Good luck Armadillo- I've had great success with Lymecycline in the past & it worked quickly- I found my acne became "less angry" within a couple of weeks and continued to reduce after that.

Day 9

Not much difference so far, the current actives I had froze in development and slowly started to retreat. I have a few new whiteheads on my chest, but no inflamed spots. No new actives on my face or neck. I can't be sure about my back as it's really difficult to examine it thoroughly. But no new inflamed actives on my back as I would've noticed those from the soreness, but, there might be new blackheads/whiteheads.

Side effects: After my first dose I got a butterfly rash on my face that went away within a few hours. Since then, I've only been itching a bit. Stomach's fine. Possible yeast infection, but I get those every time I go on antibiotics and they always go away within 3-4 days on their own.

So all in all, not much to report, I will update again in a week [give or take a couple of days]

This really helped the acne on my chest but gave me more on my legs, arms and shoulders.

Day 14

On day 10, I got 4 new pustules on my shoulder, right next to my neck. Those were gone within 2 days. No new actives on face or neck. One small inflamed spot on breast that's now healing.

Side effects: Yeast infection is gone, I had couple of small rashes on my stomach and hands, but they quickly disappeared. Some minor joint pain in hands and elbows [but I have chronic pain due to osteoarthritis anyway, so it doesn't make much of a difference]. These symptoms apparently can be a sign of hypersensitivity lupus, so I'm going to ask my doctor about this when I pick up next month's worth of pills

Good luck Armadillo- I've had great success with Lymecycline in the past & it worked quickly- I found my acne became "less angry" within a couple of weeks and continued to reduce after that.

Thank you

This really helped the acne on my chest but gave me more on my legs, arms and shoulders.

Oh I think it will probably clear up up though. Once you stop antibiotics it should.

I hope I don't get acne on other parts of my body than I already have

Day 18

Started my period yesterday, so I have a few tiny whiteheads on my chin and upper lip. One very angry pustule on my shoulder and one on my upper arm. Better than usual, where I'll have several painful pustules on my shoulder, neck and jawline.

Side effects: Nothing new.

Good luck Armadillo- I've had great success with Lymecycline in the past & it worked quickly- I found my acne became "less angry" within a couple of weeks and continued to reduce after that.

Thank you

>This really helped the acne on my chest but gave me more on my legs, arms and shoulders.

Oh I think it will probably clear up up though. Once you stop antibiotics it should.

I hope I don't get acne on other parts of my body than I already have

Your probably won't. Everybody reacts to medication differently, and I've always had a difficult relationship with antibiotics.

Day 26

I had a few little whiteheads around my lips, and two pustules on my shoulders, but they're all healing now or gone completely

No new side effects

Day 31

No new actives. Started taking probiotics 3 days ago just in case a new yeast infection crops up.

No new side effects. I don't itch any more or have rashes

I didn't have time to write a long post yesterday, but yeah, I'm really seeing a big improvement from the time I've started taking it. I'm doing a 12 week course, as expected, I won't have to take it any longer than that. I will be also going a different type of birth control from the middle of next month to help with my acne and once I'm used to that/if it works, I will be stopping topical treatment gradually altogether. This is my current routine:

Face:

Morning

1. Wash with Morrisons Vitamin E cleanser [i like this a LOT, and it's only 70p]

2. Wipe face and neck with 1 Clearasil Daily Pore cleansing pad [i have used these in the past and they're great - I don't why I've stopped]

3. Apply Neutrogena Multi-Defence Moisturizer with SPF 25

Night

1. Wash with Garnier Soft Essentials cleanser in the shower

2. Tone with Superdrug Tea Tree toner

3. Apply 10% Glycolic acid lotion [this works much better when applied before the BP]

4. Apply 10% BP

5. Apply eye cream and night cream, both from Olay

I also sometimes use a serum, B. Nourished Night Serum

Body:

Once a day, in the shower

- Scrub back, chest and shoulders with brush and a scrub [i use random ones on offer - as long as it's grainy enough it will do]

- Wash with my concocted cleanser which is basically an antibacterial [triclosan free] soap mixed with Morrisons So Clear Deep Clean Daily Facial Wash. This works pretty well, actually much better than a regular antibacterial face wash. Obviously the antibacterial soap is much harsher as it's for your hands, but I like to mix it with a cleanser that has other ingredients. The idea is that both are cheap because I use a LOT to cover my entire back, chest, tops of arms and breasts.

