Hope everything works well for you. Just be careful with accutane it is a very powerful course of treatment. There's a lot of side effects associated with accutane that include depression, dry lips, liver problems. It should only be used as a last resort solution.

Thanks, I hope it works out too! I'm really scared of accutane, especially after reading up on some of the side effects. I really hope I don't have to go on it. Have you been through the accutane experience?

I tried accutane about 10 yrs ago. I didn't really get any of the awful side effects i hear about - just my eyes would feel a bit dry and achy. I was on it for 6 months and although my skin felt drier it didnt make much difference to my acne so decided to stop it. I think my acne is caused more by imbalanced hormones as it mainly around my chin and mouth - but not really on my outer cheeks.

I wouldn't advise anyone either way whether or not to take accutane as for some people it does seem to work really well. For me i am done with drugs and artificial meds. I am going the natural route and working on diet and supplements to balance my hormones. I am just concerned about long term side effects that taking to many drugs/meds can have on the body. Unfortunately i didnt know about natural options 10 yrs ago and just followed my derms advice and took the pill, antibiotics, accutane - and none of it helped! Ultimately whatever u decide it should b your decision, don't feel pressured into taking accutane if you don't want to.

 

Hope everything works well for you. Just be careful with accutane it is a very powerful course of treatment. There's a lot of side effects associated with accutane that include depression, dry lips, liver problems. It should only be used as a last resort solution.

Thanks, I hope it works out too! I'm really scared of accutane, especially after reading up on some of the side effects. I really hope I don't have to go on it. Have you been through the accutane experience?

I tried accutane about 10 yrs ago. I didn't really get any of the awful side effects i hear about - just my eyes would feel a bit dry and achy. I was on it for 6 months and although my skin felt drier it didnt make much difference to my acne so decided to stop it. I think my acne is caused more by imbalanced hormones as it mainly around my chin and mouth - but not really on my outer cheeks.

I wouldn't advise anyone either way whether or not to take accutane as for some people it does seem to work really well. For me i am done with drugs and artificial meds. I am going the natural route and working on diet and supplements to balance my hormones. I am just concerned about long term side effects that taking to many drugs/meds can have on the body. Unfortunately i didnt know about natural options 10 yrs ago and just followed my derms advice and took the pill, antibiotics, accutane - and none of it helped! Ultimately whatever u decide it should b your decision, don't feel pressured into taking accutane if you don't want to.

Thanks for replying about your accutane experience I usually read about the more scarier side effects, but yours were quite minimal which is good. It's a shame accutane didn't help you as it seems to have a high success rate :/ you're right also, I've read posts on here where for some people it's a miracle worker...it's a bit of a risk taking it, but I guess no medication comes without its risks. Good luck to you though and thanks for the advice! I hope going down the natural route helps you out with your acne

Day 13

So, unfortunately 2 pimples came up on my chin...they're slightly painful and inflamed, and are the pus-filled ones I usually get, however they're not as big as before so I'm quite happy about that (I hope they don't increase in size!) I suspect these culprits came up due to my time of the month being due in a few days...I guess my suspicions will be confirmed soon. Also, I was really happy that I didn't have the side effects I experienced yesterday...I was really wary of taking the antibiotics today; usually I take them when I wake up and eat an hour later, today though I still took it on an empty stomach but ate sooner (don't know if it made a difference?) I tried out my Aveeno bar this morning too; it felt quite nice on my skin, however it didn't really remove the dry flakes, only a few of them :/ maybe with continued use I'll see more of a difference.

Hi old sport,

Just want to post updates, as another week has gone. time flies quickly.

I think Lyme did a good job at getting rid of inflammed ones from my back and chest. It is clear like 98% now. But I still get very few inflammed ones on my face. It may be because of that time of month. But I must admit that I have a lot less spots on my face than first two weeks of lymecycline. Only two smaller ones above my mouth, it is still not a best place to get spots. I am not even using topical isotrex on face as it looks really drying. These days, I don't even use it on my back.

