Accutane Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Embarrassing Condition for Patients

Portland, ORFor patients who suffer from severe acne, Accutane side effects might have seemed like a distant worry. After all, when you have severe nodular acne, not much else seems as urgent as treating the condition—not even side effects associated with Accutane acne medication. Unfortunately for some patients, Accutane side effects, which reportedly include an increased risk of Accutane inflammatory bowel disease, can be quite serious and quite embarrassing.

Lawsuits have been filed against the maker of Accutane, which is known generically as isotretinoin. Those lawsuits allege that patients were not adequately warned about the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, a serious disease that can require surgery to remove all or part of a patient's colon.

Although patients may sometimes confuse inflammatory bowel disease with irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease is a much more serious disease, with potentially life-changing complications.

Inflammatory bowel disease is actually one of two conditions—either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Crohn's disease can occur in either the small bowel or the colon. Depending on where the Crohn's occurs, symptoms may include some or all of diarrhea, weight loss, anemia and/or bleeding.

According to a report by NBC Washington (01/19/11), ulcerative colitis only affects the colon and large intestine. Symptoms of ulcerative colitis include cramping, pain, diarrhea and bleeding.

Patients who develop either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis may have to undergo surgery to remove a section of their colon.

Irritable bowel syndrome, on the other hand, usually presents as bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Symptoms may come and go over time and irritable bowel syndrome can often be treated by changing the patient's diet.

Patients who experience severe inflammatory bowel disease say the condition is not only embarrassing, it affects their day-to-day life, too. Some say they must always be near a washroom, in case their symptoms flare up, and some have had to quit their jobs or cut back on their workload as a result. The embarrassment of living with persistent diarrhea is, for some, more embarrassing than the acne they were trying to treat.

Lawsuits have been filed against the maker of Accutane, alleging the medication caused patients to develop inflammatory bowel disease. So far, six Accutane-related lawsuits have resulted in verdicts for the plaintiffs, with only one of those being overturned on appeal. In one lawsuit, Roche Holding AG, manufacturer of Accutane, was ordered to pay the plaintiff $25.16 million in damages.