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Dermatology  (Expert Forum)
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Accutane and Hairloss
Answered by
Alan Rockoff, MD - dermatology, Child Skin Problems
The Rockoff Dermatology Center Brookline - MA
This forum is for questions regarding Dermatology issues, such as: skin rashes, acne, birthmarks, skin infections, rosacea, and general skin care.
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MedHelp Member's Question

Accutane and Hairloss

by Dan, Oct 23, 1999 12:00AM
Hello,

    I have been of Accutane now for two and a half months and my face looks great; however, after I completed my course, I noticed my hair was falling out a lot more than usual.  It is still falling out and now it is starting to become noticeable.  I have heard that in some Accutane users the hair goes through a "shock" period which causes hair loss.  Is this true?  Also, does the hair ever grow back and, if so, when does this usually happen?  Finally, does the hair ever re-attain its thickness of before?  Thank you so much,

                       Dan
Doctor's Answer

by Alan Rockoff, MD, Oct 24, 1999 12:00AM
Dan:



In prescribing Accutane for 17 years, I don't think I have seen significant hair loss once.  In any case, they hair loss reported with this drug is temporary and completely reversible.  Although time will tell, I don't think you have anything to worry about.



Best.



Dr. R

Member Comments (44)

by Teri Munger, Nov 07, 1999 12:00AM
Hello.  Dr.R,  I have a question.  My daughter is thinking of going on acutane because of her severe acne, mostly on her face.  Both, her and I have heard conflicting opinions about this drug.  To get to the point, the one question it comes down to is alcoholic beverages.  She is a 17 yr old senior in high school and, well, loves to party with her friends.  What is the extent to which she can drink, if any, so that she will not live with severe liver damge for the rest of her life?  Please respond to

[ munger_teri***@**** ] I would very much appreciate it.  

Thank you,

Teri Munger

by Alan Rockoff, MD, Nov 08, 1999 12:00AM
Teri:



In almost 18 years of recommending Accutane, I have yet to see any liver damage.  Alcohol in moderation is OK.  Her liver will be monitored anyway.  Is your daughter's drinking moderate?



Dr. R

by Michelle, Jan 08, 2000 12:00AM
I have been using Accutane for almost 2 months.  I am still having frequent breakouts.  How long before I see results?

by Alan Rockoff, MD, Jan 09, 2000 12:00AM
Another month or 2.

by Randy, Apr 24, 2000 12:00AM
i have a skin disorder caused by to much sun exposer. i was on accutane for over four years. i started out with alot and then went down to 10mg a day, as a mantenence dose. this worked well in keeping the problem shrunk. but about a year ago i noticed my hair thinning, so i quit the accutane. it is still thinning, six months later. even at this dose, will the hair loss still be temporary?

by sarah, May 11, 2000 12:00AM
Ive been on accutane for almost two months now and after being put on a higher does I noticed hair loss, especially my eyelashes. This is very distressing and I was wondering if this will persist for the whole five months. Is there anythiung I can do and will they grow back as normal?

by Christine, May 12, 2000 12:00AM
I have beeen taking Accutane for almost two months now. After my dosage was upped to 80 mg one day and 40 the next I noticed alot of my eye lashes were falling out. Is this normal? If so , how long will  this persist? Should I be concerned, because theres a noticable difference and I dont want it to get worse.

by Jill Mallorie, May 21, 2000 12:00AM
Over the past four years my doctor has prescirbed Acutane three times for me.  The first two times, it did not work.  A month ago I completed my last cycle and am very pleased with the results.  My problem is that I have been experiencing dramatic hair loss over the past two months.  This is very scary for me.  Is the hair loss permanent or will it grow back?  I know you've addressed this problem before, but could you tell me how long it will take for my hair to regrow and how long it will take the Acutane to leave my body completely?

Thanks.

by Mike, May 22, 2000 12:00AM
I took Accutane about 6 years and noticed hairloss within 7-10 days of taking the drug.. first in the right frontal area.  I then stopped taking the drug and my hair continued to fall out in the left frontal section and then in the back area of my head.  6 Years later, I have not grown back any hair and continue to have minor fallout on the same areas.  Even the top of my head is thinner.  I'm now 28 years old and wish I never took Accutane.  There is no one in my family that has male-pattern baldness and prior to taking Accutane I have a nice full set of hair with no signs of thinning.  I saw a dermatologist when the thinning first started and he said that I had male pattern baldness.  I never heard of anyone who developed male-pattern baldness in a two week timeframe.  The thing that bothers me is my acne was minor and not severe and I should of never been put on Accutane.  I also didn't check with my primary physican. Once I noticed the thinning I contacted my primary physican who told me he would not have recommended Accutane have I discussed with him prior to starting because of the severity of the drug.  Well.. as you can see I'm not pro-accutane and I would think twice about taking it.  



by keith, Jul 14, 2000 12:00AM


Sounds like my story. I really would think twice about taking (Ro)Accutane after having taken it twice myself. I was on it for 8 months when I was 23 and 4 months when I was 33. It worked both times on my medium level of acne and it got the acne under control esp the first time. Now that I am 34, I am finding some wierd going ons with my body that no doctor has really explained:



1) About 4 or so years after the first treatment and what was I thought of as an successful treatment for my medium level acne, acne made an rather troublesome entrance back into my life. Both the back and front of my neck started to break out like there was no tomorrow and deep cysts formed one by one over my back and neck. One day, the neck breakouts pretty much stopped and now I am stuck with what I have been told kel(t)oid scarring and is not really pretty nor is easily cleared up if at all.



2) My hair loss seems to have been accelerated after having a full head of hair. Granted there is a family history of hair loss in my family but personally I think the (Ro)Accutane helped accelerate this loss since none of my balder relatives have seen baldness before they were 40.



3) After my second treatment, I found my skin to be highly susceptable to rashes, dermatitis, and ezcema. My forehead and neck seem to bear the brunt of these tho I have found these to happen anywhere.



4) My legs seem to be highly sensitive to some kind of skin disruption that is likened to acne but isn't. Wearing shorts is sometimes not pleasant and these things take so long to clear.



5) The scarring seems to be deeper after taking it a second time. Could be my imagination but it just seems to be more noticeable.



6) I now have a whitehead hell on my face. Never used to get these so often but now they are almost a daily occurrence. One or two at a time. Possibly all due to (7) but not sure yet.



7) My food sensitivities seem to be more pronounced. I cannot even eat anything from the nightshade group of foods (potato,tomato,eggplant) without at least one whitehead appearing. This is odd since I never seemed to have had this problem prior to my second treatment.



In short, be sure you know ALL the risks before being told that you should go onto (Ro)Accutane esp for mild to medium acne. It does work but it is NOT an acne-ender, just postponing it to a later date with complications possible down the road. Like any other drug, there can always be long term side effects possible that aren't completely documented or even known.



Keith

by courtney, Aug 15, 2000 12:00AM
I usually fall into the 1percentile category  for side effects.  Is there any way to test for these beforehand? And how do you know the appropriae dosage??

Thanks

by al