Oh, Accutane

As some of you may have heard, the FDA is tightening restrictions on the acne drug Accutane with the threat of pulling the drug off the market if they aren't effective. Those of you blessed with perfect skin are probably wondering "What's the big deal?". Accutane is a very nasty and scary drug in that it results in severe birth defects and mental retardation for children of women who become pregnant while taking it. I have been on Accutane three times in my life. I have suffered from severe cystic acne since I was eleven years old. After trying every other treatment available at the time, Accutane was the last resort, and it was definitely treated as such by my doctor and my parents. Sure enough, it was my wonder-drug, but at a very young age I was exposed to talks on birth defects and two forms of contraception, monthly blood tests and all the wonderful other physical symptoms treatment brought along. I actually did not have to use birth control until the third time I was treated. My doctor trusted me and my parents and only required that I sign a statement that I would not engage in sexual intercourse while taking the drug and if I did find myself pregnant I would terminate it. Being a really good Catholic girl, I had a very difficult time with the last part but rationalized it away by knowing that as a good Catholic girl I was not going to have sex any time soon!

In our lookist society, you wouldn't think that Accutane pregnancies would be a problem, because your physical ailment does a pretty good job of keeping the opposite sex away. I did notice that each time I took Accutane it seemed to become more popular; at first, I was the only person anyone knew who had taken it. My doctor actually described it as experimental the first time around. However, during my last (hopefully!) treatment I noticed that there were more restrictions. I had to be registered as a user and it was no longer sufficient to sign a sex waiver, so I had to take birth control as well. Now, the FDA is requiring that all users and prescribing physicians register usage and women must use two forms of birth control and the pharmacist will actually keep them in compliance.

It seems that the FDA is very concerned about the number of pregnancies that still occur regardless of the numerous warnings and prevention systems in place. Each pill is popped out of a little section with a picture of a pregnant woman x-ed through for goodness sake! I was scared to death of even thinking about pregnancy while I was on Accutane. Birth defects are not something to mess with. I'm sorry, but there is no amount of being horny that is so strong that it will override the very real fear of almost certain birth defects. How stupid are some of these people, and why are doctors prescribing this kind of drug to people who don't respect its dangers? For a few years now, I have felt that Accutane is much to widely prescribed. It should only be used as a last resort. I know what it's like to take every drug and use every cream and have nothing work. That's when Accutane should be prescribed. I know that I will have dermatological problems for the rest of my life, and, yeah, it sucks, but I am not sure that I would be willing to go the Accutane route again. Yes, it was my miracle when it didn't seem like there would ever be one, but at this time in my life it is just too much of a risk that I am too responsible to take. I hope that doctors and patients start to look at this drug that way too, so that with a more sparing usage it is still available for the twelve year old girl who'd like to look in a mirror and be able to face the cruel world of her peers without being made to feel like an ugly troll anymore. If you are on Accutane now, please do your part and act responsibly so it can remain available for people who will need it in the future.