Does accutane make you tired??

Hi all. I have been on Accutane (Claravis 30 mg TID) for 2.5 months. I am EXHAUSTED, my eyes are puffy and I wake up tired and go to bed tired. I am middle age mom with adult onset acne, my face and back are looking great however with only dry patches, but holy-moly am I whipped. Lots of comments asking me if I have been crying or have not slept. Still keeping up with my incredibly active two boys under 10 but WOW when I have a moment of quiet I realize I feel like a zombie so be prepared if you are not a teenager. No depression (no time as a mom for that!)- only side effects I have experienced are in the first month tremendous muscle aching where I had broken a limb and had reconstructive surgery, dry cracked lips, chapped hands to the point that they bled, fingers splitting (Dr. said hands are dry and i was gardening too much..), and now this unbelievable exhaustion with the swollen eyes that tear very easily in any air movement (baseball games, picnics). Good luck with your course of therapy. I have tried for 3 years to clear my skin and this was a last resort for me. I am very pleased!

Ive been on Accutane now nearly 6 months (only 2 1/2 weeks left yipeee)and im tired all the time??? Dont know why but normally im really out going my mum, sister, and boyfriend have said the same to me xxxxx

silverado wrote:

<quoted text>
"I have no clue why Im so tired"
"I didnt read it in the side effects"
Well clueless, the liver is the "army" of the body because it carries out so many functions especially metabolism and energy.
The side effects stated very clearly that it effects the liver and if I recall off hand...... permanently.
Now. You go back to the doctor and what the hell do you expect him to say when you just took 6 months worth of a drug that was initially designed as a drug for chemo cancer treatment and now your tired because you have organ damage as a result?
Whats he supposed to say? "Here take this NEW drug to fix that problem".
Yeah the accutane has something to do with it. You have altered your liver for no reason at all just like others have found out that they have the same thing or cant figure out why they have elevated liver enzymes and other liver problems.
All your body wanted in the first place to allieviate the inflammatory acne was RAW FOOD and elimination of toxins such as MILK, sodium chloride etc.

woah there silverado, i don't think the bitchiness is really called for here. people are just looking for answers, not snide, judgemental opinions. but thanks for your thoughts.

ive just finished 6 mths of this treatment but im now findin i feel sick alot headaches and upset stomach.... is this all part of coming off the treatment....

I was just googling to see if Accutane makes a person sleepy because I am at my desk at work and I keep nodding off and I stumbled upon this thread.

I'm on 40mg, just started taking this 19 days ago. My skin just started being EXTRA dry...I look grayish and I'm peeling. I'm always applying moisturizer to my skin, my doc recommended Cerva (soap & moisturizer).

Also, I noticed that my hair is breaking....which scares me because I DO NOT WANT TO BE BALD or be forced to cut my hair - I LOVE MY HAIR and I have muscle aches in my neck, which I'm not sure I can blame solely on the medication since I do kickbox.

I have not seen any great results, I still break out and it seems like it's worse on my chin and temples, I assume it's too soon for results just yet but I hope some of this stuff, mainly the acne, goes away shortly but inspite of all that - I'm willing to keep trying.

After reading some other posts & thinking about my own situation - I think I'm going to give my doctor a call....just to see what she says.

well ive been having this effect but opposite. into about half way through the third month, i have been getting only a couple hours a sleep every night, sometimes less than an hour, and being tired through the day but not being able to sleep. the side effects did say you either get too much or too less sleep. but i am now finished taking the tablets, but have been told that they will be in my system for another month. i was told this about a week ago or over, and now i am sleeping too much, about 15/16 hours a day. im wondering if this could be caused by the roaccutane?

Hi, I have the same side effects like most of you guys. Tired, sleepy and never fit. I went on a 60mg 4 month-cure. I used to train alot with weights and I played soccer everyday. But now I just cant manage to work out anymore. Im so tired and my arms have shrinked to like half the size it used to be. It has gone one year now after the cure.

Im wondering if anyone got any tips to regain the energy? What is causing this problem?

