Accutane And Infertility (Page 10)

I took accutane almost 14 years ago as a teenager. I am now a 32 year old woman who has just been diagnosed with infertility that they believe is linked to autoimmune issues. I truly believe that accutane is the cause of this; from the research that I have done it seems that accutane has been linked to other thyroid-related diseases, but that they have not yet been able to prove a link between accutane and infertility. There are, however, actually more people like me out there than I originally thought. Being diagnosed with ovarian dysfunction has been a horrific, horrific blow. And while there was plenty of information about accutane and birth defects, no one ever mentioned a possibility of future infertility. I was a teenager! This is a tragedy and I believe something should be done about it. If you too have been affected diagnosed with infertility and have taken accutane, please email me. There are plenty of suits against accutance. If there are enough of us, we can come together to do the medical research and get the help we now need.

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I have been always healthy, with the moderate case of strep throat here or there. I had mild but persistent acne and went on Accutane because at the end of the day i was tired of using creams every day and night. I wish looking back that I would have just kept with the creams and special washes because although my skin is much better acne wise I find other problems. It has been 4 years and still my skin is very dry, tight and red. I came across this because I have been trying for the past year to become pregnant and can not. We have not looked into other options or have I even mentioned it to the gynecologist. I never even mentioned to my husband that I took this medication years back as it was before we had even met. Now I am starting to wonder though if there may be a link with our hard time conceiving and the Accutane that I took years ago.

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I did three rounds of accutane between the ages of 18 - 20. I am told that I have dimished ovarian reserve and some endometriosis. I have had two failed IVF cycles. I have always suspected that it's due to taking accutane. It was such a harsh drug that I still experience effects from the drug at the age of 32! It did, however, clear up my cystic acne - which seemed so important at the time. I would much rather have cystic acne and be able to have babies. On another note, the guy I was dating at this time was also on accutane and today has an extreme case of male factor infertility. It's impossible for him to have children. Is there currently any studies related to the effects of accutane on fertility?

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Hi Sara,

My name is Martha, I am 38 years old and have had 5 miscarriages. All during the 8th week of the pregnancy. I took Accutane as a teenager and again in my early 20's. I have been tested for everything under the sun and I am constantly told by Reproductive Endocrinologists that I am perfectly healthy and they can not come up with one explanation why.

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Have you considered IVF with CGH? They first test all of the embryos for chromosomal abnormalities to prevent miscarriage. Those that have repeated miscarriages are good candidates for this.

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Hi my name is Tom, my email is {edited for privacy}. I am currently 19 years old and believe my accutane use at age 14 caused my severe deabillitating depression and anxiety. It also stunted my growth as I did not grow after the medication and I am only five foot five or six inches tall. I also have constant severe back pain. I am interested in joining forces with you in a class action suit.

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Hi I am 19 years old and took accutane for around 9 months during the end of 2011 and start of 2012. In march of 2012 I was diagnosed with PCOS and I'm wondering if this was caused by the accutane! I had months of irregular periods and headaches, body shaking, nosebleeds, and a strange allergic reaction on the back of my hands which has since stopped after coming off accutane! I'm now worried I may struggle to have kids as a result of this drug. If so girls need to be made aware of this very serious side affect as I was never told about this!

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I took accutane when I was 15 for several months. Now I'm 32 and have been trying to get pregnant for 3 years. I've gone through clomid and 3 IVF cycles with no pregnancy. The doctors think I have low ovarian reserve. I think accutane could play a role in this. Also, after accutane was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

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My family history has a long line of fertility with no miscarriages or birth defects. My mother had my sister when she was 41.
I took roaccutane when I was a teenager. A few years ago, my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage. My second, my daughter, was born with a genetic disorder and died days later. Recently, I did an invitro cycle and found that my eggs were not plentiful and of very poor quality. After reading all these threads, I believe roaccutane was at fault.
I agree... we are born with a certain number of eggs which are susceptible to the effects of accutane. If they make us sign a paper to prevent us from getting pregnant while we are on the drug, how can our eggs repair themselves after the damage done by accutane?

