[mariusnabal]

No I was not adequately warned - it was in the early nineties, way before iPledge. iPledge was introduced, I suspect, because of a court case in 2004 in the Basque country (see my 2nd post) on the other side of the planet - where a couple *successfully sued* their health practitioners for not adequately warning them. They both contracted Type 1!

Naturally this would have made Roche nervous and hence they come up with iPledge.... which may be cynically translated as "I Pledge not to complain and hold you responsible... "
So now... people like you say : read the fine print! Despite iPledge, I still think that the danger of this drug is NOT adequately explained (and it was not to me at the time) and it should be withdrawn. Also, I am certain that if trials were conducted properly the medium and long term effect of this drug would have come to light. Remember DDT? It was around for almost a century before it got banned.

People expect side-effect warnings for medications - but running the risk of contracting diabetes etc. etc. is not what I call a mere "side-effect" : it's a permanent, central effect to one's health. (I wonder what other spurious effects this drug has had - apart from the "odd" T1 outcome...)

Anyway, I am interested in finding out who shares this outcome or view. I'm curious who else became T1 after having taken this drug earlier in life and now feel that they were not adequately warned, or that they didn't sign their rights away at the time of starting medication.

If that is not you... fine. If you are happy with your lot or feel that you were adequately warned or that you don't want to blame others.. fine. Treat this thread as a passing interest.

But don't expect a growing number of casualties to necessarily share that view.

Do I want to sue Roche? No, not necessarily... But it would be nice to be given an apology at the very very least. But if there is a case for negligence on their part - I would consider otherwise.

Best wishes to us all

[BrianSCohen]

Marius,

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I'll certainly tell my friend about this forum. Unfortunately in this situation, he allowed his teenage daughter to see the doctor on her own and make the primary decision, he was unaware of the link between accutane and diabetes. In his daughters case, she already had PCOS which placed her at high risk and she should never have been prescribed accutane given her condition. I think they would certainly feel better hearing of others who have experienced the same thing.

As to my diabetes, I am type 2 (but probably type 1.5). I follow an ultra low carb diet and have been off my meds before. Although I reduced the expression of my diabetes, I don't believe I will reverse it or cure myself. My strategy is to control my blood sugar as tightly as possible with diet, exercise and medication. I eat lots of whole foods, mostly lots of raw vegetables. Although I like raw fish, I am just not a fan of raw meat or eggs.

[Timpie]

Hi all,

I'd like to thank you all for posting in this thread. Allthough it does not provide any proof what so ever, it shows me that I am not the only one who feels in his heart that he/she got DM as a sad side-effect of drugs in general or Roaccutane to be specific.

The reason I started this thread was not to collect evidence in order to be able to sue people. For me it is more a matter of understanding. Understanding why I got DM and understanding the consequenses. The main cause for diabetes T1 is believed to be of a genetic nature though, as far as I know, this is not 100% proven. If it is true that I contracted DM in a genetic manner, there is good chance that the DM will reappear in my offspring (wether it would be my children or my grandchildren or later on). If however I got DM because of medication I took years ago, it seems highly unlikely to me that I would pass the disease on if I were to have children. As a young adult, on the brink of becoming a parent (no, my girlfriend isn't pregnant yet ), this would be a very reassuring thing for me.

I have no proof for what I know in my heart, and I probably never will, but it would take strong evidence to make me revise my opinion: "I got DM type 1 as a result of taking Roaccutane".

[bartiroc]

I was given accuatane in high school and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes a year after I graduated from college. I was extremely active and ideal weight. I always wondered if there was a link. I recall taking many blood tests while on accutane to monitor my liver/kidneys, obviously this was a potent drug. Makes you wonder.

[condensr]

I had and still have a pretty decent acne problem, but never used accutane. When I finally went on a quest to try and treat the acne (long after I was diagnosed T1), it came down to accutane, however: The dermatologist did not want to prescribe it to me, my PCP did not want it prescribed to me, and my endo did not think it was a good idea either. Now, the Dr. would have given me the prescription if I had really wanted it, but after all that doubt, I decided it wasn't worth it. Yes, the acne doesn't look great, causes scarring, and is certainly uncomfortable when it gets bad, but none of those symptoms seems worth the gamble. That was 5 years ago, and now, at 30, the acne still hasn't improved much. Makes me wonder if it ever will..

Slightly off topic.. When I was dx'd (at age 18), I had zero health problems otherwise. Ideal weight, hadn't had any kind of cold/flu in ages, didn't drink or use street drugs, had not had a prescription of any kind in longer than I could remember, and didn't even take any OTC meds. I hadn't been to a doctor since I had broken my wrist at the age of 6. It (T1) happened anyway though.