Today is my third day of using benzaclin and I'm already seeing pretty huge results. I'd say my acne has decreased by at least 50%, it just seems to be drying up and rapidly going away. I really wasn't expecting this, my doctor said it could take several weeks to improve and that most cases get worse before they get better. It's making me start to wonder if what I'm experiencing is actually some sort of rash or allergic reaction and not acne? If anyone has gone through anything like this, PLEASE give me some input, I'm dying to figure out how and why this happened and if it is something I can prevent from happening! 
Pics of my face from tonight, my skin is super red in these but they were taken 5 minutes after I had a shower. 

Hi! Welcome to the org! Being as you said it happened when you started supplementing it could possibly be that! Why don't you stop taking them and see what hapens? If anything maybe not the vit d and calcium but could be the b12? I'm sure others will input soon.

Thanks so much!  I have stopped all vitamins, I've been off the b12 for almost three weeks now and all the others for two. I was in denial for months that a vitamin could actually be causing such negative effects! Hoping that that was what caused this! 

I suddenly got acne the beggining if this year out of nowhere. The only think I chaged at the time was stopping smoking. I'm not certain but I have heard smoking surpresses hormones and once they are taken away hormones go wacky. Now I'm not saying that's the case for either of us but you just don't know. I would carry on with the benzaclin as yoyu have already stated you are having improvements with that. Hopefully if it was one of the supplements, stopping them and using benzaclin will hopefully sort you out. If not, you go back to the doctors and try something else. I was fed up with waiting around and the doctor saw how upset my skin was making me and reffered  me to a dermotologist. Now currently on accutane to try sort this mess out. Wish you all the best. If you need anything just holla  

Huh, maybe quitting smoking does have something to do with it! I replaced it with vaping and I've recently read about some ingredients in certain e-juices causing people to break out, I may have to look into that if it doesn't go away! Good luck with the accutane! Here's to hoping for clear skin for both of us  

OMG that's exactly what I did went to vaping! Thought I was crazy but maybe not now

I read that it has something to do with the base of the juice, if it is PG based or VG based and that PG based juice has messed up a lot of people's skin. I checked mine and they're all PG, so that could have something to do with it! Apparently there are a lot of vapers who have had skin problems!

So it's been about a week and a half on benzaclin! Still just cleaning with cetaphil (I was using Philosophy Purity but it burned my skin!), applying benzaclin and moisturizing. At night I switch out the benzaclin for an otc spot treatment. In the first three days it seriously calmed down the inflammation, but now I'm at a standstill. New spots are forming daily, and aside from a few it doesn't seem to be clearing old ones. Aside from tiny bumps on my forehead, most of it is below my cheekbones and on my jawline/chin. I've also got tons of little red bumps on my chest, along with one particularily lovely cystic bump! Does this look like hormonal acne to anyone? 

Still not really any improvement, and I'm noticing some serious pigmentation being left behind after some spots heal. My temples for example are all clear, it's all from old spots that left pigmentation. I've got tons of small bumps along my jaw line that are hard to see but I can feel them and I'm terrified they'll turn into actual zits. I have an appointment with this GP tomorrow and I'm hoping she'll give me something new to try, something that will actually prevent new spots from forming. Does anyone have any advice on things I could tell her or ask her for? I have no idea what sort of acne I'm dealing with so I don't have the slightest clue where to start. 

Hi there, your skin is looking better ! But your face looks pretty red  I have tried Benzaclin before and I had a SEVERE allergic reaction I'm talking swollen eyes and lips lol it was BAD but this happened I think literally the first week of using it so I think your in the clear. But your skin is clearing up but your skin looks irritated. So I REALLY think you should apply a VERY thin layer of Benzaclin. A little goes a long way, cliche I know but you definitely don't want to cause an allergic reaction from abusing Benzaclin. Just don't over do it with the amount,  be very gentle with the amount this is key ! and see if your skin doesn't seem as red / irritated. And make sure you have a good moisturizer and sunscreen at all time. And I think your hyperpigmentation should be taken care of with this product , it looks like its taking care of it. Be patient. Your face looks good 

Thank you! Things are definitely getting better, I've been noticing more peeling than usual. I attempted to wear some face makeup today but I had to take it off, my skin looked worse with foundation than it does bare! I try to make sure I only use a thin layer of the benzaclin but I must be using more than I think! My GP added retin a to my routine in the evenings and prescribed me minocycline to help clear things up and help with the chest/back break outs I've been getting. I'm kind of nervous about the retin a, but I am going to pick them up today so we will see! Here is my skin today, sorry if I am over doing it on the pictures/posts, I find this really helpful to track my progress!  

