Hi everyone, this is my first post although have been looming around here for a while now as a guest.
I have had acne now for 20 years, got my first spot on my last day of primary school and it just got progressively worse from then on. I would say its always been pretty moderate with quite severe breakouts a 4 or 5 times a year. The last few years its kind of got a bit better, with bad breakouts every now and then but a lot clearer than I used to be. I have always just used topical creams, with Duac being my most recent and effective treatment. I have never used antibiotics or anything as I have always been a bit anxious about taking medicines unless Im really, really sick and just thought I could keep it (sort of) under control with the ointments.
Well, I am now having the most awful, horrendous break out I have EVER experienced. Ive had bad ones before but nothing like this. It started on my forehead about 3 weeks ago (where I hardly ever get spots) and has now spead completely over the whole forehead and down the left side of my face in these huge, angry clusters of cysts and pimples. I actually look disfigured. I have had to take 2 weeks off of work and havent left my house except to take my daughter to school and get shopping in about 2 weeks, as I cant even wear make up anymore and cant bear people to see me like this. I have also hardly seen my partner as Im just too embarressed and cant explain to him why. So its having a pretty detrimental effect on my life to say the least!
So basically, I went to the doc today and she has perscribed me Lymecycline and Acnecide cream, as I cannot use my Duac while on the tablets. Im really nervous about taking the Lymecycline though as I have heard it can make things worse before making them better, and I dont know if can honestly take it getting any worse! So im just wondering if anyone could share their experiences of Lymecycline and Acnecide for severe acne, bad or good, so I can maybe get an idea of what Im dealing with here? Im a woman on the edge at the moment!!!
Thank you for your reply, it does help that there are other people who can understand. I have been under quite a bit of stress since the beginning of the year which im sure has contributed to it. I also got into the bad habit of wearing makeup to bed quite often, which i never normally did before, and wont ever be doing again! My skin was looking really clear before this happened and i guess i just took it for granted, which was silly.
When I don't take any form of medication for my skin I get very severe acne - pustules, papules, huge cysts, you name it I get it. It gets so bad that even eating and smiling become painful. I was put on Tetracycline (same as Lymecycline) about 7 months ago. It hasn't cleared my acne but definitely helps massively to keep it at a level that I can deal with. When taking it I have maybe 1-3 active small spots whereas when I don't all hell breaks loose. Its been a positive experience for me and I'd really recommend it.
Thank you for that, its given me hope 
And I am really glad they have seemed to work for you. I know what you mean about the pain, raising my eyebrows at the moment is very uncomfortable! I used the acnecide for the first time last night, and although it has made my skin very red and quite sore, it does seem to have dried the spots out a tiny bit and they are slightly less pronounced. Took my first Lymecycline about an hour ago too, so I will update on the results as I go.
I was on lymecycline for 3 months (dec-feb) but it had no effect, it didn't make my acne worse though. I was on doxycycline last year, which cleared me pretty well, but I became resistant, I think I was therefore also resistant to lymecycline since they are both tetracyclines 
The doxy did take about 2/3 months to have any real effect, so you will have to be patient. A word of warning though, even if it works eventually you will become resistant, it's just a matter of time and then you will probably break out more than ever, I know I did. My acne is worse now than when I started antibiotics, though right now I'd imagine you're thinking 'it can't get any worse!'.
Good luck, I hope it works for you, however I don't think you should let the acne stop you leaving the house, especially since the treatment can take months to work, experiment with different make ups to conceal it a little, even if you can't cover it completely
Thank you thats very helpful I am aware that its not a cure but what I am hoping is that it will at least clear up this breakout that I'm having now and then I can go back to my duac afterwards, as that was moderately controlling it until I stopped using it as regularly as I should. I'm sorry that your skin is bad at the moment, I hope you manage to find another treatment that works for you. And makeup just seems to aggravate my skin really badly at the moment Its so annoying.
Yeah, its definitely not a cure but it can give you great relief. Forgot to mention that when I first started taking it (was in a particularly bad way at that time) it took about 3 weeks to kick in, sometimes when I miss taking it for whatever reason it only takes about 2 days(!) now. I've seen it mentioned that taking it with an empty stomach makes it more effective, which I think is true but it only makes it slightly better from my experience.
Anyway, hope it works for you, if not don't despair - theres plenty of other stuff out there
I was put on Lymecycline in October and I am still taking it now. My skin looks so so much better now, although I still get acne. As for an initial breakout, it was hard to tell as I was constantly getting new acne coming through any way but I'm pretty sure the drug didn't give me much of an IB.
Just think that even if you do get a horrific IB, your skin should get better afterwards. My advice to you would be to have patience as this drug took at least 2 months for me to see much of an improvement.
Best wishes to you and your skin
I was on 5 different types of Anti-Biotics for my achne and Lymecyline personally for me was the most effective ! It never fully cleared my achne but definitely reduced it! I had absolutely no side effects and cannot remember getting worse before better. I do remember absolutely nothing happening for a good 3-4 weeks before i started to see results.
Also for me personally if i ever missed 1 or 2 days of the Lymecycline my achne came back fast and furious!
I am now on Accutane as a final measure to clear my achne , but after this i would happily go back on Lymecycline !
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I was actually just considering not taking it anymore as yesterday I had the most horrific stomach pains which I can only contribute to the Lymecycline as it does state that abdominal pain is a common side effect. Also my skin seems to be clearing up slowly from using the BP and changing my facewash and moisturiser, and also going on a diet solely of fresh fish, salad and fruit. What is really worrying me as well is that nearly all the user experiences on here from people who have finished their course is that the acne comes back worse than ever afterwards, which makes me think is it really worth it? I really dont want to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life due to my skin and wont ever take Accutane as the side effects sound pretty horrendous. Maybe I will stick with it for now and see what happens.
Also I was wondering if people have had any adverse effects from drinking alcohol on this drug? My friend is coming to stay for the weekend and we usually go through a few bottles of wine when we are together
Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I was actually just considering not taking it anymore as yesterday I had the most horrific stomach pains which I can only contribute to the Lymecycline as it does state that abdominal pain is a common side effect. Also my skin seems to be clearing up slowly from using the BP and changing my facewash and moisturiser, and also going on a diet solely of fresh fish, salad and fruit. What is really worrying me as well is that nearly all the user experiences on here from people who have finished their course is that the acne comes back worse than ever afterwards, which makes me think is it really worth it? I really dont want to be on antibiotics for the rest of my life due to my skin and wont ever take Accutane as the side effects sound pretty horrendous. Maybe I will stick with it for now and see what happens.
Also I was wondering if people have had any adverse effects from drinking alcohol on this drug? My friend is coming to stay for the weekend and we usually go through a few bottles of wine when we are together
I also experienced stomach pains when I was on this, they would occur about 15 mins after taking the capsule, but didn't last that long, I could put up with it if it was working. I personally don't believe antibiotics are worth it, like you I don't want to be on them forever. I am a pharmacy technician and yes it is fine to drink 