Please help me. I cant stand it anymore.

misspelling = I used to work out alot***

I've read a few of the blogs on here, and I envy all of you that are able to sleep. I was just able to sleep well throughout the night before I was on accutane, and was able to sleep well through the night while on accutane, but after I finished my treatment, I have trouble staying asleep. I was able to sleep solidly 8-12 hours, and now I can maybe sleep a solid 4-5 hours before I wake up, and I have trouble getting back to sleep. I feel somewhat tired and look tired ALL the time.

Ideas?

It's because you took a drug that was originally designed as a chemotherapy drug for brain and pancreatic cancer. You probably have similar side effects as those who have taken chemotherapy such as fatigue. I am dealing with this same problem 10 years after my final Accutane pill. It doesn't seem to go away for me.

thenorman wrote:

Hi, I have the same side effects like most of you guys. Tired, sleepy and never fit. I went on a 60mg 4 month-cure. I used to train alot with weights and I played soccer everyday. But now I just cant manage to work out anymore. Im so tired and my arms have shrinked to like half the size it used to be. It has gone one year now after the cure.

Im wondering if anyone got any tips to regain the energy? What is causing this problem?

Please help me. I cant stand it anymore.

I completely understand and have been there. On my last month I couldn't take anymore so I quit a week before my end date. When I was on accutane I was extremely tired. My derm said it was lack of water. I noticed a difference in energy since drinking water but still not 100%. I was also a bit annoyed easily. Keep in mind accutane sucks water so drink more than normal. I have been off accutane for 3 months now and it's a huge difference in energy level. Hang in there it's worth it in the long run!! I also took vitamin e and b12. Good luck.

hey just wanted to say that my son is on his second month of acutane.. started it last night. He woke up and found out that he had threw up in the middle of the night with out even remembering.. I do detect a little attitude change but we knew this could happen. He also experienced a bad nose bleed.
I have bought aquafor (at walmart) in lotion section. You can put this on morning and night and it helps great with the dry skin and lips. Also you may put this in your nose if you experience nose bleeds (they are supposed to be caused by the drying out ).
His liver and kidney function was well the first month.. If it changes I will make him come off this.
my brother took this medicine about 26 years ago and he is still living..
I just think everyone needs to decide for themselves if its good for them.
I let my son who is almost 17 decide if he wanted to try this . hope everyone does well.

gettybear wrote:

hey just wanted to say that my son is on his second month of acutane.. started it last night. He woke up and found out that he had threw up in the middle of the night with out even remembering.. I do detect a little attitude change but we knew this could happen. He also experienced a bad nose bleed.
I have bought aquafor (at walmart) in lotion section. You can put this on morning and night and it helps great with the dry skin and lips. Also you may put this in your nose if you experience nose bleeds (they are supposed to be caused by the drying out ).
His liver and kidney function was well the first month.. If it changes I will make him come off this.
my brother took this medicine about 26 years ago and he is still living..
I just think everyone needs to decide for themselves if its good for them.
I let my son who is almost 17 decide if he wanted to try this . hope everyone does well.

If I could go back in time, I would never do this cure again, never. Stop it before its to late

Hello all ... My son is on Accutane.(actually, the other name for it - I believe the generic)

To those of you out there who are just beginning, have faith. It does work. Let nature and the pills take their course.

When you feel side effects, write them down or take a mental note. Advise your doctor at your next visit and he/she will decide if it's ok to deal with or decrease/increase your intake.

Nevertheless, no one feels what you are going through. Not being happy when you look in the mirror. So, be your own coach and get thru this with the help of your doctor and medication. Before you know it, you will be posting similar to this.

My son is 75% improved. He's actually beginning to smile.:)

Hello to all my accutane buddies. It's been very difficult for us to make the decision of going on this medication so negativity is not appreciated. We need more people like the person above, giving us courage and hope for better results at the end of it all...... Anyway I have been on the medication for 3 and a half months now. It's has been ok up to now with the obvious dryness , sensitivity to the sun etc. I am getting a bit worried lately though as I noticed my energylevels have dropped drastically, working out is a torture, I can't sleep at all , keep waking up at nite and I have started having head aches and I explode after every little discussion, have become so impatient. I hope they can get better. I would appreciate if someone cab give me some tips on how to get my energy levels higher so I can work out and do the little activities that keep me happy

silverado wrote:

