Hey guys! This is my first post round here, lovely to meet you all. 
I'll bullet point my problem to make it easier to read
- Got really bad acne on cheeks, chin and jaw, was put on lymecyline for 6 months (it began to work after around 3 months)
- After 6 months it stopped working properly
- Was put on erythromycin instead (just under a month ago)
- Very little improvement, acne has started to worsen again (particularly over the last week; I'm now getting acne on my forehead too which has never been the case before)
- Went back to get more tablets/discuss whether they were working; got given another months worth of tablets PLUS a tube of Duac (benzoyl peroxide and clindamycin phosphate)
Hopefully that makes it easy to understand what's happened to me to date.
My question is; how long would you expect to wait before the tablets/cream start to work? I'm just really gutted because I was really looking forward to going to University with nice clear skin, but I'm leaving on Friday and my skin is going to pot again.
My other question is how would you suggest I take the erythromycin? I've got to have 2 tablets for day, so I'm trying to take them 12 hours apart. Does that sound reasonable?
Sorry for signing up and just giving you a barrage of questions, but this is really starting to get me down now.
Hi there!
Firstly, don't be too put-off as everyone is different, but the Erythromycin did nothing for me at all other than give me another month of worsening acne and very bad sickness. When I went back to see a different doctor, he said he couldn't understand why I was given Erythromycin as it's quite a weak treatment in comparison to the Tetracyclines (now on Lymecycline). What really made a difference for me was being prescribed a topical treatment, much like you have been with the Duac except I'm using Epiduo.
My brother was prescribed Duac and although I'm not sure how long it took to work, he only applied it a couple of times a week and when I saw him not long afterwards I could not believe the difference, he is now almost totally clear with the exception of an odd spot here and there (blame the teenage hormones).
I've heard using an oral antibiotic really helps with any initial breakouts that the topical treatment may cause. Definitely take 12 hours apart and I always took mine on a full stomach as all gastric hell would break loose if not! Maybe speak to a doctor though, as Duac contains an antibiotic, I'm not sure if both would actually be necessary?
Good luck!