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 (country)? USA
How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?) Googled Accutane related side effects and the rabbit hole eventually led me here.
What is your current age, height, weight? 29, 5’8", ~150 lb
What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)? Accutane
What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)? 6 month course ramping from 20mg to 40mg. Towards the end I was alternating betwen 20mg and 40mg daily.
Started a second course for about 2 more months but stopped when I realized hair loss and other side effects were all caused by Accutane.
What condition was being treated with the drug? Acne
For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)? ~8 months
How old were you, and WHEN (date) did you start the drug? 22
How old were you when you quit, and WHEN (date) did you quit? 23
How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)? cold turkey
How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
On my very first day, I should have realized something was wrong. I had no morning erection my first day, which I recall because it was extremely rare for me to not have one. I also started working full time and smoking weed regularly around this time. I attributed things like fatigue, low libido and being unable to complete a thought all to those two things at first but I started noticing signs as early as the first month.
What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?
Brain fog, libido, losing train of thought and stumbling over words. Everyone I knew before accutane would describe me as witty and extremely funny. I lost this ability among other things by taking this poison.
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
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[x] Erectile Dysfunction
[] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[ ] Watery Ejaculate
[ ] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[ ] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility
Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[x] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[] Suicidal Thoughts
Physical
[x] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[x] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[ ] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[ ] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[x] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes
Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[x] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[ ] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[x] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[x] Increased hair loss
[x] Frequent urination
[x] Lowered body temperature
[ ] Other (please explain)
What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?
I’ve gone to doctors but was only recommended therapy besides some useless blood tests. I did force my PCP to allow me to see a urologist but he attributed my erection loss as being simply a mental thing after having some ED once, which is NOT true.
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)?
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.
Ever since high school I’ve had problems with acne. I tried nearly everything at the time but thankfully my parents vetoed the idea of accutane. I resented this so much at the time, but looking back, I’m so thankful that they at least gave me ~6 years to live my adolescence as a regular guy, chasing girls, finding love, and getting heartbroken.
I was still super cheerful, talkative, and extroverted when I entered the workforce and starting living my post-college life while also starting my first dose of accutane. I also started smoking weed on the regular so thought it was just a weed/work stress thing when I started noticing the side effects. I noticed a weaker erection and lack of morning wood on some mornings almost instantly. I noticed that I’d lose my train of thought about a month or two into my usage but I attributed that to my weed usage and stopped smoking regularly although my side effects continued to get worse.
It was only after my second cycle of accutane where I realized that all the weird side effects I was seeing was due to accutane. I started Googling more about side effects when I started having some hair loss. Only then I saw this forum and realized I had all the side effects people were having on the forum (albeit with a different drug).
I quit accutane cold turkey and like many others, got an instant rebound for a few weeks. My libido was fine again and the only thing that seemed to be affecting me a bit was a weaker erection. And then it all crashed. Zero libido, zero erections, and a brain fog that persisted nonstop.
It was only then that I realized I was a shadow of my former self. I was no longer the witty charming guy at a party, I could hardly eat without brain fog affecting my thinking. Dating was out of the question. I would go into work and blank out on the name of the guy who’s been sitting across from me for over a year like a senile 80 year old dementia patient. I would trip over words and stutter when public speaking had been my forte in high school and college.
I’ve been able to improve a bit with the ketogenic diet and a decent exercise routine but things are clearly not the same. I don’t have suicidal thoughts but sometimes do wish I could simply disappear without any recollection in the minds of others. I truly wish that I hadn’t been so vain and regret it dearly.