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Can isotretinoin aacutane make your periods irregular? Should I take this drug for mild acne with prescription which did not respond to any antibiotics till now? Thank you Your request has been submitted successfully. Planning For a Surgery? Book Free consultation with India's top doctors. Please enter a valid name. Please enter a valid mobile number. Please select a valid disease. Form submission failed! Please try again. Health Query. Irregular Periods.
Kumari Anukriti. Ask Free Question. No isotretinoin doesn't affect menstrual cycle but you need to stop it atleast one month before trying for conception. Balachandran Prabhakaran. Isotretinon has no documented effect on regularity of periods. It worksby decreasing the sebum secretion, and may be useful for you.
Inthu M. Hi it doesn't make your period go irregular but then you should not use during pregnancy. Nikitha Murthy. Yes, isotretinoin can disrupt your menstrual cycle by causing early, delayed periods or spotting or can even increase period time pain in few women.
In case your acne is not subsiding to any treatment and is resistant then this is your best shot. However keep in touch with your doctor especially because you should not conceive while on this tablet.
It is not safe. Varsha Priyadarshini. So you need to consult for the root cause of ur acne. Sandhya Singh. Hello I was also suffering from acne for last 10 years and now only after isotretinoin it's recurrence has stopped.
If you are not trying to conceive you can use it. It does not cause any irregular menstrual cycle, if you are having such cycle kindly provide proper history regarding your cycle so that treatment can be advised.
You might be suffering from pcod but it needs evaluation. Suggestions offered by doctors on Lybrate are of advisory nature i. Content posted on, created for, or compiled by Lybrate is not intended or designed to replace your doctor's independent judgment about any symptom, condition, or the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or treatment for a given person.
Plan your surgery with India's top doctors. Related questions. I had sex with my boyfriend after that my periods were not regular Im 20 years old. I have unwanted facial hair growth, irregular peri I am a 21 years old female. I am 34 years old. Since last 2 months my periods were delayed by I am 24 years old girl. I have problem of irregular periods from st View all related questions. Related Health Tips.
Menstruation - What Should You Know? Iodine Deficiency - 11 Signs You are Suffering from it! How to Deal with Lubrication Issues in Women? View more health tips. Related Lab Tests:. Luteinising Hormone 1 Test.
Unexpected Effects of Oral Isotretinoin in Adolescents With Acne Vulgaris - PMC.Can isotretinoin (aacutane) make your periods irregular? Should I take this drug for mi
Accutane affect period
Remember me Create Account Reset Password. Volume 7, Issue 4 Volume 7, Number 4 jdc , 7 4 : Back to browse issues page. The effects of oral isotretinoin on sex hormones and menstrual cycle in women with severe acne. Abstract: Views. Keywords: acne , oral isotretinion , sex hormones. Clinically detected hypertrichosis was observed in 11 patients [ 18 ]. It was believed that this clinical finding might be because oral isotretinoin causes decreased levels of SHBG and increased levels of circulating fT, tT, and DHEAS as well as increased androgen receptor sensitivity.
The menstrual cycle depends on the balance and normal blood levels of many hormones. It has been suggested that retinoids play an important role in endometrial growth and secretory differentiation, and lower serum vitamin A levels were found in patients suffering from menorrhagia compared to healthy people [ 19 ]. Retinoids have been shown to inhibit endometrial fibroblast and epithelial cell proliferation [ 20 ].
In a study by Kwon et al. In our study, similar to the literature, 26 patients developed menstrual irregularity at the third month of treatment and 32 patients at the sixth month of treatment. It was observed that the DHEAS levels of the patients who developed menstrual irregularity at the third and sixth month of treatment were higher than those of the patients who did not develop menstrual irregularity.
Besides, the SHBG levels of the patients who developed irregularity at the 6th month were lower than those of the patients who did not develop menstrual irregularity. Our study has certain limitations. The reason for this omission was the insufficient number of patients belonging to this patient group and the homogenization problem that could arise if those patients had been included.
