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Accutane and Crohns Disease

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/18/2010 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
I was talking to my Mother inlaw today and she shared with me that there is a lawsuit out for people who have taken accutane and have crohns disease. I quickly googled and found a number of websites. I took accutane about 2 years prior to being diagnosed! I am going to recieve a Remicade infusion tomorrow and have an appointment with my GI. If anyone has any info on this I would love to discuss this with my Dr.! Or if anyone has filled for compensation please let me know how you did it and how it turned out. I am debating if its worth it to go through all of that mess!

Thanks!

Posted 4/18/2010 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
uh no.... most of us i bet never took it . i think its lumped in with a whole host of "immune" diseases. if you want to go ahead and good luck
Posted 4/19/2010 10:25 AM (GMT 0)
If I remember correctly, there's quite a substantial number of us crohnnies here on the forum who have been on accutane. I was on it for 1 and a half years was 15-16, I would go on it for 3 months, acne would clear and then come back, so I would go back onto it. The last time I went on it they really boosted my dosage. The side-effects (particularly the mental ones) were horrid.

I was 19 when my crohn's began. I do believe there is a link, though I'm not saying it causes it. Accutane dries up every single oil gland in your entire body. That IS going to affect the mucosal lining of your intestines. This is my personal belief, though I think I was genetically pre-disposed and I did a lot of things that could have 'triggered' my crohn's (ie moved away from home, from the country to the city, was in 1st semester of university, extremely stressed out, oh yeah and then I went on my first ever dose of antibiotics, and then a 2nd dose when the 1st didn't work) - no probiotics reccomended, etc etc....

So my belief is there are probably a heap of triggers out there, and as it turns out I went through a lot of them. I do believe Accutane is evil, whatever the outcome of the case!
Posted 4/19/2010 10:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone, I spoke with my Dr. today and she explained to me that there are many factors in the reason people have crohns. She said that all of these factors overlapping are what cause the issue and that Accutane could be one of thoes factors. I am not the lawsuit kind but my medical bills are getting outragous and I am feeling sorry that my husband needs to work so hard just to keep our bank account where it needs to be. I will continue to research and post if I make any decisions and let eveyone know how it goes. :-)
Posted 4/20/2010 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Never been on Accutane -- never really had acne until Prednisone.
Posted 4/20/2010 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Never been on it either. My personal opinion is that we're genetically predisposed and there are environmental factors...but it's just my guess.
Posted 4/22/2010 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
I was on it when I was 19 yrs old for about 8 months. The side effects were way too much for me to handle though.
As others have said, its pretty powerful stuff and I did question my doctors on it "causing" my crohn's and my fertility issues. They can't promise anything either way.
As for the lawsuit, there have been a ton of them going around for years. I'm not sure they really pan out though.

GL
Posted 4/22/2010 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
If there is a chance Accutane caused Crohn's, then a lawsuit can help bring that connection to light, and serve as a warning signal to drug manufacturers everywhere that they need to thoroughly test drugs before bringing to market, and clearly disclose all potential harmful side effects. The following link talks about a patient who successfully sued the drug maker:

http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/10014/accutane-crohns.html

 

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