My story - I blame Accutane

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Originally posted by Mike Mc

I've had KP all of my life on my upper arms and thighs. In my early 20's, it spontaneously disappeared. I mean NOTHING. In my mid 20's, my dermatologist put me on Accutane for 3 months to combat a stubborn case of acne. My face cleared up beautifully but my KP came back with a vengeance. I got it in places I never had it before (forearms, stomach etc.). I now have it virually everywhere except (touch wood) my face, neck and chest.
I've learned to deal with it as we all have - tanning and creative use of body makeup when short sleeves or shorts are required. I've tried a gazillion products of course (glycolic, lactic, retin A, Zinc etc) Nothings ever worked. I wonder if anyone else out there has a similar experience with Accutane. Personally, I'd much rather have the acne back.

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Originally posted by Nick

I nearly died when I read all these responses about KP being linked to Roaccutane.

I had VERY mild KP on upper arms only before my roaccutane treatment and about 2 months after i had finished the treatment, i got shocking KP on upper arms, thighs and small red pimple along the stomach which I had never experienced before.
I believe that its because Roaccutane re-programs the way your skin sheds old cells and through doing this, it has somehow stuffed up how my skin grows in KP prone areas. Also because KP is a "dry skin disorder" the shrinking of sebaceous glands during roaccutane wouldnt have helped KP.

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Originally posted by Nick

I nearly died when I read all these responses about KP being linked to Roaccutane.

I had VERY mild KP on upper arms only before my roaccutane treatment and about 2 months after i had finished the treatment, i got shocking KP on upper arms, thighs and small red pimple along the stomach which I had never experienced before.
I believe that its because Roaccutane re-programs the way your skin sheds old cells and through doing this, it has somehow stuffed up how my skin grows in KP prone areas. Also because KP is a "dry skin disorder" the shrinking of sebaceous glands during roaccutane wouldnt have helped KP.

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Originally posted by Class of 89

Hi Mike! Here's my story: I never had KP until AFTER taking Accutane in my early 20's & soon after developed KP on my arms & legs. The Accutane worked beautifully on my face but I really do think it was the cause of my KP. Of course when I mentioned this to my dermatologist he said that it wouldn't have caused my KP but I just don't buy it. But anyhow, have you tried the sulfur soap yet? I have been using it for sometime now & it has really improved my KP quite a bit. A couple days ago my right arm looked practically KP free & I'm hoping that it just will continue to get better & better w/ time. So good luck to you in finding something that works.

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Originally posted by Rick

I'm sorry to hear that Accutane could worsen KP. There definitely appears to be some link between Vitamin A and KP and Accutane is a very strong isolate of Vitamin A. Perhaps if too much is taken for too long and then stopped, it affects the body's ability to process Vitamin A which worsens the KP. There has been a lot of evidence recently which suggests that VERY LOW doses of isotretinoin (accutane) can be very effective in reducing facial redness and flushing which is sometimes linked to KP. Here is one abstract which demonstrates its efficacy for Rosacea <a href="http://archderm.ama-assn.org/issues/v134n7/ffull/dlt0798-10.html">http://archderm.ama-assn.org/issues/v134n7/ffull/dlt0798-10.html</a>
The other link mentions its use for Ulerythema which is another form of KP <a href="http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/sadhelp/kp.htm">http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/sadhelp/kp.htm</a>

I was really keeping low dose accutane up my sleeve in case lasers don't work out for clearing facial redness but your posting makes me cautious. What dosage were you on? Rick.

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Originally posted by Mike Mc

It's been so long, I don't remember what dose I was on. I just remember taking it once a day and always needing to have chapstick handy because my lips were always dry as a bone. Ironically, when my KP got out of control I consulted a new dermatologist who suggested that I go on Accutane.

Can someone give me some additional info on this Sulpher soap? Brand name etc.

Much Appreciated

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Originally posted by Mary

I have always had KP about everywhere on my body. My twin didn't have any until he started taking Accutane for encapsulated acne on his face. He now has KP on his arms.