Use of the oral contraceptive pill was one of the study exclusion criteria. However, in other studies to be planned, the effects of oral isotretinoin on menstrual cycle, hirsutism and hormone panel can be compared in patient groups using and not using oral contraceptives. Another shortcoming of our study is that we did not evaluate the effects of oral isotretinoin on the sex hormone panel of male patients with severe acne, since we included female patients in our study.
Also the cumulative dose used in the treatment was taken as a single value of 0. Treatment could be followed up with simultaneous low doses, and it could be evaluated whether there was a change in the dose-dependent findings. However, high doses were planned to be used to ensure treatment success since our patient group was a severe nodulocystic acne group. Patients with no complaints of menstrual irregularity or hirsutism before treatment showed signs of hyperandrogenism during treatment follow-up.
Hence, although isotretinoin decreases sebum expression owing to its anti-androgenic effects, it may cause a decrease in SHBG levels and an increase in the amount of free androgens, thus leading to hirsutism and menstrual irregularity. Further investigations are required to prove the mechanisms by which oral isotretinoin exerts its variable effects on the menstrual cycle, hirsutism, and hormones.
Cureus is not responsible for the scientific accuracy or reliability of data or conclusions published herein. All content published within Cureus is intended only for educational, research and reference purposes. Additionally, articles published within Cureus should not be deemed a suitable substitute for the advice of a qualified health care professional.
Do not disregard or avoid professional medical advice due to content published within Cureus. The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue.
Published online Aug Demet Akpolat 1. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author. Demet Akpolat moc. Accepted Aug This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the effects of isotretinoin treatment on hirsutism, menstrual cycle and hormonal response in adolescents with acne vulgaris AV. Methods In the study, 76 participants with nodulocystic acne were included.
Conclusions Isotretinoin can cause alterations in the adrenal hormone levels. Keywords: isotretinoin, adolescents, acne, hirsutism, hormons. Introduction Acne vulgaris AV is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit hair follicles and the associated sebaceous glands that usually occurs during adolescence [ 1 ]. Materials and methods This prospective study was performed with the approval of the Institutional Review Board Beykoz State Hospital and in line with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics were presented using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation values in the analysis of the data.
Results The mean age of the patients included in the study was Table 1 Hormone levels of the patients according to the months of treatment. Open in a separate window.
Figure 1. Free testosterone level before the treatment, at the third month of treatment, and at the sixth month of treatment. X symbol: defines mean value. Figure 2. Total testosterone level before the treatment, at the third month of treatment, and at the sixth month of treatment.
Figure 3. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level before the treatment, at the third month of treatment, and at the sixth month of treatment. So I remember getting a bit down for, like at various points and you just like, for, actually for no reason. But you just sort of get used to it and learn to work with it and, yeah. Were those things that the dermatologist had told you about before, to expect?
Yeah, I think he went through, sort of went down the list of all the things that were likely and not very likely and everything in between, yeah.
So I, I sort of knew what to expect. So it seemed like the natural progression, yeah. Will talks about the emotional side effects he had whilst taking isotretinoin. It was almost as if I had like a blanket over my head, so like everything was kind of a bit muffled, like everything seemed quite dark.
I used to play like badminton for like [county name], like county badminton. It was just nothing really kind of [laughs] excited me. So, it's hard to like just like tell whether it is the Roaccutane isotretinoin or whether it's what's going on, cos I was quite stressed cos I was doing my A-levels.
And like, I think my Mum like pointed out to me like, you know, "This isn't normal, you are not coping, you are being more upset than…" cos I'm quite like a positive person I think. But yeah, that was quite hard but yeah it's hard to tell like whether it's you or whether it's the situation or the drug.
But I think it did definitely affect my emotions or made it harder to deal with things and then, with the A-levels, that was like a combination and just made things a bit difficult yeh. Were there any other sort of aspects, like stresses or triggers for you that you knew kind of made it harder, either physically with your skin, or emotionally to sort of cope with it? I think it is annoying physically as well because you do still have the spots while you're on it.
