Acitretin side effects

[jiml]

I'm rapidly developing a dislike for acitretin.

It seems it’s not doing its job Craig and if the joints are suffering, it looks like time to move on, although saying that 3 weeks isn’t long for acetretin to work on the Psoriasis  but the joints and moods need to be taken into account. And in my opinion yes it might be time to move on to a bio.

given the time of year, it's going to be quite a few weeks before I can do anything about this so the neotigason should have ample opportunity to redeem its self before I can access bio's

Let’s hope it kicks in before you next see the dermatologist and the side effects you mention fade away. Then there won’t be the need to change

[Raxyl]

I'm rapidly developing a dislike for acitretin.

It seems it’s not doing its job Craig and if the joints are suffering, it looks like time to move on, although saying that 3 weeks isn’t long for acetretin to work on the Psoriasis  but the joints and moods need to be taken into account. And in my opinion yes it might be time to move on to a bio.

given the time of year, it's going to be quite a few weeks before I can do anything about this so the neotigason should have ample opportunity to redeem its self before I can access bio's

Let’s hope it kicks in before you next see the dermatologist and the side effects you mention fade away. Then there won’t be the need to change  

that would be ideal, TBO the pain is probably all my old injuries catching up with me and not being masked by other meds......I hope

[Fred]

If you are getting psa you certainly don't want to be wasting any time, plus it will make it easier for you to try some biologics, which may be more effective for you. psa sucks.

Every psoriasis patient should be checked or at least keep an eye out themselves for the first signs of psoriatic arthritis and act quickly.

[Wooley]

Agree with most of the, already mentioned, side effects of Acitretin, main things for me at the moment is that I am feeling a bit depressed and I have never felt that in the past, ever!!  Not even when I was diagnosed with cancer!  I have been to my GP who suspects it could be something to do with acitretin because it belongs to some group of drugs that is known to cause depression (I can't remember the name of the group).  Anyway I have to wait until 2nd Jan to see Derm and discuss this with them......

Absolutely no skin shedding on my hands but my feet are a complete nightmare and extremely sore, cracks and despite trying everything I can think of, are completely and absolutely 'un-moisturisable' I know that's not a proper word but describes is perfectly!

Ingrowing nails (both feet and hands) nothing major at the moment but evident......

Aches and pains - oh my goodness, I have never had so many in my life!!  I don't know if it is acitretin or the onset of middle age, or as Craig mentioned years of playing sport and old injuries catching up on me - I do feel all these aches and pains I feel have started this year?  Main areas are lower back, shoulder and weirdly I have done something to my jaw and can't bite properly, that might just be coincidence though, as it may be for all of my ailments!

Eyesight feels like it is getting worse - again could be natural progression of age....

Worst part of all this to me, since I was diagnosed, is that I feel totally and utterly out of control of my own body - which doesn't help with how I am feeling in general..... that said acitretin (or still the effects of PUVA I guess) seems to be working in terms of keeping my PPP at bay for the time being but I don't want to be feeling the way I do at the moment for the long term!

[Raxyl]

Agree with most of the, already mentioned, side effects of Acitretin, main things for me at the moment is that I am feeling a bit depressed and I have never felt that in the past, ever!!  Not even when I was diagnosed with cancer!  I have been to my GP who suspects it could be something to do with acitretin because it belongs to some group of drugs that is known to cause depression (I can't remember the name of the group).  Anyway I have to wait until 2nd Jan to see Derm and discuss this with them......

Absolutely no skin shedding on my hands but my feet are a complete nightmare and extremely sore, cracks and despite trying everything I can think of, are completely and absolutely 'un-moisturisable' I know that's not a proper word but describes is perfectly!

Ingrowing nails (both feet and hands) nothing major at the moment but evident......

Aches and pains - oh my goodness, I have never had so many in my life!!  I don't know if it is acitretin or the onset of middle age, or as Craig mentioned years of playing sport and old injuries catching up on me - I do feel all these aches and pains I feel have started this year?  Main areas are lower back, shoulder and weirdly I have done something to my jaw and can't bite properly, that might just be coincidence though, as it may be for all of my ailments!