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Originally posted by Define &quot;encapsulated&quot; maybe you mean sebaceous keratosis?

I took accutane for one week and stopped because of strong headaches and I got smart be taking large doses of vitamin A in fish oils to stop overproduction of sebum.

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Originally posted by AK

I have the same story. Had mild KP on upper arms, then started a daily LOW DOSE of accutane (the smallest dose in a pill, 10mg I believe). In 5 months of treatment, I began getting KP on my shoulders and arms. I stopped accutane immediately. But the KP spread to the forearms, back, then chest and butt. I stopped in March 2002. The KP has subsided somewhat - it's not as bumpy or red. I am hoping with time, my skin will return back to normal. Accutane shrinks sebaceous glands, but studies have shown that the sebaceous glands expand with time. I will post the text I pulled from Medline. And on top of that, my hair has continued to fall out. So I got three problems (acne, KP and hairloss) instead of one. Can you guys tell me how long it's been since you stopped Accutane and if there has been improvement? THANKS.

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Originally posted by Increase sebum production with topical testosterone

This blurb makes me think that testosterone, or testosterone precursors (like Androstene), can help us increase or sebum and eliminate our accutane induced KP. Any thoughts? -AK- --------------------------------------------------------

Differential response of sebaceous glands to exogenous testosterone.

Holland DB, Cunliffe WJ, Norris JF.

Department of Dermatology, University of Leeds, General Infirmary, U.K.

To test the hypothesis that the seborrhoea of acne is an end-organ hyper-response to androgens, a standardized dose of 2% testosterone cream was applied to the forehead of eight prepubertal boys for 6 weeks and the effect determined by measurements of sebum excretion rate (SER). Three boys showed a 15-fold increase in SER and three boys were non-responders, whereas two boys had SER values between those of the responders and non-responders. These data show that sebaceous glands are stimulated by androgens to varying degrees and support the theory of an end-organ response in acne.

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Originally posted by Another article on sebum production return with time

Isotretinoin in the treatment of acne: histologic changes, sebum production, and clinical observations.

Goldstein JA, Comite H, Mescon H, Pochi PE.
Isotretinoin was administered orally for 16 weeks [4 months], in a dosage of 1 mg/kg/day, to seven men with severe acne. A 36.2% reduction of nodulocystic lesions was observed at the conclusion of treatment and a 47.2% reduction was noted at the end of a 16-week follow-up period. However, there was an 88.4% decrease in sebum production and a marked reduction histologically in sebaceous gland size after 16 weeks [4 monhts] of treatment, with a partial recovery of glandular activity at 32 weeks [8 months]. The failure to observe a more striking overall response clinically resulted primarily from two of the seven patients showing worsening or no improvement of their disease, despite profound sebaceous gland inhibition. These findings suggest that the marked sebostatic effect of isotretinoin may not be the sole explanation for its mechanism of action in reducing the severity of acne.

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Originally posted by Partial Sebaceous Gland Recovery with time

Changes in long-term sebum production from isotretinoin therapy.

Strauss JS, Stranieri AM.

Sebum production has been measured in twenty patients in whom 13-cis-retinoic acid therapy had been discontinued for at least 20 weeks. While sebum production had returned to pretreatment levels by 30 weeks [7 months] in seven subjects, 30% to 80% reduction in sebaceous gland activity was still present for as long as 80 weeks [20 months] in eight subjects. Four of these eight patients, who were followed for more than a year, still had marked sebaceous inhibition when last tested. The prolonged remission seen in patients with nodulocystic acne may be related in part to continued sebaceous gland inhibition in some patients, but it obviously is not the only actor responsible for the long-term improvement that is seen.

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Originally posted by Lisa

Hi not long ago on TV here in Australia there was a special on about how Roaccutane has caused ALOT of problems with many people who have been taking it for their acne. To read the story go to the Today Tonight website and read a summary article <a href="http://todaytonight.com.au/stories/468514.html">http://todaytonight.com.au/stories/468514.html</a>

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Originally posted by Nick