Once I got to college I realized that my skin started breaking out more --- way more. Throughout middle and high school I had never had bad acne. I would get one, maybe two pimples a week on average, but it was very manageable. However, when I got to college, I'm guessing a mixture of the dining hall food, water, and stress accumulated to the huge increase in acne I was getting. My Aunt is a doctor and suggested I go on doxycycline so I decided to give it a shot. During the first month I didn't see much of a difference and was doubting the drug, but after about 5 weeks of taking it, my skin became totally clear. I feel back to my normal self and no longer feel the need to cover up with any face makeup (unless going out or for a special occasion). Doxy really helped me for the better ad I definitely recommend to anyone struggling with acne!

I've been on doxy for over a year, and my face has NEVER (I repeat, NEVER!) been this clear since before I can remember. At age 23 I stopped tanning and that's when my acne got REALLY bad. I've used every kind of benzyl peroxide wash and basically any remedy I could find on the internet. Here is what I use now for 100% flawless skin at age 26: -200mg/day doxycycline (though I've began to ween myself off in recent weeks, reducing it to 100mg/day) -Wash face twice a day with Murad AHA/BHA exfoliating cleanser (suggested by derm). -Retin-A 0.1% after washing face at night (I still get a little dried out by this and had to work myself up to this potency, also suggested by derm.) *Note: Retin-A did NOT help on its own; it wasn't until I began doxy that the topical cream could actually do its job. *Side note: Also reduces fine lines and wrinkles ;) BONUS -Dramatically Different Clinique moisturizing gel in the morning (I did not start this until my acne was clear for at least a couple months to reduce the chance of clogging pores). -Lastly, I use Bare Minerals foundation (it doesn't clog pores and allows your skin to breathe!) and ensure my make up tools are cleaned regularly. I get prescriptions for Retin-A and doxy from my doctor and pay $10 co-pay for each (a zillion times cheaper than everything else everyone is trying to sell you to clear up a problem that cannot be fixed through a topical cream alone). My hope is that someone struggling with acne will take my advice. I used to genuinely feel like less of a person because of my acne, like everyone judged me and would only notice what was on my face. I am so HAPPY I found this resolution, I hope you do too!

I have always had acne problems and a few years ago (age 30) it got insanely out of control all over the sides of my face. Tried everything over the counter. No effect. Dermatoligist sold me 2 very expensive topicals that had zero effect. After all that finally, this super cheap antibiotic was prescribed. I think I was supposed to take it for 2 weeks. I had to stop somewhere around 1 week because of a side effect that made my eyes get swollen at night. Even stopping early cleared up my acne from severe all over to light around my jaw/neck. Since then I rarely use soap on my face. I tone with witch hazel, put tea tree oil on my acne spots and only lotion on occasion. I have kept it under control this way for about 3 years now. Also interesting is that about 2 years ago I started taking a low dose ssri. It clears up my acne even more. I believe this is truly chemical vs. Mentally induced. After stopping the ssri the acne quickly starts popping up around my jaw despite no return of depression symptoms.

Short summary: Doxycycline saved my skin. No more cysts since starting it. Skin type: Oily t-zone and chin, rest of face is normal. Products in daily routine since starting Doxycycline : Nature Republic Aloe Vera Gel Cleanser OR Mediheal Pore Clean Charcoal Cleansing Foam. Tony Moly Pure Eco Snail Moisture Gel. Some backstory: My acne wasn't SEVERE, but it was pretty darn bad. I had cystic acne, since the age of around 14. I am now almost 18. It used to be that I would only get 1-3 cysts around my period (usually on the chin, or jawline) which I was told is "normal" for women. Though they were painful, deep and left significant scarring, I did very little to treat it - I thought I would just grow out of it, like every other teenager. Toward the end of last year (2015) it was getting much worse. I noticed that none of the other girls my age at school had these "normal" cysts around their periods. I enjoy doing my makeup so covering them up became routine - but I began to feel upset and insecure because I couldn't do normal things like go to the beach or go swimming with my friends because of how insecure I felt due to these deep, painful cysts on my face. Now let me tell you, I have tried every product accessible and affordable. Neutrogena, Clearasil, Cetaphil, pretty much the ENTIRE RANGE of Mario Badescu products aimed at treating and preventing acne. I have tried home remedies, I have tried COUNTLESS diet plans (as extreme as cutting out different foods completely to test whether the acne was result of dairy, meat or something like that). My hygiene was perfectly fine - I showered every day, changed my pillow cases every day, kept my hair out of my face, barely touched my face, etc. All the usual recommended things to prevent acne. All this time and money wasted, and absolutely no result. In fact, towards the end of 2015 my acne was getting worse and worse. To the point where I'd have up to 10-15 cysts on my face and perhaps 8-10 cysts on my back and shoulders. It was painful. For a long time, I couldn't sleep on either side because I would wake up from the pain of my face (cysts) on my pillow. I'd have to sleep on my back so not to hurt my face, but then my back would hurt even worse, because of the cysts there too. It was finally time that I put my foot down and did something about this. I was crying every morning, every night. I couldn't forsake my education, but I cried every single morning I had to wake up and put makeup on my face - not only because of how much it would HURT, but because of how insecure and horrible I felt about my own image. The doctor prescribed me doxycycline and Acne.org was where I read a combination of reviews about its results, on the way to pick up the prescription. Result: Within the first week of taking doxycycline, though the cysts on my face were still there, they felt less painful to the touch - and no new ones had sprouted up yet. Though I read many people experience a period where it "gets worse before it gets better", I was lucky enough not to experience this. I can safely, genuinely and honestly say that since beginning doxcycline, I DID NOT GET ANY MORE /NEW/ CYSTS ON MY FACE. My prescription: beginning with one 50mg tablet a day for a week, then two 50mg tablets a day for the rest of the course. I started at the beginning of March, it is now June and I can happily say that my face is CYST FREE. I have not a single cyst, or any sort of pimple, on my face. None. Literally none. Unfortunately, my back is still the same and I still get cysts on my back, but I think soon I'll begin to use a topical gel for that instead. The only concern I now have with my face is scarring, which I'm slowly trying to find cures for. As I am still on doxycycline, I don't know if the acne is just going to come back after I go off it or not, but seeing as I'm now 18, I'm hoping that I'm at that point where I'm "supposed to" grow out of skin problems. All in all, doxycycline ERADICATED my cystic acne and I can run my hands over my face without feeling a single bump. With this, I regained my confidence and now, putting on makeup is fun again, rather than a painful and upsetting task.

