Minocycline
Results
Side Effects

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

Minocycline 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 taken once a day with food, at the same time every day.

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3.2
1600
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Compare To Other Treatments
5
15.8%
4
28.7%
3
25.1%
2
15.9%
1
14.6%

Used Minocycline? Rate It:

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February 8, 2010

Pros:

nothing

Cons:

red itchy hives

My son took this for 5 days and he got big red welts on his neck, then his arms. His face also looked red like a sunburn. They say 1 in 100 will have a reaction to it. He was that lucky 1.
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June 18, 2009

Pros:

It worked within the first month of taking it. Cleared my acne to almost nothing.

Cons:

I stopped taking it for awhile because I forgot to call in my prescription and after 3 or 4 days of not taking it, one pimple came back.

I started taking it about 4 or 5 months ago, within the first month my skin cleared dramatically. I take it everyday, two times a day. My acne was so bad I didn't want to show my forehead, so I kept my hair longer. But since taking it, I get my haircut more often and I'm liking my shorter hair. I tried everything for a year to try and get rid of my acne, and this finally did it. I take it with a full glass of water, and before breakfast and after dinner, even though you're not supposed to, but I've had to bad symptoms yet.
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February 20, 2009

Pros:

None at all.

Cons:

More Breakout, Cant eat, cant sleep.

after a week of taking this medication my body smelled like ass, All my co-workers would stay away from me because of the smell, I dont get it I wipe really good, right after I take a shower I smell like ass. :(
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March 22, 2008

Pros:

it definitely cleared up my face

Cons:

I developed pseudotumor cerebri

I totally loved taking this at first, because it did clear up my skin, but within a few weeks of taking it I developed strong headaches. I didn't think it had anything to do with the medicine, so I shrugged it off. The headaches became so strong that I was admitted to the emergency room, and my nuerologist came to the conclusion that I had pseudotumor cerebri or idiopathic intracranial hypertension, which is too much fluid surrounding your brain and spinal courd, which in the long run, could cause me permanent eye damage. But, as an acne medication, it worked really well!
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August 15, 2007

Pros:

My face started to clear up within a few days of taking it.

Cons:

A week after I started taking the medicine, I broke out in severe hives all over my body! My doctor said it the worst case of hives he has ever seen!

I was probably a rare example of the people who have awful allergic reactions. I liked the results I saw, but unfortunately, I couldn't continue to take it.
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July 8, 2007

Pros:

Too soon to tell.

Cons:

The side effects.

I've been taking minocycline for about a week. The first couple of days I got really bad headaches and felt like I was in a fog all day long. I experienced a little dizziness too. I told my doctor and she told me to take it before bed instead. It's worked. I sleep through the night and wake up feeling fine. So you may want to try doing that before you give up on minocycline.
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August 26, 2012

Pros:

Nothing, it didnt do anything for my acne

Cons:

I was scared that I would end up with a yeast infection! (I dont think I did but I stopped just in case)

Took the drug for about 6 weeks, it didnt do squat for my acne.
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June 29, 2011

Pros:

None.

Cons:

Made skin much worse
Hyperpigmentation
Eating is a hassle
Gross

Made my acne worse with cystic pimples. Made skin super bumpy and distrusting. Made my skin REALLY dark without even being in the sun. Minocycline sucks.
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December 8, 2009

Pros:

Effective
Inexpensive

Cons:

Bluish staining of my teeth and EARS. I know... weird.

I had a break-out case of cystic acne on my chin when I was 21. It was embarrassing, hard to cover with make-up, and VERY painful. I was prescribed minocycline and it seemed to work perfectly except for a few, rare instances of cysts. I tried about once a year to take myself off of it, but the cysts would re-occur. My GP started refilling the Rx for me, so I had no need to go back to the Derm. I'm now 39. Five years ago my teeth and ears starting taking on this bluish tinge. My once really pretty white teeth are ruined and there's NOTHING anyone can do about it. Not even veneers will help because they are semi-translucent like your natural teeth, so you can still see a little of the bluish tinge through them (i've been told by my dentist). I wear my hair straight and over my ears, and no one really notices my teeth unless I'm in natural light and smile really big. I wouldn't chance this. Too many other things out there to try first.
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April 13, 2008

Pros:

Worked effectively for about the first two weeks, a dramatic decrease in amount of whiteheads, blackheads. Easy to swallow capsules, I didn't have to apply topical creams all over. Side effects of nausea or sensitive skin were not experienced.

Cons:

After that initial two weeks, the usefulness of the product tapered off to the point where I'm relying on my Benzoyl Peroxide to get rid of the pimples. Maybe it works for others as a long term treatment option, didn't for me.

The first two weeks were alright a pretty good decrease in overall pimples. After that, I now have moderate acne on my forehead and jaw line, which was never there before. The combination with Benziq (5.25% BP wash) is nice as the benziq is working. Told the derm that I wasn't satisfied and he now has me on Doxycycline (Another tetracycline antibiotic?!?! Come on doc, give me the accutane already)100mg twice a day, Benzaclin in the morning, Differin at night, and washing with Benziq morning and night. This regimen, which I'm starting today, is almost a complete formula for BP/Retinoid redness...awesome. Whatever, hopefully it works or else I'm demanding accutane next derm visit. Minocycline was covered by insurance so next to no cost to me by the way.
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