After fighting a skin discolouration on my trunk (stomach and back) and being misdiagnosed all my life I finally discovered what is was - a bacteria that killed the pigmentation in my skin. i was put on doxycycline for 2 months along with light treatment to even out the pigmentation. i was fine and perfect after the 2 months - it was actually the first time i've seen my trunk without discolouration as long as i can remember (I'm 29 now). however, my doctor put me on doxy for an additional month, so in total i was on it for 3 months. my face all my life was perfect - never had acne, i would prob have 5 pimples a year and prob bc of that time of the month. I was also on the ZO Skin Medical Care line - a top skin care line from Dr. Zein Obagi. However, i noticed that while i was on the doxy i would get some bumps on my face and light break outs but it wasn't bad and i thought the ZO line was just purging my skin. However, after 4 months on the ZO line your skin is supposed to be flawless so I ruled this out (as my 4 months on ZO was gone but i was on doxy for about 3 months at this point). After my third and final month of doxy - the week i came off my face blew up with inflamed cystic acne like i've never seen before. Now to be in your late 20's with this after never having acne was my worst nightmare. i was literally going crazy and going into a depression - here i was - someone who always got complimented on my skin now having painful cystic acne at 29. i didn't go into the office, i even felt ashamed for my family to see me. i know this sounds shallow but it was a lot to deal with bc it was so sudden and severe. Doxy fixed one problem (the discolouration caused by bacteria on my trunk area) but caused another. tbh had i known this would happen i would prob choose to live with the discolouration. Luckily my derm is amazing and world renowned- she is trained by Dr. Obagi himself - I'm now on my second month of roaccutane because of this anti biotic and on the ZO line for acne treatment now. i always get weekly extractions and kenalog injections as my skin is still transitioning. there's a major improvement. my first week on roaccutane just purged everything out and my derm also put me on steroid tablets and another anti-b for a week to reduce any inflammation which worked like a charm. after a month of my acne being cystic they finally started to form white heads. also now everything has completely flatten - I'm on day 45 (approx) of the roaccutane. i get the one pesky pimple some days but they quickly turn to a whitehead. But i have alottttt of scarring from my blow up episode post doxy that I'm currently peeling away with the ZO products. its taking a while and I'm being so impatient as i just want to be back to normal again. My derm says i have about a month again - fingers crossed i get back to having clear skin as i have to wear make up to hide my scarring. Please anyone using or about to use doxy- be careful - it was the worst decision I've ever made for my skin! I've been in hiding for 2 months now and well I'm getting better i'm now getting out and being social again (with loads of make up to hide my scars).

Wouldn't recommend this for anyone suffering from acne. Took it for two months and it did literally nothing. It worsened my acne after I stopped taking it as I didn't see any results

used it for only 2 months because it broke me out along my jawline like never before i had huge deep cystic pimples when i've only ever had small whiteheads and hardly as many took myself off of it before it got any worse

I was perscribed tetracycline, doxycycline, etc. for 3-6 months each course. While I was on these antibiotics my skin was perfectly smooth. Naturally, I wanted to upkeep this level of improvement so I continued to use these antibiotics. Because of the overuse of antibiotics I have developed a skin condition called "pityrosporum folliculitis." There's is a delicate balance of bacteria and fungi/yeast on our skin. Which, for the most part, is there to benefit the human body. By overusing or inappropriately using antibiotics, this balance can become disrupted and cause an overgrowth of the fungi/yeast. This imbalance resulted in "acne-like" bumps all over my neck, chest, and back. I was genuinely devastated and spent an entire summer seeing a psychologist because I felt so depressed over it. This condition is not curable, it is ONLY treatable. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I had explored other alternative to heal my acne. I have been able to keep it under control for the most part but like bacteria, yeast can become resistant to anti-fungal medications. So please do not try to "fix" your acne with a temporary solution that can lead to long-term consequences. *For the record I am not against taking antibiotics when necessary but doctors should not be allowed to prescribe them for acne.

I've been on it for about 2months, I don't know if it's psychic but I don't think this is working for my inflammatory acne. if anything, it only made my acne break out the week 2 and 3 of taking it. Thanks to it I have lots more scars to get rid of. My Dr said as there are non-real improvements by now, I will have to take it for more than 3 months. Maybe it gets worse before it gets better. will update later!

I began to use Doxy for about two months along with RetinA with no reaction. The Doxycycline did not seem to be affecting my skin as much as the retinol and my dermatologist suggested I go off the Doxy and switch to just RetinA, no oral medication. After my acne seemed to not be improving she advised me to go back on. After about a week I began to become extremely allergic to the sun despite applying sunscreen constantly throughout the day. I developed horrible hives that blistered all along my right hand and arm as well as a little on my left. They were itchy and burned, making it very difficult to concentrate in school. In addition, my face became very red and irritated. This along with my hand took weeks and weeks to finally heal up. Doxy did not work for me, and during my second round with Doxycycline, my acne was not improving.

I have been taking it for about 3 weeks and my folliculitis is so much worse. Is it a case of it getting worse before it gets better. Help... please comment I need to know if it's worth continuing

My doctor gave me this without giving me any warnings of any consequences, even though I asked. First few months it was great, my skin was perfectly clear. I thought it was great. Then I started becoming severely depressed. I started having suicidal thoughts and couldn't concentrate on anything. Acne appeared all over my back and a bit on my chest too, which I had never had before. It had only been on my face. As soon as I stopped taking them I felt complete mental relief and after a few weeks I felt normal and happy but I was extremely unhappy because of the acne on my back and chest. It has been around six months since I stopped the antibiotics and I am still getting some acne on my back and I get it on my face to. It's going to take a long time for the acne to stop and for my skin to fix the scarring :(

Unfortunately.. .They kept me on this for YEARS! (high school) as soon as I stopped or if I didnt have it on hand my face would EXPLODE. Wasnt curing anything was only covering up the problem. Keep in mind these are also meds that are typically given to people to treat respitory infections. I wasn't sick..., I had acne! Later i learned my acne was triggered by food intolerance's. FOOD! Simple as that... I still resent not being more aware when i was younger and that the Doctors were as sh*tty as they were. Thankfully I still have my liver!

Creates imbalance in the body, kills all the good bacteria you need to be fighting off you acne, and doesn't do anything. I took this for months and stopped taking it. It didn't do anything when I started or stopped. I take vitamin A supplements, much more effective and better for you.