15 replies to this topic

[Johnny]

My doc prescribed me to Minocycline (100g a day). I read that some of you have been taking this drug. What were your experiences, did it clear you up? Did it have any major side effects?

[rojiks]

I will have been on it for a year in December. It worked for a while, but slowly but surely I became immune to it and redeveloped cysts.

I am currently taking 250 mg a day. This is a lot and I wouldn't recommend it (5 pills a day).

As far as side effects go, they were sort of annoying the first month or so. Lightheadedness and mild headaches are what I had. The good news is, no real stomach problems. I noticed the side effects are worse if you eat while taking the medicine. This is due to the medicine being better absorbed when you eat something with it. If you can hack it, do this, you may have better results.

Take the liver tests every three months (like they recommend) and talk to your doc if you have any tightness around your ears or temples. Minocin can cause problems with your ears and vision and tightness in this area can be a sign.

Overall, I wouldn't worry about the side effects. Hopefully you have success with it. My only problem right now are cysts, you should be home free if you can stay away from those (like you have a choice) while only Minocin.

Me? I am off of Minocin in days and am on Accutane after the first of the year, pending success with my laser surgery on the 4th of DEC.

Mike-

[JonATL]

I was on 200 mg of minocycline for quite awhile. In the beginning it helped to clear me a little, but after a few months my skin was back to the way it was before. I am now on 200 mg of doxycycline and haven't had any success with it (I start Accutane in a couple days). One thing that you have to remember when taking antibiotics is that iron and calcium can render them ineffective. In other words if you eat or drink anything with calcium or iron in it within two hours before or two hours after taking an antibiotic, it dramatically reduces the effectiveness of the drug. Here's the tricky part... you really need to eat something when taking these meds., so finding something that doesn't contain calcium or iron can be quite a task. After countless hours of research, I've only found a few foods that don't have either in them. They are: peaches, plums, applesauce and avocado. I usually buy the little fruit cup things and eat one when I take my medication. There may be other foods out there; you just have to really look hard. Just check out the nutritional label and it will tell you. Good luck.

[drummer]

hey,

liver tests?!?!?!?!

uh oh. i was just prescribed this a few days ago and was told nothing about liver tests.

so what is this story? bad for liver?

please respond!

Cheers,

-drummer

[Johnny]

I have been using Minocycline for 2 1/2 weeks now. It did clear me up a little bit, and i haven't noticed any side effects.
My doc didn't say anything about a liver test either, i don't think you should be worried about that drummer.

[avgjoe]

Did you take the minocycline with meals or 2 hours before or after meals?

I was just prescribed the stuff and I don't know when to take it .. ?

:?

[Johnny]

I take one pill every 12 hrs, one right after breakfast and one at night.

[avgjoe]

Johnny do you get weird symptoms or sore joints or discolored skin or anything else scary that I've been reading about??

I'm scared to take medications .. I'm scared its gonna screw up my liver or something - - -

And do you ever drink alcohol when you take this stuff? I asked the pharmacist and supposedly it makes your tolerance much lower.... :oops:

[Johnny]

No I haven't experienced any weird symptoms. I wouldn't worry over your liver and other possible symptoms, just try the medication and make sure you eat something when you take it.
Yes i do drink alcohol, not in an excessive way or something just a few beers when i go out in the weekend.

[BM745]

I took it for awhile. Didn't really do much for me.

I believe I had an allergic reaction to it, as well. I broke out in hives, on my arms and legs, as well as a few inside my throat. It could very well have been something else that caused this, but the doctor suggested I stop taking the minocycline anyway.

[Patsy Stone]

I was on this medication for one month and it did absolutely nothing for my skin.

What it did do was interfere with my birth control pill (spotting) and wrecked havoc on my stomach. This, unfortunately, did not get better as time went on.

[Patsy Stone]

I was on this medication for one month and it did absolutely nothing for my skin.

What it did do was interfere with my birth control pill (spotting) and wrecked havoc on my stomach. This, unfortunately, did not get better as time went on.

