I've been put on Doxycycline and Epiduo Gel for my stubborn jawline/chin acne. I haven't started yet, but was wondering if anybody has had a lot of success with this combination? I've also read that Doxy can be quite aggravating to the stomach, and that it's best to take after food - but I've also heard that antibiotics work best on an empty stomach, because they won't have anything to counteract with. ARGH! Any experiences?
I'm also a little apprehensive about my daily vitamin intake with this antibiotic. I take B5, Evening Primrose Oil, Zinc, Vitex and probiotics. I'll continue to take the probiotics alongside the Doxy, but I'm really not sure if I should even be bothering to take the others, as they may interact with the antibiotic in certain ways. I wish my doc had elaborated on these things, but it was all just a rush and by the time I had my prescription sorted I'd forgotten to ask.
Anyway, does anybody have any experiences on this antibiotic with vitamin intake? Any success with the Epiduo combination? I've been on Roaccutane in the past but my acne has slowly been creeping back. The doctor said the Doxy should be more successful as I've been on Accutane in the past. Hoping this helps!
Hello
Doxy should be taken with food or at least a glass of milk to prevent an upset stomach.
It is good that you will be taking a topical retinoid (adapalene in Epiduo) along with Doxy to increase its effectiveness.
I wouldn't worry too much about the extra supplements, except perhaps probiotics.
You should notice significant improvement by 3 months.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/3/1188.full.pdf+html
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/data/Journals/JAMA/4939/JCR40042.pdf
Good luck
Doxycycline is on my allergy list now, simply because I threw up every.single.time. I took it. Didn't matter if I ate before, if I ate after, how long I waited, what I ate, what I drank, etc. I couldn't tolerate it.
As far as Epiduo goes, I didn't have success with that either. It just made my skin more irritated. I went back on Bactrim and have been maintaining clear skin since.
Hello
Doxy should be taken with food or at least a glass of milk to prevent an upset stomach.
It is good that you will be taking a topical retinoid (adapalene in Epiduo) along with Doxy to increase its effectiveness.
I wouldn't worry too much about the extra supplements, except perhaps probiotics.
You should notice significant improvement by 3 months.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/3/1188.full.pdf+html
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/data/Journals/JAMA/4939/JCR40042.pdf
Good luck
Thank you! The links were very helpful!
Doxycycline is on my allergy list now, simply because I threw up every.single.time. I took it. Didn't matter if I ate before, if I ate after, how long I waited, what I ate, what I drank, etc. I couldn't tolerate it.
As far as Epiduo goes, I didn't have success with that either. It just made my skin more irritated. I went back on Bactrim and have been maintaining clear skin since.
That's a shame that the Doxy didn't work out for you and a rather horrid side effect. Luckily, I've been ok for the past six days of taking it. No tummy problems or nausea. I make sure to take it during a meal and I drink a lot of water. I've been on a lot of antibiotics in the past so I suppose I can tolerate them a little more now. I prefer the Epiduo gel to the Quinoderm (5% Benzoyl Peroxide) cream I was using. The Quinoderm was SO drying and made my skin really red and itchy. The Epiduo contains less BP and the formula seems to be less aggravating on my skin.
I just wanted to post this here in case any of you got prescribed doxycycline and Epiduo. Acne did NOT go away away after a month of using this regime. In fact throughout the month, acne got more painful & itchy, and I felt hopeless. I lost a lot of confidence and I felt like it wasn't working. I really wanted results fast and I considered going on accutane. But I stuck to what my doctor told me to do for at least another 4 weeks before deciding to quit.
Basically, you have to stick with it. I got dramatic results from week 7-8. It's acne. No acne is going to go away in a week. Your skin goes through a cycle. Whenever you are starting a new regimen, stick with is for at least 2 months to see if it is effective. Before I started, I had moderate to severe acne. I am on week 8 and there is only one active pimple on my face. For me, thats a HUGE improvement and my confidence is so high! Everything else is just scarring (which I can live with!) Doxy did make me very nauseous and feel weak. Do not drink milk with it!!!!!! Dont consume calcium 2 hours before or after you take the meds! It will make the doxy ineffective.
With the epiduo gel, this gel worked miraculously for me. But you really have to be gentle with it and use a teeny tiny amount at first and introduce is slowly to the skin. I think that is why this gel didn't dry out my face cold like everyone else says (and I have pretty dry skin). What I did was I would use it once every three days, then once every two days, and then eventually every day. If I ever noticed my skin was getting aggravated or excessively dry I would skip for the day. The amount I use is enough to cover a THIN layer on my face. I combined it with a rich moisturizer. Try this out, I assure you it is the easiest way to start off with the epiduo gel. Your skin will thank you for it.
Lastly, DON'T GIVE UP. Stick to the regimen for 2 months. Try not to slack off! Everyone is different so if it doesn't work out, try something new!