Sorry I can't help. I was dx with my POF due to a chromosome abnormaility at age 30. It seems like there are so many more women these days being dx with POF. It makes you wonder what we are eating or what is in our environment to cause this if anything? Maybe more when are seeking treatment now and talking about it and it has always been an issue? You have an interesting idea though.

Thanks for the response. I'm sure I'll never know the exact cause, but I can't help but wonder. My doctor did say that they are seeing more and more younger women with this problem which is a bit worrisome to them. i am going to ask my doctor about it.

Hi, I came across this thread because I've been searching online to see if anyone out there can link accutane with infertility. Its a long story and probably the beginning of a long journey for me! I have take accutane twice now, just ended the second course about 5 months ago, and had a menstrual cycle one month after and then haven't had one since. I have just started going to doctors to see why my menstrual cycle has stopped suddenly. I took the provera (estrogen challenge) and I did not have withdrawal bleeding. I have to go back in to discuss whats next but from my premature research, it seems I have low estrogen, and one of the the 3 strong possibilities for why I didn't haven't the withdrawal bleeding could be premature ovarian failure. I wont know the answers to these questions until more tests are done, but I keep wondering if some how this is linked to my using the accutane. I hope this helped, at least to let you know that I too am wondering if accutane has caused issues of infertility, etc.

Thank you for your response Lynn. I'm still searching to find anything showing any type of relation. I won't be seeing my doctor for a few weeks, but when I get the chance I'm going to ask if he has heard of any relation. The doctor did tell me that they are seeing this happen more often in women in their 20's and early 30's, they are starting to worry. If I hear of anything, I will definately post it.

Hi Kris, I just found out from my doctor two days ago that I have low ovarian reserve as well. I am 27 years old and was on Accutane twice for 4-5 months; once when I was 19 and again when I was 22 or 23. I don't ever recall having 'regular' periods, though, so I may have had low ovarian reserve all along. I was on birth control from when I was 17 until this past April and according to my doctors, my irregular periods were attributed to that. My doctor now wants to run another 3rd day test to reassess my FSH hormone, but I am not sure why? So, now it is just a waiting game to see what she says my options are. I just want you to know, you are not the only one questioning the Accutane factor. I will ask my doctor as well and let you know if I hear anything substantial. I'm still trying to digest all of this.

I never did accutane and I didn't have POF - I was 38 when I married and started trying to concieve. However, my RE is a firm believer in taking DHEA to improve FSH levels in women of advanced maternal age and younger women w/ POF. The one IVF cycle where I took DHEA I got 14 eggs (at age 42) and the most I'd ever gotten from previous retrievals was 12 before that. You might want to ask your RE's what they think of DHEA. Just a thought.

Though I have many diseases...and was born with congenital heart defects...I AM SURE ACCUTANE IS THE CAUSE OF MY POF...EVEN THE MOST SKEPTICAL OF DOCTORS WHO LOOK AT MY CASE HAVE TO NOW SERIOUSLY CONSIDER EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME INCLUDING POF AND ITS CONNECTION TO ACCUTANE! I HAVE A FEW LAW FIRMS WORKING ON IT AS WELL!!!! SO IF YOU SUFFER FROM POF AND IT IS NOT IN YOUR FAMILY PLEASE LET ME KNOW....IT IS VERY IMPORTANT..WE MAY BE ABLE TO FIND OUT WHY THIS HAPPENED TO US!!! ALSO IF YOU HAVE ANY AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AND TOOK ACCUTANE PLEASE LET ME KNOW THAT TOO! THANKS AND GOD BLESS!!!! NO MATTER HOW ANY OF US GOT IT..IT IS TERRIBLE ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT HAVE CHILDREN!!!! MY HEART GOES OUT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!

I can also explain the connection....Number one reason for POF (without a genetic factor/familial) is Chemotherapy/Radiation..all of my friends who have gone through chemo to save their lives from cancer became sterile/and were put prematurely into menapause...Well recently I found out (no shocker many know this but I did not) ACCUTANE IS CHEMO...HENCE MY THEORY; My mom went through her changes at 56...all the docs said "Oh your mom must have went early as well," Not quite! I crashed through at 38! And I do believe(since I never even had a miscarriage before I took accutane and had 3 post (after docs said I was clear to try again)that accutane is responsible for both.

I took accutane for about 6 months, at age 31; by 36 I was in menopause. An interesting link on eHealthMe on self-reported side-effects of accutane: "21,260 people reported to have side effects when taking Accutane. Among them, 14 people (0.07%) have Premature Menopause."

Unlike other drugs, virtually everyone has some kind of a side effect while on accutane, so this suggests that 7% of people who ever took accutane later experienced premature menopause. This number is for both men and women, so if accutane is given to both males and females roughly equally, 14% of women who took accutane had premature menopause).

Here's that link on eHealthMe: http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/accutane/premature+menopause

This is a very interesting topic. My produced very few eggs (follicles) during my cycles but I was 37 when I started by infertility process. According to the drs. myself and dh didn't have anything wrong with us. But he said that my age is most likely playing the factor for me. I hope you ladies fine your answer. I never took Accutane and my mother went through menopause at 45.

I find this very interesting as I used accutane for my wedding when I was 24 years old (I'm 29 now). I have had endometriosos my entire life which is why I thought I couldn't get pregnant. On top of that I have little to no eggs left and each IVF cycle I've only been able to retrieve 3-4 eggs (both IVF cycles have failed). I'm very interested to find out if this relates to infertility. I will definitely be asking my doctor!

I just noticed this post.
In my mid 30s, I took tetracycline for a while (for acne). In my late 30s I was diagnosed with diminished ovarian reserve. I don't know if there is a connection there. Might be, might not. I did not take the tetracycline for very long, just a few months.

My doctor at the time warned me it could cause severe birth defects. She told me to quit taking it, so I did.

I took accutane 5 years ago. At 32, I am infertile.

I mean it is possible...It's a drug :( and ALL drugs have side effects.
A bit out there, but have you looked into a functional medicine practitioner that practices alternative medicine. You're so young, that unless you have terminal cancer or surgery, it's hard to believe that some of the damage done in your ovaries can not be some what reversed so that you CAN conceive.

For a few years I was careless because I thought I couldn't easily concieve and I didn't conceive.
It wasn't until I started having gastro issues (pretty bad) in my mid late twenties that I became desperate for answers because conventional doctors just said "sorry just deal with it theres really nothing else we can do to totally fix you"
I started focusing intensely on my gut health. I eliminated reactive foods. I incorporated gut healthy & nourishing foods. I took a probiotic and cooked with a lot of anti-inflammatory herbs. I significantly reduced my stress level. Slept more. Laughed more. Cared for my body more.
Well what do you know... two years into dating my guy one night we were making love and I asked him to go inside of me for the fun of it and thinking too that in the past for so many years that never caused an issue for me...well I found out I was pregnant three weeks later!
I only had a few small flare-ups through out the pregnancy mainly due to succumbing to intense cravings (forbidden unhealthy food!) I went into labor 5 hours after my last flare-up, my baby girl was born prematurely but she is well now!
I share this story with (skipping many details of course) to highlight the possibility of getting better for you and possibly conceiving. Good luck to you!