Isotretinoin is a form of vitamin A. It decreases the amount of sebum (oil) that is released by the sebaceous (oil) glands, and it increases that rate at which the skin renews itself.
Isotretinoin is used to treat severe nodular acne that has not responded to other treatments, including antibiotics.
Isotretinoin may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
What should I discuss with my doctor before taking isotretinoin?
Before taking isotretinoin, tell your doctor if you have
a personal or family history of mental problems including depression, suicidal behavior, or psychosis (loss of contact with reality, hearing voices, or seeing things that are not there);
diabetes;
asthma;
heart disease;
osteoporosis (bone loss) or weak bones;
anorexia nervosa;
high cholesterol or triglyceride levels (types of fat) in the blood; or
liver disease.
You may not be able to take isotretinoin, or you may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment if you have any of the conditions listed above.
Do not take isotretinoin if you are pregnant or if you could become pregnant during treatment or for one month after you stop taking isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is in the FDA pregnancy category X. This means that isotretinoin is known to cause severe birth defects in an unborn baby. If you become pregnant, stop using birth control, or miss your menstrual period, immediately stop taking isotretinoin and notify your doctor.
It is not known whether isotretinoin passes into breast milk. Do not take isotretinoin without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
How should I take isotretinoin?
Take isotretinoin exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand these instructions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you.
Isotretinoin is a medication taken to treat severe nodular acne that has not been helped by other treatments, including antibiotics. However, isotretinoin can cause serious side effects. Before starting treatment with isotretinoin, discuss with your doctor how bad the acne is, the possible benefits of isotretinoin and the possible side effects. Your doctor will ask you to read and sign a form indicating that you understand the serious risks associated with isotretinoin therapy.
You will get no more than a 30-day supply of isotretinoin at a time. Your prescription should have a special yellow self-adhesive sticker attached to it. If your prescription does not have this yellow sticker, call your doctor. The pharmacy should not fill the prescription without this sticker.
Take each dose of isotretinoin with a full glass of water. This will help prevent the medication inside the capsule from irritating the lining of the esophagus. For the same reason, do not chew or suck on the capsule.
Take isotretinoin twice a day with food or milk to get the best results from this medication, unless otherwise directed by your doctor.
Take all of the isotretinoin that has been prescribed for you even if your symptoms start to improve. The acne may seem to get worse at the start of therapy, but should then begin to improve. For the best results, finish all of the medication that has been prescribed. You may require more than one course of therapy with isotretinoin.
Your doctor may perform blood tests during treatment with isotretinoin to monitor side effects from this medication.
Due to the serious side effects that may occur with the use of this medication, do not share it with anyone else.
Store isotretinoin at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and only take the next regularly scheduled dose. Do not take a double dose of this medication.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention.
Symptoms of an isotretinoin overdose include vomiting, abdominal pain, flushing of the face, inflammation of the lips, headache, dizziness, and clumsiness.
What should I avoid while taking isotretinoin?
Do not take vitamin supplements containing vitamin A during treatment with isotretinoin. This could cause increased side effects.
Do not donate blood while taking isotretinoin and for at least 1 month following the end of treatment. Blood donated while taking isotretinoin may be given to a pregnant woman and be harmful to her baby.
Do not use wax hair removal systems or have any skin resurfacing procedures (such as dermabrasion or laser treatment) performed while taking isotretinoin and for six months following treatment due to the possibility of scarring.
Avoid exposure to sunlight or UV rays while taking isotretinoin. Isotretinoin may increase the sensitivity of the skin to sunlight and a severe sunburn could result.
Use caution when driving a vehicle at night. Isotretinoin can cause decreased night vision. The onset of decreased night vision may be sudden.
What are the possible side effects of isotretinoin?
