24 replies to this topic

[CaliKisses]

I started taking doxycycline this past Monday (5 days ago). In doing some research, I have found people who say it is bad for you and will just end up making your acne worse when you stop taking it because the acne bacteria becomes even more resistant, which needless to say, scared the hell out of me...I do not need my face getting worse.

The second thing they mentioned was that if you do decide to go forward with taking this antibiotic, that because it kills both good and bad bacteria, you need to take a good probiotic to replace the good bacteria. There are so many probiotics out there and I don't know which one is good. Money is not an issue...I am willing to spend extra for something that works.

Is there any truth to any of these claims and/or any suggestions as to a probiotic that has helped someone?

[Murph89]

I personally drink cultured coconut milk. It has pre and probiotics and live active cultures. You can get pre and probiotics through yogurt, or by pills. If you go the pill route, look for I believe it's a 10 strain. I like the coconut milk aka yogurt because im getting calories and probiotics at the same time, and it's delicious.

And I'm on doxycycline. Been on it for a week and a half. 350 mg.

Edited by Murph89, 21 July 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[onefatalgoose]

Is there any truth to any of these claims and/or any suggestions as to a probiotic that has helped someone?

Regarding antibiotics, there is plenty of truth to that claim. They are only good while you are on them. I think it would be the worst feeling to go from being acne free to suddenly having it right back again when you are inevitably taken off of them. Plus antibiotics are pointless because you haven't addressed the underlying issue as to what is causing your acne. The best thing you can do for yourself internally is a very strict diet change. One that focuses on cleansing your body using whole, organic, nutrient dense foods. Not to mention cutting out all the crap food in your diet like refined sugars, gluten, vegetable oils, table salt, and anything super processed really

Probiotics are great, and you can ferment your own vegetables to get beneficial probiotics. They're also in fermented dairy products but i'm personally done with anything dairy. I'm sure there are some decent ones you can purchase, but i'm no expert on what the best ones are, so i'll let someone else answer that

[AKL]

I started taking doxycycline this past Monday (5 days ago). In doing some research, I have found people who say it is bad for you and will just end up making your acne worse when you stop taking it because the acne bacteria becomes even more resistant, which needless to say, scared the hell out of me...I do not need my face getting worse.

The second thing they mentioned was that if you do decide to go forward with taking this antibiotic, that because it kills both good and bad bacteria, you need to take a good probiotic to replace the good bacteria. There are so many probiotics out there and I don't know which one is good. Money is not an issue...I am willing to spend extra for something that works.

Is there any truth to any of these claims and/or any suggestions as to a probiotic that has helped someone?

Though personally, I'm not a fan of antibiotics (unless you really need them), there really is no conclusive evidence that your acne will come back worse (or at all) after a course of Doxycycline. It is however a good idea to supplement with probiotics, either through diet or by taking a supplement. Here's an article you may find of interest: Probiotics And Antibiotics: A Brief Overview. If you decide to take a probiotic supplement, these have been mentioned several times on our forums:

Garden of Life Primal Defense (12 strains of soil probiotics, not sure about the amount)
Renew Life Ultimate Flora (10 strains, 50 billion CFU's)
Healthy Origins (8 strains, 30 billion CFU's)

I'm sure I'm missing some, but it wouldn't make the choice any easier anyway.

Make sure to take them at least 2 hours apart from the antibiotics (as stated in the article).

As most people here will tell you: have a look at your diet as well, if you haven't already. Try to eliminate (or seriously reduce) junk food and sugar first, and foods you have an intolerance for. One thing: don't stress, if you can't or don't want to change everything right now, then just start with one thing, then the next, etc. Just try to be as healthy as you can, and don't freak out when things don't work right away. Good luck on your journey!

[CaliKisses]

Thank you for all of the great advice! I will have to look into some of these suggestions. My diet has been pretty good lately, I am just not great with keeping it extremely strict...I get frustrated! When I do constantly watch it, I feel like it runs my life. But for the most part, it is pretty healthy with very minimal dairy and whatnot.

[SamIman]

i'd get off anti biotics, only temporay relief and then you have worse problems than from when you started. and kefir is one of the best way to repopulate that good bacteria

[DaftFrost]

Stop consuming much sugar, starve the bad bacterias. Start eating fermented foods like, kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha.

