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Accutane Bowel Disease

Accutane is a prescription medication that is used to treat severe cases of acne. Originally manufactured as a chemotherapy medication, the manufacturers discovered that it was also effective in reducing the effects of acne for those who suffer from cysts or lesions. The same cell killing properties that make Accutane work for cancer patients are effective at killing the bacteria and reducing facial oils that lead to pimple formation.

Accutane as a Treatment

Many doctors are reticent to use Accutane for acne treatments and only resort to prescribing the medication when nothing else works. The side effects of Accutane can be severe, and physicians want to avoid the risks for their patients. Accutane's main objective is to reduce the size of the facial glands that produce oil. Most prescriptions are for very short amounts of time, and doctors are careful to make sure that patients begin using Accutane within a few days of the initial prescription. Accutane patients are observed carefully for side effects, which can range from digestive problems to deep depression and suicidal thoughts.

Common Side Effects of Accutane

Accutane's manufacturers were forced to list warnings on the medication labels alerting users of the risk of suicidal thoughts while taking the medication. Other known problems that are caused by Accutane include severe diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, and inflammatory bowel disease. There are several illnesses, such as Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, that have been linked with Accutane usage. Both of these diseases are chronic ailments of the lower digestive tract and create extreme pain for sufferers. Neither illness is curable, but there are some treatments that can make them more bearable for patients. In extreme cases sections of the colon may need to be removed.

Serious Side Effects of Accutane

Accutane has been recognized as a dangerous medication since the early 1980s. It was linked directly to several cases of birth defects, as well as a large number of psychiatric issues. Research has shown that Accutane is detrimental to the liver, kidneys, pancreas, central nervous system, auto-immune system, musculoskeletal system, and the cardiovascular system. Several consumer groups have requested that the medication be removed from the market entirely because it poses more dangers to patients than benefits. The manufacturer has already been required to print suicide warnings on the drug's label, and there is a special registry program that keeps patients informed of the risks of using Accutane.

Bowel Disease Problems

There is not much scientific understanding of many bowel diseases. Their impact on the lives of people who suffer from them is undeniable, however. Most bowel disease patients suffer from extreme pain, severe diarrhea, and vomiting. They may lose weight very rapidly as well. Many bowel diseases have no cures and are managed through restrictive diets. Patients who choose to have sections of their intestines removed surgically can eliminate the symptoms of the bowel disease, but have to rearrange their diet and lifestyle habits to accommodate their body's more limited ability to process food.

Difficulty of Linking Accutane with IBD

The problems with linking Accutane usage directly to bowel disease have kept specific research links from being determined. The symptoms of bowel disease develop slowly, which means that patients are usually finished with their prescriptions by the time the more serious symptoms are presented. The underlying biological causes of inflammatory bowel disease are not very well understood, which also makes it difficult to link Accutane specifically with the formation of bowel disease. The number of Accutane users who suffer from inflammatory bowel disease has caused several inquiries into the probability of Accutane as a cause, however.

Bowel Disease and Accutane

Some cases against Accutane's manufacturer have already been settled in the United States. More than 400 lawsuits against the company are still pending. A jury in New Jersey determined that Accutane's manufacturer did not provide adequate warnings against inflammatory bowel disease, and awarded more than $2 million to the plaintiff in the case. Andrew McCarrell, the plaintiff, lost his colon and the majority of his rectum when he suffered bowel diseases from taking Accutane for four months.