The first time I went to a derm I was prescribed an antibiotic (solodyn (aka minocycline)) along with a topical ... i think it was ziana...

I think most derms just prescribe an antibiotic and a topical along with it so you should just ask for it since most derms are pretty comfortable with prescribing antibiotics for acne.

Oh ok thanks for the reply. How did that work out for you? Did it get worse first? (that's what I'm really afraid of)

The first time I went to the doctor I was prescribed Doxycycline and a super harsh cream called Tazorac. I told my doctor (at that time) that I was so sentive that I couldn't even use BP, but he gave me what I was later told was one of the most harsh creams they can give you. All the skin on my face peeled off and I had to stop taking it. The experience was so traumatizing for me that I didn't go back to find a new derm for 4 years.

This time around my new derm put me on Minocycline (without a cream) by itself for a month (which helped quite a bit with my cystic acne) and then the next month I started accutane. I'm near the end of my first month on accutane and so far I have not experienced an initial break-out, so we will see..

If I were you, I could request Minocycline (Doxycycline might work for you, but it didn't for me) and the most mild topical they will give you (stress like CRAZY how sensitive you are).

Oh ok thanks for the reply. How did that work out for you? Did it get worse first? (that's what I'm really afraid of)

I don't think I got an initlal breakout from the actual antibiotic... but my acne was mild at the time. I stopped using ziana after using it for a week because it made my skin extremely oily and sticky and it felt gross. I think it's best to use a topical that works well with your skin in combination with an antibiotic for best results but the main thing that helped the most was the antibiotic.

My acne still got worse over the years (probably due to all the switching around of antibiotics and topicals (I just couldn't find one that worked best for my combination skin)) and now I'm on accutane. I doubt this happens to the majority of people though, I'm just unlucky .

It seems like a lot of people are not happy with the topicals dermatologists prescribe. I was assuming they have to be ALOT better than benzol peroxide. I hope I get something that just works. Thanks for the heads up Kat i'll definitely stress my sensitivity.

It seems like a lot of people are not happy with the topicals dermatologists prescribe. I was assuming they have to be ALOT better than benzol peroxide. I hope I get something that just works. Thanks for the heads up Kat i'll definitely stress my sensitivity.

Acanya worked well for me but it does have benzoyl peroxide in it ... I developed a kind of contact dermatitis to benzoyl peroxide after using it for such a long time so I had to stop Acanya.

Well, I got an appointment with a nurse practitioner. I hope the person I got is as good as a regular dermatologist. I'm guessing they just prescribe the same stuff though.

Just so you know, antibiotics do tend to make acne worse once you stop so keep that in mind. It also messes with your guy so i wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense, especially if your acne is mild at the moment (less than 5 pimples). If your skin is that sensitive then retinoids may not be for you as they are irriation in a tube. If you do have to use one, try Atralin - it's the gentlest retinoid i've ever tried. Since retinoids don't kill acne bacteria, they merely clear pores, you'll need something to replace BP. Try Aczone, thats very mild. That combination never consistently worked for my persistent moderate acne but ti may work for you

Just so you know, antibiotics do tend to make acne worse once you stop so keep that in mind. It also messes with your guy so i wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense, especially if your acne is mild at the moment (less than 5 pimples). If your skin is that sensitive then retinoids may not be for you as they are irriation in a tube. If you do have to use one, try Atralin - it's the gentlest retinoid i've ever tried. Since retinoids don't kill acne bacteria, they merely clear pores, you'll need something to replace BP. Try Aczone, thats very mild. That combination never consistently worked for my persistent moderate acne but ti may work for you

Thanks for the recomendations. I'm still waiting for my appointment on monday. I didn't know you could ask for things. I thought they kinda just look at you and give what they think is best. Generally, do antibiotics do a good job of preventing acne? If they do I couldn't care less about any side effects tbh.

Just so you know, antibiotics do tend to make acne worse once you stop so keep that in mind. It also messes with your guy so i wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense, especially if your acne is mild at the moment (less than 5 pimples). If your skin is that sensitive then retinoids may not be for you as they are irriation in a tube. If you do have to use one, try Atralin - it's the gentlest retinoid i've ever tried. Since retinoids don't kill acne bacteria, they merely clear pores, you'll need something to replace BP. Try Aczone, thats very mild. That combination never consistently worked for my persistent moderate acne but ti may work for you

Thanks for the recomendations. I'm still waiting for my appointment on monday. I didn't know you could ask for things. I thought they kinda just look at you and give what they think is best. Generally, do antibiotics do a good job of preventing acne? If they do I couldn't care less about any side effects tbh.

