My 17 Yo Son Has Been On Doxycycline For 1

Posted on Sun, 23 Dec 2018

Question: My 17 yo son has been on doxycycline for 1 year (2017-2018) and Keflex for 1 year (2018-2019) for acne moderate. He has been treatment resistant and dermatologist now wants to use Accutane. My son in the last year has had 2-3 episodes of stomach pain lasting hours but able to stay in school. One episode we believe was from coffee use. 1 episode w diarrhea. No bloody stool. If you were his parent, would you trial the Accutane or should we get a colonoscopy to check for signs of UC or Crohn’s disease?

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Accutane can be tried out

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service.

Accutane (isotretinoin) is a form of vitamin A and is used to treat severe nodular acne. Your son can give it a try.

Abdominal pain can be due to a number of causes and gastritis would be tge first cause to consider. I would not insist on getting a colonoscopy done first. Rather, it would beva good idea to visit a doctor and get a clinical evaluation done first. The location and nature of pain would offer valuable insights to the possible cause.

Feel free to write back.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng

Follow up: Dr. Diptanshu Das (15 minutes later)

The question is more in regards to the RISK of Doxycycline use and IBD. Since he took it for a year and is now wanting to try Accutane, what is the risk of developing IBD since both meds seem to increase that risk. We do not have a FHx of autoimmune d/o or IBD.

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
A colonoscopy will help in evaluating the risk

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for clarifying. As you rightly understand, the risk of IBD is indeed increased by the prolonged intake of Doxycycline. However, there is no way the risk can be quantified. In such a case it would perhaps be a good idea to get a colonoscopy done first in order to assess how much the risk could go up further in case Accutane is used.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng