I think different doctors take different approaches, in terms of how long they say you need to be off Accutane before trying to get pregnant. However, I've never heard anything longer than several months (one to two months seems to be the most common that I've heard)--five years really surprises me. I'd follow whatever your doctor tells you.

In terms of a minimum of two months to clear your system, I think that's just an estimate too. Everyone's body is different. When I was part of the last clinical trials that Roche did before Accutane was approved and I was having blood work done ALL THE TIME, it took me little more than 2 weeks to show no signs of Accutane once I stopped taking it.

I'm not sure what the difference is between accutane and soriatane. But with soriatane you are supposed to wait for two years. The fact is that the harmfull parts can get into your 'fatcells', alcohol can influence this among other things. This means that the amount of time you should wait is different for everyone. I wouldn't trust the docters to much. My derm thinks alcohol is only harmful to my liver and he NEVER told me that I shouldn't take more than the daily recommende doses of vitamin A. Maybe the information that Roche gives is the most reliable at the moment.

The (often severe) side-effects are also different for every person. My mother and I both have EHK and I have been taking soriatane for more then ten years. She had to stop because of 'bone-side effects'.
If you consider taking a retinoid don't forget that it can be 'addictive' in a sense that your skin can look so good that you want to keep on using the 'drugs' no matter what!

[This message has been edited by Rosalie (edited April 20, 2001).]

I was approached in the 80's when I was 12, by the University of Michigan, to be in the test trials for Accutane. My dad went with me and sat there with me, but he wanted this decision to be my own. I was told I would have to wait five years to become pregnant and was told all of the side effects and chose not to do it because I just couldn't imagine where my life would be so many years later. I knew I couldn't sit there at 12 and say that I had no intention of having children until in my late 20's (as they wanted me on the drug for five years, and then a five year waiting period).
I'm sure things have changed with the waiting period and all that, and Laura's right, every doctor is different. One doctor who offered it to me wanted me to sign a legal document swearing that I would not become pregnant, always use two forms of birth control, and immediately obtain an abortion if I became pregnant during the course of the drugs or within the waiting period after. I turned down that offer [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Other doctors have been quite flippant about the whole Accutane thing, telling my I am a fool not to take it.
The only thing I know for a fact is that if I take it just one time, I can never donate blood again and that is the one thing I am not willing to give up in my life.
I strongly suggest that for the best information, go straight to the horse's mouth and go to the Roche web site. They are constantly updating their Accutane and Soriatane information, including the data on side affects and the positive results, to reflect their most current statistics.

pregnancy and Accutane has historically been a very big deal (I'm not sure what the technical difference is between Accutane and Soriatane either--the extent of my knowledge is that Soriatane is an "updated" version of Accutane but still very similar).

Accutane almost became an "orphan drug" a few years ago (okay, maybe it was more like 10 [img]http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img] ). So many young people were taking Accutane for acne and getting pregnant while they were taking it...and then either having grossly deformed babies or were being counseled to have abortions (whole 'nother issue of very pro-life physicians feeling that they had to counsel very pro-life patients that their ONLY option in this situation was abortion). This whole situation led the FDA to come VERY close to taking Accutane off the market (though it still would have been available as an "orphan" drug for specific approved uses, much the way you can still get thalidamide. Though this would hardly be a preferable situation for people with ichthyosis who wanted/needed to use Accutane).

In the wake of those problems arose much of the precautionary (sometimes overly precautionary) protocols that doctors are using today. The signed waiver about using two forms of birth control, not getting pregnant, and agreeing to have an abortion if you did become pregnant? Roche had to implement that as a way of pacifying the FDA to keep Accutane on the market.

Now, that "crisis" has passed and the protocols for Accutane and pregnancy (waivers, birth controls, waiting period before intentionally getting pregnant, etc) are starting to really vary from doctor to doctor. That's why you may hear any number of a variety of recommendations and need to follow whatever your doctor counsels you (and if you have an issue with that, get a second opinion from another doctor--don't just go by what someone has posted here).

Hello,
I have just come from UCLA where I was on a tazorac experiment. The experiment is over now and they want me to go on Soriatane now to "help" me. I was given all the information on Soriatane and on the front page in big letters it says you must not take Soriatane for at least 3 years before becoming pregnant. This didn't come from my doctor but from the manufacturers of Soriatane itself. I'm not sure about accutane but it must be similar.
Keith.

Wow Keith...thanks for sharing that. Very interesting.

I am 25 and am on soriataine and my doctor told me also 3 years he looked it up in some medical book!

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Hey guys...I found a reference to the "3 year" waiting period. I posted it on a new topic, so it would be easier to find in the future. Check it out when you get a chance: http://www.ichthyosis.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000014.html The way I read it, if you NEVER drink any kind of alcohol while you're taking Soriatane, you should be fine waiting way less than 3 years. However, drinking any kind of alcohol at the same time that you're taking Soriatane changes the way your body metabolizes Soriatane, making it fat stored. In that case, the half life of Soriatane extends enormously, and you then go from waiting a few months to needing to wait at least 2 years (at least, that's why I got out of it. Read the original and decide for yourself).



[This message has been edited by Laura Phillips (edited June 22, 2001).]

That's the wrong drug Laura. That is not Accutane but another one of Roches "safe" derugs used for psoriasis. Acitretin is not Accutane

Acetretin is Soriatane; Isotretinoin is Accutane. As I've said before, no one has been able to explain to me in plain English exactly what the difference is between Accutane and Soriatane. So you're right, I did jump the gun a little bit--this study involved Soriatane, not Accutane.

However, I don't think Soriatane is any "safer" than Accutane, esp. when it comes to the treatment of ichthyosis (dosage, length of treatment, potential side effects, etc). Neither were "meant" for ichthyosis, but are nonetheless used in treating ichthyosis. Both are easily distinguished from Tegison (aka etretinate). Accutane and Soriatane are NOT normally fat stored, while Tegison is. So, from my personal perspective, the results of this study are equally applicable to Accutane as to Soriatane (I *know* the study involved only Soriatane...but because people have a very hard time distinguishing the two for me, I tend to lump them together. I know that's not technically correct, that's just what I do personally).

But...it's important to clarify that it was Soriatane, not Accutane, in the study. Thanks for the correction adh01au.

[This message has been edited by Laura Phillips (edited May 27, 2001).]