So today i dont notice much difference in my skin though it is a tad more dry then gets oily throughout the day as usual. It still is a bit rough. The worst part was not having time to eat this morning with my pill and i felt sick as a dog! Very lightheaded and nauseous.

Daily Regimen:

Morning-

1)Doxycycline Pill with full glass of water and food

2)Cetaphil Oil Control Foam Wash

3) Netrogena Healthy Defense Mosturizer

Night-

1)Doxycycline Pill with full glass of water

2)Cetaphil Oil Control Foam Wash

3)Retin-A(Tretinoin cream)

4)CeraVe PM lotion

Also my cream is 0.05% and my doxycycline is 100 mg just so you know!! I encourage feedback from anyone trying or further along using these please! I'd like to see results!

Hey I just wanted to comment to let you know people are reading and are excited for you!

I'm taking minocycline and tretinoin 0.05 cream as well.

I've been on the cream for maybe 3 weeks and I am DEFINITELY in the initial breakout phase. I've been on antibiotics for years (I know, I know. It is terrible for me. But that's what my doctor ordered.) I think I've grown a resistance to my antibiotics, so I doubt they are helping my breakout in any way

I go back to college in 2 days, and it's unfortunate that I have to start of school looking like a teenager when I'm already 23! Anyways, it's a long road to clear skin but I'm willing to stick this out! Good luck to you and keep on writing!!

Hi MaddieJuliet,

I started my Doxycycline treatment on July 3, 2012. I am also on the 100mg day and night rituaI. In the beginning I was always feeling sick but I got over it. There are many junk things about antibiotics but I really sincerely do hope that this works for you. Let me tell you a bit about what I've experienced so far in hope of giving you some kind of inspiration. Its been a little over 2 months and during that time I have had some break outs. 1 cyst on both sides of my jawline, some small pimples here and there. DO I think that this antibiotics is working, YES! I do get the small pimples and they only last a day or two before I can extract the clogged pore without TOO much irritation. Some just dry right up and don't get a chance to turn into a pimple. What's cool is that I know it's working but its working VERY slowly. In the beginning, I obsessed with searching for success stories but everyone is different and readying someones negative review might not be credible because you have no control over their environmental variables. My suggestion is to stick with it. Stick with your regime and do it EVERYDAY. But do other things like eat healthy, exercise more, get a good nights sleep, change your bed sheets, exfoliate, you know the FUN stuff Acne sucks and unfortunately it has plagued us.

I am a 21 year old female and this is my 12th week using tetrinoin 0.0025% and 100mg doxycycline although about two months in i called my dermatologist and asked him to bump me up to 200 mg. After doing some research I saw that 200 mg doxycycline a day was much more beneficial and faster than 100 mg, and my doctor had no hesitation in changing my prescription for me. I started breaking out terribly from the beginnig. I have had moderate/mild acne since I was in fifth grade and I have always been so self conscious of it. A week into this treatment I was the maid of honor in my best friends wedding and my face was breaking out like crazy, it was humiliating to be honest. I moved back to my college the next day and the past two and a half months have been awful. I have been breaking out like crazy alllll over my face. I have had to hide my l face. I look down, I've made up excuses as to why I'm bailing on my friends when really it's because I'm too humilated to go out in public like this- that's how bad it got. It made my depression and anxiety so much worse too. As of two weeks ago it has finally started to clear up and it gets better everyday! The purging part is finally over, atleast my fingers are crossed that it is. I have horrible red scars on my face from the crazy break out period but they are beginning to fade more and more each day. My face has transformed so much, it has become much tighter and healthy looking- I never thought my skin would look this way! I also had a wrinkle on my forehead that is completely gone from using this cream! I know everyone says it gets worse before it gets better, and I know how hard it can take a toll on your self confidence, but please please hang in there!!! My biggest advice is to keep using the cream and believe me when I say it will get better. It just takes TIME. I read these forums for over a month straight every night before going to bed. I would run my hands over my face and want to cry. But it gets better even though you don't think it will. Remember there are so many other people going through this, you are by no means the only one. Instead of looking in the mirror each day and hating what you see, look in the mirror and smile because you're one day closer to reaching beautiful skin! I have oily skin to begin with and it wasn't until recently my chin and upper lip area started to become dry. I use St. Ives collegan lotion in a big tub that helps my skin so much, I put a little on iand all the dryness is gone. I also use cetaphil to take off my makeup and clean & clear with benzoyl peroxide (I let it sit on my face for like 3-4 minutes before washing it off). Benzoyl peroxide products will help heal your acne faster than salasylic acid will. Also, I know the antibiotics can make you nauseous, I even through up a few times in the beginnig but your body eventually gets used to it.

I hope this is helpful! I wanted to return the favor because reading forums like this helped me get through the very difficult time. Know that you're not alone and we are all on the road to better skin!!