 Whoa Retin A also! thats seems like it'll be very irritating especially since Benzaclin has BP in which is very strong. Thats actually really surprising that he perscribed you that. But LOL now with Retin A , I really think you should ease into this routine cause your skin already seems irritated. Does your skin burn ? like a little , when applying stuff or washing your face? If so maybe I would start easing the Retin A like every other 2 evenings then do that for like 1-2 weeks then start using it every other evening for the same amount of time then start using it everyday. It's up to how your skin is feeling, like flaking and peeling thats expected but burning/ stinging thats hard to manage. Also I know alot of dermas say use a "pea" sized amount but I don't think I use that amount. Its kinda hard to explain , but I break out on my cheeks and my chin but mainly cheeks my forehead and nose are clear. But I still apply treatment to those areas also but focus on my problem area. But alot of people I think think that they dont cover the problem areas completely and put too much on. I literally dap a little, and work it around and spread it but some people feel like they don't "cover" the area enough and dap more and more until it feels like its been covered. But Ive noticed , I'm using a retinol also (ziana gel ) or if I use too much of an acne product my acne scars look more harsh even my hyperpigmentation looks more red and tingy looking and sometimes the dark spots like extra red/purple versus when I lightly put just enough, they look better scars and texture. Lol , I'm probably not making sense but anyways thats just what I think, up to you. 

My skin burns occasionally, I think that is more my fault for picking at it (terrible, I know!). I'm definitely guilty of feeling like I didn't cover the spot well enough with BP, I'll try to stay conscious of that! So you apply the retin a to your whole face? T zone and all? I break out in the same places as you, cheeks and chin, plus also small closed come domes on my forehead so that's where I've been putting the BP. but I will try your suggestion with the retin a! As for the irritation and redness, I think some of it is due to windburn... ever since the weather has gotten cold and the air has gotten dryer this past week (I live in northern Canada) the peeling and sensitivity has started. I was peeling a little when I first started the BP, but a few days in it stopped. Since the change in the weather though, it has started and gotten worse than it was before! When I get in from walking my dogs lately, my skin looks and feels like a bad sunburn. Damn winter  

Is day three of retin a and mino too soon to be seeing the IB? I've got tons of new breakouts happening everywhere! 

@Katieocasey
Yeah basically I apply it to my whole face lol but I try not to put it near my upper lip and close to my lip area because I'm VERY sensitive there. I'm also on an antibiotic (doxycyline hyclate) girl let me tell you I broke out horribly like it made me cry like a good two times when it broke me. But seriously, just remember acne treatment are supposed to get all that crap out so just remember it will get better. But if I could go back I wouldnt take antibiotics honestly their great if you stay on it but it wont cure your acne its just a short term fix. I prefer to put my effort into clearing it topically and antibiotics do alot of damage to your gut so make sure you are getting probiotics to help your gut. It's tricky since I cut out dairy  . But who knows theres some people who dont purge idk why but their skin just clear up mine just went crazy but it cleared me around the 4 month period. Stay strong though 

@Melmmg I've been trying the way you suggested with the retin a and I like it! I dove in like an idiot, applying it every night against the advice in every post I've ever read about it and sure enough, my skin was almost peeling off my face.  So I've started applying it every other night and it's much better. I totally agree with what you said about antibiotics, I'm terrified I will break out once I go off them but I can't stay on these things forever. My doc said that if they don't work we can try Spiro, which I'm interested in, but time will tell I guess. But oh MAN the side effects of the antibiotics are brutal. My stomach has been a mess for a full week now, it's almost unbearable. I'm supposed to take two 100mg pills a day but this past weekend I was in the city and couldn't handle the second pill, so I only took one a day but am going to go back to two a day now. Hopefully that doesn't effect anything... I picked up some probiotics though so hopefully that helps too. Also feeling the terrible IB like you mentioned. The cystic acne I had in the first few days on this regimen has mostly gone away but now I have tons of little white heads and red bumps. So hopefully those clear soon! They're better than cystic acne though, that's for sure. These pics are taken today, 2 days shy of 2 weeks on mino/retin a 

@MelmmgI've been told the same thing, empty stomach! I did it the first few times and ended up with extreme nausea to the point of not being able to eat. I haven't had a burning feeling from it but I understand your pain, I've had acid reflux and it's not fun! My biggest problem with the antibiotics is that they're giving me crazy stomach cramps! I've heard so much about dairy being bad but I don't eat much dairy in the first place, so I can't see that being the problem with my skin. Are you taking 200mg day now? That's what I'm on

@Katieocasey Hey! Sorry I'm replying sooo late (holiday season) is crazy! Yeah when I was taking the 100mg twice a day, my stomach at first was burning and it hurt but making sure you eat around the time you take the pill should help it not burn / hurt. But I am not taking the normal dosage anymore, since I have been on this treatment since August 2015 which I started with 100mg then a month later in October 16, 2015 I was taking 100mg 2x day continued that for like 5 months then on Feb. 2016 I returned to 100 mg once a day and derma told me to take it twice a day if I flare up but I didn't do that very often but then continued with that for 4 months then on June 2016 , this is where I started weaning off the antibiotic which I was lowered to 40 mg once a day and I am currently doing that as of right now so since June 2016 to now is ( 7 months ) of weaning off but come this March 2017 I will be officially off the antibiotic. So it will be a total of 9 months of weaning off, because you cannot just stop an antibiotic abruptly that just asking for a SUPER outbreak. But as of now, I am breaking out and have been every since I started weaning off but thats where I have to invest more of my time into topicals which I think are more practical approach to curing acne since you cant be antibiotics forever. Sucks, but this treatment will be a total ( 19 months) with counting the months I have left of weaning off the antibiotic. So thats a whole year and 7 months of this treatment its crazy.