<quoted text>
"I have no clue why Im so tired"
"I didnt read it in the side effects"
Well clueless, the liver is the "army" of the body because it carries out so many functions especially metabolism and energy.
The side effects stated very clearly that it effects the liver and if I recall off hand...... permanently.
Now. You go back to the doctor and what the hell do you expect him to say when you just took 6 months worth of a drug that was initially designed as a drug for chemo cancer treatment and now your tired because you have organ damage as a result?
Whats he supposed to say? "Here take this NEW drug to fix that problem".
Yeah the accutane has something to do with it. You have altered your liver for no reason at all just like others have found out that they have the same thing or cant figure out why they have elevated liver enzymes and other liver problems.
All your body wanted in the first place to allieviate the inflammatory acne was RAW FOOD and elimination of toxins such as MILK, sodium chloride etc.

Obviously this person has never suffered from severe scarring acne. I was on Accutaine and yes after a while it made me super super tired through the rest of the treatment. After I finished I was tired for like 2 more weeks and after that my energy started coming back. It took about another month and I felt fine. No more tired, no more acne, no more dry or redness. Accutaine changed my life for the better. Any small side effects I had went away after finishing my treatment.

tara proffitt wrote:

..even tho i bring vaseline with me everywhere.

Dont use vaseline! its petroleum based so it will dry your lips out even more.. Rather use a nipple cream, don't laugh, it really works! Or a really good lip ice with a SPF factor in it..

And yep, I am also pretty exhausted on the stuff.. But getting there day by day..

I'm 15 & i am experiencing the same thing as you. I wake up and i look like i haven't even gotten any hours sleep.. i look tired all day, and when it comes to the night i fall asleep immdiately as i'm so tired.

I have been experiencing similar things, I started because my body made a mutated strand of acne that was immune to all other antibiotics, and the strand went haywire and covered my back, face neck and chest. I started three months ago, and this year has been extreemly difficult, due to an excessive amount of bullying, stress, and lack of confidence. I took acutane becasue I had no other choice, I have good days and bad days, Some days I am exausted, and some days I have an excessive amount of energy, anoter thing I found to have is the first two months I had some sleeping problems, and couldnt get myself to fall asleep easily.

hatchgrl wrote:

I am in my fourth month of Accutane. I started feeling overly tired as early as the first couple of weeks. Someone even asked me at work if I was sick because my eyes look so tired. Despite this, I have still been working out and trying to remain active, but it has become harder month after month.
I have also noticed a severe change in my attitude. It hasn't helped since I have had allot on my shoulders the last few months. In fact, it has made it allot worse for me and those around me.
I had no other severe side effects besides the exhaustion and depression. I decided to take Accutane regardless of the risks because I have a rare skin condition that really has no other proven effective treatment, besides isotretinoin. Unfortunately, the medicine is not working for me.
My doctor should be calling me today and I am telling them that I am coming off of the med. I am not trying to deter anyone else from trying the medication. Just wanted to share my story. If the Accutane was actually working for me, I would stick it out because I have lasted this long. Unfortunately, I had to weigh my options and make a wise decision.

Im from Ireland (30 yrs old and have 2 small kids) and have been taking Accutane for 10 months now and I will be finished in 3 wks time. I had very painful acne on my face, neck, chest and back and the treatment has cleared it up :) My skin started off very dry but once I began drinking more water and using E45 an hr b4 going to bed so it doest soak into the pillow straight away helped loads. I use a normal face cream 3 times a day and I didnt look shiny etc.... I was extremely tired at first and couldnt sleep and I found for me that it was because I was still doing full workouts at the gym every 2nd day and in between jogging! It states in the info leaflet to cut down on excessive workouts etc.... and I did. I now either go to the gym twice a week and dont to heavy weights etc....or jog twice a week and in between walk my dog. I have much more energy and getting fresh air from the walks clears my head esp if I was in bad form. The treatment is not for everyone and if you have been feeling low in yourself go to a therapist for a chat first as it will effect your mood in some way. For anyone thinking of using it or has just started the treatment take it easy but get plenty of fresh air and eat well as cramping your system with sugary/fatty foods make you feel even more tired in the long run. O' and another thing that did help was I went to bed each night at the same time and got up at the same time, even at the weekends and no matter how tired I got in between I didnt go to bed and after 6 weeks I was sleeping fully each night and resulting in more energy during the day! Good luck to all that are on the Treatment xx