Accutane and Hairloss

[bellydancer]

*Big Sigh*
Ok ladies. I'm on Accutane and have been on it since the beginning of June. I looked in the mirror and i look so horrible. My face isn't breaking out, but it's so dry and flaky. For some reason I have this light "michael jackson" patch on the side of my face and my lips are a little more than parched. Now I'm dealing with all of this. Mostly by ignoring it, but what I can't ignore is the hair loss. I haven't lost a big amount, but I've been shedding a lot more than usual. Everytime I touch my hair a few loooong strands come out and one day I was fingering combing my hair very gently and a curl came out! Not one hair, but a bunch of hair together in a cute little spiral and it was long. Man... that's the last straw. Basically what I'm looking for are tips to keep my hair on my head instead of in my hands. I'm going to be on this medicine for a year and I can use all the advice I can get. So far this is what I have...
1. Give hair a rest with braids (with extentions), Two stranded flat twists and cornrows.

2. Drink 8 oz. of water a day.

3. Keep hair moisturized at all times.

Is there anything else I should do? This doesn't seem to be enough. Any vitamin information? I'm greatful for any help received.

 

[cutebajangirl]

Gosh- I am sorry to hear that. Since you are on Accutane I would not mess with any more vitamins. The last thing you wanna do is give your liver more work. I would try Nioxin maybe since they are focused on hair loss. Also put Aquaphor on your lips. I was on it but I didn't experience any side effects.

 

[ChasingBliss]

That is exactly the reason why I chose Proactiv over Acutane, I was deathly afraid of all that. I was warned by other Acutane users of those same exact side affects. Im so sorry to read about this. Maybe you should ask your derm if there is anything you can do to alleviate or counteract some of them.

 

[Honi]

I’m so sorry to hear about your experience with Accutane but unfortunately it is a side effect of the medication itself. It will cause hairloss and is probably dose related. Other effects may include dry skin including the lips and face which you have already noticed and dry hair so be sure to moisturize the hell out of it daily.

I don’t know how long you’ve been on Accutane or what dose your currently on but perhaps you can ask you doctor to lower the dose since you said that your no longer breaking out.

I most certainly would not take ANY VITAMINS containing vitamin A since Accutane is a vitamin A derivative and too much vitamin A can yield toxic results!!!

NO VITAMINS with VITAMIN A ok? If you want to take Biotin that one is ok.

HTH

 

[Tonya]

DO NOT TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENTS UNLESS INFORMED TO DO SO BY YOUR DR!

I was on accutane and I did not loose hairbut I remember them saying to not take any supplemtns becuase the accutane is very strong and could harm your organs. What si your current dosage?

 

[Poohbear]

I have taken Accutane for 5 months back in 2003 and I started shedding a lotta hair during the last month of taking it and the month after, that was back when I would comb my hair excessively. Avoid combing or fooling with your hair as much as possible so u won't lose so much of it. Also keep your skin moisturized.

 

[jainygirl]

Thanks for doing this post, i just did a post on Accutane over on the skin board a few days ago and the ladies on the board gave me some very helpful responses, you may want to check it out

I also asked about the shedding which i had heard some people go through

I hope things get better.

I might be starting a course of Accutane within the next month so i will be right there with ya... youre not going through this alone, dont get too down. Think of how fabulous your skin is gonna look with your gorgeous hair

-- jainygirl

 

[bellydancer]

hey honeylemondrop. I tried proactiv too and it didn't work. The pimples that i started getting after using that hurt and her bright red. i don't like that stuff at all. In fact i tried a lot of things.

What exactly is Nioxin? Isn't it shampoo or is there a whole product line?

I'm alternating daily with 40mg and 80mg.

thanks jainy! i'll definitely be pm'ing you through this journey!

 

[bellydancer]

hey do you guys think that increasing my protein intake would be bad or good?

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
bellydancer said:
hey honeylemondrop. I tried proactiv too and it didn't work. The pimples that i started getting after using that hurt and her bright red. i don't like that stuff at all. In fact i tried a lot of things.

What exactly is Nioxin? Isn't it shampoo or is there a whole product line?

