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blaze,
Go to the pink tab uptop that says " find ". ( Has a little magnifying icon on it ) Click it.
Go to -advanced search- and type in " accutane ".
You'll find where the subject has been discussed on the HSBBW.

My oldest son,..now 20, was on accutane when he was 17 and played multiple sports.

We monitored him religiously. He did very well and had no side effects other than chapped lips. I too was very concerned and can understand yours as well.

For us,...it turned out to be a good solution.
I do know others though, who had problems.
Last edited by shortstopmom
Blaze,

WOW...this question brought back memories for me. My son is currently 23....BUT, when he was in 10th grade he was put on accutane due to severe acne. My son is a catcher, and the downside was that he developed severe shoulder pain due to the Accutane. We were told, after the fact, that joint pain is a possible side-effect of Accutane. It doesn't happen to everyone, and I have no idea how rare the specific side effect is....but it is a possibility that you should be aware of.

I have to give my kid credit...he decided he'd rather suffer thru the acne than have his baseball impaired. Tough choice for a teenager.
Wow, seems like this is common, both my kids were on it and thought their acne was not that bad, I had doubts. You have to monitor it carefully. My sons BF was on it for a while and broke his wrist, they claimed there could have been a weakening in the bones. Let the doc know he plays sports, there is a warning on the literature about it.

My son had to stop, his palms were peeling really badly and he was having trouble pitching.
He is just about 23 also, still has breakouts now and then but turned to pro active (after the accutane bail out) and swears by it.
It's a really tough decision. Our dermatologist encouraged it for three years before we finally put #2 on accutane. We agreed to it when we realized he was starting to get the really deep type of blemishes that cause pitting and scarring. Before that we tried every antibiotic - both **** and topical - known to man. All worked for a short time, but then the breakouts would flair up again. Very frustrating and tough on a teenager.

Son had the usual dry lips, dry eyes, dry mouth and general all over achiness. He played both basketball and baseball throughout the five months and definitely felt the difference in his mobility and flexibility. They tested his blood weekly for the first few months and then monthly after that. This was almost six years ago and his skin is still beautifully clear - he's never had a single breakout, although they warned us that many people have to do a second round of treatment several years later.

Just a side note - our doctor told us that severe acne is caused by too much testosterone... I'm not even really sure if that's true, but when #2 heard that he felt much better!
It's easier for a male than female to go on accutane. My daughter had to have pregnanacy tests frequently before the Rx was to be renewed.
There are differnt strengths, for different issues from severe acne to mild. My daughter was hysterical that she would have scaring so we put her on it. Son was just annoyed with frequent breakouts. Looking back, I think putting him on it was not necessary though his skin cleared up. In college he put himself on the pro active, and as I said he swears by it to maintain breakouts.
Thanx for those who have replied... I still am waivering back and forth with the decision. I've been on many message boards and continue to read other boards about it and side effects and I'm sure I will until he's done or decides against it. We were going to try it 2 years ago but after reading about it I said no way. With him being a senior this year I hate it to ruin his last year. He has verbeled to play in college with a very nice offer. He or we in no way want the accutane treatment to interfere with his baseball during this last year in high school or for next level. He's a pitcher and is just conditioning as of right now plus long tossing so that's the good part.

We agreed if and when the side effects come that's when the real decision will be.

He is drinking tons of water so hopefully that will help.

For those of you that have had sons on it has there been any after effects with joints, eyes etc.

Thanks again....I know this has been on the board a while back but I'm just being a worry some mom I guess.
Blaze, I am with TPM about Proactive. It is topical so it is not going to counteract any hormonal issues, but when used as directed it is a very good product. I highly reccommend it, both sons had remarkable results.
Another couple of things to consider. Wash his the towels he is using in hot water with a pinch of bleach, just to keep them super clean.
Also his pillow sheets and pillow cases should be washed frequently, for sure the pillow cases.
Keeping the bacteria at a minimum makes a difference.
Last edited by iheartbb
Btown-
The trick with getting the topicals to work, is to USE AS DIRECTED,there are steps involved that most teenaged boys will not bother with (takes too much timeSmile

But, if you still have the product around and you can get him to do all the steps two times a day along with keeping things extra clean, I think you will see good results. Good luck!

And by the way, Welcome to the HSBBWeb!!!!
I guess it's important to really consider the level of the problem that you are addressing. When I look at pictures of my son from the ages of 12-15, I wince. His skin was so bad - and not just his face, but also his chest and his back, which are areas that are extremely difficult to treat topically - that it's still painful for me to look at. He was always very realistic about it and never complained, but it had to bother him. We were very worried about the side effects of accutane and I sometimes still worry about long term effects. But I was also worried about the long term effects of cystic acne, both on his skin and on his emotional well-being.

We watched very closely for any signs of adverse reactions and luckily his were very mild and bearable. I know others have extremely harsh reactions - I can understand any parent feeling hesitant about trying a drug that carries such extreme warnings about birth defects and other potential hazards.

We also tried Proactive, which our older son had very good results with by the way, along with every other product that you can imagine. Nothing worked.

Good luck with your decision... sometimes you just have to trust your gut.
Another aspect to think about with Accutane is the extreme eye dryness. If your son wears contacts, he may not be able to wear them during part of the treatment.

No one has brought up the depression issue - sometimes depression can be a side effect of Accutane. Just keep a close watch.

Everyone reacts differently - I think you will do fine as long as you keep a close eye on your son! I've known people who've had wonderful results when they completed the treatment!

I too am a big believer in Pro Active - but have a hard time getting my son to follow the steps!
My son had the cystic type acne where he got huge, red, painful bumps on face, chest and back along with the regular blackheads and zits. We did the over the counter, the antibiotics, topicals and proactive and nothing worked.

The book we had to read and sign off on before starting the Accutane was like a horror novel! I know they have to tell you every single possible side effect even if it happens only once in a million. But for my son's acne there was no other choice. It was go on it or continue to have these cysts and the scarring from them.

He had the dryness, especially his lips. It did not affect wearing his contacts. What we realize in retrospect was that it did affect his joints temporarily. He was stiff, but I don't remember him being sore. It affected his pitching in his junior year. His velocity went down a couple mph during his time on it due to the stiffness. But it did clear up those painful bumps. Unfortunately he has some permanent scarring because we did not do it earlier. I wish we had.

If we had to do it over I would still say yes to it. But be careful. Be on the lookout constantly for the various side effects. The dryness can be tolerated. The stiffness will go away once he's off of it. For my son there was no permanent harm and those painful, painful cysts are gone.

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