trytry 0 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I got an outbreak because i put ice cube on my face for a very long time and on all my forehead instead of only on the zits so now im clearing after a month of 100 mg mino and next month my doctor prescribed me 50 mg if it will continue working when should i stop - i dont want the acne to develpoe a resistance so i want to complete a cycle - but what is a cycle ? what is the shortest time you can take antibiotics which is long enough not to develope acne resistance to antibiotics ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Casablancaa 22 Share Posted December 27, 2011 (edited) There is no set period for when antibiotics no longer become useful and start becoming hazardous to your health. Each person's body responds differently, for some, they may develop harmful side effects from the antibiotic after a year. For others, they can stay on it for as many as 8 or 10 years and not experience so much as an upset stomach. (For me personally, I have been on Minocycline for 3 years, and trying to not be on it any longer than 5 years which is why I'm taking birth control pills to control my acne instead of antibiotics! But it's always useful to have antibiotics on hand because they get rid of acne so well!) ...like I've said before, you have to weigh the pros and cons of taking the medication. If you stop, the acne will come back. Antibiotics are not a cure....so if your acne without medications is bearable, than you're good. If it's not, you have to decide when and if you want to stop it. A cycle~ in the world of antibiotics because it is not something like Accutane that alters what's causing your acne~ merely represents the amount of time you will take the antibiotic (as agreed upon w/ your doc). It is not like at the end of the cycle, your acne will be gone forever, it is just the period of time you're taking the medication. Edited December 27, 2011 by Casablancaa Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trytry 0 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 i know that if you have an diseas you take antibiiotic until it all dies - so you shouldnt stop before - i read here that you shouldnt stop without asking your doctor - someone knows in general why is that ? because if there is nothing like "finshing" the acne germ then it shouldnt matter if i stop it when i want to Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vampireninja09 59 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I've wondered this same thing since I started minocycline 2 months ago, and my acne is clearing way better than anything I've tried before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
asburypark101 41 Share Posted December 29, 2011 The good news first is that minocycline has the least recorded amount of resistance of all the main antibiotics for acne (studies show it to be less than 1 percent resistance over a long period of time). So I would not worry about antibiotic resistance. I have been on minocycline for 4 years with some intermittent breaks.The bad news is that usually when individuals stop their antibiotics, their acne comes back worse than before, think of it like a rebound effect (trust me I know first hand). If your skin is no longer acne prone though, I hear that stopping the antibiotics wont have this effect, but of course how do we know that this "acne phase" has passed unless we do a trial and error and stop the antibiotics...so basically its a really crappy cycle. I do not enjoy being dependant on antibiotics, but I have to if I want to live a normal life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trytry 0 Author Share Posted December 31, 2011 4 years is a lot of time - maybe its allready better accutane ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Casablancaa 22 Share Posted January 4, 2012 The good news first is that minocycline has the least recorded amount of resistance of all the main antibiotics for acne (studies show it to be less than 1 percent resistance over a long period of time). That is great to hear. I myself have been on it for years with no problems, but I'm tapering off of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites