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Ok so I looked back over my Yasmin and minocycline log from 2007 and I was clear in 2 months. This was with Minocycline two times per day which is like max dose. So I'm going to take minocycline once every day from now on until a few months from now...this is what I've done in the past..
Pack 3, Day 12
Day 4 Minocycline
I can already tell the Minocycline is kicking in because I have no new bumps. Only the 2nd week breakout is left on my face.......I should've taken the antibiotic earlier....I can literally feel every cyst, every pimple, every papule, flattening on my face and forming heads...And it's almost the end of the 2nd week...THANK GOD...
I've been really dry as well, my skin feels really dry all over..
I was on ortho tricyclen for 6 years. I went off of all birth control and broke out horribly. When I went on it again, I used ortho-triclycen but the LOW DOSE form. In sept 2010, I switched for some reason to the generic form and broke out horribly. I believe that had i not gone back on the name brand of birth control that I would have continued to break out. I had NEVER had that reaction before while taking birth control. I had NEVER had an initial breakout. That's why I'm saying that whatever birth control you're using is not the right one for your hormones. In the past, it seemed that i takes almost exactly three months for the brand ortho tricyclen to work and for the hormones to settle down.... so maybe in another month things might turn around for you. I'm actually really mad that doctors will just say that an initial breakout is normal and just to deal with it. Doesn't sound like they care much. And yes, many things can cause an initial breakout- even diets. Accutane didn't do that to me however.
Btw, I'm sure you know it's not a good idea to be on an antibiotic for a long period of time. It messes with the other good bacteria in your gut (and vagina lol) so that things get out of balance, you get infections, and the bacteria just build a resistance to the antibiotics. That's why things like MRSA are so scary because nothing can kill them. It's from long term use of antibiotics or people not using the antibiotics correctly, and bacteria have just mutated and almost no antibiotics can kill it. Antibiotics don't do anything for the long term. They just give you ulcers and stomach problems.
I'm not saying you need to switch birth controls, but just do more research. Ask people who personally have experience with birth control and the brands that worked or didn't work for them. I almost REMEMBER taking Tri-nessa now, and I believe that is the birth control my body didn't like....
I know about the antibiotics and the longterm reasons to be cautious which is why I'm taking birth control pills.....Once the initial breakout from this pill is over, I'm going to stop taking the antibiotic....this is how I've done it in the past. With Ortho Novum, I didn't need the minocycline anymore after a few months......all acne medications...accutane, antibiotics, birth control pills have their complications.
something that works on our side is that we're still young and our bodies are still resilient, it would be a different case if I were 35 and still on all these medications..
I looked at the reviews for Ortho tri cyclen and Tri sprintec and Tri nessa at Drugs.com, and it seems pretty normal, you have your good reviews and your bad reviews so everyone is different.......but it's only been 2.5 months for me so I'll play it by ear at least for another pack or so...
This girl from Hopefulstar's thread took six months to see results
Girls hang in there!! I've been on Spiro and Trinessa now for holy moly almost 6 months. and I am only NOW experiencing better skin. For the first 4 months I felt like I was just one of those unlucky ones that Spiro and switching BCs just didn't help. Every morning a new pimple or two or three and I really wanted to give up- Right now things are looking up for me so I can only stay positive that this is just the beginning of the good to come. Stay positive!! And my best advice would be avoid mirrors more often than not- That's where I went wrong.
Pack 3, Day 13
Day 5 Minocycline
So I went to sleep a little bit earlier than usual last night and wow I feel so refreshed this morning!! My face feels relatively well, nothing throbbing nothing in pain, and for the first time in 3 months, NO ACTIVE CYSTS ON MY FACE! haha 2nd week breakout is still healing, it is taking forever to go away, and my chin is like red, from all the breakouts and the scars...
It's all healing. I'm so scared because it's my second week! Today it was okay! Nothing new. I was sooooo nauseous last night though
aw sorry...I have to take photos today for Xmas and 3 of the pimples on my face cant be covered up with makeup, I'm trying to cover up half my face with my hair 
I'm so happy we don't dothat lol Pack 3, Day 14
Day 6 Minocycline
I hate acne scars!! I have so many, and I know it'll be months before they fade which means foundation every time in public..i hate wearing so much foundation....
One of the small bumps near my forehead erupted into a cyst..nothing new other than that..
I will post new pics every couple of weeks of any progress..
I feel better after reading this article on birth control pills on MayoClinic=
"Because the pills target only one cause of acne excess sebum it's best to use them with other acne treatments, such as medicated creams containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. You may need to take birth control pills for several months before noticing any results, and your skin may get worse before it gets better."
Omg that's great hope! I'm happy I'm sticking with this. I feel proud for finally not giving up
I know..I think that if you girls weren't here, I would have probably switched a long time ago, because I would've thought it wasn't normal after the 1st pack..
Pack 3, Day 15
Day 7 Minocycline
A lot of progress, granted I slept 10 hours yesterday which really helped my face...no cysts on my face, a few minor pimples, scarring..
Ahahaha yay to better skin! I have doxy but too scared to take it for fear the bc and spiro will be less effective ahahah. Btw i just want to compliment you on your lips. It reminded me of rosie huntington's ahahah the victorias secret model . Lol
LOL thanks! Yea I think since you're already on two meds, it would probably be best to not take the antibiotic unless your acne got really bad..like mines last week...urgh...
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Day 1 Clarisonic
Today switched from Cetaphil Cleanser to Philosophy "Purity" cleanser and also used the Clarisonic for the first time (my mom and I have 2 different brush heads but use the same handle)......we shall see if it really makes a difference, but something I noticed already is that my skin feels better. Like usually I feel a burning sensation and just general discomfort after washing and putting on all my meds because my acne stings...but I feel like I have normal skin right now..Maybe it's the new cleanser? Because I noticed Cetaphil has a lot of alcohol in it, but I've been using Cetaphil my whole life, since I first came to acne.org in 2007 and that's what everyone was saying was one of the more gentle cleansers.
my updated regimen=
Morning
Purity Cleanser
Duac Gel
Neutrogena Sunscreen (or any other light sunscreen) as a moisturizer
Night
Purity Cleanser + Clarisonic
Tazorac Cream
Eucerin Moisturizer
+Minocycline 1/day
+TriSprintec Birth Control pill
+ScarAway Silicone Sheet on my 2 hypertrophic scars on my nose
Pack 3, Day 17 Tri Sprintec
Day 9 Minocycline
Day 3 Clarisonic Mia2
My regimen just keeps growing and growing!
I'm starting to feel pretty again... My face is no longer irritated and dry since I switched to the Purity cleanser, I don't have the urge to scratch it all the time.....
The Clarisonic, I thought it would just make my face glow, but it's doing wonders for my acne and acne scars too. The best benefit of it for me is that all my acne creams/gels and moisturizers seem to be working 2x better than before because my face is no longer flaky and best of all the scars (these are fresh scars from just a week ago) from the humongous cysts I had on my face seem to be fading faster than ever....It definitely flattened a lot of inactive things I had on my face, I feel if I use it for another week, my skin will be nearly clear...