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37 year old Male here. Took accutane in mid 90's and now am infertile.

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Congratulations to you on your pregnancy and I hope you will have continued success in the future. I am writing to you because you are the first entry I have seen with a happy ending to your terribly tough challenge at conceiving. My daughter just got the heartbreaking news about her slim chances of even being a candidate for IVF. Her number is 0.9 and she said that they usually won't even consider the procedure unless you are between 1 and 2 and women at her age (27) usually are between 5 and 6. It seems to me that if this potential risk was not listed as a hazard, then maybe accurate could pay for the IVF treatments of former patients, especially when so many of them fail. Again, congratulations to you and if you have any advice of where to go, or things to do to help with your chances, please write and I can share with my daughter. Thank you. Vickie

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Leigh - Make sure your thyroid levels are between 2.0-3.0. Though I believe that Accutane cause infertility, having hypothyroid doesn't help as it can cause infertility also

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I am getting scared now I am 18 and been on accutane (roaccutane) twice and I love children and want to have children in the future... how can you find out about infertility at this age (without tryng for a baby)? I want to know if this has had any effect on my fertility??

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You need to have your AMH level drawn (blood draw).

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The acne was caused by the PCOS. It may have been undiagnosed and you might have treated your acne by treating the PCOS first.

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Hi, my name is Michelle. I was on Accutane was I was a teen. Shortly after I started what was to be a lifetime (Im 40 now) of severe anxiety and depression, stomach problems and 2 surgeries to remove cysts off my ovaries and uterus (one was the size of a cantaloupe). For 10 years I havent been on any type of birth control, became pregnant once but miscarried at 5 weeks. I ALWAYS suspected Accutane to be the cause of these issues since I was a very heathly kid until taking this medication. Who knows, may be worth a shot on this to get some answers to my years of suffering and not being able to have a child. Sara, please contact me if you are still getting a group together! {edited for privacy}

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Michelle, I am so sorry to hear of your battle with acne and PCOS. However, you have classic PCOS and that is why you had all those problem, the Accutane had NOTHING to do with that. This is a classic post hoc, propter hoc fallacy in logic. Unfortunately, humans are hard wired to blame anything on something that occurred just before.

The common thread is PUBERTY. At puberty the PCOS becomes manifest as does the severe acne.

I ALWAYS evaluate all women with severe acne for PCOS or some other hormonal problem,

I urge any woman with acne severe enough to require Accutane to find a Gynocologic endocrinologist.

You may be able to avoid the acne, Accutane and infertility.

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I took roaccutaine for about 4 years for severe acne. Married ant 25 and wanted a family. 7 years of trying and was told to give up. Only after reading online have I begun to suspect roaccutane. I now have 2 sons after an experimental treatment called lipiodal flushing where the uterus is moisturized with a natural oil. Was pregnant within 6 weeks of the treatment. I wonder if there is a link between the drying affect of roacutane and the moisturising of the lipiodal. Dr Neil Johnson in New Zealand pioneered the research to this treatment with 37% success rate.

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Hi, I firmly believe infertility due to roaccutane is a possible explanation. Great news about the treatment you received and the success you had. I too took roaccutane and suffered unexplained infertility for many years. I finally had my daughter using IVF icsi cycle, but truly believe left to its own devices I would not have ever conceived due to the drying effects of roaccutane.

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Sorry, but this is the post hoc, propter hoc logical fallacy again.

You may believe this but after 50 million patients treated, it is extraordinarily unlikely that a side effect like INCREASED auto-immune disease would have gone unnoticed for 35 years.

The same thing happened with silicone breast implants.

Autoimmune conditions are fairly common in women after puberty, as is acne.

Also, there is no way that roaccutane can dry up your uterus, especially decades later.

Again, the hormone problems that cause severe acne in women are responsible for infertility.

The fallacy is best demonstrated by the story of the rooster who believes that his crowing causes the sun to rise.

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Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but frankly I do not agree. All the people on here are or have suffered from infertility with a common denominator. Roaccutane.

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