Accutane And Infertility (Page 3)

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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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41

Also forgot to mention, as some others have noted I also have Thyroid problems, which apparently looks as though taking Accutane could acerbate that condition.

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42

I can't tell you how both incredible and depressing it was to find this thread. Could there finally be an explanation for my fertility problems? I took accutane for almost a year when I was 22. I am now 34 and have been trying to conceive for 6 years. My husband and I were diagnosed with both male and female factor infertility 3 years ago and we have been through 3 failed IVF attempts to date. My husband's issues are one thing - low count, motility, bad morph - so we have always done ICSI. On my side though I have poor egg quality, and when trying naturally, anovulation - meaning I still have a period monthly even though I only release an egg about 60% of the time. The doc can find no reason why this is the case though. Our IVF cycles have all gone "by the book" but have always been disappointing in results - only 5 eggs collected in the first cycle despite aggressive stim, poor egg quality, and poor embryo quality. 21 eggs the second cycle, but only 6 embryos by the time we got to a 3 day transfer. Poor egg quality, and poor embryo quality. Needless to say, no successful implantations.

When I was 22 the last thing on my mind was having a baby - I will be honest, I probably did not read the full long term side effects list. I just knew I couldn't get pregnant while taking the meds, which was easy enough. Fast forward 12 years and now I have this knot in my stomach that maybe something I did is the reason that we cannot get pregnant??? My derm never said ANYTHING about long term fertility issues - I always knew I would want kids one day, so that would have stuck out in my mind. And I doubt my mom would have allowed me to take it.

I know I read that not a lot of research has been done to date, but I would sure love to know if it ever is done and a definitive link is found. What a terrible thing for all of us to now be going through just because we took meds for severe acne! I would be happy to join any class action suit that comes up - not because of money, but just to make sure that warnings have to be given or the drug altered to make sure that this does not happen to more unsuspecting people.

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43

after so many years of infertility, you are all confirming what i thought! i took the drug when i was 16 ( now 37 ) after one MC and years of not being able to conceive, ive falled pregnant threw IVF/FET on my 4th go! I know in my heart this drug has caused all this, i just wish someone would prove it!

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44

Since my last post in January, no succes with the ivf. I am now doing the 3rd cycle. Egg collection on Monday. It looks like there will only be 6 mature eggs. I asked my doctor if he knew of any link between infertility and Accutane, and he said he hadn't heard of any. The strong corrolation between people taking Accutane and infertility is due to the fact that women will polysystic ovaries, for example, tend to have severe acne. So the pre-existing fertility issue (which we haven't usually investigated BEFORE taking Accutane because we were mostly teenagers) is related to the acne, so Accutane is prescribed. Who knows, that is his opinion. All I know is that from now on, I will stick to medications that have been around for a LONG long time. In the past 2 IVF's, I had taken the progesterone cream CRIONONE. After hearing all this about Accutane, i researched it to find out it has only been on the market for 3 years! So this cycle, I'm going back to the injections, even if it will be more painful. No new meds for me. Just in case they realsie in 20 years that Crinone causes some kind of cancer or disease... After this cycle, if we are not successful, I am going to try with a donor egg. If my eggs are the problem, I'm going to try and bypass that problem. Success rate is supposed to be 50%.

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45

I took acutane as a teenager. Not only did I have fertility issues as an adult, taking 14 years to get pregnant, miscarried a twin with the pregnancy, and went into menopause almost immediately after the birth of our son, I also had the extreme depression that is documented on the site. At the time that I took it, I pretty much, being a teenager, asked the doctor about taking acutane, not knowing side effects. I almost committed suicide! That is sooo not me; I'm pretty happy, even with the everyday struggles that we encounter. I did go to the doctor for the depression and he simply did a physical and found that I also have mitral valver prolapse. Well, I have had the mpv all of my life and hadn't tried to commit suicide before - nor have I felt the inclination since. I am talking the sleeping all of the time, crying for hours, walking everywhere, severe anxiety depression. I keep remembering that kid who flew into a building in, I think, Florida? He was taking acutane and had no precurssors to have this type of behavior. I totally believe that it was acutane. What those parents must feel - not to mention the feelings of the people in the building, and their families, that he affected. I wonder where we go to get further information regarding these problems?

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46

I took Accutane as a teenager. The doctor made it clear that I had to take birth control while on Accutane, and I did. I was married @ age 20 and tried to get pregnant for nearly 10 years. Testing, injections, surgeries, depression. I'm 33 and I have never been pregnant. Doc said its unexplained - no medical reason why. Now that I read this blog, I am ready to find a lawyer who will represent me so I can be compensated for all of the depression from the time and money spent, only to learn that Accutane caused this. Wish they had ProActive solution back in the 90's.

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47

I also took Accutane as a teenager and now at 29, my husband and I have been trying for over 3 years to have a baby. Officially I am "unexplained infertility" we have done 5 iui's with clomid and hcg shots.
I recieved info about lawsuits for stomache problems, and started thinking maybe this was related...

