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My Insomnia (As Far As I Know) Is Being Caused By Accutane

by Hanna Haddad
(Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE.)

For 2 weeks I haven't been able to sleep without medication, it started on a night that I thought i was just gonna have a bad night. I was in bed trying to sleep and I couldn't. This is very unlike me, I'm normally able to sleep with ease.


This got me thinking that I'm probably going to have anxiety problems again, like i did exactly a year earlier. This bothered me a lot as when i was going through that time, it was terrible and I didn't want it to happen again.

My mother and I got fed up of it, so we decided to visit a psychiatrist, I told him a bunch of stuff like how I've been feeling, I said quite normal until this happened. I told him about my sleeping problems and he asked me a few more questions and he nearly came to a conclusion until I told him about the accutane i had been taking for 5-ish months and recently increased my dose. He said straight away that that's it. I was sorta speechless.

Which brings me back to my case the year before, I was on minocycline hydrochloride, which just blew my mind. I never ever had any anxiety problems, or troubles sleeping until I started my courses of different acne medication.

The main point that I'm trying to make is I can't sleep and I think my circadian rhythm has been erased. Is this possible and is it reversible? Please easy my mind because the less I know just unsettles me even further and gives me more anxiety.

I am definitely off of the accutane. if anyone out there has experienced this and you know it was caused by accutane, just please tell me something. What did you do and how did you do it? Thanks

-HH

Comments for My Insomnia (As Far As I Know) Is Being Caused By Accutane

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Nov 04, 2018
 v NEW
by: Anonymous

I'm experiencing the same exact m. I've been on accutane for about 3 weeks and my sleeping apnea is becoming worse😭😭
Feb 12, 2019
 Isotretinoin trouble sleeping and irregular menstruation NEW
by: Anonymous

I am experiencing the same..its been more than 1 week now I haven't had enough sleep..i've been on isotretinoin for more than 3months and now I am suffering for an insomnia.. I couldn't fall asleep!!!and 2months now my menstruation is not coming...
Aug 31, 2019
 I certainly believe accutane causes insomnia
by: Anonymous

Am also on accutane for more than a month now and have may been sleeping since I started using it? Even though it working with my acne, but it absolutely deprived me of sleeping.
Oct 17, 2019
 Me too!!
by: Kes

I was on a lower dose of Accutane for a month and all was good. The dose was increased and within a few days the insomnia struck. I too have never had issues with sleep and I often find myself sleeping too much with no issues. Now, I close my eyes to sleep and it feels like I’m wide awake. I just lie there for hours and then I pass out for a few hours but as soon as something wakes me up after I’ve fallen asleep, I can’t fall asleep again. Naps in the day are pointless because I don’t fall asleep. I feel helpless. I’ve stopped taking it now and once this wears off, I’ll go back to the lower dose I was originally on. How long after you stopped taking it were you able to sleep properly again?
Jan 17, 2020
 Insomnia NEW
by: Anonymous

On my third month and I can’t sleep at all, all of a sudden. Glad to see I’m not the only one.
Dec 06, 2020
 No sleep NEW
by: Anonymous

I have been on accutane for about 5 months now and it has DEFINITLEY caused insomnia for me. I have such a hard time falling asleep and when I finally do I wake up within 2 hours later. And then I can’t fall aback asleep. I get a total of 4 hours of sleep every night. No sleep has been making me crazy and even depressed. I have no energy to workout, have leg pains, etc. I am about to go off the acccutane now. Yes, it clears your skin, but are the side effects worth it? In my opinion, NO ITS NOT WORTH IT.
Nov 17, 2021
 13 years after NEW
by: Accutane sucks

Still dry eyes nose skin
Now joints hurting
I haven’t slept more than 4 hours since I was 19
I’m 32 now
This drug def ruins something inside ppl
I’m on benzos now for sleep for over a decade and if I take them I get 4 hours max!!!!!
Without them nothing days without sleep and when I crash it’s 2 hours tops

I hate this drug it ruined my life I feel 90 and my skin looks like rosacea now all the time
It made me worse I regret this drug so much

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