is a huge improvement.

The only thing I will stress is there is a huge anti Roaccutane/Accutane movement regarding much more than depression. Some people really claim it has caused all sort of havoc with their health. Whether this is true or not I cannot say but I think your daughter should be aware of this and make an informed decision, do a bit of research online.

For what its worth I have suffered from ME for many years post roaccutane use, of course this is quite likely a complete coincidence. However, I cannot dismiss the idea completely that the two things may be related, even though there seems to be little evidence. Its just something else to consider.

If I could go back would I take it again? Yes, its made that much of a difference to my skin and I think my poor health since is unlikely to be related. However, I regularly say that having ME and loosing everything I thought was important made me into a much stronger and better person, so its not actually something I regret, many people do not have this positive experience of ME and would say that even if the risk was small of a drug causing it, it might not be worth it. I personally disagree, but it would have been nice to have had the info to make an informed choice before I took it!

Message withdrawn

Thanks a lot for all replies- DD has started on Yasmin so fingers crossed.