[BriansSillyAngel]

This is my first week on Minocycline, and I have to take it once a day until this Sunday, when I can begin twice a day. I haven't experienced any side effects which is great, because I've never been on antibiotics before. However, I feel like the medicine is bringing out all of the acne that I had under my skin. I even broke out a little on my neck, and I never break out there. I'm hoping this is the medicine's way of cleaning my system out. The derm told me she was positive this medication would work for me. If it does not work there are two other antibiotics she wants to try before putting me on Accutane, but I have to stay on Minocycline until my next derm visit in March.

And no, I didn't hear about any liver tests either. I don't think that's true. The only side effects are hives, dark discolorations (like bruises) on the skin after being on it for years, headaches, and joint pain. If you experience any of these you are supposed to stop using it.

UPDATE: Minocycline cleared my face up almost completely! I am SO happy!

[Julie]

Me too, I was on 100mg of minocycline in the summer. I took it for a month and my skin cleared up for 3 months. Yay! Then my cystic acne started up again in the beginning of November, and it's been horrible ever since. Boo!

About 2 weeks ago I started taking the minocycline again and it's NOT WORKING! I assume I've developed a tolerance for it. So I'm going to finish my prescription of it but I'm also doing Dan's regimen.

I posted a longer post about this in the Personal Regimen section.

My conclusion is, minocycline can work AT FIRST and it can work if you only take it once in a while -- but it might not work on a consistent basis if you keep taking cycle after cycle of it.

Anyone else?
Julie

[Berrogers]

I am 23 years old and have had mild to moderate acne (to me it seems extreme) for about 5-6 years. I had tried all the over-the-counter products and all they did was dry me out, so my doctor prescribed Minocycline (I took it for about 3 years). It was a miracle drug for me! I took it at bed time and never had any side effects....until now. About 6 months ago I began to have joint pain in my knees, ancles, wrists and hands. I tried to ignore it and took tons of Tylenol to kill the pain. I went to see 2 orthopedics and had x-rays of all my major joints. The x-rays showed nothing was wrong, but the pain was still there. The pain got so bad that it would bring tears to my eyes when I tried to stand, my fingers swelled so much they looked like sausages and I started running 103 degree temerature on a daily basis. I am normally 115-120 pounds and I got up to 130 within a matter of weeks from not being able to move. I was so tired that the only time I was awake was when I was at work. One day a girl at work mentioned that she heard that a certain type of acne medication could cause Lupus. I started looking it up on the internet and typed in the key words "Lupus and Minocycline". I found tons of web sites that listed Minocycline as a possible cause for Lupus-like symptoms. From what I could find, Minocycline does NOT cause Lupus, it only causes symptoms that resemble Lupus (aka. joint pain, fever, etc) and when you stop taking the medication, the symptoms will stop. I immediately stopped taking Minocycline and my symptoms started to go away. I went to see a Rhumatologist and had tons of blood work done and he determined that all of my problems were caused by the medication and that over time the pain and fever would stop. The blood tests even showed that my liver test was abnormal due to Minocycline. All in all, I don't regret taking the Minocycline. Not everyone has the side effects that I had. My Rhumatologist said that it didn't matter that I took the drug for 3 years before I had the symptoms. He said that you could have symptoms after 3 months, 3 years, or could possibly never have any problems. Everyones body is different and antibiotics effect everyone differently. Good luck, trust me I know how bad acne is and I hope everyone finds a cure for theirs!

[tmack]

Yeah, minocycline can do that to you. I dont advise anyone taking it for more than 6 months since you're risking possible damage to your liver. It also wrecks the lining of your stomach (which explains the stomach upsets) and can cause esophagitis when not enough water is taken with the medication (the effect when minocycline dissolves in the esophagus) and many more . People you really have to read up on medications that you are on and what it can do to your health. Its true that side effects can be rare but you never know how your body is going to react and its better when youre well informed if these sorts of things happen. Goodluck.