Stop taking isotretinoin and seek emergency medical attention or contact your doctor immediately if you experience any of the following serious side effects:
an allergic reaction (difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives);
changes in vision, blurred vision, or decreased vision (especially at night);
painful or constant dryness of the eyes;
depression including feelings of sadness, crying spells, irritability, changes in sleep patterns, unusual tiredness, trouble concentrating, loss of appetite, and/ or suicidal thoughts or other mental problems;
stomach, chest, or bowel pain;
rectal bleeding, or severe or bloody diarrhea;
difficulty or pain when swallowing;
new or worsening heartburn;
yellowing of the skin or eyes or persistently dark urine;
severe headache or dizziness;
seizures;
nausea and vomiting;
joint or muscle pain or bone problems;
hearing problems or hearing loss;
trouble breathing;
fainting;
increased thirst or urination;
slurred speech or problems moving;
leg swelling;
increased levels of cholesterol or triglyceride (types of fat) in your blood (detected by blood tests).
Other, less serious side effects are more likely to occur. Continue to take isotretinoin and talk to your doctor if you experience
inflammation, dryness, or cracking of the lips;
dry skin, dry mouth, dry or bleeding nose, dryness of the eyes and/ or difficulty wearing contact lenses;
itching; or
increased sensitivity of the skin to the sun.
Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome.
What drug(s) may interact with isotretinoin?
alcohol
benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, or other drying medicines used for acne
corticosteroids (example: prednisone)
medicines for seizures
orlistat
other drugs that make you more sensitive to the sun such as sulfa drugs
progestin-only birth control hormones (examples: 'Minipills' like Aygestin®, Micronor®, Nor-QD® or injectable/implantable products such as Depo-Provera® or Norplant®)
vitamins and other supplements containing vitamin A
warfarin
What is the shelf life of the pills?
The expiry date is mentioned on each blister. It is different for different batches. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture and would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were manufactured.
Hi Thanks,
the order arrived last week no problems, the effect well....... very busy
now with my girlfriends.
- Thanks
Why do doctors in the USA get away with being so unethical and denying women informed consent?
By tying birth control to pap smears? There is no medical reason for a pap smear to be required before getting birth control. All that's needed to safely prescribe birth control pills is a check of the circulatory system (blood pressure and heart) and a medical history.
That's not saying pap smears aren't helpful for some women, but why don't women have the right to choose their own healthcare plans like men do? We are just told and coerced into doing "what's best for us." If a woman wants to have pap smears every three or five years instead of annually that shouldn't mean a doctor can hold her birth control prescription hostage. If a woman wants to get a birth control prescription from her family doctor and go to a gyno a few months later for a pap smear, that should be her prerogative. Women should have the right to make an informed choice and accept the risks and benefits of that choice. Men aren't coerced into getting prostate exams (a MUCH more common cancer than cervical btw) in order to get viagra or condoms.
Not to mention in most other countries these "well woman" exams are not even recommended at all. Finland has the lowest rates of cervical cancer in the world and they don't start paps until age 30 and every 5 years.
megan, it doesn't matter if it's in the woman's best interest. The point is that it's for HER to decide when, where and IF she has one. A prostate exam is in the man's best interest but he is always given the option and not witheld services or treated like a naughty child for not having one.
And you're clearly deceived if you think a pap smear has one thing to do with safety of birth control. A pap smear is a cancer test, period. It has nothing to do with birth control safely. This question is not about me anyway, this is about the sorry way women are treated.
megan you just aren't getting the point. It's great if a woman goes in for regular paps and they can be useful, but there is no reason for it to be tied to birth control! That "policy" is just a paternalistic attitude on part of the doctors. A woman can get birth control on one visit and come back later for a pap smear, there's no reason it should have to go hand in hand.
When they withhold your birth control, yes they are pretty much forcing you, and for no medical necessary reason. Because it's either have the pap right then, or not get pills and probably get pregnant. And once again you just really don't understand that it's about the difference between how men and women are treated, not about whether the exam is important or not because I agree with you pap smears are helpful. But it's not right to take away informed consent just by virtue of someone being female.
about longer hair growth?
I am 33 years old male. I am suffering from androgenic alopecia, i am using minoxidil and finasteride even my hair not growing properly. It is very short and i would like to my hair to grow long. Any body please suggest me how to grow hair healthy and long. please please please..........
