Accutane IBD: Source of Pain and Litigation

Accutane Inflammatory bowel disease is one of the major concern patients have when learning about Accutane side effects of the acne drug Accutane. The prescription drug was pulled from the pharmaceuticals market in 2009 by its manufacturer, Hoffman La Roche, after a number of patients complained of serious side effects linked to the drug, many contacting Accutane lawyers in order to file suit against the drug makers. Many of the patients involved in Accutane litigation have filed suit because they suffer from Accutane inflammatory bowel disease, which can cause serious and life-altering symptoms and often affects the patient for the rest of his or her life.

Plaintiffs continue to consult Accutane lawyers and file Accutane lawsuits to this day, and now a petition is gaining ground on change.org, with signers urging Roche to "tell the truth" and "come clean" about inflammatory bowel disease related to Accutane. 

Inflammatory bowel disease is actually a collective name for more than one disorder that has been linked to Accutane. The disorders have differences, but they all affect the gastrointestinal tract and cause inflammation. Accutane ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon or large intestine, and Accutane Crohn's disease, which can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, are both major conditions covered under the "inflammatory bowel disease" umbrella. Both of these diseases have been cited in Accutane litigation. 

Symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease include diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, severe and or chronic pain in the abdomen, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, bleeding from the rectum, joint pain, skin problems, fever, and iron deficiency anemia. These symptoms can have a serious impact on a patient's day to day life and they can last a lifetime. Complications can develop, including bleeding from ulcers, perforation or rupture of the bowel, kidney stones, dilation of the colon--which can be life-threatening, gallstones, arthritis, bowel narrowing, liver and kidney disorders, bone loss, eye inflammation, and an increased risk of colon cancer. 

Even experts are unsure what causes inflammatory bowel disease, but a number of scientific studies have reported the link between Accutane use and inflammatory bowel disease. One study showed that Accutane users were four times more likely to develop ulcerative colitis within a year than people who do not use the drug. However, other studies have shown no such link.