Hey guys! I've mostly been a lurker on acne.org, and always come here to read the interesting threads of the different approaches to solving acne. Let me give you guys some background. Im 16, junior in highschool, going through a really stressful period of my life. I'm trying to avoid stress as much as possible, but it's inevitable, so I'm trying something new. The reason for a lot of my stress recently is my acne . I decided that if I could change this, I would be a much more stress-free and happy person. I started to get acne after the beginning of high school, and I remember immediately being recommended to start using facial products to clear up those one or two pesky pimples. Anyway, I really think that the products that I began to use, along with my unhealthy diet and hygiene resulted in lots of pimples and now lots of scarring . My skin is oily, and I believe that my acne is hormonal and is usually inflamed. After an unsuccesful trial of Retin-A and BP for about 4-5 months, and really red and burning skin, I decided to try the "water only" method, which was a modified caveman regimine. I also cleaned up my diet by adding in more greens, cutting out junky foods and oils, taking omega 3 fish oil supplements, and cutting out milk. I have also stopped masturbating as I am aware that increases testosterone and that could also be a reason for my outbreaks. My skin is oily, very acne prone, and the pimples and scarring I have are mainly on my chin/jawline, cheeks, and forehead. I was on the water only method for about two weeks, and saw some results, as my skin really looked healthy for the first time in a while. However, my acne really wasn't going anywhere and i was still getting 1-2 pimples a day. They went away, really overnight, however it left some unwanted scarring even when I didn't touch them! After a long wait, I finally got around to my first visit with a dermatologist about 3 days ago. Anyways, sorry for the long read, my writing skills are atrocious. The derm prescribed me:

Minocycline 100mg capsules twice a day with food(AM and PM)

Epiduo Gel for the night

I will also start washing with cetaphil in the night only before applying the Epiduo.

I'm on day 3, and so far my forehead is actually pretty clear for the first time in a while, althought it's too early to say that it was the minocycline or the epiduo. My cheeks have scarring but no active pimples. The only real active pimples I have are a couple of red bumps and whiteheads around my chin/jaw that came on the second day of this new regimine. I don't know what to expect or how long it'll take to see results, but I'll try to be optimistic. I will do my best to update every couple of days or so, maybe even add pictures.

Any tips in general or specifically for Minocycline/Epiduo are greatly appreciated! Thanks you guys rock.