I'd recommend buying yourself several Kefirs from store, or kombucha drink in Whole Foods market.

[AKL]

Thank you for all of the great advice! I will have to look into some of these suggestions. My diet has been pretty good lately, I am just not great with keeping it extremely strict...I get frustrated! When I do constantly watch it, I feel like it runs my life. But for the most part, it is pretty healthy with very minimal dairy and whatnot.

You're welcome! And I know how it must feel, just don't constantly watch it. Small steps will take you there as well, it just takes a little bit longer. It will become a habit, eventually, don't let it run your life. That's the opposite of what you want to achieve.

I'd recommend buying yourself several Kefirs from store, or kombucha drink in Whole Foods market.

Would you mind elaborating on the kombucha? I remember reading about it some 10 years or so ago, it was kind of a hype back then. Some mushroom/fungus or something you'd have to cultivate, promising all kinds of health benefits, but I can't really recall the details.

[alternativista]

i'd get off anti biotics, only temporay relief

And they are really prescribed to reduce inflammation, not to kill bacteria. And you should instead follow and anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle. Consume antioxidants instead of drugs.

[Binga]

ask ur doctor to see if u need probiotics

[SamIman]

ask ur doctor to see if u need probiotics

they dont know nothing, besides writing out prescriptions

[Quetzl1]

Doxycycline won't impact your gut flora unless you're taking egregious amounts, or unless you;re on it for, say, a year. It also does not kill bacteria - it inhibits them so they don't divide as often. The reason it works is because it inhibits the bacteria on your skin, which there are far fewer of than in your digestive tract.

I've taken Primal Defense and it did help. However, I'm worried that probiotics are as much of a band-aid fix as antibiotics (unless taken in large quantities for a long time). Evidence suggests that probiotics don't stay in your gut - you go off them, and they're all gone within a few days.

[sepsi]

I recently wrote a blog post about this: http://www.acneeinst...long-term-harm/

All antibiotics affect probiotics in the gut at least to some degree. This hasn't been studied too well ands it depends on the composition of your gut microflora and whether those strains are resistant to antibiotics.

I know that Clindamycin can cause severe disturbances even after 7 day course. Two studies showed that the minor disturbances persistent for 2 and 4 year after the treatment. It's a different matter whether those minor disturbances cause any problems. One, quite old study showed that doxycycline has less affect on probiotic bacteria in the gut than some other anti-acne antibiotics. But that study is like 25 years old. Lot of things may have changed since.

If you do take antibiotics then you should take probiotics also. This has been studies quite a few times, and taking probiotics leads to smaller disturbance in the gut bacteria and they tend to recover faster.

The larger point is whether one should take antibiotics for acne at all. There's no evidence AT ALL to show they lead to meaningful long-term difference in acne. I couldn't believe when I found out that nobody has bothered to study relapse rates of acne after oral antibiotics.

Medicine is an art of balancing risks with benefits. In this case there's little to no long-term benefit from antibiotics and there's at least a minor risk that they cause long-term complications in the gut flora. Not to mention the very real risk of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

I would give antibiotics a miss, but that's only my personal reading of the evidence.

[fruitlover]

When it comes to probiotics, I will recommend the brand that I'm using. It's actually recommended by my doctor. It is from a natural health doctor named Dr. Mercola. I've been taking this brand for more than a year now and so far, I really see and feel great results especially when it comes to my gut. This supplement really aids my digestion. I'm not having any problems when it comes to my bowel movement ever since I take this. I'm not sure if you will experience similar effect but would recommend for you to check it first and ask your doctor about the labels. It's good on me so I'm sure that it will also be good on you.

[AKL]

I'd recommend buying yourself several Kefirs from store, or kombucha drink in Whole Foods market.

Would you mind elaborating on the kombucha? I remember reading about it some 10 years or so ago, it was kind of a hype back then. Some mushroom/fungus or something you'd have to cultivate, promising all kinds of health benefits, but I can't really recall the details.

Hmmm...I guess you don't wanna share your knowledge...

The larger point is whether one should take antibiotics for acne at all. There's no evidence AT ALL to show they lead to meaningful long-term difference in acne. I couldn't believe when I found out that nobody has bothered to study relapse rates of acne after oral antibiotics.

