Doxycycline
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Doxycycline is an oral antibiotic that works by fighting bacteria in the body, including in the skin, and also reduces inflammation. It should...

Doxycycline is an oral antibiotic that works by fighting bacteria in the body, including in the skin, and also reduces inflammation. It should be used only short term (max. 3 months).

It is usually prescribed at a dose of 50 to 100 mg once or twice per day.

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July 31, 2012

Pros:

-No breakouts during use
-Acne did not return afterwards with the help of Benzaclin and a better acne fighting routine

Cons:

-Slight stomach pain if you don't take with food (nothing unbearable)

This will be long but I am going to tell my story in hopes that it will help some people. I began having moderate breakouts at 15 years old (i am now 22) for which my first dermatologist prescribed me Benzaclin. Benzaclin worked wonders for years. A feeling of mine though is early consistent use of benzaclin caused dependence and may be the reason for my persistent but i can't prove that...but last year when I was 21 I had the biggest breakout of my entire life; on top of my normal sporadic acne, my right cheek became enveloped in acne, some cystic, some not. I went to my dermatologist and he prescribed me cefadroxil which cleared up my acne slowly and within a month it was much better. After 2 months of using cefadroxil I changed dermatologists based on the recommendation of a friend and the new derm said cefadroxil should not be used for acne and he prescribed me Monodox (doxycyline) I used this for 3 months and my face improved even more; my acne scars were even starting to fade. During this 3 months I got a solid routine down which includes washing my face 2 or 3 times a day with AcneFree Oatmeal & Jojoba Gentle Acne Scrub and applying Olay moisturizer immediately after (15 SPF version in the AM and no SPF version in the PM) and I still use Benzacline every night before I go to sleep on sensitive areas. I am also meticulous about not re-using towels, not touching my face and NOT popping pimples (something I used to do...i know ew). I find touching my face in a area will cause acne in that area. Upon stopping monodox and not being on any antibiotics I have continued this routine breakout free. It has been almost 4 months without a breakout. I still get sporadic acne but this routine has helped a lot. Before this I had never used a moisturizer and I was using cheaper face washes; this routine has worked MUCH better so far and I HIGHLY recommend it. I am going to post my story under threads for each of the acne treatments I have used. I really hope this helps!!
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July 19, 2012

Pros:

-Clears Quickly (I have non-cystic breakouts)
-No initial breakout ^^
-No Side Effects while on it
-No drowsiness

Cons:

-Loses its effectiveness
-Gave me side effects off of it
-Breakouts are Really likely to come back
-Doesn't work 100% after all

Okay so I'm a 14 year old girl that's been having problems with breakouts for over 2 years. They were never Cystic or really huge, but I would get 4 or 5 pimples on my cheeks and they weren't exactly ever acne but more less the problematic breakout. I always thought it was hormonal (i also have oily skin). When I started using this instantly my face cleared up in just a week. Really no new spots after I started taking it. (One tablet a day). I'm now on my 11th day and the product is already losing its effectiveness. I found a new spot this morning on my cheek. As for the side effects I got none while i'm on it. But i forgot to take my pill earlier this week and I had nausea and bad stomach pain while off it. I took the pill later that night though. And I pretty much knew that once I got off it that my problems would return... I don't recommend this pill. Even if your breakouts aren't severe or cystic it doesn't initially solve any of your problems in the long run. Just kind of gets your hopes up for a couple weeks. I was iffy about using it in the first place because I read a lot of reviews on this and they all were about the same. Helps some, or clears you up but after you stop the use of it your problems come back worse.
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July 17, 2012

Pros:

Slowly clears acne

Cons:

1) Takes at least 2-3 months before you see any results.
2) Did make acne worse initially
3) Causes discharge.
4) Must also take Probiotics to prevent and cure discharge.

Profile: 28 yr old female South Asian Poor diet Moderately Severe Acne, mainly cystic acne around chin and neck I was on Doxycycle 100mg/day for about 3 months. I noticed it BEGAN to work in the 3rd month. Initially it made my acne worse like I was told. However, by the fourth month I began to take Minocycline because I wasn't sure if Doxcycle was working (but it did) and Minocycline was stronger and supposedly works faster. Which it did but results only last 2- 3 months. I was back on Doxycycle 200mg/day by my 6 month but saw no results in the 1st and 2nd month of being back so I quit taking it. My derm said Doxycycle and Monocycline are beginner antibiotics.
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July 17, 2012

Pros:

helped to clear my skin, did not experience any side effects

Cons:

antibiotics kill ALL bacteria in your system, even the helpful ones, like probiotic bacteria in intestines that help regulate the digestive system -- I experienced some unpleasant stomach pains and irregular bowel movements (ew, sorry, but its truth), also, messed with my eating habits/diet because of the directions to not take the pills with food, risk of antibiotic resistance

I developed a great deal of deep, cystic acne on the sides of my face and cheeks suddenly after new years. I had some regular pimples (not cystic) on my chin and forehead as well. No blackheads, really. My skin was so inflamed, new blemishes were appearing daily, each blemish would leave a deep red mark (my skin is light and prone to marks) so I panicked and went to the dermatologist. I was put on 100 mg of doxycycline 2x daily, clindamycin wipes (2x a day) and a 10% benzoyl peroxide-aloe vera wash (2x a day). I followed the routine religiously, and even so, it took three months to see really noticeable results. I continued this routine for five full months, and my skin is practically breakout free, and the red marks are finally beginning to fade (time and sun, according to my derm.). I requested that my antibiotic dosage be lowered because of the possible adverse side effects of long-term antibiotic use, and I halved my dosage, still washing with the benzoyl-peroxide wash, and still using the clindamycin wipes. It's been about a month on the lowered dosage and so far, so good. No new spots. It looks like I will be able to successfully wean myself off of the antibiotics. I remember reading reviews on this website about the ineffectiveness of antibiotics and the possibilities of resistance. These are all very real possibilities, but this routine has worked to clear my acne up and to keep it at bay, so it is not hopeless. I'm an advocate of this routine, in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.
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July 14, 2012

Pros:

-cleared acne somewhat
-little to no side effects

Cons:

-felt nauseous for about 10 minutes prior to taking it (on an empty stomach, if the nausea is unbearable, eat a few crackers before taking it, mine wasn't that bad though)
-initial breakout was a little bit of a pain, didn't last too long though, I'd say about a month or 2 at the most
-my face was never quite clear, time of the month breakouts still sucked
-my face was "clear" for maybe 4 months, then things got progressively worse and I'm back to where I started

About a year ago I was given doxycycline, I think I was on 50mg a day. It was a low dosage because my acne at the time was maybe 5-10 papules and a few whiteheads, nothing severe. My initial breakout might not have been completely from doxycycline either. Keep in mind when you are starting a new regimen, you are stopping usage of the products you previously used. In my case, that is how it was. I was using duac before and switching between face washes every week, which I think was a contributing factor to my skin deteriorating, but that's another story. Anyway, the ib looking back was not horrid, but it was bad from what I was used to. Realistically, if you have light acne, you are not going to break out into full blown cystic acne with one antibiotic, probably not even moderate acne. I had about 4 more pimples then usual popping up every week, but they weren't inflamed because the antibiotic took care of that. It is never as bad as you think it will be. Anyway, so once the ib was over, I never experiences extraordinary smooth, flawless skin. I had bumpies and I had red marks, and when that time of the month hit, you could bet nothing was stopping a few red nastys from popping up on my face. At the time though, I was just happy that I could manage the acne, if I could cover it with makeup I thought it was fixed. Well months go by, and my skin got worse gradually. So gradually that I never noticed until I looked back on pictures I took a year ago on here. So months later, here I am writing a review to share what I went through. Bottom line, everyone's body has the potential to become immune to an antibiotic. I was on it for a year, I saw it coming. I went into this expecting it to be an easy, permanent fix, and it wasn't exactly that.
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July 4, 2012

Pros:

Minimal side effects
Has a co-pay card (only $25)
Worked (minimally) improving deep, cystic acne bumps, but did nothing for whiteheads

Cons:

Hardly improved my acne at all

I am a 32 yr old woman who has struggled on/off with acne my whole life. It got so horrible at one point, so I started seeing the derm. Before I got in with the derm (about 1.5 months), I cut out dairy and noticed significant improvement. The doc put me on epiduo (had previously been using retin A) and Doryx. She warned me my skin would get worse before it got better. Well it is nearly 3 months later and I haven't seen any improvement. Fortunately my skin did not break out or get worse. And I "think" maybe "hope" that the cystic acne got a little better. But it seens like I have more whiteheads especially on my cheeks and around my mouth. So I stopped the Doryx and my doc just put me on Solod. If this antibiotic doesn't work, then the next step will be accutane.
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July 1, 2012

Pros:

Clear skin!