So, that make, like obviously it affects things. So, I think that it is triggers but I think you just lose your ability to cope with them as well and yeh. So, you lose your ability to cope from them because of the emotional…? Yeah I think you just lose the ability to see that it's not a big deal and you just, I think you just become more dramatic about it I think yeah. Rachael gradually eased into drinking some alcohol socially.
How did you sort of assess how much it would be OK to drink? Well, at the beginning I drank nothing, I literally had, maybe the most I'd have was like a sip or something.
I went out quite a few times and just drank nothing. Even like going clubbing I would not drink anything just because I felt, at first it was, I was just like a bit afraid I guess. Because the alcohol was the only thing that really interfered with it.
Although, you know, I had to be careful about drinking a lot more fluids because my throat was very dry. And it meant that if I went out, I had to take eye drops with me and like I used to make sure that I didn't wear too much like eye make-up that was going to get smudged because I, just because obviously I was staying up-, I kept my contacts in longer, I would need to like go to the toilets and like put eye drops in.
Just because they'd start to get dry by ten, 11 at night. Or my first year at uni. But luckily, my friends were quite cool about it, and going out and getting really, really drunk was not something that I had to do to enjoy myself with my friends and on socials.
It was, it was awkward at times because especially with kind of socials where, you know, it was like drinking games and things like that. I didn't always like keep to the exact guidelines, but I, yeah. But yeah, I think it was, it was frustrating, I think. And I didn't mind, didn't mind it in the long term because I knew that it was going to have, yeah, like a positive effect. And I would have chosen to be sober, and to have my acne sorted like any time.
So I didn't mind that, I just- it just meant that I'm kind of glad that I'd researched it quite a lot and I knew what I was going for, and I was quite sure that I wanted it because I think it's quite a, a big ask. You know, it sounds silly to say it's a big ask to not drink, but I think you are in your first year in uni and there's a lot of social things on.
It is something that you have to be quite sure that you want to not drink. Shu En talks about the link between isotretinoin and birth defects. For Roaccutane isotretinoin , I think it was something like in the US they are very careful about administering it, because if you take Roaccutane and you get pregnant the fetus will be deformed because Roaccutane mimics the structure of vitamin A.
So it prevents-, yeah. But I was much younger then. But like now it would be a consideration, yeah. So how old would you have been when you were on Roaccutane? Like And did your doctor talk to you about those risks?
The new PMC design is here! Learn more about navigating our updated article layout. The PMC legacy view will also be available for a limited time. Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. This study aimed to assess the effects of isotretinoin treatment on hirsutism, menstrual cycle and hormonal response in adolescents with acne vulgaris AV.
In the study, 76 participants with nodulocystic acne were included. Furthermore, the patients were evaluated for hirsutism and menstrual irregularity. Isotretinoin can cause alterations in the adrenal hormone levels. Hirsutism and menstrual irregularity can be observed during treatment follow-ups. Acne vulgaris AV is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit hair follicles and the associated sebaceous glands that usually occurs during adolescence [ 1 ].
The characteristic lesions include open-closed comedones, inflammatory papules, pustules, nodules, and cysts that can cause the formation of scars. Although the etiopathogenesis of AV are not precisely known, it is considered to be multifactorial and includes four main factors: abnormal follicular keratinization, increased sebum production, inflammation, and colonization and activation of Propionibacterium acnes [ 23 ].
Androgens play an important role in the development and change of sebaceous glands and hair follicles [ 34 ]. Abnormal expressions of one or several of these factors result in the formation of acne [ 35 ]. Isotretinoin cis-retinoic acid is a synthetic vitamin A derivative used in patients with nodulocystic and resistant acne that does not respond to conventional treatments [ 67 ]. Most of the side effects of isotretinoin are self-limiting, treatable, and dose-dependent although patients should be monitored regularly by clinicians due to the possibility of serious side effects.
