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Herniated disc and Accutane?

Posted , 2 users are following.

isabel.c
isabel.c

So I’m a 15 year old girl with a herniated disc and i was wondering if i could take accutane. I have had pretty bad acne since i was 11 years old and i just want to have clear skin, so my parents and i have been thinking of trying accutane. The more i do research about the drug, the more i wonder if i should take it because of my herniated disc. Accutane has very severe side affects and can give people back problems. Will this make my herniated disc worse? I can deal with the back pain if it means making my skin clear, i just don’t want it to interfere with my healing process or affect me in the long run. I’m going back to the doctor in 2 weeks so obviously i can ask him when i go, but I’m pretty impatient and have been wondering this for a while. Please don’t give me your opinion about accutane - all i need to know is if it will affect my back in the long run or make the healing process slower, thanks!

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • allaroundanne
    allaroundanne isabel.c

    Posted

    OK, I am a retired MD, I read through the literature that's available online.  It seems that accutane will almost certainly make your disc worse and do it fairly quickly, in some of the cases I came across the increased back pain subsided when the teenager stopped the accutane. So, it seemed that In some patients the accutane didn't cause permanent damage to the already herniated disc.  I understand how important clear skin is when you are a teenager, but it is also fairly clear to me that the accutane is for certain going to worsen your back problem.  If that happens you risk damaging whatever nerve that disc is pressing on which is quite serious.  You will have to stop the accutane for sure at that point.  The problem I foresee is you don't know how quickly the accutane can act on your disc, it could be just an overnight worsening with you waking up in agony unable to move the next morning thereby possibly getting yourself emergency surgery on the disc.  Or, you could be like the lucky teen I read about who had her back pain worsen so she had to drop her gymnastics but then when her 5 months of accutane was done her back pain slowly went back to where it had been pre-accutane. You really don't know how lucky or unlucky you will be.  BTW I am a Mom of 4 grown kids, a couple of them had acne fairly bad for awhile and they did really well with that Pro Active system as long as they were diligent. I think the key was really using a product twice a day with lots of good clearing out of all the oils.  Good luck and let us know how you do.

    Lynn

    • isabel.c
      isabel.c allaroundanne

      Posted

      Thank you so much for replying!!! I definitely see what you mean and i don’t want to risk it. If anything, i can just start the drug when my back heals. Also, i have tried pro active and it has unfortunately not worked :-(. I’m going to the doctor this Thursday so i will update you with what he says!
    • isabel.c
      isabel.c allaroundanne

      Posted

      I went to the doctor today and he told me I I’ll be fine if I take accutane!! I’m still a little bit worried so I am going to ask the dermatologist.
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