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48

Hi Sarah ....when you are told you may never have biological children for infertility that is "unexplained" it is a feeling that only someone who has gone through it could possibly understand. Your need for answers is overwhelming. If I knew the "why" maybe I could move on.....I am 35 and have been going through this for 5 years. 11 IUI's, 6 cycles of IVF (4fresh,2frozen), 3 miscarriage's and 1 ectopic have led me to you. I took accutane on 2 different occasions. Once around 1991 and once again around 2001, both times for cystic acne. My skin is perfect now but no one can explain to me other than, and this may sound familiar to you, I have a thyroid/ autoimmune problem. Hashimotos thyroiditis to be exact. "Maybe" thyroid meds will help me. Needless to say, all I got from my A quality eggs was an ectopic pregnancy and 2 methotrexate injections. I have no family history of any of these issues. PLEASE tell me if any of this is related to my past history of using accutane.

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49

I've tried for 4 years to conceive...same diagnosis..I took accutane twice..in my late 20s and early 30s..what do we do, what can we do.?

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50

I'm not sure what to do....As far as I know there are no solid studies on the long term effects regarding infertility....But the stories seem all too familiar....Has anyone reached out to a lawyer to see if there are any class action suits pertaining to this?

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51

I took accutane in the late 80's in HS now 25 years later with no family history what so ever I am completely infertile. This is the only drug I ever took like this.I don't drink and have never done drugs.

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52

My two sons, now 29 and 30, are also now completely infertile. They took accutane in the mid to late 90"s. My husband kept the literature and it it we discovered that accutance was known to occasionally cause infertility in dogs. I am planning to consult a lawyer to see if there are any legal options in their cases.

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53

I took Accutane as a teenager. I am now 39 and have been trying to conceive for 7 years with no success. I have done 5 IUI's and 1 IVF. My husband is 37 and also took Accutane, and he is diagnosed w low sperm motility. There were no warnings about the effects of the drug on fertility when we took it. Have there been studies linking Accutane to infertility? Why is there a warning of sterility on the label now? We were not given the opportunity to make an informed choice. They should not be allowing such strong drugs to be widely used without fully testing them first.

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54

I took Accutane for 6 months when I was 17. Never had any immune issues and as I finished the treatment I got very sick with Epstein Barr and Jantus. At 25 we started trying to get pregnant and after being told my husband can open a sperm bank, I got tested and we too are in the unexplained infertility boat. Went through some IUI and treatments and were unsuccessful. At the end we decided to adopt. I will be 35 next month.

I am happy to find this thread as it shows how many men and women are experiencing the same thing. I just came back from the doctor who said to me "You know Accutane is now being looked at to cause infertility." I wasn't aware of this though did always feel this was the cause.

We were teenagers when we took this medication and trusted the drug companies. Now we are paying for their mistake? I think it is time the lawyers get on board and help us out.

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55

Wow... I'm reading my story over and over again. I too took Accutane at age 18, and after 6 years of numerous IUIs, 5 IVFs, and 2 infertility specialists, the conclusion was that I am infertile due to a combination of low ovarian reserve and poor egg quality. If anyone has info on any legal action being taken, please post here.

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56

You have to realize the difference between causation and correlation. How many of you actually had a successful pregnancy (either as mother or father) before accutane and unsuccessful attempts/infertility after?

Its possible that your infertility is the fault of Accutane. But without research, it is just as likely that the same genes or other environmental factors that caused you to have acne stubborn enough to warrant Accutane are also related to your fertility issues.

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57

PS i also took accutane at a low dose in my 20s. PRIOR to taking it I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis. So yes I am another woman with Autoimmune disease and accutane history, but the AH came a year before the accutane (actually went on accutane to calm down my skin after it freaked out because my immune system went crazy) so i'm obviously confident Accutane had nothing to do with causing the AH.

Since accutane I have donated eggs twice (1 gay couple w surrogate, 1 infertile straight couple) who both had healthy pregnancies with my eggs.

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58

I was put on 2 cycles of accutane in my early teens. Was unable to get pregnant since late 20's. Finally I was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserves ( eggs are fried) the only medication I ever took was accutane. After several IVF cycles we used donor eggs. I have thought for years it was due to Accutane but could never find any proof.

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59

maybe you who are wanting to sue should take a look at accutaneaction
this is a group against the company and drug. they are in touch with lawyers

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60

Disty - You were lucky. Accutane didn't cause fertility or IBS problems for you. You had the right comibination of genes that you weren't sensitive to the parts of the medication that led to these problems. However, many people do have fertility problems (but not bowel problems) and vice versa and it seems the only thing they have in common is having taken accutane. If it can cause infertility in some dogs (as it states in the literature), it seems that it can also cause infertility in humans - men and women.

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