10 replies to this topic

[strwberry2178]

So I posted a few days about about wanting to ween myself off of tetracycline...well I refilled my last bottle, and have decided to not take it and see what happens. How soon after I stop taking it do you think I might start seeing changes (maybe nothing will change since I use topicals as well)? And if I do start taking it again, how soon after I start taking it will it start working again? I forget how long it took to start working when I first starting taking it 1.5 years ago. Thanks!!

I'm really scared to go off of it...I don't want to break out really badly...

[sweetheart519]

What will you be using for maintenance treatment after stopping the antibiotic? You need to use something topically that will keep you from breaking out. Stopping and starting antibiotics a lot is not a good idea.

[strwberry2178]

I have benzaclin and retin-a-micro that I use too, along with the anti-biotic. And the derm. told me I could wean myself off of it whenever I felt comfortable to do so. He said he usually lets his patients decide when they wanna try to come off of it.

[barmpot]

We're talking about 4 or 5 years ago here, but I was taking doxycycline or minocycline (not sure which one it was), and it cleared my acne in its entirety. So silly me I decided I didn't need to take it any more. EH UHH, my acne came back and it came back much worse than before. In total I must have taken antibiotics for 4-5 years and my health is fine, so 1.5 years is ok. If I was you i'd carry on taking them unless you feel unwell or something..

[sweetheart519]

We're talking about 4 or 5 years ago here, but I was taking doxycycline or minocycline (not sure which one it was), and it cleared my acne in its entirety. So silly me I decided I didn't need to take it any more. EH UHH, my acne came back and it came back much worse than before. In total I must have taken antibiotics for 4-5 years and my health is fine, so 1.5 years is ok. If I was you i'd carry on taking them unless you feel unwell or something..

This generally happens if you don't do some kind of maintenance treatment afterwards, and if you just stop cold turkey and don't wean yourself off. The Benzaclin and Retin-A should be plenty to keep your acne under control. You really shouldn't be on antibiotics for more than 4-6 months. It's just not healthy for your body.

[smckay2]

I did what you're doing about 3 weeks ago, and it was a bad idea. I was on Minocycline and felt like it wasn't working, but when I stopped using it, my skin immediately started getting worse. I tried to wait it out to see if it would start getting better, but it never did. I went back to the derm and he put me on double dose of Doxycycline. I just started taking it a week ago, and hoping my skin will start clearing up again. I would definitely advise against starting and stopping antibiotics because it's almost certain your skin will react negatively.

[beau-desordre]

So I posted a few days about about wanting to ween myself off of tetracycline...well I refilled my last bottle, and have decided to not take it and see what happens. How soon after I stop taking it do you think I might start seeing changes (maybe nothing will change since I use topicals as well)? And if I do start taking it again, how soon after I start taking it will it start working again? I forget how long it took to start working when I first starting taking it 1.5 years ago. Thanks!!

I'm really scared to go off of it...I don't want to break out really badly...

tetracycline kept you clear for 1.5 years?? u lucky...

[strwberry2178]

Well I am using Benzaclin and RAM too...so it wasn't just the tetracyclin that helped. and I still seem to break out before my period.

[strwberry2178]

I think I picked a bad time to stop my tetracycline....it's the week before my period...and I usually break out anyway...but now I dk if it's because of my period...or because I stopped taking the tet. ahhhh....

[beau-desordre]

I think I picked a bad time to stop my tetracycline....it's the week before my period...and I usually break out anyway...but now I dk if it's because of my period...or because I stopped taking the tet. ahhhh....

how long ago did you stop tetracycline?! that's probably why! though, im so surprised the bacteria hasnt become immune to it after that length of time! it only worked for me for 6 months

[strwberry2178]

I stopped taking it like 2 weeks ago. But I break out before my period regardless of taking tet.