I've been on and off Minocycline (up to 200 mg at one point) since early 2014 after I went off Yaz and all hell broke loose. I restarted Yaz in early 2015, added Spironolactone 50 mg, and weaned off Minocycline by late March 2015. By September 2015, I was back on Minocycline 100 mg after getting two huge hormonal zits around my mouth and chin that didn't leave for about a month. I recently decided that I needed to go off Minocycline again. It's not good for my body to be on it, and I'm almost out of my prescription anyway. I don't have the money to keep going to the dermatologist and buying the pills. So I started weaning on 4/2. I was on 100 mg every night, and I started using 100 mg every other night. One week after the wean began, I developed a medium-sized, painful zit on my chin. Yesterday, I developed a small, red one on my forehead. They're getting bigger. I use Elidel every night, plus Retin-A about twice a week. I was using Retin-A every night until the winter hit, and now I'm trying to build back up to every 2 or 3 nights. I'd rather not use it every night since it's so drying. But I have stupidly sensitive and fair skin, so traditional spot treatments don't work for me. It's just Elidel and Retin-A.
I guess I need some support. Support to stay strong and to continue weaning off the Minocycline. Encouragement that my skin will clear up again soon. I never had legitimate acne - only a few zits here and there. I'm scared that I'll have worse skin than I started with, although I know that's highly unlikely. I only have about 5 pills left. I guess I'll start taking it every 2 nights now until I run out. I try to eat yogurt every day for the probiotics, and I'm praying that this initial breakout will subside so that I can keep weaning. I also get bad hyperpigmentation regardless of whether or not I pick at things, but I'm trying so hard to not pick anyway. I also have rosacea and get a bumpy, red rash when I sweat or have a flare. That's why I use Elidel. But I've learned that the rash goes away over time with Elidel. The zits don't. They linger, hurt, and leave hyperpigmentation.
Any encouragement or support is appreciated. Advice is welcome, too. I've read too many horror stories...
Almost no one should be on oral antibiotics for acne longer than 3-4 months! And BTW minocycline can cause skin hyperpigmentation that is sometimes very hard to get rid of. To be honest, your story is rather complex and requires a good exam and a good history by a good dermatologist who will prescribe you a good regimen. To put it simply, you need to press a reset button for your regimen. In the meantime hang in there and keep fighting your acne +/- rosacea.
I wish you all the best and I am looking forward to seeing some update on your situation on this forum so that we all can learn from it!
Vise
Your body is probably just readjusting itself! You eradicated all the bad AND good bacteria when you were on the Mino (we all do it to ourselves when we want that clear skin, haha!), so your body may express this imbalance with a couple pesky pimples. I have read about probiotics in yogurt really help to replenish the good bacteria in your gut, and I also know that an antibiotic is an anti-inflammatory, as is fish oil! When I started to wean off of Bactrim, I added omega-3 (krill oil) and eat Activia yogurt everyday and don't remember having any breakouts. I am still on the antibiotic every other day, as I just starting weaning 2 weeks ago! But the real reason I replied is because your skin sounds like mine. No true acne, but rather some awful spots that can last for weeks! Best wishes!!
Wow, coincidentally, my son only has 5 pills left ofa 3-month course of minocycline (100 mgs). I never considered doing a weaning process, although in preparation, he's been taking 2000 mgs of omega 3 fish oil (with 1000 mgs from EPA omega 3) per day for the last month, plus a good probiotic since the early weeks of minocycline, which he'll continue for awhile after he's done. I suppose it doesn't make sense to space out the last few pills at this point...would've been a good thought a couple weeks ago!
But yeah, fish oil and probiotics are all great add-ons for anyone on antibiotics! Fish oil high in EPA omega 3 is best...the higher the EPA, the better it is for inflammation. 1000-2000 mgs of EPA omega 3 per day is optimal.
Oof. I screwed up and popped/picked the chin zit. It's a swollen, bloody mess now. I'm mad at myself, but I also knew I'd end up doing this. 