There are limited studies on the metabolic and hormonal effects of isotretinoin, which is a relatively new molecule, on humans, and some of them have mentioned conflicting and new side effects [ 8 ].
Hirsutism and menstrual irregularity have been detected during the follow-up of patients who received isotretinoin treatment. Considering the findings of menstrual irregularity and increased hair growth during oral isotretinoin treatment in adults in the literature, we believe that the drug may cause sex hormone changes, hirsutism, and menstrual cycle irregularities in adolescents with AV.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of oral isotretinoin treatment on sex hormones, hirsutism, and menstrual cycle in adolescents with AV. This prospective study was performed with the approval of the Institutional Review Board Beykoz State Hospital and in line with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
All participants were informed about the study, and a written consent form was obtained from their parents. In the study, 76 female patients who presented to the dermatology outpatient clinic of Beykoz State Hospital between June and February and who met the inclusion criteria were included. Patients who had menstrual irregularity and increased hair growth before treatment, were pregnant, were using drugs oral contraceptive pills, injectable hormonal contraception, hormone-containing intrauterine devices or spironolactone that affect ovarian hormone levels or cause hirsutism, had endocrinopathy, had received oral isotretinoin treatment up to 6 months prior to the study, had liver dysfunction or dyslipidemia, had a contraindication for isotretinoin use, or were not willing to use the medication, drinking alcohol, known disease were excluded from the study.
A form that included anamnesis, dermatological examination, and laboratory tests was developed. Age, age at acne onset, acne severity, age of menarche, and smoking and alcohol use were recorded. The modified Ferriman-Gallwey mFG scoring system was used to assess hirsutism [ 1011 ]. At the beginning of the treatment and at the 3rd and 6th month of treatment, fasting levels of luteinizing hormone LHfollicle-stimulating hormone FSHdehydroepiandrosterone sulfate DHEAS17 hydroxy progesterone OH PGfree testosterone fTtotal testosterone tTand sex hormone-binding globulin SHBG were measured on the 3rd day of the menstrual cycle.
The data obtained were statistically evaluated. Descriptive statistics were presented using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation values in the analysis of the data. Before treatment and at the third and sixth month of treatment, Cochran's Mantel-Haenszel test statistic was applied to compare the rates of menstrual irregularity and hirsutism.
Hormone measurements before treatment and at the third and sixth months of treatment were examined using the repeated analysis of variance.
Sidak pairwise comparison test was applied to determine the differences among the timepoints. Mann-Whitney U test was used to examine the hormone levels based on the development of menstrual irregularity and hirsutism at the third and sixth month.
All figures' statistical analyses were presented using mean and standard deviation values. The analyses were performed with SPSS The mean age of the patients included in the study was The mean age at acne onset was None of the patients included in the study had any known disease or used systemic medications or alcohol.
Of the patients, 5. While there was no menstrual irregularity in any of the patients at the beginning of treatment, the issue developed at the third month of treatment in 26 patients In our study, we found that oral isotretinoin caused hirsutism and menstrual irregularity and changes in fT, tT, and SHBG levels at the third and sixth month of treatment.
AV is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit and mostly occurs during adolescence. Increased production of androgen-mediated sebum with puberty and follicular hyperkeratinization play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of AV [ 12 ]. Androgens are mainly synthesized in the ovaries and adrenal gland in women.
DHEAS, androstenedione, and testosterone are serum androgens. LH and FSH are gonadotropins secreted by the pituitary gland, and they regulate steroid synthesis. Studies have examined the effects of oral isotretinoin treatment on pituitary and adrenal hormones and have yielded different results. Hirsutism refers to an increase in terminal hair in women. Although it is often one of the clinical signs of hyperandrogenemia, androgen levels are within normal limits in some affected women.
In a study by Demirci et al. According to the Ferriman-Gallwey FG score, only one patient was accepted as a case of hirsutism [ 17 ]. In a study by Aktar et al. Clinically detected hypertrichosis was observed in 11 patients [ 18 ]. It was believed that this clinical finding might be because oral isotretinoin causes decreased levels of SHBG and increased levels of circulating fT, tT, and DHEAS as well as increased androgen receptor sensitivity.
