Roaccutane deaths

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

mol.im/a/8613003

Sorry its from DM but saw this and wanted to share as it appears ot made two girls suicidal from taking.Sorry if in wrong place.

@SisterAgatha, where do you get the figure for a five times increase in suicide in people taking roaccutane?

I took it in my early 20s. It lead to mental health issues, hair loss and a b12 deficiency. It cleared my acne for around 6 months after I finished taking it. But it came back.
I would never take it again.

Roaccutane is a very strong drug and anyone taking it should look very carefully into the side effects and ensure their families/friends are aware of them too and can monitor them. It has an incredible success rate for acne, and in many cases solves MH issues. It changed my life and I wouldn't hesitate to put my children on it if they need it, but I would monitor them very carefully.

I would much rather take roaccutane which comes with close monitoring rather than being chucked on the pill which so many young girls are which have huge MH ramifications with no monitoring and very dismissive attitude about the MH impact.

Ds gf was on pill for acne from 15. She ended up with pulmonary thrombosis .

@bruffin I think it's scandalous how they throw young girls on the pill as the fix all for so many things and yet the symptoms are so far reaching and underestimated. I would dramatically state they stole my youth.

I’ve had two courses of Roaccutane. I remember in one appointment being asked if I’d felt depressed at all. This was while someone else had just popped into the room to fetch something. Fortunately I wasn’t depressed, but I remember thinking that I wouldn’t have felt like I could speak up.

Also, I tried to tell the doctor about unusual side effects I was having. My experiences were dismissed, which surprised me.

I was taught Mental health problems often present in early adulthood because that’s when personality is fully developed so that age would co-incide with starting to accutane.

I really hope they were right because they taught psychology to health professionals.

This is an interesting read. It was 21-22 years ago that I took it (as a 14/15 year old). There was no monitoring. My bloods were never taken and my moods were never assessed. I think a lot of people suffering with mental health issues are unlikely to speak up even if they are asked. Personally I found the pill much less detrimental to my mental health, although as an adult I wouldn’t choose to take it either.

I understood there is no link proven that it is anything other than correlation (rather than causation)

Roaccutane saved my mental health because the cystic acne was just so bad for my self esteem

more information about a review into retinoid medicines if you are interested.
if you feel your hcp dismisses your side effects you can report them yourself to the yellow card scheme (the hcp or pharmacist should do that really if you mention it to them but that seems to not happen very often)

I didn't experience any Ill effects with roaccutane, despite being prone to depression and it was a life changing drug for me. Twenty years on my acne has never returned

I listened to a radio programme on health last year (not British) and the doctor said that no proper study of MH problems on roaccutane had been done. As previous poster says, correlation not causation is what has been proved. I think it would be very useful if someone did a study on it, because the MH effects of untreated acne are horrible and life long, and often not taken seriously enough. It would be really sad if people are denied or scared from an effective drug if the risk of MH issues from it are low. Also, my teenage daughters were on it and birth control pills were also prescribed for them as a matter of routine since they were of fertile age. The pill is proven to have an impact on MH. Have in depth studies been done on this combination? Articles like the one linked in the OP are of no use, just drumming up fear. This is not something you can pop like paracetamol. Obv usage needs to be monitored though it’s a strong drug.

Roaccutane gave me my life back. I may well have killed myself without it.

Dermatologist in the UK refused to prescribe it for my DD because of her existing MH issues. She moved abroad and was given it. MH did get even worse but she persevered.

I am on a course right now, 3 months in.

Other than dry lips & eyes all other effects are very positive.

No more greasy hair, no more blackheads or blocked pores and my glasses stay on my nose as they are not slipping down all the time.

My face is smooth for the first time in my life, it’s awesome!

I am keeping an eye on my mood and all seems ok so far.

Cystic acne on my face has almost gone, just waiting for my bottom to clear!

Roaccutane absolutely changed my life. I wouldn’t know if it made me depressed because I was already so miserable when I started taking it. ‘Debilitating’ is a good word to describe serious cystic acne - it was constantly painful (really, really painful), all over my face and chest and back. I remember being a teenager as a very dark time and it’s mainly due to the acne. Honestly, it ruined my teenage years. I just hid indoors, wore turtlenecks, and wouldn’t even look at my own face in the mirror for years because I knew it would just upset me. When our art teacher asked us to draw self portraits I just drew pictures of my hands.

I still remember the first day I ever wore a vest top. I was eighteen and had just finished my course of Roaccutane. I walked to Sainsbury’s in it and I have never been so happy.