TMI: periods and Accutane

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spvlat
spvlat Posts: 28 Member
edited February 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
Three months ago (December) , my doctor recommended that I take accutane for my persistent cystic acne (after trying various other things that were less drastic, in vain). The problem is late December was also the last time that I got my period. I was never a girl with super consistent periods but I've never been so late before. My next doctor's appointment is in two weeks and of course I'm going to ask my doctor but I wanted to know if someone has had a similar experience. I've read the sheet provided with the medication and menstrual changes are not included in the side effects, so maybe it's something else entirely?? I would really appreaciate your thoughts and thanks for reading this.
(PS I know this is a subject that has nothing to do with food and nutrition but I always find the community on MFP to be very insightful and since it's a health matter I thought I'd share this)

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  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    Could you be pregnant?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    What are your stats Height/weight?
  • spvlat
    spvlat Posts: 28 Member
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    I'm not sexually active at the moment so definitely no pregnancy. I'm also 5 ft 6 and 138lbs

  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Has your doctor identified other cystic issues(beside the acne). Scalp or internal?

    Probably not emergency/urgent, but may be worth trying to bump the appointment to a bit sooner.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    Given the warnings on accutane I'm utterly shocked that your dermatologist didn't insist that you were on hormonal birth control.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    mitch16 wrote: »
    Given the warnings on accutane I'm utterly shocked that your dermatologist didn't insist that you were on hormonal birth control.

    Agreed. Everyone I know who has taken accutane has also been prescribed birth control pills.
  • Angieve1
    Angieve1 Posts: 65 Member
    edited February 2018
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    I would check if that treatment affect the effect of your birth control for sure. Cause#1 you have to be under stronger birth control while using that product + if you are using stronger birth control and this is the first time you might just jump a cycle all together . But definitely ask your doctor. I'm not a doctor, but I found the info under special program called iPLEDGE for the Accutane treatement. Hope this help.
  • spvlat
    spvlat Posts: 28 Member
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    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Has your doctor identified other cystic issues(beside the acne). Scalp or internal?

    Probably not emergency/urgent, but may be worth trying to bump the appointment to a bit sooner.

    No and come to think of it I had some cysts but most of my pimples were not deep enough for my acne to be considered as cystic.
  • spvlat
    spvlat Posts: 28 Member
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    I checked with my endocrinologist before starting Accutane and he recommended that I just take the medication without any birth control since 1) it could actually burden my body more because I've never taken birth control pills and 2) all my hormonal tests came back ok. Also I think doctors recommend birth control because the side effects of the drug on a pregnant woman are extremely severe, so they want to minimize the risk of pregnancy.
  • Angieve1
    Angieve1 Posts: 65 Member
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    Accutane is available only under a special program called iPLEDGE. You must be registered in the program and sign documents stating that you understand the dangers of this medication and that you agree to use birth control as required by the program. I mean if your doctor aint following the guide line ? :pensive:
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
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    I'm also shocked they didn't require you to take birth control, I took Accutane when I was younger and was required to take hormonal birth control and pledge to always use a 2nd form as well, despite being very clear that I was not at all sexually active with men. As for your initial question, the Accutane did not impact my periods, if anything, the fact that they put me on BC made me more regular than normal. Because you're on a weight/fitness related forum, can I ask if your weight has gone down significantly? Large drops in bf% can halt a period so it could be just coincidental timing if something else changed around that time.
  • spvlat
    spvlat Posts: 28 Member
    edited February 2018
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    saragd012 wrote: »
    I'm also shocked they didn't require you to take birth control, I took Accutane when I was younger and was required to take hormonal birth control and pledge to always use a 2nd form as well, despite being very clear that I was not at all sexually active with men. As for your initial question, the Accutane did not impact my periods, if anything, the fact that they put me on BC made me more regular than normal. Because you're on a weight/fitness related forum, can I ask if your weight has gone down significantly? Large drops in bf% can halt a period so it could be just coincidental timing if something else changed around that time.

    My weight has actually increased! I don't eat perfectly everyday but I track my calories and based on that I don't think the scale should be showing 6-7 lbs over my normal weight. I feel very bloated all the time and my clothes don't fit quite as comfortably as before
    Also I live in Europe. The pharmaceutical that produces the drug is entirely different and the guidelines on drugs differ from country to country. It's not even called accutane here even though it has the exact same ingredients and concentration!
  • elgie3
    elgie3 Posts: 23 Member
    edited February 2018
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    Things have probably changed, but I wasn't required to use birth control when I took Accutane (about 15 yrs ago). And I was married. Just promised (signed a thing) to be careful and had to take preg and liver test at each appt. because health history kinda made it so birth control pills weren't recommended.

    ANYHOW, I do remember being very late some months if I was under a lot of stress (back in college, before accutane). By late, I mean 55 days at my longest. Are you under stress? Sometimes hormones just like to mess w/ you, so probably fine. Another friend of mine consistently would go months w/o a period as that was just her normal.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    spvlat wrote: »
    saragd012 wrote: »
    I'm also shocked they didn't require you to take birth control, I took Accutane when I was younger and was required to take hormonal birth control and pledge to always use a 2nd form as well, despite being very clear that I was not at all sexually active with men. As for your initial question, the Accutane did not impact my periods, if anything, the fact that they put me on BC made me more regular than normal. Because you're on a weight/fitness related forum, can I ask if your weight has gone down significantly? Large drops in bf% can halt a period so it could be just coincidental timing if something else changed around that time.

    My weight has actually increased! I don't eat perfectly everyday but I track my calories and based on that I don't think the scale should be showing 6-7 lbs over my normal weight. I feel very bloated all the time and my clothes don't fit quite as comfortably as before
    Also I live in Europe. The pharmaceutical that produces the drug is entirely different and the guidelines on drugs differ from country to country. It's not even called accutane here even though it has the exact same ingredients and concentration!

    Doesn't appear that your doctor is really following the standard of care--though this article is 10 years old, so maybe those standards have changed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2835909/

    Also--it's not the side effects of the drug on a pregnant woman--it's the birth defects in babies that rival those of thalidomide...
  • luce_de_luce
    luce_de_luce Posts: 41 Member
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    I’m currently in my 3rd month of accutane and my period was a week and a half late this month. I’m definitely not pregnant, I pledged abstinence because I definitely did not want to go back on hormonal both control. I’m in the US and it’s required that if you do not use 2 forms of birth control whenever you have sex you must be abstinent. My doctor is super strict about this. This is because the birth defects of the child are horrendous. Seriously, look it up. Anyway, I attributed my late period to stress.

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