My 16 year old son has struggled with moderate/severe acne for 2 yrs. The older he gets, the worse it gets. He uses 2 topicals and has used oral antibiotics for about a year but his doctor will not prescribe antibiotics anymore. She is pushing for accutane but this worries me. When he was 10-13 he was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Through therapy he is much improved. Accutane is rumored to cause suicidal tendencies. Should I be concerned? Please help. Thank you
July 20, 2015
Answer: Accutane for teenagers Accutane is not a mood altering drug. For about 20 years we prescribed it and it had zero notifications or listings with depression. Then a member of Congress had a child who took Accutane and committed suicide. And then voila! all the hoopla and postings show up. In my opinion, 1. many people with acne and bad skin are depressed, because they don't feel like they look good or fit in, and 2. many teenagers in general are depressed due to hormone changes. So, I don't see any reason why your son cannot use Accutane, as long as he continues his other therapies, and maybe, just takes a very low dosage for a longer amount of time. The issue with Accutane is getting to a total cumulative dose of 8000-16000mg total and it doesn't matter if you do that in 6 months or 2 years' time. So have him take a lower dosage and then just have him continue all other meds. And also, discuss it with his other physicians who are managing his depression. "This answer has been solicited without seeing this patient and cannot be held as true medical advice, but only opinion. Seek in-person treatment with a trained medical professional for appropriate care."
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July 20, 2015
Answer: Accutane for teenagers Accutane is not a mood altering drug. For about 20 years we prescribed it and it had zero notifications or listings with depression. Then a member of Congress had a child who took Accutane and committed suicide. And then voila! all the hoopla and postings show up. In my opinion, 1. many people with acne and bad skin are depressed, because they don't feel like they look good or fit in, and 2. many teenagers in general are depressed due to hormone changes. So, I don't see any reason why your son cannot use Accutane, as long as he continues his other therapies, and maybe, just takes a very low dosage for a longer amount of time. The issue with Accutane is getting to a total cumulative dose of 8000-16000mg total and it doesn't matter if you do that in 6 months or 2 years' time. So have him take a lower dosage and then just have him continue all other meds. And also, discuss it with his other physicians who are managing his depression. "This answer has been solicited without seeing this patient and cannot be held as true medical advice, but only opinion. Seek in-person treatment with a trained medical professional for appropriate care."
Helpful