9 replies to this topic

[teresa*]

I went to the doctor today and she perscribed me Lymecycline tablets for my acne. I asked to be refered to a dermatologist but she said we need to try antibiotics first. So shes given me two months worth, and if theres no improvement she'll give me another two months worth, and if no improvement after that she'll refer me. She said if they do work I can stay on them long term. Im hoping finally there may be some light at the end of the tunnel...

Just wondered if anyone else has been on this drug/are on it, and if its helped? She said it takes a while for it to kick in.
Also happy its just one tablet once a day with this drug, last ones I was on were one tablet 3 times a day on a empty stomach.

Teresa

[PaulH85]

I took Lymecycline before I started Doxycycline. I was on it for nine months in the end. Kicked in for me after a few weeks and I happy with it for three or four months. The last few months weren't much good for me and I guess my skin was kind of used to it by then. Worth a go though. If it works for you then that's great. If it doesn't quite give the results you'd like then at least you know your doctor's willing to refer you. Mine refuses to refer me, says that the derms in Sheffield only see people with cystic acne so Accutane isn't an option for me. I never had any issues with Lymecycline by the way, in terms of side effects or feeling nauseas and so on, that's always a bonus. Good luck!

[teresa*]

thanks for the info! Glad it worked for you for a while... I am a little concerned about been on a antibiotic long term... do you think the body does build a resistance? The doctor seemed to think sometimes acne will go into remission after a long course! Not sure how true that is.
Thats a real shame your doctor won't refer you, surely there are other drugs/treatments a dermatologist could offer for acne other than cystic. x

[teresa*]

Also, on the instruction leaflet its saying in the 'taking tetralysal with food and drink' section "absorption of tetralysal is not affected by moderate amounts of milk" call me stupid, but what is a moderate amount of milk?! I was going to take them every morning as it recommends with water, but I also have a hot chocolate made with milk every morning as I never have time for a breakfast. Do you think that will be ok still? I dont want to do anything which will prevent the tablets working fully.

[PaulH85]

No, it's not a stupid question. Perfectly logical that you'd want to cover all bases to make sure the antibiotics can work fully. I would guess that the amount of milk you'd use to make a mug of hot chocolate would be fine. I've never taken antibiotics with milk, but that's just by chance rather than design as I either take them with water or when I have a glass of orange juice in a morning. I'm kind of wary of milk at the moment to be honest as I know that a lot of people find their skin gets better when they reduce their dairy intake. But not only that, I got the results of an intolerance test last week and I found that I have an intolerance to boiled milk. That was especially interesting to me as it rang true straight away. I tend to drink more hot milk than chilled milk because I don't always have cereal in a morning, but it's a safe bet that I'll have at least one mug of hot chocolate made with hot milk at some point during the day. So I've cut out hot milk along with a few other things and I'll see how I get on for a few weeks.

I never really got to grips with what the doctors were telling me about dermatologists to be honest. All the doctors at the surgery I go to were all singing the same tune about how the dermatologists in Sheffield will only see people if their acne is severe, cystic and doesn't respond at all to anything else. My acne has only ever been moderate at the absolute worst, it’s very rare that I get cysts and by definition, it does respond to antibiotics. The fact that they don't get rid of it and it has come back worse in the past didn't seem to matter to them, they said that a response was a response and that was that. Couldn't help feel aggrieved by it as I know that people in other cities get to see dermatologists once they've tried antibiotics, and certainly in the States I would have been given Accutane like a shot, purely on the basis that the acne has carried on into adulthood and has a majorly negative impact on the quality of my life and mind-set, but it seems that doesn't carry any weight with my doctors.

Regarding the duration of the course, my experience led me to certainly believe that the acne builds up an tolerance after a long course. That's the opposite of what you were told of course, but my acne definitely didn't go into remission. I was on Lymecycline for nine months and my doctor didn't want to see me once during that time. I did phone half way through to ask if I needed to be seen and they said it wasn't necessary. I didn't taper off the course either so when it stopped dead after all that time, my skin went totally crazy for weeks. But if your doctor wants to see you after two months and review the situation, that's encouraging and suggests to me that they want to keep an eye on everything in order to make sure things don’t get worse afterwards. I bet you'll be seeing results by the time you go back so you might find you're keen to go for another two months at that point. I doubt that would cause any problems in terms of the acne coming back stronger because four months is about the right length of time in order to be able to properly assess how well it works. Then I guess she'd want to wait maybe a couple of months to see what your skin does once the antibiotics are fully out of your system.

[teresa*]

Thanks for all that info really is helpful! Glad i found this site
Hopefully in a few weeks i'll start to see some changes... if not i guess theres other options to try.

[James Russell]

l also have just started a course of these tablets but was given to me by the dermatologist at my local Hospital, after reading the above posts l cant believe that your doctor wont send you to see your dermatologist, maybe you should try and see another doctor in your surgery,

[JodieeeAnne]

I was on Tetralysal for about 9 months too. I found that I built up as resistance to it and had to move on to a different antibiotic.
I also had an annoying side affect that made the tablet repeat on me throughout the morning (I honestly wouldn't be able to tell you what the taste was) but I was sure it was the tablet but I just soldiered through that in the hope for clear skin.

When the Tetralysal was working for me I did have clear skin (I did combine it with Duac cream also) but unfortunately like Paul I had to stop and change tact. I drank milk quite a lot also as I'm a fiend for drinking water and I never found it to impair the efficiacy of the drug.

Since then I've been on ...

Tetralysal & Duac Cream (Built up a resistance)
Zineryt Topical Lotion (Not strong enough to get rid of my acne)
Doxycycline (Built up a resistance again)
Trimethoprim (Allergic reaction to this one so wouldn't be able to tell you if that one worked or not)

& now my derm is putting me on Accutane in May.

So in all honesty if this is your first go at attacking your acne then you've got alot of other options should it fail.
Just be positive and stick with the courses - things won't transform overnight and maybe keep a picture log so you can see the changes as that always helps me to see the difference.

Just my 2 cents  

[searchingforclearskin]

Hi,

Valentines day (of all days) I went private and saw a dermatologist at a private hospital I was given a prescription of Lymecyclin, Zineryt Lotion and Adapelene gel. My doctor will not send me to a dermatologist either, I have also had to fund a private plastic surgeon to remove a lump which my doctor would not refer me.

When I was 21 I was on tetracycline I think 2/3 a day if I remember ( I can just about remember what I did last week let alone 7 years ago!) after being on these for a few months, I felt awful side effects I then discovered I was anaemic.

I have now been on these tablets for a few weeks, they make me feel so sick, anyone else have any side effects? My skin has cleared up a lot though. The dermatologist recommended I be on the tablets for 3 months and then maybe autumn time I would need another dose.

I am now using clean and clear cleanser which seems to help as well, after all the years of trying liz earle, dermalogica, ren, castor oils I read about she said stick to basic cleansers, moisturisers.

I don't know what is best have spots and feel 100% or have a clear face and feel constantly ill!

[Tamar]

Hej, I am also curretnly on Tetralysal. Started my second round 2 weeks ago. I am also careful with diary product intake. Gosh, its so annoying. I am a female in my 30ies and have never suffered from acne before. It started a year ago. I was put on Tetralysal and Clindoxyl last year and they worked fine. I took tetralysal for about 3 month and used Clindoxyl cream for about 6 month. As soon as I stopped the medication the annoying acne came back! Now i am starting all over. It seems thats its working, I dont have that many painful cysts anymore, but my face is covered in red marks and since yesterday it started to be itchy. Yak!!!!!