Eyesight feels like it is getting worse - again could be natural progression of age....

Worst part of all this to me, since I was diagnosed, is that I feel totally and utterly out of control of my own body - which doesn't help with how I am feeling in general..... that said acitretin (or still the effects of PUVA I guess) seems to be working in terms of keeping my PPP at bay for the time being but I don't want to be feeling the way I do at the moment for the long term!

I totally hear you Wooley, my P has never been this wide spread or out of control. I'm feeling totally out of control

[Millero86]

Hi all,

It sounds like a lot of you are having some nasty effects to Acitretin, what mg have you been prescribed?

I have recently been discharged by my consultant as I had a complete clear up of my Psoriasis following taking Acitretin. 

I had a mixture of plaque and guttate psoriasis (mild to moderate), I was prescribed 10mg of Acitretin and it felt like I had a huge flare - my plaques were angry (at one point they peeled over like they were making a new layer of psoriasis!) and my small patches of guttate became more red. The consultant upped the dosage from 10mg to 25mg (where my plagues smoothed off significantly) and finally to 30mg which was supposed to be combined with UV treatment, however following a holiday to Portugal I had a complete clear up of Psoriasis for the first time in over 10 years! My light treatment was put on hold as the Acitretin was keeping the Psoriasis at bay. I do genuinely believe that Psoriasis does work and it is highly effective when combined at a high dose with light treatment.

Some of the side effects for me

• Headaches/migraines (once I got used to having the drug in my system, these subsided)
  
• Mood swings (again as above, these subsided even when my dosage increased)
  
• Peeling of skin on feet/hands (moderate to severe - didn't effect me massively but I seemed to develop blisters easier, especially when I was running)
  
• Dry lips/nose (this didn't stop throughout taking the drug but Vaseline with the Aloe Vera gel hugely helped)
  
• Dry eyes (This only started when I had been taking 30mg for 3 months and eventually lead to the Consultant taking me off Acitretin - I seemed to be constantly using hydrating Eyedrops, I was open to lowering my dosage but the consultant preferred me to stop taking Acitretin so I could use it again in later life if needed)
  

The dryness is down to the lack of production of vitiman A apparently; it drys out the mucus membranes and it also explained a lot of my stuffiness.

I have just been prescribed Enstilar to help keep any plaques at bay but I have not very little sign of my psoriasis returning and I have not been taking Acitretin for a month.

If you've just started Acitretin, please try sticking with it - it definitely does work!

Cheers

J

[Caroline]

Thanks J.

Very good feedback.

Indeed light therapy and also going on holiday has a probably triple effect.
The sun will generate vitamin D in your skin, that localised vitamin D has a direct effect on the Psoriasis in the skin. But also the spreading of the vitamin in your whole body does have an excellent effect on your immune system.
Adding to that as a third thing is the lack of stress you have in a vacation. So a trigger for Psoriasis is also taken away.

Excellent approach.

Keep on going like that

[Bill]

Always enjoy a good success story, but what about the arthritis? It could either be a side effect of the acitretin, unrelated to the psoriasis and/or related to the psoriasis. I hope it works as well as it has done for you, and I heartily agree with giving things a good try. I have damage from not treating arthritis promptly. It is not something to blindly endure.

[Kat]

I was on Acitretin and it took awhile to work for me, but once it started working things started getting better quickly! But by awhile, I'm talking about a couple months. I was also doing light therapy at the time.

I don't think I had more aches and pains while on Acitretin but it's really hard to say as I have osteoarthritis.

Hope things take a turn for the better soon!!!!

[JohnB]

 J.
I have to agree with you Acitretin does take a while to kick in and can be difficult to live with. But as I have said before as far as I'm concerned when it works the results far outweigh the side effects. It just takes patience.
JohnB