Among the most damaging of many Accutane side effects are digestive disorders or gastrointestinal maladies known by their acronyms. These are IBD and IBS, and the worst is IBD, which can necessitate an Accutane lawsuit.
What is IBD? The term indicates an inflammatory bowel disease. Such disorders may strike persons with no previous record of gastrointestinal disorders. But the simple fact that they took Accutane or generic Accutane as an acne treatment may mean that the user of these acne treatments is inflicted with IBD.
An IBD can take several forms, and one is Crohn's disease. This was named after American gastroenterologist Burrill Crohn, who explored the disease in the 1930s.
Though it most often affects the small intestine, Crohn's disease can impact the entire gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. In between, it also can do harm to the large intestine, the small intestine, the stomach and the esophagus, or throat. Another danger of Crohn's disease is that it can harm the bowel wall's thickness in its entirety, and not just the inner lining, as with Ulcerative Colitis, or UC.
Also known by the names colitis and granulomatous, Crohn's disease is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body's own immunity system attacks the gastrointestinal system. The result is inflammation and such symptoms as weight loss, abdominal pain, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, rectal bleeding, intestinal bleeding and vomiting. Crohn's disease also can cause ulcers in the affected areas.
The IBD known as Crohn's Disease also can do damage to other parts of the body beyond the digestive tract, causing arthritis, skin rashes, weariness and a lessened ability to concentrate.
Even worse, Crohn's disease has no known cure, either via surgery or medications. It can appear to be gone, but then arise again. At best, a physician can help a Crohn's disease sufferer to maintain remission and to prevent a relapse, as well as to control the disease's symptoms. But the disease will not go away.
Such lifelong health problems make Crohn's disease a serious and costly malady which should merit a lawsuit when it was caused by the use of acne treatments Accutane, Amnesteem, Sotret or Claravis. Alert an Accutane attorney or lawyer with Accutane Lawsuit Lawyer.com to seek financial compensation in the legal arena, where some Accutane victims have been awarded settlements of up to $25 million.
Another diagnosable IBD is Ulcerative Colitis, or UC. It is marked by ulceration and inflammation of the colon's (or large intestine's) inner lining. Causing ulcers, inflammation and sores, UC can be noted by such symptoms as abdominal pain, anemia, fatigue, weight loss, joint pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea and bloody diarrhea.
A less damaging side effect from using acne treatments Accutane or generic Accutane -- all with the active ingredient Isotretinoin -- is irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. It harms the muscle contractions, or motility, of the colon, causing what is called spastic colon. But IBS is not an inflammatory bowel disease on the level of Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's disease and is not a lifelong condition. In short, there's a big difference between IBS and IBD, and IBD is far worse.
But victims can get help. Alert an Accutane defective drug lawyer or attorney with Accutane Lawsuit Lawyer.com by calling toll-free to 1-800-339-0606 or by filling out the free case review form on this website, and start getting help today.