Hey everyone, I like a lot of other people was lurking around this site for quite a while now and finally decided to make an account. I have been dealing with acne since I was 11 years old. I am now 20 and my acne is at its worst and completely ruined my life. My acne started off very minor and I was able to get it in control with a benzoyl peroxide/erythromycin topical from my doctor. Throughout most of high school my skin was fairly clear with occasional flare ups but nothing crazy. Towards the middle of my junior year my acne began to develop again and this time it wasn't disappearing easily. I am now 20 years old and in my junior year of college and my acne has become cystic as it has also spread all throughout my entire face. I have tried almost everything except Accutane and completely lost hope in clear skin at this point. My acne led me to allow the fall of my 4 year long relationship, it causes me to avoid my friends, and it has made me so embarassed to walk out in public with the skin I have now. Its holding me back from so much and as much as I try to put it aside and live my life I just can't be 100% happy until I'm confident in my own skin.

My dermatologist has reached the last options of medicines he wants me to try before he begins to discuss Accutane with me. I am currently on Spironolactone & Minocycline, both of which i take 100 mg daily, alongside with Acanya in the morning and Acezone at night. I was orginally only on Minocycline and Acezone and it was incredible that within my first 2 weeks of taking the medicine my skin cleared up beautifully for the most part, but as i approached the third week with the medicine I began to break out again horribly (I was really confused by this). I noticed my skin was clearing up incredibly well right up until I was approaching my period. Therefore my doctor prescribed me spiro since my acne most probably is hormonal. Being able to see that I had clear skin for 2 weeks was such a tease and has made me even more miserable then I was before since the acne returned. Anyways I have been on mino for a month now, and spiro for about 2.5 weeks, and the topicals I have been using for a month now. I have heard several times from many people that spiro does take a while to begin working but how has the experience been for spiro users in their early stages? Anyone else who tried mino go thru something similar to my beginning experience? I would love to hear other peoples experiences with these medications.