Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.
Where are you from? USA
How did you find this forum? Reddit
What is your current age, height, weight? 21 year-old male, 5’11", 142 lbs
What specific drug did you use? Accutane
What dose did you take? 80mg/day
What condition was being treated with the drug? Acne
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? 6 months
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 19, June 27, 2019
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 19, December 31, 2019
How did you quit? Cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects? 1 month
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation? Lower back pain (and new pain elsewhere, post)
Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.
Sexual
[ ] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[ ] Loss of Morning Erections
[ ] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[ ] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[ ] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[ ] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[ ] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[ ] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[ ] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[ ] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[ ] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[ ] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[ ] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[— ] Muscle Weakness
[— ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[— ] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[— ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[— ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug? Naproxen, Celebrex, methylprednisone
If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)? none
Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?
Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.
I started noticing back pain about 1 month into using it. My lower back would hurt if I would bend forward for a period of time (ex: sitting on the ground trying to touch toes), it would spasm and hurt to bring back, I would sort to have to move through a cat/cow to calm it down. I’m curious if anyone else has dealt with chronic pain since completing accutane? I know one of the side effects is joint pain and when I took it 2 years ago, my back begun to hurt since then I’ve injured/had severe pain in my biceps, knees, lower back, sacrum. I’ve seen a bunch of doctors (rheum, neuro, ortho) and have gotten 3 MRIs and a million blood tests and none of them show anything and nothing seems to help. PT and stretching don’t help either. I am in shape, active 21 year old male, I don’t strain myself and take very good care of myself. At this point I’ve run out of options and am thinking maybe accutane had something to do with us and am wondering if anyone has had ANY REMOTELY SIMILAR experiences? Any experiences you’ve had will truly help!!–
Side note: I’m currently dealing with major right quad tendinitis and my biceps’ tendinitis flared up a month ago and has been painful since - so I am very limited when it comes to physical activity lately, so I promise the pain isn’t from doing too much.