Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
54%
Based on All Available Studies
Strength of Evidence
Note: Should never be used on its own and for a maximum of 3 months.
Oral Antibiotic
Acne.org’s Real World Take
Antibiotics should be used for a maximum of 3 months, provide only moderate benefit and only to some people, and may lead to side effects and strains of resistant bacteria. Studies do show they can reduce severe acne in the short term, but approach with caution and stay your own advocate.
Oral Antibiotic
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Minocycline? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
November 14, 2013
Good but doesn't last
Cons:
Body builds immunity to it
Gets worse before it gets better
I got a prescription for this in 2012, for four months. This initial phase worked really well. I used clindamycin solution as well as BP with this medication. They all seem to complement each other. After this phase, however, there was a period of really nice skin then the acne started coming back even worse. I was put on it again and it didn't have the same effects. My skin seemed to be really sensitive and the BP, clindamycin and this medication combo was too much for my skin. I would recommend if you have really sensitive skin to use this medication with a gentle wash. I also experienced dry lips with this, but nothing major. Overall, take the medication for about 3-4 months and it will work well but it will not cure your acne problems completely.
November 12, 2013
BEST
Pros:
clear skin
no stomach irritation
no dry skin
Cons:
allergy
acne came back worse
sun sensitivity
This is the best acne product I had ever used by far. I could leave the house without makeup for the first time in 15 years after only a couple of weeks. I also didn't have the gastric side effects many people complain about. I never burn due to my skin colour, but I did receive a mild sunburn while on this medication. Unfortunately, after three and a half weeks I developed an allergy to the medication and had severe hives and swelling. I had to discontinue use and my skin became worse than before I took it.
November 12, 2013
Didn't work:(
Cons:
Wasn't effective
Was given a 3 month prescription with high hopes, did nothing the entire 3 months, if anything made my skin worse!
October 24, 2013
I don't really know.
Cons:
Stomach hurts even when taked with food
No results
I was prescribed this by my doctor along with Clyndaminicin (spelling?) and Benzoyl Peroxide. I took 2 full prescription bottles of this and it did nothing. I ended up not taking them anymore, and my skin actually cleared up. This also made my stomach hurt a lot. /:
October 24, 2013
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Question about Solodyn
Pros:
clears skin
Cons:
possibly counteracts birth control
Solodyn works great for my skin and I take it along with my birth control but there is a possibility that it can counteract my birth control I was wondering on here if anyone has had that experience? I'm not sure if continuing solodyn would be for me if i knew there was an increased possibility of getting pregnant while using this product
October 20, 2013
Great for the short run, but acne comes back
Pros:
Does a good job clearing acne in the short run
Cons:
Headaches sometimes
Loses effectivity
Acne returns 10x worse
I was on minocycline for about a year, it cleared up my acne about 80% - but during that "time of the month", I'd still get about 2 cystic zits. Unfortunately you will either become resistant to this antibiotic or you'll be on it long enough for you to develop health risks... so I stopped taking it around the year mark. I stayed fairly clear for like 6 months past that, and then suddenly, I got the WORST CYSTIC BREAKOUT IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I'm talking clusters of cysts like 10+ on my cheekbones and chin.... lasted weeks, some even 2 months..... I still have the scars on my face from that breakout..... now I am taking evening primrose oil (1000mg) a day and using a clay masque with sulfur (queen helene's mint julep masque) and my skin has finally relaxed. I have one spot on my face. Anyways, use this if you need a quick fix but by no means is this an acne "cure" cause your acne will eventually return much worse than before (my hormonal breakouts are now conglobata acne cysts, which I never used to get before taking this medication)...
October 18, 2013
great
Pros:
small pimples
less pimples
less red
Cons:
gel makes face dry
i been on menocylone for about 2 months . and i have seen great improvment . pimples got alot smaller and face got less red on my cheecks . for the first week or two it would make my body numb but nothing that bad . but theres a benadryl proxide gel that has really dried my face out in the past week out of eight weeks ive been on it though
October 12, 2013
Keeps cysts away!
Pros:
Gets rid of cystic acne
Keeps cysts from coming back
Cons:
Doesn't help normal acne
Makes your normal acne worse if you sunbathe a lot
I used to always get bad cysts on my nose, back and on my chest in the same place. I used to deal with it even though the one on my chest never went away. One day I decided to try to get rid of it by hot packing it. It got super infected and was the worse pain I have ever felt (don't do that). I went to the doctor and it was so bad he had to cut into it and drain it. After a couple of months, it came back. He prescribed me minocycline because I was allergic to everything else and after about a month all of my cysts were completely gone! I don't get cysts at all anymore thanks to this medicine. However, this doesn't really do anything for normal hormonal acne. If you have cysts ask your doctor for this, it is a miracle worker.
October 11, 2013
Worked in some way, bad allergic reaction
Pros:
Skin clears up
Cons:
gave hives
light headed
i was prescribed this medication about 3 weeks ago, my skin completely cleared up , but i would always get light headed and would always feel tired i took this medication 2 times a day one in the morning and one in the night but after the third week i got hives on my elbows and knees , so i stopped talking it.
September 27, 2013
Works very well, but harsh side effects
Pros:
Works very fast, cleared acne 98% in 2 weeks.
Kept its effect for about 3.5 years after I stopped it
Cons:
Horrible side effects, migraine, nausea, period, thrush...
Messes up hormonal birth control
Limits your diet (you're not allowed to have dairy/calcium with it)
I always had severe cystic acne since I was about 12 years old. My first MC course I started when I was 15 and took it for about a year with breaks. It cleared the teenage acne drastically, about up to 60%. When I got on the antibabypill age 16 I stopped MC as it can interfere with birth control. I was acne free until about 19.5 years, when I started to have first major breakouts again. They all cleared up by themselves again though, just slower and slower with time, but didn't yet require MC treatment. Over the years my skin got gradually worse and at the age of 22 I had worse cystic acne then when I was 12, especially around my nose and chin area. My skin is generally not oily, but went even drier, bright red and patchy all over my face. Unlike my teenage acne this one NEVER spread onto my body - not even onto my neck, only my face was a cystic mess. I was diagnosed with genetic acne (not teenage, hormonal acne) and got on MC again two weeks ago and as of today all the cysts have disappeared, my skin is clear, not dry anymore, a bit oilier than usual but no more acne, not even blackheads. I'd say it's 98% clear after 2 weeks. I had severe side effects the first few days of taking MC, including migraine attacks so strong that I would vomit, general nausea and a premature and very strong and long (2 weeks) period. Due to the long period (and the moisture it comes with) I eventually also got a thrush, which was hard to treat as I could not take pro-biotics because you're not allowed to have dairy with MC as the calcium makes it useless. After overcoming those first 2 weeks I'm starting to feel better and can finally enjoy the clear face I now have. I take 1x 50mg a day. I was prescribed 2x 50mg a day, but I wasn't able to function due to the migraine attacks after taking MC, hence I can only take it at night before sleeping. I'm very thin (58kg at 175cm), so that might be why 1x 50mg is working well in my metabolism.
Pros:
Works well with a range of topicals
Works well if taken responsibiy