Also, because I'm on my last month with Implanon, my hormones all over the place, and I'm not breaking out at all, which is pretty good. In the first month and in the last month of Implanon your hormones go haywire...just to anyone considering it. Now my 3 years are up, and I can't say I recommend this to anyone with acne prone skin. Other than that, it's a great contraceptive, it's as effective as sterilization [from the first week to right before the last week you have it] Unfortunately, due to my age [21 in a few months], I can't get sterilized on the NHS, which is what I want. I guess I could go private, but I do not have the financial resources for that at the moment. Ideally, I'd like to have gone through the procedure by the time I'm 30 at the latest. That would put an end to messing with my hormones with contraceptives. Obviously that is not the main reason I want it done, but it'd be a nice plus.

Day 35

I have a little pustule right underneath my eye on the top of my cheekbone. That has to be the closest spot I've ever had to my eye. I feel like I'm PMSing constantly now...I have hot and cold flashes, and I'm sweating like mad. My appetite has been strange too.

My Implanon is going to be removed on the 4th of March. I will wait a few days after that then start my new contraceptive.

Day 43

No new spots inflammed spots since I've had that pustule, which was gone the next day btw. No new yeast infections either, probably thanks to the probiotic.

Implanon removal next monday, thank goodness.

Day 47

My Implanon wasn't removed yesterday at the end, because the nurse who is trained to do insertion/removal, wasn't in! now I have to wait another two weeks.

No breakouts and no changes.

Day 68

I'm sorry I haven't updated in such a long time but I've been reaaaally busy

So after a failed Impanon removal attempt, I was put on Gedarel 30/150. At first I was dubious that it would work, as one of the listed side effects is acne...but I was reassured by my GP that this is the first choice birth control for women with PCOS, and even though I don't have that, she thought it would work regardless. Well, she may have been right as my skin is a LOT less oily, and I've only been taking it 8 days.

So the nurse at the family planning clinic failed to remove my Implanon... Even though he could feel it in my arm, he couldn't find one end. I'm glad he only made a small incision, as otherwise my arm would have been butchered. I was pissed off to say at least. He reckons it was inserted incorrectly. If it was, the NHS have a claim coming their way for medical negligence. Anyway the resident surgeon at the clinic will have a crack at removing in 2 weeks time and hopefully he shall succeed. If not, I'll be mega furious.

I'm almost finished with tetralysal! Only 12 pills left [i think?] I'm glad though. I've had enough of taking antibiotics.

My back and chest are pretty clear at the moment and so is my face + less oily

Day 73

Skin is continuing to get less oily, but I have 2 small whiteheads next to my nose on the left. The left side of my face seems to break out much more, how strange. I've been taking Gedarel since the 18th. I felt a bit emotional at the start, like PMSing, but not anymore. My hair seems to be shedding less which is great, because I don't leave loads of hairs all over the place [my hair is waist length at its longest point]

How long you plan on taking tetrasyl?

Day 86

Yesterday marked the finish of my Tetralysal course! I am all done and dusted. I am happy with the results and I'm seeing my GP on monday for a final check up, but I am 99% sure that I will not be continuing.

I have also pretty much stopped using benzoyl peroxide. Once week I apply some, but I plan on phasing it out entirely.

I am overall content with the outcome of this antibiotic course. I had minimal side effects at the beginning and hardly any near the end. I would recommend it to others but not as a long term solution.

Day 24 Post Tetralysal

I have not broken out since I have stopped Tetralysal. At the moment my focus is on to get rid of those pesky blackheads...as my pores seem to be shrinking, the blackheads seem more prominent, probably because there is more contrast between the parts of my skin that is clear and the parts, like my nose and chin, that have them. My skin can hardly be considered oily anymore, due to the BC. I would call it a combination-normal. I still have blackheads on my back and chest too, but no inflamed lesions.

I will periodically update this log to keep track of my skin after my antibiotic treatment.

Day 32 Post Tetralysal

I have one inflamed lesion on the top of my cheekbone, near my eye...but it doesn't seem too angry. I don't know if it's from stress or what, but I've been going through some really tough times lately, I guess you could say I'm having a 'career crisis' or the lack of, lol.

I've added a new step to my face routine. Pre-cleansing with oil, namely a mix of 1/3 castor oil and 2/3 grapeseed oil. I've had that spot on my cheek before I started doing it, and it has not aggravated it so far. I wash off the oils with my regular cleanser still, which is the Morrisons Vitamin E cleanser. So basically I'm double cleansing. I feel like one cleanser just doesn't do it. My blackheads seem to be shrinking, but it's too early to tell if it's going to have a real effect on my skin.

I still follow the same body routine.

I suggest stopping antibiotics