Cons:

None so far,But have only been on less than a week.

Let me start by saying I had very clear skin. A people here and there maybe once a month, nothing to stress over. I was taking tri-sprintec which kept my face clear. I had to take the plan b and within 2 weeks my skin starting flaring up baddd! Like major, I'm talking cystic pimples. Overload of hormones, I guess. It was horrible! I dealt with it 5 months and it continued to get worse. Back and forth to the dermaltoligist. I was beginning to think there was no hope. Retin a helped somewhat but I was still breaking out. Then this last time I went to the dermatoligist she gave me monodox. I was very skeptical because I took doxy and it made it worse a couple months before but i tried it anyway. Within the first pill or two I could tell it was working. The cystic acne was shrinking. The ones that were stubborn and just wouldn't go away were gone in 3 days. My face was less oily. It's worth a shot. I haven't had any new breakouts at all since starting this pill. I have a little pimple by my eyebrow but ill take that over cystic acne anyday :D
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June 27, 2012

Pros:

none

Cons:

migraines, nausea, excessive tiredness

I started taking this to treat my acne, and not only did I not see any results, I suffered multiple side effects. Granted, I took the medicine only for a week or so, but had multiple migraines every day. Sometimes I could not get out of bed because they were so bad. I was EXHAUSTED as well. Almost immediately after I started taking it. Every time I took it I got nausea, and threw up twice.
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June 22, 2012

Pros:

Easy to take
Clears face 90%

Cons:

Takes a month
Bad yeast infection
Really bad initatal break out

I am going to tell you my whole month experience so far, well start out my acne is moderate serve, and i start doxycycline and the next day or two i notices my acne looking much worse and for the next 2 weeks it continued i was going to stop, but i kept going ang and the fourth week i was so clear. So dont give it up... The breakout at first will be bad alot of white heads where u dont normaly get them or way more then will go away after the fourth week
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June 15, 2012

Pros:

Helps acne a bit

Cons:

Causes stomach upset and may cause bacterial resistance.

This is the second time I have been on the medication. It helped a lot the first time but quit after about a month. Acne came back. I am taking again but scared after reading that it may come back worse after discontinuing the medication. Also extreme nausea when taken without food.
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Finding a Doctor

The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

  1. Use the search feature on the American Academy of Dermatology website to look for board-certified dermatologists in your area, and filter the search results for doctors with a special interest in treating acne.
  2. Read online patient reviews of any dermatologists you are considering and ask people you know whether they have any experience with these dermatologists.
  3. Do your research and go to your first appointment with questions prepared.
  4. Listen to what your gut feeling tells you once you see a dermatologist in person. If you are not completely comfortable, try a different dermatologist.
Find a Doctor Using The American Acacemy of Dermatology Website

Finding a Doctor

Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.

Be sure to:

  • Look at before and after photos, the more the better, especially patients with similar scarring to your own.
  • Be realistic about results. Look for improvement, not a cure.

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

  • Are you board certified? Be certain that they are board certified.
  • How long have you been performing these procedures? Normally, the more experience the better, however, some younger surgeons may be more on top of the latest procedures.
  • Can I speak to some of your other patients? Ask for references for several patients who had similar scarring and speak to them about the process and their satisfaction with results.

Red flags:

  • Their story changes: As you discuss different treatment options, if they tend to change their mind easily, or agree with whatever you say, consider this a red flag. A confident, experienced surgeon will possess strong, unwavering opinions.
  • Your gut tells you "no": Trust your gut. If you just don't feel that the doctor is the right fit, trust that and move on. On the other hand, if you feel they are the perfect specialist for you, trust that feeling.
Find a Doctor Using the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Website