I slathered it with Elidel to try and reduce inflammation. I'm so bummed. I got a tiny bit of white pus out but kept squeezing and using tweezers to try and get all the white stuff I saw. The result? A hot mess. Help.
9 hours ago, Just Call Me OCD said:Oof. I screwed up and popped/picked the chin zit. It's a swollen, bloody mess now. I'm mad at myself, but I also knew I'd end up doing this.
Yikes! Oh well, what's done is done. Just don't touch it or force it anymore. The swelling and redness will go down and it will eventually heal and be OK.
If a zit requires that much force, then best to leave alone. A sterilized needle is OK but never use tweezers!
Yep, I did use a sterilized needle to get it started, but I also used the tweezers to squeeze and pull a little too much. It's still very swollen, painful, bloody, and red this morning. No surprise. At least I don't have to go anywhere today. I tried to cover it with makeup, got sad that it didn't work, and washed it off. Makeup actually made it way more obvious.
I know the best thing to do is just cover it with Elidel and leave it alone. No more squeezing, even though it looks like there's more gunk in there. No more prodding. Right? That's the right thing to do, yes? Let it heal naturally now?
Correct, just leave it alone and treat the area like you're doing. This will help it heal faster. I know it's so tempting to force a zit that isn't ready (hey we've all done it!) but in the end it's best to wait until things naturally come to the surface where it can be removed easily without injuring the area.
It'll be OK! 
Besides picking off a tiny piece of crust that was about to fall off anyway, I didn't pick at the spot any more today. It's still very red, swollen, and annoying. And it has a head, but it's too far away from the surface to risk prodding again. It covered a bit better with makeup today, and it's less painful. Still in the zit stage, though. Not huge, but not tiny. I knew I hadn't gotten all the pus out. Not going to pick until it's completely dried up with the head practically flaking off. I just wish my body would resorb it, but nope. I'm in for several more days of grossness, at the very least. Using Elidel all night and during the day when I'm not going anywhere. Who knows if that's helping, but I doubt it's hurting. Stupid skin turned on me in November when I became allergic to my own sweat. Every time I sweat or have a rosacea flare (without washing my face immediately), I get a rash. It doesn't hurt or itch, but my skin gets small raised bumps over certain areas. Sometimes they turn red. Sometimes they're clear. They just look like they're filled with oil. Only Elidel quells them. Some linger and stay red for several days even if I'm religiously using Elidel. No cure. Derm is stumped, too. Also get spontaneous hot flashes, major flushing, and sporadic red blotches on my face. It's no fun. I pray that getting off Minocycline again will improve some of that nonsense. Just a few more days of pills left... Every other night... Drinking lots of fluids every day.
Spot looks a tiny bit better today, but not much change. Looks like I'm getting a spot (or rash bump) on the other side of my chin. Also woke up with two new zits on the underside of my chin. One is painful. Ugh. At least those aren't as readily visible. Didn't exercise today to give my skin a break from sweating, but I may do it later just for endorphins! No Minocycline tonight. It's an off night. Only a few pills remain...
Although the scab/wound is gone, the zit remains. Looks like it has a head, but it's still too deep. I'm terrified to mess with it again! Can't tell if the surrounding redness is from the picking last week or from the fact that it's still a zit? No idea how to get rid of it. At least it doesn't hurt anymore (or as of right now), and I can cover it so much better. I guess I'll just wait it out.
Three more 100 mg Minocycline pills to go, plus two more 50 mg ones. I'm doing every 2 nights with the 100 mg pills now, then I'll do that with the 50 mg pills. We'll see how it goes! Trying to stay positive. And hydrated! (Love Lipton's Diet Green Tea.) Plus, I'm eating yogurt almost every day. Wish me luck! Hopefully, my Yaz, Spiro, occasional Retin-A, and nightly Elidel can keep me clear...
So my facial rash is out of control due to hot weather and copious sweating. Makes it hard to tell what's a zit and what's the rash. Pretty sure I have a new zit between my brows, though. It feels funny, plus it's a lot more red than the rash bumps. And the chin zit is still a zit. Not sure if it'll ever go away. It has a head, but again, I'm too scared to mess with it. I hope it just dries up enough to flake off eventually. Right now, though, it's not dry. It's so annoying. And I'm only using Elidel to quell the rash... I still have those red zits on the underside of my chin, but they're not readily visible. Ugh. Just ugh.
