Hi guys...i just started taking Spiro today at 50 mg once per day as well as 75mg of Solodyn (minoclycline). My doctor literally told me NOTHING about spiro, so i've been doing research on my own today, and i'm a little terrified. I have had acne since i was 14 (i'm 28 now) and have been on everything under the sun except accutane. I have constant small white bumps under the skin, all over my face (but mostly around the cheeks/jawline area), i have blackheads on my nose and i do also get large cyst-like pimples. sometimes they are VERY large and painful, although those are few and far between.
basically my question is, will the solodyn, which is an antibiotic, help with the initial spiro breakouts that i've heard such terrible things about? i am a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding in just over a month and i'm scared to start spiro it for fear of looking like a hot mess at the wedding. then, in may, i'll be working outside, in the sun, sweating all day as a cocktail server...i'm a little nervous i'm going to have a pizza face and everyone will be able to see it. any suggestions? my self esteem is already just about as low as it gets...so, i don't know how i'll handle a major breakout. help!
Just wanted to share my experience with Spiro and Antibiotics.
I was on Spiro, Minocycline and Birth Control all at once for a period of time. It worked great! It definitely cleared my skin and I was so happy about it. Sadly, this wasn't a permanent fix for me. The clear skin lasted less than a year for me. About 9 months later the cystic acne came back and going back on the medication didn't really help anymore. Maybe I became resistant to the anti-biotic..I'm not really sure.
Hope it works well for you thought. Good luck! 
Just wanted to share my experience with Spiro and Antibiotics.
I was on Spiro, Minocycline and Birth Control all at once for a period of time. It worked great! It definitely cleared my skin and I was so happy about it. Sadly, this wasn't a permanent fix for me. The clear skin lasted less than a year for me. About 9 months later the cystic acne came back and going back on the medication didn't really help anymore. Maybe I became resistant to the anti-biotic..I'm not really sure.
Hope it works well for you thought. Good luck!
just being clear for less than a year sounds, literally, like a dream! i know overall, the goal would be to stay clear, but jeez, at this point, if i were clear for a month i'd be thrilled! did you find the antibiotic minocycline helped with the initial breakout associated with spiro?
You do need to stay on BCP and/or spiro long-term. The antibiotic can only be used short-term, but it is useful to stop an initial breakout. I don't hear many really bad IBs coming from spiro, but IBs are quite common with BCP. I personally didn't have any sort of purging with spiro.
I have been on spiro for 6 weeks and minocycline 50mg for 7 weeks. I went from 50-100mg of spiro in 10 days as that was my prescribed dose. Both my endo and derm think 100mg is the minimum effective dose. I was on spiro for 1 week before and developed a deep cyst that i had never had the likes of before which lasted for 3 months. So i knew i needed help with the ib. So it is my second try and so far so good. My skin is clearer than it has been in awhile. I am scared i will break out when i stop the mino but hoping it won't be terrible until Spiro kicks in. I do think i have less oil although if anything my sex drive has gone up which i take as a bad sign. But to answer your question, yes minocycline has helped with the initial breakout.
Just wanted to share my experience with Spiro and Antibiotics.
I was on Spiro, Minocycline and Birth Control all at once for a period of time. It worked great! It definitely cleared my skin and I was so happy about it. Sadly, this wasn't a permanent fix for me. The clear skin lasted less than a year for me. About 9 months later the cystic acne came back and going back on the medication didn't really help anymore. Maybe I became resistant to the anti-biotic..I'm not really sure.
Hope it works well for you thought. Good luck!
just being clear for less than a year sounds, literally, like a dream! i know overall, the goal would be to stay clear, but jeez, at this point, if i were clear for a month i'd be thrilled! did you find the antibiotic minocycline helped with the initial breakout associated with spiro?
I'm not sure if I really had an initial break out at all...my face was literally covered in acne that it was hard to tell which ones were old and which ones were new ones popping out. But using all 3 did help my skin, although not permanently, they did for a time.
I have been on spiro for 6 weeks and minocycline 50mg for 7 weeks. I went from 50-100mg of spiro in 10 days as that was my prescribed dose. Both my endo and derm think 100mg is the minimum effective dose. I was on spiro for 1 week before and developed a deep cyst that i had never had the likes of before which lasted for 3 months. So i knew i needed help with the ib. So it is my second try and so far so good. My skin is clearer than it has been in awhile. I am scared i will break out when i stop the mino but hoping it won't be terrible until Spiro kicks in. I do think i have less oil although if anything my sex drive has gone up which i take as a bad sign. But to answer your question, yes minocycline has helped with the initial breakout.
that's good to hear about the Mino...gives me a little hope. i don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems i am seeing the beginnings of an IB already, even after 2 days! 
when i went to the the derm on the 27th, i was "reasonably" clear, just had the remnants of old breakouts, but within the past two days i've gotten like 4 new pimples...ugh. not sure if i may be reacting to the topical products i was instructed to use or what...