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Acne Medication and UC??

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/29/2010 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone!!  Hope everyone had a great x-mas.  I haven't been on in quite some time because I have been flare free for about 19 months(knock on wood quickly), but I think about you guys!!  One quick question and you guys probably already talked about it so feel free to direct me to a different post, but I was watching tv the other night and one of those shady lawfirm/lawsuit commercials came on about having taken acne medication and gotten UC.  Did they really find a link??  I know I took some medication in my teenage years, but no clue what brand.  I want to try to go back to my old doc and get my records.  Do they have to keep them indefinitely??  I'm talking 15+ years..  So interesting that there could be a link there.  Anyone else find the link in themselves??
Posted 12/29/2010 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
They were probably talking about Accutane.

I abused antibiotics for many years, I'm talking decades. I believe that's why I now have IBD.

There seems to be a link between fecal bacteria and IBD. There is even a form of colitis that is known as antibiotic-associated colitis.

Since antibiotics kill bacteria, I do believe there is a link between antibiotics and IBD.

I don't know much about the link between Accutane and IBD. I never took Accutane so I haven't been researching it.

Fecal transplantation and probiotics are good treatments for those whose IBD is bacteria related.

Post Edited (subdued) : 12/29/2010 12:22:43 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/29/2010 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Jen. First of all, congrats on being flare free for 19 months. Any suggestions?

So... I took Accutane (the drug the commercials are about), and developed UC about 2 years later. Nobody else I am related to has this disease. There is one study where doctors examined records of patients that took Accutane compared to those that didn't, and found a person to be four times as likely to develop Ulcerative Colitis if they had been on Accutane. From what I understand, for a certain amount of time, the drug maker knew the risks associated with developing IBD, but withheld the information. You have no clue how much that Pi**es me off.

As far as the records go, there is something to do with them having to hold your records for a long time, like holding your youth records ten years past the time you turn 18. I am not at all sure on the specifics though. I'm 26, took Accutane when I was 15, and was able to turn up my medical records... albeit after quite a bit of hunting (since the clinic I had gone to had closed).
Posted 12/29/2010 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
Zach I wish I had advice on staying flare free. The majority of my flares have been caused by pregnancy or after pregnancy hormones. I maintain my remission by taking 6 Asacol a day. I'm one of the lucky ones that the medication works for me, but man those flares are bad. Months of brutal pain and wondering if it will EVER end. I feel for you. Hang in there. I just hope they find a cure and I want to try to do everything I can to keep my kids from getting this horrible disease. I don't think I took Accutane, but I did definitely take some acne meds.. Just wish I knew which one. I'm 36 now, so unlikely they would have kept the records. Are you going to pursue the lawsuit? These drug companies have to be held accountable for what they are doing to people, especially kids that are just following what their doctors are prescribing. So sad!
Posted 12/29/2010 9:33 PM (GMT 0)
I'm pursuing it, don't worry. It's as much about justice as anything... I'd give up all I had to be completely healthy.

I'm working as hard as I can to control my health. Presently reading and note taking from the book "Listen To Your Gut", which has more in depth writing on digestive diseases than anything I've ever seen.

Take care!
Posted 12/29/2010 10:13 PM (GMT 0)
There are some law firms working together on actionable cases, try to find one of those firms.
I believe I got UC from taking Accutane, but my records were already destroyed long before I learned. Nothing can be done without the records.
Posted 12/29/2010 11:16 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome back, *Jen*! Your kiddies must be 2 & 4 1/2 by now, right? Great to hear that you're in remission, too. As for the acne med, I think some UCers have posted about Doxycycline causing longterm gut problems, also. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Post Edited (Old Hat) : 12/29/2010 4:19:31 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/29/2010 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Old Hat! Yup, 2 and 4 1/2. They are a handful but also tons of fun. Work is keeping me very busy(and stressed out), but living in the bay area you gotta make the big buckeroos, so I keep at it, at least for now. Glad I'm in remission otherwise I would really be going crazy. I definitely started having "stomach problems" in high school and my wonderful(sarcastically said) GP went through telling me I tested positive to Lupus(on a Friday which left me all weekend to stress about the test results which turned up to be nothing) and then told me to stay on clear fluids because I had a stomach virus that I needed to kill off. From what I remember that lasted months and finally went away. I didn't start having blood in my stool until about 3 o4 4 years after that, but always had upset stomachs for no apparent reason.. ugh. I would love to know what went wrong so I can try to help my kids from not getting this horrible disease.
Posted 12/30/2010 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
I wounder if this is similar to taking antibiotic for rosacea? I was on antibiotics for 3 months and all it did was upset my tummy, so I stopped.
I've also had lots of sinus infection and was prescribed antibiotics for them too. If I know antibiotic could cause this I would have hold off on taking them! The doc basically hand them out like candy!

So far I'm the only known IBDer in my family....so I think it was due to being over prescribed antibiotics than genes!
Posted 12/30/2010 5:52 AM (GMT 0)
I did a fair amt of antibiotics over the years, but hadn't been on an antibiotic for 3, nearly 4 years prior to my first flare...???? I am also the only known IBDer in family.
Posted 12/30/2010 7:36 AM (GMT 0)
I too am the only UCer in my family (my dad and mum both have weakish stomachs but nothing near IBD). I took Bactrium DS (twice daily) by Roche for over 2 years straight for my acne... then when I stopped it, about 1 month after I developed UC. I too strongly believe my UC is caused by antibiotics which really pisses me off, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do now besides try to contain my UC. I swear I am never taking another antibiotic again (or any other unecessary medication for that matter). I find doctors are far too quick to prescribe medications now a days.
Posted 12/30/2010 8:12 AM (GMT 0)

Peace&Harmony said...

I've also had lots of sinus infection and was prescribed antibiotics for them too.

Me too. I was hospitalized for pneumonia back in my early 20s, and I got a really bad sinus infection after being discharged from the hospital. So I was prescribed antibiotics. I took them for six months. I remember my snot being so thick and yellow that it resembled rubber bands. I don't think the antibiotics did anything. I was living in Northeast USA at the time, and I basically had to wait it out until summer came for the sinus infection to go away on its own.
Posted 12/30/2010 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Virtually no antibiotics growing up, no family history on either side of mom/dad, in fact won a perfect attendance award throughout school as I never missed a day (never sick) and I am the only one with UC -- despite it was my sister and brother who took Accutane for years (I never had an acne problem either)... Aren't I lucky!!

Have quit modern medicine -- other than asacol -- and am going heavy on the magic herbs of India/Asia. So far so good. Long live Placebo!
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