Minocycline, doxycycline and tetracycline all helped a lot for me to stop cysts and mostly inflammatory acne. Bactrim didn't really do much for me at all. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of antibiotics on noninflammatory acne which is what I had mostly when I was on Bactrim, and it didn't clear up anything. If what you have is mostly inflammatory acne, most antibiotics should be able to help a lot. But once you stop the antibiotic, the chances of acne coming back are very high, as Sasch83 was saying, it's not the best approach for long term treatment of acne. But there are some people that do stay on antibiotics for years and years and end up growing out of the acne phase (but my derm says if you're going to do long term antibiotics, you might as well just do Accutane).

Just so you know, antibiotics do tend to make acne worse once you stop so keep that in mind. It also messes with your guy so i wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense, especially if your acne is mild at the moment (less than 5 pimples). If your skin is that sensitive then retinoids may not be for you as they are irriation in a tube. If you do have to use one, try Atralin - it's the gentlest retinoid i've ever tried. Since retinoids don't kill acne bacteria, they merely clear pores, you'll need something to replace BP. Try Aczone, thats very mild. That combination never consistently worked for my persistent moderate acne but ti may work for you

Thanks for the recomendations. I'm still waiting for my appointment on monday. I didn't know you could ask for things. I thought they kinda just look at you and give what they think is best. Generally, do antibiotics do a good job of preventing acne? If they do I couldn't care less about any side effects tbh.

Minocycline, doxycycline and tetracycline all helped a lot for me to stop cysts and mostly inflammatory acne. Bactrim didn't really do much for me at all. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of antibiotics on noninflammatory acne which is what I had mostly when I was on Bactrim, and it didn't clear up anything. If what you have is mostly inflammatory acne, most antibiotics should be able to help a lot. But once you stop the antibiotic, the chances of acne coming back are very high, as Sasch83 was saying, it's not the best approach for long term treatment of acne. But there are some people that do stay on antibiotics for years and years and end up growing out of the acne phase (but my derm says if you're going to do long term antibiotics, you might as well just do Accutane).

Yeah I read that people take them for a while in hopes to grow out of acne which is what I'm hoping to do. It's good to know that they should help on inflammatory acne. In your experience, did the anti biotics + topical start to prevent new breakouts within the first 1-2 weeks?

Just so you know, antibiotics do tend to make acne worse once you stop so keep that in mind. It also messes with your guy so i wouldn't recommend it as a first line of defense, especially if your acne is mild at the moment (less than 5 pimples). If your skin is that sensitive then retinoids may not be for you as they are irriation in a tube. If you do have to use one, try Atralin - it's the gentlest retinoid i've ever tried. Since retinoids don't kill acne bacteria, they merely clear pores, you'll need something to replace BP. Try Aczone, thats very mild. That combination never consistently worked for my persistent moderate acne but ti may work for you

Thanks for the recomendations. I'm still waiting for my appointment on monday. I didn't know you could ask for things. I thought they kinda just look at you and give what they think is best. Generally, do antibiotics do a good job of preventing acne? If they do I couldn't care less about any side effects tbh.

Minocycline, doxycycline and tetracycline all helped a lot for me to stop cysts and mostly inflammatory acne. Bactrim didn't really do much for me at all. I'm not sure about the effectiveness of antibiotics on noninflammatory acne which is what I had mostly when I was on Bactrim, and it didn't clear up anything. If what you have is mostly inflammatory acne, most antibiotics should be able to help a lot. But once you stop the antibiotic, the chances of acne coming back are very high, as Sasch83 was saying, it's not the best approach for long term treatment of acne. But there are some people that do stay on antibiotics for years and years and end up growing out of the acne phase (but my derm says if you're going to do long term antibiotics, you might as well just do Accutane).

Yeah I read that people take them for a while in hopes to grow out of acne which is what I'm hoping to do. It's good to know that they should help on inflammatory acne. In your experience, did the anti biotics + topical start to prevent new breakouts within the first 1-2 weeks?

Yes I think when I started mino or doxy, I saw improvements within the first week. My skin got a lot smoother and less irritated too.

Oh that's nice to hear. I sometimes see people say that you need to wait 6+ months which is rediculous. I'm not that damn patient lol

hello,

the first time i went to the doc he gave me benzoyl peroxide but it was staining everything and my face burned and was just awful. I would have rather had spots than used that.

The second time, they gave me antiobiotics and told me to consider the pill cuz i had hormone issues. Then i went to another doctor cuz about a year ago and this is when my skin was going BAD and they told me to go on accutane, i refused at the time. i take the pill now, just to balance out the hormones + skin. But basically i remember the first time i used to go it was just creams and all. it really depends on your type of acne. For minor acne - topicals. For minor/moderate - consider antiobiotics and topicals. For hormonal issues - birth control pills or spiro. For systemtic or severe acne (all over chest, back, or really scarring acne on the face whether it hurts you emotionally or physically) - accutane.

hope this helps

If you ask for an antibiotic they will most likely give it to you. I was on topical a for years because my mom didn't want me taking antibiotics but she finally gave in after a while and now I'm on Accutane. But that's not really the point lol. Just tell them up front you want antibiotics and the reasons!