Overall, I think Lyme will clear my skin like doxy did. So, my goal is to shorten the course and get on healthy eating and I need to be very mindful to find out what are my triggers. The other day, I was snacking on cashews and pistachios, I also suspect that they might be culprit for two spots on my face.

Taking antibiotics makes me a bit worried about my gut health which can be effected as side effect by antibiotics. So I am thinking to stock up on more yogurts and will also check out the probiotics pill may be.

Regrading my redness, it is not getting better yet. But vitamin c does help with oily skin and calm the skin a bit. It might also prevents blocked pores as I used to get them before my doxy courses. Ever since I added vit c, they don't seem to come back so it may be helping. I will upload a pic may be next week.

Hi mmo0690

I'm really glad to hear you're making good progress! Hopefully your skin continues to improve and the inflamed ones on your face can stop coming up...and you're right, time does fly really quickly!

I agree, taking antibiotics makes me slightly worried about my gut...I bought some yakult the other day but someone keeps drinking it, so I've hidden it at the back of the fridge. But I think I might also invest in those probiotic pills just in case.

So you're going to be going off the lymecycline soon then? And it's good the vit C helps with your skin also.

Keep me updated on how things turn out and have a good weekend

Hey,

Glad to hear from you.

Do you like yakult, i think it is very tasty. I tried to drink it with meals. But sometimes I forgot to take it to work. Someone keeps taking your drinks? That is so mean of them. just kidding. I think probiotics pills you mentioned might be another good addon to our antibiotics laden bodies.

I am watching a channel 4 programme about superfoods, it is very educational. The other day, they shows an internal pic of a gut disease. It looks horrendous. I think it is very important to take care of health.

There is another channel 4 programme called food hospital, which I think is really interesting. I recommend both if you are into health stuffs.

You have a nice weekend too.

Hi

Unfortunately I haven't tried the yakult yet...I keep forgetting to and it keeps getting taken. But I shall try it tomorrow! And yup, I think the probiotic pills will help along with the yakult which is good.

Thanks for the programme recommendations, I will check them out as they sound quite interesting shows like that can be quite eye-opening, makes you aware of how important it is to take care of our bodies.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Day 17

So my skin progress has gone downhill sadly Over these past few days I've been breaking out and now I have 6 inflamed pimples on my chin and jawline (it's those horrible yellow ones, they're called pustules I think?) it's my time of the month, but my breakout usually happens before not during it, so I'm quite confused. However, I think that maybe this is the initial breakout from the epiduo, since I don't really recall having one...I hope it is, because it's really getting me down. Also, they're really painful to touch...these look like they're going to leave a lot of red marks behind, yippee(!) Well, I hope this is just a minor setback and my skin improves after this...trying to remain hopeful!

The first few months of a retinoids are hellish so just mentally prepare yourself to break out 3-4 months. Also, for many people, progress is not linear. It will get better then BAM, another breakout. It sucks , but if it works , you won't have to do anything evasive like accutane or spiro.

Try to stay positive, you're still very early in treatment.

Thanks for the motivation I'm such an impatient person, but I'm definitely willing to continue with it for at least 3 months. I did use differin last year but only for a little over 2 months, so I should've given it more time but I didn't know that then. I don't recall if my skin got worse, but I think it did help with the inflammation and reduced the number of pimples I got. I hope this combo works well so I can avoid accutane.

Day 22

I'm happy to say that my initial breakout ended a few days ago and so far my skin progress has been going uphill...hope I don't jinx it or anything! Currently I have a pimple on my right jawline but it's not that noticeable so I'm not too fussed. I haven't picked my face in a long while, but yesterday I stupidly picked at a spot which left a nice red mark behind...ah well, I hope the epiduo can deal with that. I'm left with a lot of red marks that I think the epiduo has been helping fade slowly. I don't know if the lymecycline is making a difference at all, but I don't want to stay on it long term so will eventually wean myself off it. I'm definitely going to stick this out for at least 3 months and see how it goes. I hope the epiduo will be sufficient enough by itself to keep me clear after the 3 month mark. I'll put up pictures probably at the 1 month mark or in exactly 2 weeks. Have a lovely weekend all!

