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update accutane recovery
Hello everyone,
I'm new to the community of people who have been affected by accutane and I realise that I'm beginning a very long journey to regain my health.
To make a long story short, I took accutane 2 years ago and developed several side effects (headaches, panic attacks, depression, IBS, sexual dysfunction, cold sensation, fatigue, etc.). It was only recently that I began to make the link with accutane and that I started to do some serious research. I then came across Grant's theory.
I've been on a low vitamin A diet for a month now and I just wanted to get some recent information from people following this diet after accutane. I also have a few questions.
- I was going to use activated charcoal to avoid the detox setback that Grant mentioned, but I've seen that it can worsen my constipation. Is fibre enough to prevent the detox setback ?
- I'm really craving fats at the moment, like butter, and I've got the impression that it has something to do with my liver.
- On the diet, should I use supplements like taurine, b-complex etc to support liver detoxification?
I hope you get some answers from accutane people. I think I was harmed from cod liver oil and supplements.
I like the idea of following cravings, and think there is probably a good reason that you are wanting fats. I use butter in small amounts and also dairy in small amounts (which has butter fat obviously). When I want to make something with a lot of fat (like a pie) I sometimes cut the amount of butter in half with some other fat like perhaps coconut oil.
I think most people are going to have some sort of detox, and that just because you have a bad symptom doesn't mean that progress isn't happening. It's like we have to do the right thing and just entertain ourselves while we get well. I've grown to distrust most supps because that is why I'm here.
It seems some people take the slow boat and some take the quick boat, for various reasons... I'm a slow boater.
You'll come up with your own path, good luck! Time passes quickly.
Thanks for your reply !
I would love get in touch with accutane survivors who went on a low vitamin A diet.
Please don't hesitate to contact me.
@orion comes to mind. He might be willing to answer some of your questions.
This site is a treasure trove of information about the specifics of Acutane and how it wreaks havoc in the body: https://pas-secondlife.com/. The author suggests lithium orotate (low dose, 5mg) as a treatment for post-Acutane sufferers. I haven't used Acutane, but have been on and off SSRIs for almost ten years. Lithium orotate balances my mood.
Quote from Philippe on March 12, 2024, 2:55 amThanks for your reply !
I would love get in touch with accutane survivors who went on a low vitamin A diet.
Please don't hesitate to contact me.
Welcome Philippe!
I was only on Accutane for 2 months (Sep - Nov 2023). My main problems are head pressure, headache, and migraines. Some digestive issues that flared up during this time also... Anyway, I'll say this, the head pressure definitely gets better doing low vitamin A for me. I will have everything under control, but then I inadvertently screw it up again, either by accidentally ingesting more vitamin A than I realized I was taking in, or by applying lotion or cream on my skin... (I no longer put anything on my skin at all). I also stay away from essential oils. When I do "relapse" (like I did recently), it does seem to take a few weeks to level it back out with the head stuff, but that is just me.
I still don't know what's up with coconut oil, but I react more poorly to it than I do vitamin A. Coconut oil is the f***ing devil. (Never had this issue in my life before Accutane, and I'm 41).
My progress hasn't been linear, but overall, this diet has greatly helped me. I'm afraid I don't have too much to offer, but what little experience I do have. I'm finding it is trial and error.
I've tried the activated charcoal once in early January... I was in "relapse" at that time/not doing well (I had been using a cream saturated in essential oils and vitamin A). Anywho, I didn't react well to the charcoal. I'm not sure if it was my current state already or if it kicked my anxiety into overdrive, but I had one of the worse panic attacks of my life. My whole body felt like I was dying. Again, not sure if it was the charcoal or coincidence.
I would love to hear about your progress and updates too!
Like Hermes said, this site is a treasure trove! I mostly read, but I enjoy being here and learning.
Accutane is tricky, it affects everyone different, best bet would be to do low VA, and hopefully detoxing VA will slowly reverse the damage done via the cis13-retinoic acid.
Probably best to avoid butter for now, coconut and olive might be better choices in the beginning.
Taurine, B1/2/3(as nicotinic acid)/5 are probably helpful, experiment, start super low doses, see how you feel, they can and will speed things up, making things worse
B6 and B12 supps seem to cause to many issues, hard to diagnose type and how much needed.
Beef, rice, properly prepared cooked beans and oats are a good start for staples.
Good tips here:
Not sure who to credit for the image, from a low VA post on the RP forum, nothing is set in stone, but a good guide, somethings may work for you, some not. Experiment, start small servings, it is a marathon, not a sprint to get VA out
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Thanks a lot for your reply,
(sorry for the messy details 🙂 )
I sarted low vitamin A diet one month ago and recently I experienced a very strong urge to go to the toilet and I had a bowel movement that was much darker than usual and had a very strange smell ...
Do you think it might be the toxic bile ?
I went through a spell in the beginning where I had a lot of diarrhea... I thought it was because I was doing too much flaxseed and beans. Maybe it was toxic bile?? I thought it was because I was doing way too much fiber. Then I cut back, and couldn't go at all. -_- Go figure.
Dark stool that has a foul, sour odor can be from blood in the upper GI tract, maybe ulcers? I've had that before, but not in several years. That is what the doctor told me it was.