Thread: depression and accutane

I never used it but it seems to be true. I remember some guy in the news that commited suicide with an airplane in Florida. Don´t you have to go to the doctor for a prescription for that?

I got depressed, even after I was off for a while. Wasn't right for a while actually. I seriously even lost the self-confidence to piss at a urinal

My mother and sister also fought depression on accutane.

you are depressed becuae accutane is like an antibiotic. IT KILLS GOOD BACTERIA and an imbalance occurs causing depression. If imbalance is too great then you will end up with dysbiosis and if left un treated can be a starting point for a cascade of aliments that onl drs will treat all the symptoms and not the cause. Simple solution is take a shit load of probiotics to bring balance back in line. Other wise you will be screwed with many aliments that will just be treated over and over again. The imbalance almost killed me. I expreiced the same thing taking accutane and that was 18 years ago and lived those years being depressed never knowing why. INTESTINAL IMBALANCE !!

be very VERY careful with accutane, i've witnessed it F up some friends very badly...

Originally Posted by hardasnails1973

lived those years being depressed never knowing why. INTESTINAL IMBALANCE !!

Sounds very familular. It's capable to a rough M1t cycle though It's like an on/off switch where you literally start feeling like you have 'nobody'. At first you say to yourself, "i know that's just the m1t talking" but as the cycle progress you start to question even that! That's one of the many reasons I would be using PH/PS's any more.

Steroids/prohormones disrupt and destroy good bacteria and bad bacteria over take. Add in antibiodies from past years accutane, high protein diet, low carb, sugar from junk food. This all equals a diaster waiting to happen. i now have talked to people that have gone for years with out resolution to their health problems. Most o these people had intestinal imbalnce from stress, improoper diets,antibiotics, and alot of other factors. There problemsdid not resolve until they correct the imbalances and with in 6 -9 month they felt like what normal was again. No conventional dr will except the idea, but a alternatve medicine would. After 4 months of running test after test they found nothing wrong with me that is when dr sent me to an alternatice dr and with the interview he knew what the problem was, but 2 weeks later the test confirmed it

I took it 12 years ago and I have suffered from depression for the last 7 years

topolo - start takng a probiotic and over 3-4 months balance will be replenished. Its all about balance in the human body (ying/yang).

guys, what should I do? I have a predisposition for depression. Has anyone been successfully treated with accutane. You guys that suffered depression did you have it before the accutane. What would happen if I took ssri's with it. Do you mean to tell me that even after you discontinued the accutane you suffered depression.

reaso people are depressed are mainly nutrient deficency amino acid mostly. 5 htp may be better then antidepressant and safer. add probotics as preventative meaures

`what is 5hp

5 htp is a precursor to sertonin which body need to regulate moods and depression, low levels of serotinon = major depression. When drs give antidepressants to people with low level sertonin it is just masking the problem and will work for a short time but will fade after a few months then you are back to square one. Drs need to correct the source rather then the symptoms

Originally Posted by hardasnails1973

topolo - start takng a probiotic and over 3-4 months balance will be replenished. Its all about balance in the human body (ying/yang).

I have no idea what this means

Up to the current time, a rate of 12 suicides per 8 million isotretinoin-treated patients has been documented. Half of these patients were on concomitant medications. (other depression medicines, thus was there some selection bias?) A small number of patients have reported that depression subsided when isotretinoin was withdrawn and recurred with treatment resumption. In the United States, 64 suicides occurred between 1991 and 1999 in patients who at one time took isotretinoin. Thirty occurred during treatment, 24 after treatment was stopped (6 months-10 years), and 10 occurred in patients whose treatment status was unknown.
These numbers must be compared with general suicide statistics in the United States. In total, 30,000 suicides occur per year (in the general population, the rate is 11.4 per 100,000). Eighty percent are males. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the 15- to 24-year age group (6000 per year). So when isotretinoin patients are observed, the 64 total suicides must be compared with an expected suicide rate of more than 10 times that number .These data suggest that in these patients the suicides were likely due to factors other than isotretinoin treatment.The isotretinoin suicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 is well below that of the general population, as noted above. In addition, in the isotretinoin patients, there was no alteration in the typical US pattern of suicide in terms of gender distribution, relationship to depression, underlying psychiatric disorders, or lack of warning signs (typical of youth suicide).



