I have always had acne prone skin since about junior year in high school and i am 23 now but it was never too terribly bad, never more than two or three active pimples at a time and an occasional cyst that would fade away in a week or so without coming to a head. Last year actually my face was really really clear, i was exercising a lot which was new for me i was in the process of losing 30-40lbs.
Over the summer last year my face was really clear but never perfect like a lot of my friends so i was still self conscious about it. My regular doctor also referred me to a dermatologist last summer, i had never seen a derm before, and he wanted me to have a black spot checked on my forehead. The derm immediately upon seeing me pointed out that i had acne and gave me aczone. The black spot on my forehead was removed and left no scar.
I had never used any type of rx facial anything before so i was excited, thinking aczone should clear me right up because my face wasnt that bad at all. It did just the opposite and my face went crazy with breakouts so i did some of my own research and learned all about the "worse before better" type deal. I couldnt handle it though so after about two months of aczone and no improvment, i stopped using it and within a few weeks my face was 90% clear again.
This was about October 2012...my face was basically the least of my worries, it was so much better and i didnt wake up every morning wanting to cry when i looked in the mirror. During this time i stopped using acne face washes also because i just got lazy and thought maybe im finally growing out of the acne stage of life. Boy was i wrong. Turns out im only just beginning.
Fast forward to march 2013...my face had been pretty clear for the bulk of the winter...i have some dark spots that will eventually fade so i do always wear makeup. I still workout every day and have kept all but ten stubborn pounds off over the winter. When mid-march rolled around i started to notice my jawline feeling really tender to the touch like something was under the surface just waiting to attack. I searched and searched online of something natural to use and found the old ice cube trick which i guess helps some people but in my case i think it made it worse like waaaaay worse. Within the next two weeks my face had erupted, mainly on my right side jawline and up my cheek near my ear. I had a few breakouts on the left side but nothing like the right side, and my forehead also had a few pimples but nothing serious.
Ive tried everything and my jawline just seems to be getting worse. So i went to see the derm and she gave me 100mg two times a day of Minocycline along with metrogel and sumadan wash.
Ive been taking the mino for about a week now but havent noticed any significant changes. Ive also been using the Sumadan wash for almost two weeks and i like it even tho the smell is pretty harsh. I tried the metrogel one night and was not impressed so i havent used it since.
I also use Dessert Essence products, a face wash and a moisturizer.
I just dont know what to expect here and was curious if anyone had a similar experience or any advice to share with me. Im pretty new to this whole dermatologist thing and have heard all kinds of mixed reviews on acne products, especially antibiotics.
I also am curious has anyone here used Murad's Pure Skin Detoxifying Pills? Are they okay to take along with the Minocycline?
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Ive been a long time lurker on acne.org but finally have decided to just get my story out there and maybe get some help. Thank you in advance for your help 
Forgot to mention my side effects of taking the Minocycline.
For the first two days I took one pill 100mg per day. On day three I started taking two pills daily, without food. Each time I take a pill i get a mild headache about 30-45 mins later and it lasts for a few hours...unless I eat something then it will go away quicker. Also they make me very drowsy and have little motivation. Those two side effects I can deal with but the two that make me very nervous that I am now experiencing are shortness of breath and im not sure if this is due to the pill but im starting to have a sore throat and stuffy sinuses.
The shortness of breath is really what scares me because i do have asthma along with seasonal allergies as well as work out on a daily basis where my lungs are needed at full strength to keep me going.
I just dont have any clue what to expect here, like i said this is my first time really experimenting with rx acne meds/washes so any advice is great..
You commented on my post earlier, I'm also taking minocycline. I'm supposed to take 1 pill a day 100mg. I started Monday, and yesterday I noticed my throat was a little irritated. My derm did tell me not to take it before bed because something about the throat closing, I don't know.
Also today when I took it, I had a little nausea but it wasn't bad.
I havent had any nausea but the headaches and drowsiness are def the most noticeable.
