I was very surprised by the new study that links Roaccutane (zit treatment) with Crohns etc. I took this drug 3 times over 5 years,starting in 1882, and am the only person in my extended family with Chrohns (or anything else for that matter). Does anyone else have this sort of history?

Scary. I had UC, had surgery etc to remove bowel, but was on roaccutane as a teenager. Umm. I hope to god there is no connection because it was absolutely not worth the misery of UC.

INteresting!!! I also took the drug as a teenager - I now have either UC or Chrons (Just in the process of being tested for it ) also have Polycystic Ovaries, trying to get pregant!! Spoken to another girl with PCOS who allso took Roaccutane and she is having probs too!!! What a headache. Would rather have put up with the zits thanks!!!!

hi there. I havent heard of this study but I have Ulcerative colitis and was never on Roaccutane

I've spent a bit more time looking into the link between Roaccutane and IBD and it seems there is very compelling evidence to suggest this drug played a part in my UC.

One study on patients with a history of Roaccutane treatment considers IBD as being 'possibly' or 'most likely' induced by the drug. In no cases was the link proved 'doubtful'.

In the States, a group of lawyers are preparing a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer.

I wonder if there is anything that can be done here in New Zealand, because I am almost convinced now that my UC is linked to Roaccutane.

It's really upsetting to know what I went through, to know that my life will never be quite the same, to think of all the years I wasted being sick... and all because of a few spots.

I have thought about this a bit, as I was at a party on Saturday where someone was suggesting Roaccutane to someone with bad acne, and I said that I believed there to be a link between this and IBD. However, talking to my mum who was a nurse (remembering that neither of us have much info on this though) she wondered which came first. Is the IBD brought on by the drug, or is the acne brought on by the IBD, which then gets treated by the drug? Just a thought, though I would definitely not be keen to be taking Roaccutane!

I took two courses of roaccutane 10 years ago with no lasting side effects. I had the worst acne you could imagine and it was an absolute miracle drug for me.

I took a 9 month course of Roaccutane and have no ill effects healthwise as suggested above. *knocks on wood*

I took 2 or 3 courses of Roaccutane to clear up severe acne - it worked brilliantly but I also developed UC. I definitely think there is an increased risk of developing UC after a course of Roaccutane.
Another interesting thing I read in an online medical paper is a suspected link between measels and IBD. I had measles as a kid. Makes ya wonder....

hi this is my first post and a bit late in the piece but i too have developed ulcerative colitis I believe as a result of taking roaccutane and have been looking into doing something about it and wonder where you got to with this?

I took roaccutane roughly 6 years ago and was on it for about 1 year. I also took antibiotics for achne before this. Unfortunatley if UC and Chrons can be linked to this drug I didn't even need to be on it. I was taking another drug which had achne as a side effect and this wasn't discovered until I have been on Roaccutane for one year. I also googled another American forum/chat for UC and Chrons and they said that there maybe evidence linked to certain antibiotics used to treat achne also.

OWe have a no fault system in nz so its too bad for us. Some people dont realise that symptoms can take 20 years or more to show

I was on Roaccutane for 2 years and have no bowel issues, however I do suffer from depression which was a known side effect at the time.