Depression showed a similar lack of correlation with isotretinoin treatment. In isotretinoin-treated patients, depression was reported in 1013 patients compared with the expected number of 182,500 in this patient population. Depression is a common diagnosis. In the United States, 10% to 20% of the population report experiencing depression at some time during their lives. Sixteen to twenty percent of 12- to 18-year-olds are given a diagnosis of some form of depression each year. In a large study of approximately 8000 isotretinoin users and 14,000 antibiotic users, no difference in relative risk for depression was found between the 2 groups. In view of these data, the risk of any true association between isotretinoin use and depression seems to be excessively small. However, these issues should be discussed with your doctor.

Very very good. could you possibly break that down so I could understand better!!

The suicide rate while taking accutane was 1.4 out of 100,000 and the suicide rate in the general population is 11.4 out of 100,000 people.... So the rate of suicide was actually lessfor those taking accutane than that of the general population!

The converse and perversed conclusion would be that it lowers risk of suicide! (But that is erroneous because of the methodology of the data).

The gist is this....can't peg suicide to taking accutane. It's a general overblown media sensational garbage.

Originally Posted by bandaidwoman

The suicide rate while taking accutane was 1.4 out of 100,000 and the suicide rate in the general population is 11.4 out of 100,000 people.... So the rate of suicide was actually lessfor those taking accutane than that of the general population!

The converse and perversed conclusion would be that it lowers risk of suicide! (But that is erroneous because of the methodology of the data).

The gist is this....can't peg suicide to taking accutane. It's a general overblown media sensational garbage.

How many people commit suicide after their accutane cycle though

Originally Posted by Luke9583

How many people commit suicide after their accutane cycle though

Thirty occurred during treatment, 24 after treatment was stopped (6 months-10 years), and 10 occurred in patients whose treatment status was unknown.

wow, very interesting stuff

If you have a tendency toward depression, I would make sure that you are closely monitored for personality changes if you decide to take the drug. I have heard it is very effective. Good luck!

I did not have a history of depression. When I ran Accutane, my family was told to watch me; as with my sister and mother when they ran it. I had moderate acne, and it worked! It took a couple months. But if I could do it all over, I would not have taken accutane. I feel it is the main contributor towards my poor high school expirience, and my personality is and has been much different since before I used accutane (not for the better or the worse, I just am a 'different' person. )

But everybody is different.

They say bodybuilders have no brains (just kidding guys.) Anyways I am just not convinced that this drug is a benign as your survey says. How many of the 100,000 had depressional tendencies before taking the drug. This is very important to know. I am reading forums of peoploe that have taken accutane and they have nothing good to say. Luke I am sorry for how you feel, but perhaps your personality has nothing to do with the accutane. Bandaid woman, I once read something on the forum that explains exactly how accutane effects depression. Do you remember???

guys, I have these terrible nodules on my head called "dissecting cellulitis." I think they may be caused from the gear. They are truly unbearable and I seem to be getting more. I just started my cycle two weeks ago and have made good improvements. All three skin doctors that I have been to have recommended accutane. If I take accutane will I still be able to work out? Should I discontinue my cycle? I have worked so hard to build my body as I am sure you all have. I weigh close to 250 lbs and am 8% body fat. Bodybuilding is a huge part of my life and I don't want to loose it. Mudge and some others you are on it how do you feel?

Originally Posted by shamrock

If I take accutane will I still be able to work out?

No, not really. I was told I had to quit playing soccer. And that was only like 2 games a week

I've personally witnessed family and friends go though intense depression on accutane that they didn't have before. One friend almost killed himself in front of me with a shotgun. They were all teenagers at the time, so that might be a factor, too.

Originally Posted by PirateFromHell

I've personally witnessed family and friends go though intense depression on accutane that they didn't have before. One friend almost killed himself in front of me with a shotgun. They were all teenagers at the time, so that might be a factor, too.

This is what I hear all the time. That teens with acne are generally depressed anyway. But I did NOT have bad acne, and I wasn't depressed

give me some serious encouragement!! All you guys!!!

Shamrock, accutane can cause severe muscle soreness with vigorous excercise but it is not a contraindication to stop your excercise level if you are able to handle it. I have quite a few bicycle racers on it who kept racing (and riding 300miles a week training) with some noted minimal muscle soreness and who may not have preformed as well racing ....but that was it. Quite a few body builders use it and notice a decrease in tolerance to number of reps but many are able to continue their training.


Back to the depression issue, the fact that undiagnosed mood disorders are a common problem among teens, (and the the group most likely to be using the drug) combined with a disfiguring condition such as severe cystic acne probably exacerbates their depression. Accutane still does not have good epidimiolgical proof that it is causing the depression as based on the numbers I cited above.

Shamrock, I don't remember the thread on accutane and how it causes depression but I will try to do a thread search and find it.