Im hoping my shortness of breath and sore throat are just a result of a seasonal allergy flare up and will subside in a few days. If not i will have to call my doc and see what she think. Im due for my followup appt on may 15th so hopefully ill be pretty clear by then 
. Im so tired of waking up and immediately my day being ruined by looking in the mirror. I just want it to end, this breakout is seriously effecting my mental capacity and daily motivation, its just plain bad 
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Okay so i had to go to the emergency room last night because my asthma symptoms worsened and i could not breath. The doctor swore that the minocycline is not the cause of this even tho i havent had an asthma flare up like this in many years and havent had to go to the hospital for it since i was 5 years old. I know this has been an extremely bad allergy season for most everyone with allergies so hopefully he was right. He tried to prescribe me more antibiotics to fight off the URI but bc im already taking Mino 200mg/day he said that would be sufficient in killing excess bacteria. He prescribed me a corticosteriod Prednisone which i have taken before for asthma related reasons as well as a rx Tussionex cough syrup which is pretty much going to knock me out for a few days.
I feel like such a lab rat right now. All i can hope for is that my health will regain its strength over the next few months
In the meantime my skin is getting pretty clear, but the scarring is horrible and so red and patchy. Its sad but better than active pimples and cysts. I also noticed pimples and cysts healing much much faster now, like less than 2 days and new ones are already gone. Its the old lingering ones that wont fully go away....yet!
Me too! I still get pimples here and there but they are tiny, I'm just dealing with the old ones ony jawline that were huge to begin with. I am too dealing with scarring and blotchy ness. I know that as soon as I stop antibiotics, it will probably all come back. I'm really considering accutane.
I had my one month follow up and the derm was completely unimpressed with my miniscule improvments from the minocycline. She gave me another script for more antibiotics which im considering not taking as well as a prescription for a multivitamin called nicazel.
She also talked to me about accutane and said that in the next few months if we cant find something to keep me clear, shes going to put me on accutane.
Im sad i was hoping for better news from her today but it was a major disaappointment. Looks like accutane is in my future....just not sure if im willing to take it.
Wow, I go back for my one month follow up next week. For me, sometimes I think the minocycline is working and then the next day I get some small pimples. I definetely don't get huge cysts anymore, but the acne just keeps coming back it's very frustrating. One day ill feel so great and my face will feel so smooth and soft and the next day it's like ok I'm ready to do accutane.
I woke up this morning with like fifteen new whiteheads. Not cysts anymore but the whiteheads are almost just as bad bc they pop up in clusters and are just SO noticeable. Idk what else to do but i reallly reallly dont want to take accutane. A friend of mine took it and she is swearing its a waste of time, money and sunshine. This is so frustrating
Has anyone used Nicazel...my dern gave me these rx vitamins. Supposed to help w redness. That and metrogel. Ugh.
Okay so four days ago i stopped taking my minocycline. Im so over taking antibiotics it may be clearing my skin but the hell if im going to murder my insides for clear skin.
This is what im doing instead and honestly over the last 4 days I have seen significant improvment:
Murad pure skin vitamins (4 daily)
Nicazel rx vitamin (1 daily)
Saw Palmetto (1 daily)
Veggie Festiv (2 daily)
Fruit Festiv (2 daily)
Ibuprofen for really bad days when its red and painful.
Im still using the Sumadan rx face wash 3 times a week as well as Dessert Essence face wash and moisturizer. Thayers witch hazel and aloe vera toner. Been using the ole toothpaste trick but thats only bc i havent gotten the chance to buy some BP yet.
Drinking lots of water and loading up on probiotics via Good Belly Drinks and Homemade Kefir Water.
Ive also been looking into the hormonal imbalance side of things and going to up my Diindolymethane intake which apparently helps big time and can be found naturally in veggies of the Cruciferous (Brassica genus) family such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, collard greens, bok choy ect. One would need to intake a few good pounds of these veggies each day to get the proper levels of DIM to really see a difference so i might consider adding a DIM supplement to my regimine as well.
Heres to another round of lets see if this works!