Under Federal Law, the manufacturer of a drug is required to revise its label to include a warning as soon as there is reasonable evidence of an association of a serious hazard with a drug.
The FDA has required Hoffmann-La Roche to change their label for Accutane many
times. The most recent label states - Inflammatory bowel disease: Accutane has been
associated with inflammatory bowel disease (including regional ileitis) in patients
without a prior history of intestinal disorders. In some instances, symptoms have
been reported to persist after Accutane treatment has been stopped. Patients experiencing
abdominal pain, rectal bleeding or severe diarrhea should discontinue Accutane immediately.Pursuant to FDA Rules and Regulation, the reporting of Adverse Side Effects is on a voluntary basis. In other words, the doctor, hospital, or other medical person or facility are not required by law to report an adverse side effect from a drug. The FDA reported that perhaps only one in one hundred side effects ever get reported. One could only imagine about how many serious Adverse Side Effects there are from taking Accutane, that have never been reported to anyone!
What is inflammatory bowel disease?
Inflammatory bowel disease is the name of a group of disorders that cause the intestines to become inflamed (red and swollen). The inflammation lasts a long time and usually comes back over and over again.
If you have inflammatory bowel disease, you may have similar symptoms as with an intestinal virus. You may have vomiting, abdominal cramping and pain, diarrhea, weight loss, bleeding of your intestines, and/or rectal bleeding. Two kinds of inflammatory bowel disease are Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Crohn's disease usually causes ulcers (open sores) all along the length of the small and large intestines. Crohn's disease either spares the rectum, or causes inflammation or infection with drainage around the rectum. Ulcerative colitis usually causes ulcers in the lower part of the large intestine, often starting at the rectum.
How is inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed?
Based on your symptoms, your doctor may suspect that you have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. Your bowel movements will be tested for germs and the presence of blood. A doctor will look inside your intestines with a sigmoidoscope or a colonoscope. In these procedures, the doctor uses a narrow flexible tube to look directly inside your intestines. Special barium enema X-rays may be helpful in diagnosing your illness.
How is inflammatory bowel disease treated?
The best thing you can do is take good care of yourself. It's important to eat a healthy diet. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may ask you to cut down on the amount of fiber or dairy products in your diet. In addition to eating well, you need to get enough rest. It's also important that you learn to manage the stress in your life. When you become overly upset by things that happen at home or at work, your intestinal problems can get worse.
You will most likely be treated by a team of doctors. This team may include your family physician, a gastroenterologist (a specialist in stomach and intestinal disorders) and, possibly, a surgeon.
The goal of treatment is to get rid of the inflammation by taking anti-inflammatory medicines. Some of these medicines are sulfasalazine (brand name: Azulfidine), olsalazine (brand name: Dipentum) and mesalamine (brand names: Asacol, Pentasa, Rowasa). An antibiotic such as metronidazole (brand names: Flagyl, Protostat) may be helpful for killing germs in the intestines, especially if you have Crohn's disease. You may need to take a corticosteroid such as prednisone.
If you have severe symptoms, such as diarrhea, fever or vomiting, you may need to go to the hospital to be treated with special fluids and medicines that must be given intravenously (in your veins). If you have severe inflammatory bowel disease, you may need to take powerful medicines called immunosuppressants. They are sometimes used to treat cancer.
If your ulcerative colitis becomes so severe that it can't be helped by medicines, it may be necessary to remove your colon surgically.
Because Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis keep coming back and their symptoms cannot be predicted ahead of time, patients with these illnesses can become depressed. If you feel depressed, talk with your family doctor, your parents, or any other medical doctor.
The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, Inc., has regional and local chapters. It provides free educational materials, as well as educational activities, through local chapters in most parts of the country. The foundation may be found here.