I would just like to say thank you to Doxy for saving my life. I have extreme depression and anxiety, and that was only made worse by my acne which covered almost all of my face and was spreading fast. I tried every over-the-counter medication, every face wash and even attempted laser therapy. I almost took Accutane, but heard the terrible stories online about how bad the side effects were and more. Even my doctor tried to convince me to take Accutane, but I'm here to say if you have horrible red blotchy acne that is very congested, please try Doxycycline. It took 3-4 months, and when I look in the mirror now I actually kind of want to cry because of how much it helped. Doxy + Spectro Blemish Cleanser & Moisturizer saved my life.

I've been suffering from acne ever since I hit 12; which has been 10 years from since. I've tried so many things from topical creams to all sorts of drugstore treatments like anti-acne cleansers, gels, essential oils or exfoliating treatments which none has ever worked out for me. I've also changed my pillow cases more frequently and tried to drink green juices but they did very little and I still get red, bumpy and sometimes painful acne on random places (very less on the forehead). I also suffered from "textures" (I'm not sure how to call it) which are bumps appearing throughout my face and my body (chest and back). I tried to exfoliate these bumps almost on a daily basis, using chemical exfoliants or other physical methods like (Japan - Cure gel, Body Shop's exfoliating shower gloves for my body, St. Ives exfoliating scrub cleanser) but they seemed to only work temporarily and then come back even faster and did nothing to my condition. So, my friend one day took me to a dermatologist for a free consultation, and I was skeptical of it as I've tried so many things that I've already given up and submitted myself to concealers and facial powders to cover up my destroyed skin. So I listened to the dermatologist and many of the things she mentioned I've already read online. Close to the end of the consultation she prescribed quite a number of products from their clinic and the antibiotics which is Doxycycline. All the products were too expensive for a poor student like me to afford and I already have my own skin care products so I did not purchase them. I went for the antibiotics which I have been taking for almost a month already since 23rd of April. So, during the first two weeks there weren't any significant changes to my acne condition. And closing to the third week I noticed my acne got better, I thought it was the "Exfolikate" Kate Somerville product sample I used that made my face better. But it wasn't, it was the doxy. I know for sure because the textures that have been haunting for me years, are slowly dying down. My back feels smoother, and every time I cleanse my face, it feels smoother and the textures were disappearing, I didn't even need my St. Ives scrubbing cleanser at all. I've returned to my home town and my mother said my face got so much better than before. I felt better too, although I still have a lot of discolored marks from the acne before, I am truly grateful for my almost clear skin. I no longer suffer from painful acne and textures. However, this is just a short-term quick take from taking the Doxycycline (100mg). I am planning to take this for about 6 months to ensure they don't come back. It costs me about USD 20 (MYR 80 in Malaysia) per 1 month dosage but it's so worth it. I usually spend over USD 30-40 a month to try out other products. Literally, miracle in a pill. Thank god (and science) for these pills. I'm now on my journey to clear these discolored marks (scars) and also finding solutions for my oily and huge pored face. Acne was my main problem and insecurity though! At least I didn't have to wear a lot of make up on my face already. (I'm a guy by the way, so I really felt girly whenever I put that much concealer on my face).

About a year ago I started getting a horrible acne break out on my lower jawline and neck area. Nothing I could do was getting rid of it and I tried every name brand on the market. It was sore, inflamed, rash like, and made me want to hide my face in a bag. I have extremely extremely oily skin like every 2-4 hours I can wipe my face with a napkin and see through it kind of oily and I went though puberty early so I have always had some minor-moderate acne for most my life I am used to it. This was an entirely new thing it was horrible, painful, and both physically and mentally scarring to have people stop you an ask what is wrong with your face. I finally went to see my dermatologist and I almost cried in relief when he told me it was a hormonal issue rather than anything I was doing that caused my problem I went on doxy-cycline and a gel for about 6 months and it cleared up my issue like a dream come true. I am now off it for about 4-6 months and I stil have minor acne that I combat with witch hazel and tea tree oil but that is normal and When treated it heals and goes away and I'll take it over a rashy, painful, never ending acne attack any day. The scarring on my jawline is healing up nicely and the red blotchiness that had taken over my lower jaw has a year later almost gone away completely. I wish I could post before and after pictures just to show you how much it helped. While it might not help everyone it was litterally a blessing for me. I didn't have any negative side effects or issues with with it however side note the duac-gel they normally give you to apply topically along with the pill should be used ONCE a day to start out with like the Dr. prescribes do not be me and apply it liberally multiple times a day and think it will help more all you will do is dry the ever loving heck out of your skin and cause pain and massive flakiness take it from me. Also see a dermatologist sooner rather than later I can't help but think if I had gone sooner then I would have healed quicker and would had had less scarring that can only be healed by time.

Can doxycycline cause importance I've been taking it for 4 days and in the 4th day found I'm having problems with getting a erection

Minocycline gave me brain fog but I had no side effects from Doxycycline and it worked better for my acne.