Well I was prescribed Clindamycin phosphate for the morning and differen at night. I was also given Monocycline. Hope it works. Anyone else had the combination before?

I've been on all of those before and never at the same time. Monocycline worked well for me but it did take some time and didn't clear me completely but definitely improved acne. My face could never handle topical a well so I didn't ever get the full effect of them but differin worked fantastic for my cousin. And the clindamycin phosphate worked well for my brother.

I've been on all of those before and never at the same time. Monocycline worked well for me but it did take some time and didn't clear me completely but definitely improved acne. My face could never handle topical a well so I didn't ever get the full effect of them but differin worked fantastic for my cousin. And the clindamycin phosphate worked well for my brother.

I'm actually on the fence with differin right now. Seems like it might be too irritating to my extremely sensitive skin. The doctor didn't really seem to care about what I had to say either. I wonder if just using the phosphate gel would suffice. I don't really know if it is imperative to use the differin and the phosphate together.

I've been on all of those before and never at the same time. Monocycline worked well for me but it did take some time and didn't clear me completely but definitely improved acne. My face could never handle topical a well so I didn't ever get the full effect of them but differin worked fantastic for my cousin. And the clindamycin phosphate worked well for my brother.

I'm actually on the fence with differin right now. Seems like it might be too irritating to my extremely sensitive skin. The doctor didn't really seem to care about what I had to say either. I wonder if just using the phosphate gel would suffice. I don't really know if it is imperative to use the differin and the phosphate together.

If I were you I would try to use them how he prescribed them and if its too irritating for your skin try using the differin every other day or 2 or 3 times a week. That's how my dermatologist told me to use my topicals. And if they irritate your skin too much then obviously only use one. And for me I found that gels irritated my skin more then lotions, and I had the lotion version of both of the topicals so you could also ask your dermatologist about those.

I've been on all of those before and never at the same time. Monocycline worked well for me but it did take some time and didn't clear me completely but definitely improved acne. My face could never handle topical a well so I didn't ever get the full effect of them but differin worked fantastic for my cousin. And the clindamycin phosphate worked well for my brother.

I'm actually on the fence with differin right now. Seems like it might be too irritating to my extremely sensitive skin. The doctor didn't really seem to care about what I had to say either. I wonder if just using the phosphate gel would suffice. I don't really know if it is imperative to use the differin and the phosphate together.

If I were you I would try to use them how he prescribed them and if its too irritating for your skin try using the differin every other day or 2 or 3 times a week. That's how my dermatologist told me to use my topicals. And if they irritate your skin too much then obviously only use one. And for me I found that gels irritated my skin more then lotions, and I had the lotion version of both of the topicals so you could also ask your dermatologist about those.

Did your brother only get prescribed the phosphate? Did it work for him for a long period of time like 2 or 3 years? If that's the case then I guess I can only use the phosphate if the differin doesn't work out for me. The Phosphate already seems to be working actually

I've been on all of those before and never at the same time. Monocycline worked well for me but it did take some time and didn't clear me completely but definitely improved acne. My face could never handle topical a well so I didn't ever get the full effect of them but differin worked fantastic for my cousin. And the clindamycin phosphate worked well for my brother.

I'm actually on the fence with differin right now. Seems like it might be too irritating to my extremely sensitive skin. The doctor didn't really seem to care about what I had to say either. I wonder if just using the phosphate gel would suffice. I don't really know if it is imperative to use the differin and the phosphate together.

If I were you I would try to use them how he prescribed them and if its too irritating for your skin try using the differin every other day or 2 or 3 times a week. That's how my dermatologist told me to use my topicals. And if they irritate your skin too much then obviously only use one. And for me I found that gels irritated my skin more then lotions, and I had the lotion version of both of the topicals so you could also ask your dermatologist about those.

Did your brother only get prescribed the phosphate? Did it work for him for a long period of time like 2 or 3 years? If that's the case then I guess I can only use the phosphate if the differin doesn't work out for me. The Phosphate already seems to be working actually

Well he was prescribed it a few months ago. And he doesn't really care that he has acne, my mom just made him go to the dermatologist so he used it for maybe a month or two with a sodium Sulfate wash he was also prescribed And the two in combination worked well for him but he stopped using them.

I'm still sooooo scared to use differin. Never have I seen such mixed reviews for a product.....My face just has red marks on my cheeks and neck right now. I don't want this stuff to make it ten times worse and never recover.