I recently strarted taking my 20mg accutane capsules at dinner (I
take 20 mg every other day), and I think I noticed a significant
increase in dryness, something I had never experienced before at
this dosage. I suspected it might be increased absorption, but had
no idea it could lead to more than 2x increase in absorption. Thanks.

Rick

See the following:

Pharmacokinetics
Absorption

Due to its high lipophilicity, oral absorption of isotretinoin is
enhanced when given with a high-fat meal. In a crossover study, 74
healthy adult subjects received a single 80 mg oral dose (2 × 40 mg
capsules) of Accutane under fasted and fed conditions. Both peak
plasma concentration (C max ) and the total exposure (AUC) of
isotretinoin were more than doubled following a standardized high-
fat meal when compared with Accutane given under fasted conditions
(see Table 2 below). The observed elimination half-life was
unchanged. This lack of change in half-life suggests that food
increases the bioavailability of isotretinoin without altering its
disposition. The time to peak concentration (T max ) was also
increased with food and may be related to a longer absorption phase.
Therefore, Accutane capsules should always be taken with food (see
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION ). Clinical studies have shown that there
is no difference in the pharmacokinetics of isotretinoin between
patients with nodular acne and healthy subjects with normal skin.


In rosacea-support@yahoogroups.com, "cantfakereality"
<cantfakereality@y...> wrote:
>
>
> I have access to very cheap generic 20-mg capsules of Accutane,
but
> they do not exist in the 10-mg format. I know 20 mg/day is
probably
> to high when used in a Rosacea setting, but on Roche`s site they
> site a study showing that the oral absorption of isotretonion was
> less than half when taken on an empty stomach. Logically then, 20
mg
> daily might work like 10 mg if always taken on an empty stomach.
The
> only problem is that the study used a single dose of 2X40 mg,
which
> might not be transferred to a low-dose scenario. So, I was
wondering
> if anyone has seen any studies on absorption of low-dose Accutane,
> preferably comparing taken with meal with the fasted state.
>
> Gary