Quick back story: I have always struggled with breakouts since high school but four years ago during my freshman year in college my breakouts were borderlining acne. I went to my first dermatology appointment in September of 2012 and my doctor was very intelligent and kind, He prescribed me Oracea (delayed 40mg of doxycyline) and topical clindamycin solution as well as trentinoin.

Oracea worked remarkably for a year, I was completely clear, then in December of 2013 my skin was as bad as before. I was switched to 100mg of doxycyline and I was on that for about six months and that made my skin worse. Then I was switched to 50mg of minocycline twice a day for about 6 months and I saw little improvement. Then in April of 2015 I was put back on Oracea in conjunction with the minocycline. I was completely clear again. I had an amazing six months of clear skin.

However, in December of 2015 it seemed that overnight my skin got worse again. I am now in February still taking Oracea and minocycline and my skin is worse than it has ever been. I have a new breakout almost every day. I have a dermatology appointment Wednesday and I am hoping to try a new topical called benzaclin as well as look into Nicazel Forte which is basically just a high dose multi-vitamin that has shown to be helpful.

I would also like to note that the only meat I eat is fish, I do not eat any sugar (including soda) and I have cut back on carbohydrates. I have a history of fibriods and estrogen dominance and I have visited an endocrinologist with little help.

I write this to encourage anyone struggling with acne to reconsider antibiotics as they just make things worse in the long run because eventually your system becomes immune to medicine. Yeah, they are a quick fix but the results are not permanent. I also encourage you to do a lot of research into alternative acne medications as well as get blood work evaluated. If you have any advice, questions, or concerns please fell free to post below.