Good point, sepsi! I actually posted something in the research section a couple of months ago, suggesting that the placebo effect plays a big role:

Oral tetracyclines may not be effective in treating acne: dominance of the placebo effect.

Abstract
Oral tetracyclines (tetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline and lymecycline) have been commonly regarded as effective for treating both inflammatory and non-inflammatory acne. An excellent review of efficacy of 57 clinical trials by Simonart et al. in 2007 concluded that compared to the baseline before treatment, efficacies of all tetracyclines were similar (mean reduction in inflammatory lesions and non-inflammatory lesion being 54.3 ± 1.4% and 45 ± 2.6%, respectively) and were not affected by dosage amount (40 - 1,000 mg per day) and treatment period (4 - 24 weeks). These interesting findings may be pharmacodynamically rationalized by weak intrinsic anti-acne activity of tetracyclines and strong placebo effects. This hypothesis was supported by published data indicating that during weeks or months of daily administration, the placebo effect approached the effect of minocycline or doxycline in reducing acne lesions in three separate studies. The present work suggests the importance of considering placebo effects in the evaluation of anti-acne products. The treatability of acne was discussed in view of the slow and weak intrinsic anti-acne property of oral tetracyclines, and the reported fast (within days) elimination (curing) of severe acne by intralesional corticosteroids and antibiotics. The subantimicrobial or non-antimicrobial doses (e.g., only a small fraction) of various oral tetracyclines may be much lower than those commonly recognized.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22373829

[DaftFrost]

Hmmm...I guess you don't wanna share your knowledge...

Oops sorry, didn't know you replied. I don't actually pay much attention to the notifications, it always says about how its digested, I just come and visit the nutrition section and view threads that's all.

But as to answer your question.

Kombucha is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with the kombucha culture. The result can taste like something between sparkling apple cider and champagne, depending on what kind of tea you use. It's not what you'd imagine fermented tea to taste like.

It is the fermentation which is beneficial. You can just google lot more on kombucha, there are ones you'll find in "whole Foods" which is certainly tasty but it's pricy. You can ferment your vegetables also and it alkalizes them. Kimchi is delicious.

[AcneIsACurse]

Yeah probiotics are really important, go to your local health food store and buy kimchi, sauerkraut, or dairy-free kefir. I've tried all of these 3 and I think dairy-free kefir is best if you want a drink and if you want calories, and sauerkraut/kimchi is best if you're eating it with a meal. Personally I think sauerkraut is the best because you can eat a lot of it and not get very full, wheras kefir is very thick almost like a milkshake so after 1 glass of it you're already pretty full lol, so with sauerkraut you can probably get more probiotics out of it every time. Kimchi is alright but its pretty spicy, and too much spicy things I heard are not good for the stomach. Sauerkraut is simply fermented cabbage with salt and water and it tastes great!

[AKL]

Oops sorry, didn't know you replied. I don't actually pay much attention to the notifications, it always says about how its digested, I just come and visit the nutrition section and view threads that's all.

But as to answer your question.

Kombucha is a living health drink made by fermenting tea and sugar with the kombucha culture. The result can taste like something between sparkling apple cider and champagne, depending on what kind of tea you use. It's not what you'd imagine fermented tea to taste like.

It is the fermentation which is beneficial. You can just google lot more on kombucha, there are ones you'll find in "whole Foods" which is certainly tasty but it's pricy. You can ferment your vegetables also and it alkalizes them. Kimchi is delicious.

It's alright, DaftFrost. From what I remember, it was very beneficial, but I don't remember the details. Guess I'll have to look it up again. Thanks for your reply!

[sepsi]

Good point, sepsi! I actually posted something in the research section a couple of months ago, suggesting that the placebo effect plays a big role:

Interesting stuff about placebo effect. I have to look into this in more detail. Unfortunately couldn't access the whole text of the study you quoted. Would you by any change have the full text version?

[AKL]

Interesting stuff about placebo effect. I have to look into this in more detail. Unfortunately couldn't access the whole text of the study you quoted. Would you by any change have the full text version?

Definitely, if this is true, it could turn the antibiotics world upside down. I don't have the full text, unfortunately, if you follow the links, it'll take you to a website where you can buy the full study.