When taking Accutane you need to be aware of the possibility of your vision getting temporarily impaired at night, which may result in your inability to see things as clearly as usual. If you have to drive a care or operate machinery – make sure you know exactly the way your body reacts to Accutane. Without that kind of knowledge you may be putting the lives of other people and your own at risk. You must stop the treatment immediately and contact your health care provider if you get any of the following serious side effects that can mean you are not benefitting from taking Accutane and need to switch to some other medicine: ringing in your ears, loss of appetite, body aches, blurred vision, rectal bleeding, joint stiffness, sudden numbness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, clay-colored stools, seizure, weakness, severe diarrhea, easy bruising, dark urine, and tarry stools. Certain other psychiatric side effects are also possible in a small number of patients taking this medicine. Make sure you let your doctor know if you suddenly develop hallucinations, agitation, sleep problems, trouble concentrating, aggression, suicidal thoughts, depressed mood, or any other behavior changes, as these symptoms also need to be treated in case you experience them. Mild side effects are a lot more likely and can include some or any of the following symptoms: peeling skin, cracking skin, dizziness, itching, back pain, dryness of the lips, mouth, nose, or skin, nervousness, drowsiness, joint pain, and rash. It’s very important to have a health care professional whom you can trust and share all your problems and concerns with.
However, it’s also important to learn the difference between mild and more serious side effects in order to be able to determine which ones you need to report to your health care provider and which ones are most likely to go away on their own. The mild side effects of Accutane mentioned are not expected to get worse or continue over a long period of time. They are typically short-lived and tend to disappear on this own without any need for anyone to interfere. If that doesn’t happen, however, contacting your health care provider is the wisest thing for you to do. You will need to tell your health care provider how long ago a certain bothersome side effect started and how long it has been going on for. A dose adjustment may do the trick and rid you of a certain side effect, but you will still need to watch for any other ones that can affect the success of your treatment. You may have some other side effects that are not on the list. This is possible as different people may have different reactions to the same medicine. If you notice any symptoms that are mild ad the quality of your life is not affected in any way – you can carry on with the treatment. However, if the side effects you developed seem serious – it’s best to talk to your doctor about them to see if there are any reasons for you to get worried.