The menstrual cycle depends on the balance and normal blood levels of many hormones. It has been suggested that retinoids play an important role in endometrial growth and secretory differentiation, and lower serum vitamin A levels were found in patients suffering from menorrhagia compared to healthy people [ 19 ].
Retinoids have been shown to inhibit endometrial fibroblast and epithelial cell proliferation [ 20 ]. In a study by Kwon et al. In our study, similar to the literature, 26 patients developed menstrual irregularity at the third month of treatment and 32 patients at the sixth month of treatment. It was observed that the DHEAS levels of the patients who developed menstrual irregularity at the third and sixth month of treatment were higher than those of the patients who did not develop menstrual irregularity.
Besides, the SHBG levels of the patients who developed irregularity at the 6th month were lower than those of the patients who did not develop menstrual irregularity. Our study has certain limitations. The reason for this omission was the insufficient number of patients belonging to this patient group and the homogenization problem that could arise if those patients had been included.
Use of the oral contraceptive pill was one of the study exclusion criteria. However, in other studies to be planned, the effects of oral isotretinoin on menstrual cycle, hirsutism and hormone panel can be compared in patient groups using and not using oral contraceptives.
Another shortcoming of our study is that we did not evaluate the effects of oral isotretinoin on the sex hormone panel of male patients with severe acne, since we included female patients in our study. Also the cumulative dose used in the treatment was taken as a single value of 0. Treatment could be followed up with simultaneous low doses, and it could be evaluated whether there was a change in the dose-dependent findings.
However, high doses were planned to be used to ensure treatment success since our patient group was a severe nodulocystic acne group. Patients with no complaints of menstrual irregularity or hirsutism before treatment showed signs of hyperandrogenism during treatment follow-up.
Hence, although isotretinoin decreases sebum expression owing to its anti-androgenic effects, it may cause a decrease in SHBG levels and an increase in the amount of free androgens, thus leading to hirsutism and menstrual irregularity. Further investigations are required to prove the mechanisms by which oral isotretinoin exerts its variable effects on the menstrual cycle, hirsutism, and hormones.
Cureus is not responsible for the scientific accuracy or reliability of data or conclusions published herein. All content published within Cureus is intended only for educational, research and reference purposes. Additionally, articles published within Cureus should not be deemed a suitable substitute for the advice of a qualified health care professional. Do not disregard or avoid professional medical advice due to content published within Cureus.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Published online Aug Demet Akpolat 1. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author. Demet Akpolat moc. Accepted Aug This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the effects of isotretinoin treatment on hirsutism, menstrual cycle and hormonal response in adolescents with acne vulgaris AV. Methods In the study, 76 participants with nodulocystic acne were included. Conclusions Isotretinoin can cause alterations in the adrenal hormone levels.
Keywords: isotretinoin, adolescents, acne, hirsutism, hormons. Introduction Acne vulgaris AV is a chronic inflammatory disease of the pilosebaceous unit hair follicles and the associated sebaceous glands that usually occurs during adolescence [ 1 ].
Materials and methods This prospective study was performed with the approval of the Institutional Review Board Beykoz State Hospital and in line with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics were presented using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation values in the analysis of the data.
Results The mean age of the patients included in the study was Table 1 Hormone levels of the patients according to the months of treatment. Open in a separate window. Figure 1.