Hi old sport,

Glad to know that things are progressing for you. I still have a few left on my checks and jawline. Today I had put out of trouble origins mask, as I have some left. But I am not keen on those anymore, but use it anyway as I don't want to waste it. I only have about 10 lymecycline tablets left, and then I need to go back to see the derm.

I will ask his opinion about how much more I need to take. Other thing is I have started using isotrex on face. :s just want to speed things up.

Ok. Here are my current pics, not sure I should be posting pics on your logs, just hope you find them useful.

Left side

Right side

Hi mmo0690

So you'll probably have to go see your derm in about a week or so? And how's the isotrex so far? Have you been using it for a while? Hopefully it helps along with the lymecycline. Thanks for posting pictures by the way, I do find them useful especially since my skin looks extremely similar to yours, so it's helpful to see how the medication helps you out. Do keep me updated, especially when you visit the derm...hopefully he doesn't request you to go on antibiotics long term! Good luck

Day 27

My skin is having a mini breakout which started yesterday. It's not as bad as my previous ones and nowhere near as horrible as the initial breakout, but it's still making me slightly upset. Probably because the pimples are inflamed, even though they're quite small...makes my skin look way worse than it actually is! However, I know this is to be expected, especially since I'm using a retinoid and so I'm just trying to remain positive and avoid obsessively looking into the mirror.

Day 36

It's been exactly 5 weeks since I've started taking lymecycline and using epiduo, and I have to say I've seen a real improvement currently I have one small pimple and maybe 2/3 red bumps that aren't too noticeable; the rest are marks. The marks are slowly fading away too, but I expect I'll see a lot more progress at the 3 month mark. I think this combo is working quite well, but I don't want to be on antibiotics long-term. I really don't look forward to the time when I have to stop taking them :/ hope my skin doesn't return to how it was before. I plan to go to the GP in 2 weeks roughly since my antibiotics are running out, I'll see what she'll advise me to do. I shall post pictures next Friday at the 6 week mark Have a lovely weekend all!

Day 51

So I was supposed to post pictures last Friday, but university has kept me so very busy! It's been just a little over 7 weeks and I'm very pleased with the progress my skin has made. I don't get many pimples anymore, I just have a lot of red marks left over which the epiduo is helping fade away. I've got a doctor's appointment on Monday since my antibiotics have almost run out so I'll see what she says then. Enjoy the weekend! 

The first 3 pictures are when I first started the antibiotics and epiduo and the last 2 are pictures of my face taken today  

Just finished reading your entry. I have been on Lymecycline for two weeks now. Have you had to go on it again after your first cycle? You skin looks great by the way.

21 hours ago, meka88 said:

Just finished reading your entry. I have been on Lymecycline for two weeks now. Have you had to go on it again after your first cycle? You skin looks great by the way. 

Hi

Yup, my GP decided to put me on another 2 months of lymecyline which is quickly coming to a close. So I'll see what happens next...I'm still using the epiduo, it's helping to fade the marks I still have. I still get a spot now and then, but they're small and go away very quickly. Good luck with your lymecyline journey! How long are you due to be on the lymecycline? 

2 hours ago, OldSport15 said:

Hi

Yup, my GP decided to put me on another 2 months of lymecyline which is quickly coming to a close. So I'll see what happens next...I'm still using the epiduo, it's helping to fade the marks I still have. I still get a spot now and then, but they're small and go away very quickly. Good luck with your lymecyline journey! How long are you due to be on the lymecycline? 

This is my third week on Lymecycline. My GP has told me to visit him after the 3rd week if i don't see any difference. I am a little confused because over the two weeks, I have seen Duac working a little bit to calm the breakout but I don't think i have seen Lymecyline work. Over the couple of days. my face has broken out quite a lot, with one humongous painful nodule beside my nose. Did your skin purge? 