Zit or rash bump between brows is probably a zit. It hurts now. Getting a zit (probably not a rash bump) on my chin/mouth area. Starting to hurt and getting bigger. Original chin zit is still there with a head. Rash continues to escalate. I don't know what to put on these zits...? Ideas? I'm allergic to everything, and my skin is just too sensitive/fair. Avar-E?
I took my last Minocycline pill 5 days ago. I still have one 100 mg pill and two 50 mg pills left, but I'm hoarding those a little while longer. Unless I cave and take them soon. Why? My worst nightmare. Under-the-skin, blind, red chin zit. Saw it appear yesterday afternoon/evening, used Retin-A, Elidel, and a spot treatment of Avar-E. It's bigger and redder this morning. It doesn't hurt yet, but I know it's gonna be one of those. I have an indented scar next to it from when I got a cortisone shot for a similar situation, and I have a hyperpigmented mark below it from when I didn't get a cortisone shot and just let the zit stay for about a month until it finally went away (because I went back on antibiotics). I'm zit-prone in that area. Needless to say, I'm kind of freaking out. It makes me wish I had stayed on antibiotics now. It makes me want to call the dermatologist in a panic, make an emergency appointment, and get some more pills ASAP. But I'm really, really trying to stay strong here.
I don't know how to get rid of these giant things without pills or cortisone shots. I don't want to resort to either of those options...
I gave up. I wish I had just stuck with the Minocycline because now I'm in a really bad place. Nobody should ever go on antibiotics because you can't go off of them without pain. I stopped them gradually, and a few weeks later, I have the worst breakout of my life. Lots of noticeable clogged pores on my chin that are gradually increasing, turning into pimples and super-clusters of pimples, and lingering forever. Lots of clogged pores on my forehead that are doing the same. Bumps along my smile lines. Everything came on gradually enough to make me think that I could stick it out, but I ended up back at the dermatologist this week. I should've gone sooner. I haven't worn any makeup in 2 weeks (only ever wore a dab of mineral concealer on spots before that anyway), and things have continued to get worse. If I sweat and don't wipe the sweat off immediately, I get more bumps. Derm recommended decreasing Elidel very gradually (which I don't think I'll do yet), increasing Retin-A to 3 times per week (which means I go through another purge), staying on Yaz, upping my Spironolactone from 50 to 75 mg, starting Soolantra twice per week (could cause initial breakout), and starting Solodyn 55 mg per day temporarily to quell any initial breakouts from the other changes. I didn't tell her this, but I don't intend to go off the Solodyn this time. I'm nervous because I've never taken Solodyn, only generic Minocycline. I'm nervous because every time I sweat or have a rosacea flare, I get new bumps. What causes flares? Stress. And I have a stupid amount of that. The derm said it didn't look like a rash, just pimples. But it doesn't feel like pimples. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm allergic to something, but I don't know what. She said it didn't look like an allergy. Maybe the Elidel just stopped working. Maybe my hormones are flipping out. Maybe it's just humidity. No more outdoor walks for me, that's for sure. I'll use the treadmill with a fan on my face and a wet rag at my side. I'm so greasy all day long, which creates even more bumps. Something is very, very wrong, and I don't know how to fix it. I've historically had up to three pimples at a time, maybe. Now I'm covered with pimples and clogged pores waiting to surface as giant red zits. Maybe it's sunshine? Maybe it's chlorine from the three times I've been to the pool this year, although sun and chlorine seemed to help at first? I guess I should've increased my Retin-A as soon as the weather got warmer again. I used to use it every night until November. So this could be the effects of increased humidity and not enough Retin-A to counteract it. I suppose they call that Retin-A withdrawalto an extent. But it's also bound to be related to the Minocycline withdrawal. Please send me wisdom, encouragement, happy thoughts, etc. As usual, I try to get off some medications and end up on more than I started with.