I am a 31 year old female who was Diagnosed about 5 years ago with Ulcerative Colitis. I have terrible acne and have tried everything on the market I could possibly find that claimed to help. I have heard a lot about Accutane and I wanted to know if there are any other choices maybe that I have over looked that you could recommend that would not cause a great deal of Gastrointestinal symptoms. If not what do you think of Accutane use in my condition?

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Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

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Accutane (isotretinoin) is a very effective treatment for acne. However, care must be taken as Accutane is associated with severe adverse effects. There are reports of accutane treatment resulting in inflammatory bowel disease, or worsening of existing disease. There is even an ongoing Accutane lawsuit claiming a connection between accutane use and inflammatory bowel disease and regional ileitis. However, there are other reports of succesful treatment of acne with Accutane in IBD patients. You need to talk to your dermatologist and your gastroenterologist about this possibility.

Have you tried doxycycline? It is a fairly commonly used treatment for severe acne, and should be safe (and possibly even beneficial) with IBD, but you’d need to get your own doctor’s approval for treatment.

selected references:
Cutis. 1984 May;33(5):484-6, 489. Related Articles, Links
Adverse effects of isotretinoin therapy.
Bruno NP, Beacham BE, Burnett JW.

Br J Dermatol. 1990 Nov;123(5):653-5. Related Articles, Links
Treatment of severe acne with isotretinoin in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Godfrey KM, James MP.

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