How long do I wait after drinking vodka before I can take tramadol ?
I want to drink vodka but I take tramadol if I'm going to stop taking tramadol tommorow morning and not have them untill after I drink in aprox 45 hours time how long do I wait before I can take my 50 my tablet
JUST TRYING TO FINISH MY OTHER.?
Well my question got put in Earth Day and I don't know how to move it. My previous question was in Diabetic? MY CONCLUSION IS: MY DOG TOOK DEREMAXX AT 0630 and then became disoriented and ate the poo which in effect had NOTHING TO DO WITH THESE LIFE THREATENING SEIZURES. SHE WOULD BE LETHARGIC, DISORIENTED, LISTLESS, CATATONIC, NO EATING,I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT IF DIABETIC INSULIN CAT POO COULD BE TOXIC SO I WOULD KNOW HOW TO TREAT HER FOR WHAT I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT WAS SEVERE HYPOGLYCEMIA OR ADESONIAN CRISIS. Please be careful with DEREMAXX. It helped my dog for months but then something went WRO G OR TOXIC OR SOMETHING AND I KEPT DIGGING TO FIGURE IT OUT. I think I came just shy of killing my dog because it didn't seem there was any answer for these episodes until I read a blog about DEREMAXX. So I stopped the DEREMAXX 8 Days ago and there has been NO SEIZURE/HYPOGLYCEMIC/ADESONIAN EPISODES AND I WASN'T TROLLING (whatever that is) and LASTLY MY DOG HASN'T MESSES WITH THE CATBOX EITHER BECAUSE WE HAVE BLOCKED HER FROM GETTING TO IT ESPECIALLY IN THE NIGHT. Conclusion DEREMAXX: CAUTION. Now I just give my dog Tramadol and DASEQUIN and she is happier than she has been in months. Thank you!
Problems with tramadol hcl 50mg?
I got prescribed this for middle ear infections in both my ears a few days ago and now I'm feeling really weird. Like...I'm laying in my bed about to fall asleep and it feels like everything is jumping. And my heart feels like it's racing really fast. I don't know if this is supposed to happen or what. But it's really freaking me out and I don't want to go to sleep. Anyone ever experienced this before with this medicine? What do I do to make it stop? I'm not gonna take these pills anymore. I'll just deal with the pain. But idk what to do. Please help me.
medication jumble.... too many combinations?
I'm usually on Prozac for depression, birth control (irrelevant), Buspar for anxiety, weening off xanax (4mg) (doc said to take a little buspar and ease it in as im easing off xanax), cyclobenzaprine for tmj pain and tramadol (100mg) for tmj pain. This is a lot and I don't know if they are a doctor or not but is this a lot?
What are the side affects of ( ETODOLAC ) 500mg blue tablet?
What are the side affects of ( ETODOLAC ) 500mg blue tablet?
And what are the side affects of one ( 500mg ETODOLAC & five 50mg TRAMADOL )
I took 5 tramadol and 1 etodolac only because i have a very high tollerance to pain pills and it made me feel really loopy for almost 12 hours now, is that normal?
If anyone has any thoughts or more information about these two pill being taken together or seperate please feel free to add on,
Thanks
Prescribed Ultram and Tramadol at the same time?
Today my doctor gave me 2 prescriptions for pain medications 1 was Ultram, and the other was Tramadol. He said I could take these together. I looked up both and they seem to be the same thing. I also read that they can cause seizures if you take too much. Im not sure whether or not to trust my doctor on this one. Does anyone know anything about these medications or have any advice on what I should do?
has anyone tried pink viagra for women?
If anyone has or you know someone who did, did it work? Im considering ordering it online since the FDA has not approved it but I want to make sure Im not buying some useless pill.
Voting Question: What medications should I avoid touching in the pharmacy if I'm pregnant?
I'm a pharmacy tech, and I'm 15 weeks pregnant. I was just told by the pharmacist yesterday that there are a few medications I should avoid touching. She only named Methotrexate, Avodart, and Finasteride. She couldn't remember what else. I can't find a list anywhere online, can someone please help?