roaccutane & digestive issues

[oshywatt]

Reposting from general health for more traffic (hopefully!)

DD2 started taking roaccuane last summer. now on 20mg so a low dose. She has been having what i thought was IBS in February but it just hasn't gone. She has cut out gluten which has stopped the diarrhoea but pretty much anytime she eats she gets bloating & tummy pain which lasts til she goes to sleep. It's never there in the morning.
She's had a blood test which came back clear.
Any ideas?

Well I just googled and found this

Serious side effects of Accutane (isotretinoin) include:
Birth defects, premature birth
Miscarriage, infant death
Depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior
Inflammatory bowel disease
Crohn’s Disease
Ulcerative Colitis

note the last three… In your shoes I would stop the Roaccutane and speak to her doctor

(Accutane is the US name for Roaccutane)

thanks for responding but i can also google.
i wanted to see if anyone else experienced anything similar. It is not an uncommon drug for teens to take.

My apologies, I shall leave you to it.

Your doctor or the referring consultant is the best place to ask this.

My teen is on a consultant prescribed medication for acne, she had some worrying side effects about a month ago so I phoned the clinic. The advice was to stop taking it immediately and come into clinic in 3-4 weeks once it had left her system.

I have an appointment booked.

I was wondering if anyone else's teens had GI issues taking it.

So she’s been on it for 6/8 months? And still on 20? My daughter has been on it for 6 months, started on 20, now on 60, she’s had the occasional sore stomach but nothing unusual. If your DD had been on it for 6 months before having stomach problems, may be nothing related?
It has made a huge difference to my DD acne, she’s on her final month so I hope it has a similar effect on your DD.

I just googled it as my niece is on it (without issues) I can't see stomach issues as side effects and if it easy it wouid have happened within weeks of being in it.

Doctor needs to do a stool test

Dd was on 20mg for around 12 months with no problem. Worked really well.

DS was on 20, rising to 30mg for around 18 months. Worked really well. But the spots started to come back, so he has been back on 20mg, for 5 months and just increased to 30mg. It is working well. They both see private Consultant Derm. He prefers long and low dosage, due to potential side effects.

The only side effects they have suffered have been dry lips. No stomach issues.

I hope you can resolve the issue as it does wonders to clear the skin which has given my two a great positive feel good boost.

Thank you. She has been on 20mg since July with a private consultant who also favours low dose for longer. He wanted her to move to 30mg but she was struggling with dry cracked lips so has stuck to 20.
I have moved her next appointment forward to this week to see what he suggests.
The GP did a blood test which was clear. The stool sample is out for analysis. he put her on omeprazole to see if it helped but no change so far. All quite distressing.

The stool test will determine if there is any inflammation - if there isn't then it's likely something like IBS.

DD on 60mg, has been for 2 months going up from 40mg after 2 months. No GI issues. Cracked lips only - recommend nipple cream to smooth them. Works a treat! Likely to be on treatment for few months more but responding well.

Thanks, reassuring.

stool test has come back clear.
dermatologist says she has 3.5 months to complete and he suggests she takes a break until after the summer, see if it helps and it won't make any difference to the result as her skin has responded very well. He was surprised quite how bad her lips were despite only on 20mg.
She had covid in february, the symptoms started before that (although occasional and specific, not constant like now) but may be a factor.