I'm alternating daily with 40mg and 80mg.

thanks jainy! i'll definitely be pm'ing you through this journey!

[/ QUOTE ]

Proactiv didnt work for me either when I tried it when I was in middle school...it made my acne worse by making my pimples bigger!

 

[bellydancer]

bump. poohbear. this accutane is keeping me from breaking out for the most part, but the left side of my face (mostly my jaw) gets these big bumps. i don't know why. maybe i lean on my hands when i'm bored in class. something has to be touching my face.

 

[mshoney2u]

just hang in there sweety I know it's hard. I know just what you are going through i did the accutane thing too i didnt have alot of hair breakage i think you should consult with your dr. about your dosage that might be the culpurit but as far as your skin right now things are going to get a little worst before better just remember drink lots and lots of water,keep your chapstick handy and when it all over everyone will be complementing u i would do it ten times over again I have given so many ladies my dr.'s name and phone number i dont mean to toot my horn but that stuff made my skin flawless along with the hydroqunone stuff he prescribed after I finnished the accutane to even my skin
if u need any support pm me anytime

 

[Poohbear]

[ QUOTE ]
bellydancer said:
bump. poohbear. this accutane is keeping me from breaking out for the most part, but the left side of my face (mostly my jaw) gets these big bumps. i don't know why. maybe i lean on my hands when i'm bored in class. something has to be touching my face.

[/ QUOTE ]

would u classify the bumps as acne? I never had any big bumps on my face when I took Accutane. My acne was severe to start with, I took it just to clear my face all the way. I dont know why you are getting those big bumps...you may wanna ask your dermatologist about it

 

[bellydancer]

i don't know if it is acne. i never broke out like that before. It's really weird. One was only here for a day and then it got a lot smaller the next. Has accutane had any effect on anyone's attitude. they said it can cause you to be depressed and i have been soooooo sad lately. I didn't blame it on the medicine though. I've just been going through a lot lately. My mom wants to take me off just because of that, but I don't think it's the accutane. I'm just a little stressed out. I guess i'll get over it.

thanks ms honey.

 

[oregonchick97266]

I took accutane for 5 mos and it cleared my skin but I didnt take 80mg i took 40mg. I also noticed excess shedding. I never linked the 2 together. When I was finished taking the medicineI noticed the shedding stopped also

 

[shell]

I was under the impression that accutane can potentially cause infertility. Am I wrong? Somehow, I remember my Dr. telling me this was one of the potential hazards of this. That is why I went with Retin-A. Am I mixing this up with some other acne fighting drug?

 

[OneShinyface]

I took my last accutane pill on January 31, 2003. I didn't complete my last month because the shedding was so bad. The last month I was on it, I washed my hair every two weeks and kept it in a bun because I didn't want to disturb it more than necessary. I had hair coming out by the handsful so following my retouch on Jan. 31, where I could see just how bad the thinning was, I quit. I was so upset and couldn't find much information on people of color who suffered hair loss from accutane - but I did find this site. With all of the information I've learned from LHCF, my hair is growing back in well and what was left is the longest it has been since I was a kid.

Regarding supplements, I took B-complex, biotin and E only. No multivitamins because they contain vit. A - accutane is basically a severe vit. A overdose, which is very hard on the liver. My derm indicated that the accutane would continue to work in my system even after I stopped taking the pills.

It's been 18 months and my skin is still clear and hair is doing well. I'm glad I took it because I'd battled acne since I was 12 and finally, my skin is virtually flawless.

Let me know if I can help you through this in anyway.

P.S. -Aquaphor, which can be purchased at Rite-Aid, CVS or Walgreen's, was one of my staples. I used it all over, especially on my lips - and still do.

 

[bellydancer]

i don't know about infertility, Shell. I just know that you can't get pregnant while you are on the medicine because it will cause severe birth defects--physical and mental.

Thanks 1shinyface... I guess I'm just going to have to accept that my hair will shed a lot. I'm going to put my hair up in braid extensions for the entire time. It may not help, but I hope that it does. My skin is looking better already. My mom keeps complimenting me on it. I look in the mirror and I am in awe. I'm going to start using fade cream as a moisturizer to get rid of the marks.