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Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place. Forgive me if I'm mistaken though.
Anyway, here's my story:
As far as I can remember, I never got acne all the way until I turned maybe 17 or 18. That was also the age when I started wearing light makeup (powder foundation and concealer) since it was required by the college I attend (in order to look presentable). So that was also the time I started getting into simple cleansers and toners. Before that, I don't even remember using cleansers for my face.
So when I was around 17/18 until I turned 21, I started getting acne but they were minor. Mostly I get 1 to 3 at most and usually during that time of the month. But when I turned 21, I slowly started getting into facial products and makeup. Nothing fancy, just more popular/expensive cleansers and finally started using liquid foundation though even then I don't always use it. At the time, I was completely ignorant about makeup so I basically bought whatever my friends recommended me without thinking if it was suitable for my skin or not. Not saying that was the cause of me slowly getting more acne but it makes sense to me to think that was the culprit. The more products I tried and used on my face, the more acne I get over time but still it was around maybe only 5 at most.
At 22, I finally went to see a dermatologist. If I think about it now, I didn't even really need to go to one. My acne then was still between mild and moderate but because I wasn't used to seeing my face with acne at all, and I mostly wanted help with the scarring I get afterwards which never took ages to disappear, so I went to a derm. He prescribed me several topical medications like Clindamycin Gel, Benzoyl Peroxide, Miconazole Cream, Retinoic Acid, etc to be applied twice a day (some meds only during the day or some only during the night). I've been using this for the last FIVE years. There was a time around the 3 year mark when I stopped because I was travelling and ran out of medication overseas so I took that chance to wean off the meds by using it once a day, then later only every other day, then every other two days, then I finally stopped. I was off the meds for I think around a month but I started getting more acne than I ever had before the derm and in places I never even get prior to using the meds 3 years previous. They were tiny pimples but plenty of them at a time. I freaked out and basically ran back to my derm. He prescribed me the same meds (I used Erythromycin before but it was replaced with Clindamycin) in the same dose (except the Benzoyl Peroxide which I started at 4% is now at 10%) as before and they still worked and I was clear in no time again... except for the 1 pimple that crops up during my period every month but the meds basically kill them off after 1-2 days without leaving marks so they never really bothered me.
It's been 2 years since and basically 5 years total since I started my prescription meds and I'm planning on quitting for good mainly because I'm moving away from my city and my derm isn't accessible and also because I'm just tired of my tedious face routine and the effects them meds will have on my face in the long run.
Basically, here are my main concerns:
- To those of you who have tried weaning off their topical meds, is it normal to breakout in areas you don't typically get acne?
- Will my withdrawal be worse because because I've been using the meds for 5 years?
- How long does the withdrawal last? Weeks? Months? Years? And what kind of acne comes from it? The small kind or cystic ones?
- After withdrawal, does your skin revert back to its original state before you started the meds? Or will it be different/worse after going through all the treatment?
- What products would you recommend I use to replace my prescription ones? For the last 5 years, everything I use for my face in the mornings and night time from my cleanser down to my moisturizer is from my derm, so I have no idea what to even use now that I plan on quitting.
Sorry for the really long post, I hope anyone who has experience with this or has more knowledge about this can help me. Thank you. 
If you are antibiotic there is a high chance of problems resurfacing from what I heard, although it is tedious and very time consuming maybe thats what it takes for clear skin. I would rather have clear skin y spending time thrn having acne by not spending time. I suggest you stop using a medication one at a time to see if one is contributing to your acne reaurfacing if it doesnt cut it cold turkey but not all of it at once.