Also, when do you take your pills? The leaflet said i could have it with or without food. Currently, I have mine without food but because of my workout schedule, i tend to go hungry for a while which is not preferable. So i have decided to take it with my breakfast. What do you think about this?

Sorry about all these questions. haha. 

On 11/22/2015, 7:14:52, meka88 said:

This is my third week on Lymecycline. My GP hastold me to visit him after the 3rd week if i don't see any difference. I am a little confused because over the two weeks, I have seen Duac working a little bit to calm the breakout but I don't think i have seen Lymecyline work. Over the couple of days. my face has broken out quite a lot, with one humongous painful nodule beside my nose. Did your skin purge?

Also, when do you take your pills? The leaflet said i could have it with or without food. Currently, I have mine without food but because of my workout schedule, i tend to go hungry for a while which is not preferable. So i have decided to take it with my breakfast. What do you think about this?

Sorry about all these questions. haha.

Sorry I'm quite late! Ah, that's odd, I don't think you'll properly see the effects of lymecycline in 3 weeks. You'll probably have to wait a few more weeks to possibly start seeing a difference. My skin did have quite a horrible purge, but that was due to the epiduo I think and I was expecting it anyway; the purge started at the end of the second week for me.

I asked my GP whether or not to take it with food and she said it's preferable to take it without food but it's also fine if you take it with food. I usually take mine on an empty stomach when I wake up in the morning, but sometimes it gives me a stomach ache so I actually would prefer to take it with breakfast. No worries about asking questions, feel free to ask as many as you'd like! 🙂

On December 3, 2015 at 8:42:05 AM, OldSport15 said:

Sorry I'm quite late! Ah, that's odd, I don't think you'll properly see the effects of lymecycline in 3 weeks. You'll probably have to wait a few more weeks to possibly start seeing a difference. My skin did have quite a horrible purge, but that was due to the epiduo I think and I was expecting it anyway; the purge started at the end of the second week for me.

I asked my GP whether or not to take it with food and she said it's preferable to take it without food but it's also fine if you take it with food. I usually take mine on an empty stomach when I wake up in the morning, but sometimes it gives me a stomach ache so I actually would prefer to take it with breakfast. No worries about asking questions, feel free to ask as many as you'd like! 🙂 

Ya, I thought so too. Especially after reading a lot of comments, i thought it might take a month or more to start showing any difference. For now, might be because of Duac, but the cystic acne is under control. My fourth week is over today and the process of getting new acne is stagnant. So i will wait out one more month to see what's going to happen. I am trying to get my snacking habits under control because i want the best out of the lymecycline. But that is the real struggle. 

Anyway, thank you very much for your answers. I wish you the best of everything. Hope you always have beautiful healthy skin!

2 hours ago, meka88 said:

Ya, I thought so too. Especially after reading a lot of comments, i thought it might take a month or more to start showing any difference. For now, might be because of Duac, but the cystic acne is under control. My fourth week is over today and the process of getting new acne is stagnant. So i will wait out one more month to see what's going to happen. I am trying to get my snacking habits under control because i want the best out of the lymecycline. But that is the real struggle. 

Anyway, thank you very much for your answers. I wish you the best of everything. Hope you always have beautiful healthy skin!

Yup, definitely wait a few more weeks and hopefully you'll see a lot of improvement then  it's really difficult to stop snacking! I had it under control, but when I started university again my progress went down the drain...hopefully you'll have better luck than me  Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish you the best too and I hope you attain your goal of clear beautiful skin  

My GP decided to take me off the antibiotics, and so I'm kind of terrified my spots will come right back  I took my last tablet today, so I'm hoping the epiduo will be sufficient enough on its own to keep the spots at bay. If I'm unlucky, then my GP told me she'd put me on another 4 month cycle of lymecycline. I sure hope it doesn't come to that!