Accutane and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Though most everyone has had to deal with acne at some point in their lives, most people do not know or realize how serious and difficult to treat some forms of acne can truly be. Acne can be one of those medical conditions that is laughed off, joked about, and is usually not taken very seriously by most people. However, for the people who suffer with severe and difficult to treat cases of acne, it can be an extremely demoralizing condition to be afflicted with. It affects people psychologically as well as physically, especially for an adolescent in his or her formative years. In addition, for many adults, the onset of severe genetic acne can be worse, as it is not a result of “growing up,” but of a genetic predisposition for the malady.

In addition, of course, recognizing the massive market demand for effective acne treatments, Roche Pharmaceuticals developed and distributed an acne drug that was marketed as an incredibly powerful and potent medication to help the worst cases of the condition in adolescents and adults alike.

By and large, Roche Pharmaceuticals struck gold, offering up Accutane as the be all and end all of acne treatments. More than two million people used Accutane for their acne cases, and more than 50 percent of those patients experienced a total cure for their acne, almost immediately. This was hailed as a good thing. For nearly 25 percent of the rest, patients experienced some success for the treatment of their acne. For one out of every 500 Accutane users, though, the treatment actually made the acne far worse than it had been. Despite this, Roche Pharmaceuticals rightly considered Accutane a staggering success.

Unfortunately, most of those who were initially in the “success” column quickly found out that the due to the dangerous and debilitating Accutane side effects, their cases were soon disastrous. For a significant percentage of Accutane patients, they experienced the onset of Crohn's disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and ulcerative colitis.

Accutane Crohn's Disease

The most commonly occurring of Accutane’s long term side effects is Crohn’s disease, a condition that affects the bowels and the digestive tract of the patient. Crohn's disease is an autoimmune disorder that inflames parts of a person's intestinal tract with severe pain and diarrhea, but it then it subsides for a short amount of time. However, it always flares back up again, in a frustrating recurrence of irritation, pain and discomfort for those patients afflicted with the condition.

Accutane Irritable Bowel Syndrome

The Accutane acne medication has also been connected through clinical investigation to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. This disorder gives those people afflicted with it intense lower abdominal pain, painful bowel movements, and other inflammations throughout their lower digestive tract. Accutane prompts the development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome through higher than necessary doses of the acne drug by the patients using it. Most of the Accutane lawsuits that are winding their way through New Jersey court dockets have been filed in response to the chronic, ongoing nature of these severe side effects.

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Sam Davis is the author of this article on Accutane Lawsuit Crohns. Find more information about Accutane Crohns Lawsuit here.

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