Conclusion: This study showed that oral isotretinoin can increase the level of serum LH and cause changes in menstrual cycles. Keywords: acne, oral isotretinion. Questions about Accutane and menstruation, with answers from board-certified doctors. Does Accutane affect the menstruation cycle for women? Questions about Accutane and menstruation, with answers from board-certified doctors. Does Accutane affect the menstruation cycle for women? In a study by Kwon et al., it was reported that 20% of the 40 patients who received oral isotretinoin treatment for at least four months at. Isotretinoin cause disrupt the menstrual cycle such as irregular periods,spotting,drying cervical and vaginal membrane, dyperurenia etc. So, dry skin is almost to be expected. Federal government websites often end in. Treatment could be followed up with simultaneous low doses, and it could be evaluated whether there was a change in the dose-dependent findings. Methods In the study, 76 participants with nodulocystic acne were included. Human Ethics Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Keywords: isotretinoin, adolescents, acne, hirsutism, hormons. But normally in young people, you know, these are unproblematic and it's very unusual to have problems with those.Acne young people Overview What is Acne? What is acne? A medical overview Acne symptoms: what does acne look and feel like?
Realising you have acne and next steps Acne over time Where on the body? Acne and different areas of skin The difference between causes and triggers of acne: overview What causes acne? Acne triggers: what flares-up acne? Treating and Managing Acne Seeing a medical professional about acne Repeat visits to medical professionals and referrals for acne Acne treatments: topical medicines creams, gels, solutions, ointments Acne treatments: antibiotic tablets Acne treatments: hormonal contraceptives Acne treatments: about isotretinoin e.
Roaccutane and decision-making Taking isotretinoin e. Roaccutane Isotretinoin e. Roaccutane side effects and risks Alternative and complementary therapies, supplements and home remedies for acne Everyday Life with Acne The emotional side of having acne Acne, diet and sleep Impacts of acne on social life and hobbies Impacts of acne on skincare, make-up and styling Family life and acne Friendships and romantic relationship with acne Being at school or university, studying and acne Work life and acne Money and costs with acne Support and advice to others Sources of information and support about acne Advice to other young people with acne Advice to medical professionals helping young people with acne People's Profiles Male Female A doctor speaks Resources and Information Credits.
There are a number of side effects and risks associated with isotretinoin e. Roaccutane, Accutane tablets. Dr McPherson discusses the benefits and risks of isotretinoin treatments. View full profile. See full profile. And it's for the most part a very well tolerated, very effective drug. And actually the benefits for most people far outweigh any risks. Most people on the treatment will get dry skin. And that's partly the way it works by, you know, making your skin less oily, less productive of sebum.
And that's why it helps the acne. So, dry skin is almost to be expected. The other risk which happens in a lot of people is they can get a flare up of their acne when they first start using it.
So it's maybe prudent to start on a low dose and kind of build-up gradually, so you don't get that flare up of your acne, which can be very disheartening. Also makes you more sensitive to the sun. So you have to be quite careful if you're, you know, sun-exposed or you've got fair skin. The other risks are really unusual. I mean, the main thing for females is they mustn't get pregnant.
Because it does, you know, we know that it has a very- it's very something called teratogenic. So it's very likely to cause a problem with the fetus if you did get pregnant. And that's why it's important for them to be contraception or discuss the risks of pregnancy when they get prescribed this medication.
But the other risks are really quite unusual. So we do monitor blood tests to look at liver function and the fat levels in people's bloods. But normally in young people, you know, these are unproblematic and it's very unusual to have problems with those.
And it can occasionally cause muscle aches and pains. The thing which it's always been associated with and people are concerned about is mood and depression and even suicide risk.
If that is associated, which it's not clear it is, it seems to be a very esoteric, individual, you know, thing that happens. Most people I see who start isotretinoin, their mood improves because their skin improves. And that's by far the most common psychological side effect, is that people feel better because their skin is better. But it does, you know, it takes a few weeks for things to settle down. And often the beginning it can be a bit, you know, they have to sort of wait for their skin to kind of get used to it, in a way.
Whether it really causes severe depression and suicide is still unclear. And as I said, if it does, it's very much a kind of idiosyncratic reaction, which is not- you can't predict.
So even if someone has had depression or even suicidal ideation, you can't- it's not a reason not to give them isotretinoin if their skin warrants it. And you wouldn't be able to predict if they were the sort of person that might have mood problems with it. Certainly if you look at big groups of people on and off this medicine, it's not- it's not clearly associated.
And it's something which again, will be considered by any doctor, but mostly the benefits will outweigh the risks. Naomi talks about dry skin as a side effect. Every time I had it I started on a lower dose, I think you start with like half the quantity and then after like a month or two you move up to the full dose. Harriet was told not to wax her legs whilst taking isotretinoin because the skin would be thinner and drier.
Oh, yeah. Roaccutane as well gives you really just like completely random periods. I had, it was about, it just, for sort of a few months there was just absolutely nothing. But, yeah. So with the dry skin that sort of carried on since you took Roaccutane, how do you sort of deal with that on a day-to-day basis? I just, you just moisturise I guess. A side effect of isotretinoin for Devan is sweating more.
His dermatologist made suggestions to stop others noticing. Another side effect was, it was like headaches and toothache as well. Well, when, it was sort of recently with the sweating that the doc-, the GP, she sort of says to me, it might be worth wearing tee-shirts with, or hoodies, that have got a hood on that you can sort of hide that sweating with.
And so that it just sort of, say if you were sort of sweating on your forehead — you could just sort of use the arm and wipe the sweat off like that, so that nobody would sort of notice it that much. And, but with sort of, when I were in secondary school it was sort of my school uniform was a black hoodie, a black tee-shirt anyway, so you could sort of easily keep that on rather than take it off.
Abbie found isotretinoin made her achy and tired, meaning she had to stop her part-time job as a gymnastics coach for a while. So, which is a bit strange. But basically one of the side effects is you get muscle fatigue and like joint pain. And I started my job and A-, Roaccutane isotretinoin around the time I went back to school. So there was a, like in September, so there was like a lot of stuff going on.
So I was really tired in a lot of the times. And also it affected the, my shoulder joint quite a lot. And the dry skin. So you get really dry like, mostly it was your lips. So I used to always get like, not cold sores, but it used to crack in the corner of my, my lips. So that used to be quite painful. And it was mostly just fatigue and then the dry skin. How did you deal with the side effects that you had?
Well, I knew that, well, I, I thought it would get better like after a while. Cos I knew that I was taking this and I knew the side effects. So I thought if my skin would get better then I could deal with it at first. And just kind of ploughed through I guess [laugh]. Harriet had expected side effects with isotretinoin, like disrupted menstrual periods. And with the side effects of sort of irregular periods and so on -- Yeah. Was it a concern ever for you? I just sort of assumed, it kind of puts your whole body in a bit of chaos.
So you just get, get this really dry skin and it can sometimes give you other side effects like just feeling quite down. So I remember getting a bit down for, like at various points and you just like, for, actually for no reason. But you just sort of get used to it and learn to work with it and, yeah. Were those things that the dermatologist had told you about before, to expect?
Yeah, I think he went through, sort of went down the list of all the things that were likely and not very likely and everything in between, yeah. So I, I sort of knew what to expect. So it seemed like the natural progression, yeah.
Will talks about the emotional side effects he had whilst taking isotretinoin. It was almost as if I had like a blanket over my head, so like everything was kind of a bit muffled, like everything seemed quite dark. I used to play like badminton for like [county name], like county badminton.
It was just nothing really kind of [laughs] excited me. So, it's hard to like just like tell whether it is the Roaccutane isotretinoin or whether it's what's going on, cos I was quite stressed cos I was doing my A-levels. And like, I think my Mum like pointed out to me like, you know, "This isn't normal, you are not coping, you are being more upset than…" cos I'm quite like a positive person I think.
But yeah, that was quite hard but yeah it's hard to tell like whether it's you or whether it's the situation or the drug. But I think it did definitely affect my emotions or made it harder to deal with things and then, with the A-levels, that was like a combination and just made things a bit difficult yeh. Were there any other sort of aspects, like stresses or triggers for you that you knew kind of made it harder, either physically with your skin, or emotionally to sort of cope with it?
I think it is annoying physically as well because you do still have the spots while you're on it.
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