Acne.org Products
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
July 3, 2007
Cons:
Made me extremely tired, sick, achy, dizzy. Solodyn is very expensive if you don't have a coupon.
I was doing ok on this medication the first week. On day 7 I developed headaches and just this blah feeling. 5 days later I got aches and pains all over my body, it was hard to breathe at times, I had occasional chest pains, I felt dizzy and lightheaded, and just overall sick. One day I just collapsed in bed around 8:30 from extreme fatigue. I stopped the drug for 3 days, felt a bit better after 2 days, restarted, and felt very sick and dizzy all over again about 4 hours after I took it. This pill did not work for me. Which didn't surprise me because I had a bad reaction to doxicycline in the past (I told my derm this but she said I should be fine. NOT!) But I know it works for a lot of people. I'd recommend at least trying it to see if it works for you. But if you have reacted badly to another tetracycline drug, I'd be leery of trying this one.
June 28, 2007
Pros:
My skin has gotten very soft and I haven't really broken out since I started using it.
Cons:
My insurance paid all but $40, otherwise it would have been $500!
I had tried tetracyclene when I was a teenager and had lots of bad side effects. So far, I have only had some mild light headedness with this medicine. It has cleared up my face and back pretty quickly. Works so much better than topical Retin A that I had been on for a few months previously. I recommend trying it if your insurance will cover it.
May 31, 2007
Pros:
none
Cons:
made acne worse
I have moderate acne on my face, chest, shoulders and back and was prescribed minocyline. I took it for a little over eight weeks... i didn't have any side effects but it did make my acne worse, although they were small pimples added to my already existin acne they were annoying all the same.
May 19, 2007
Pros:
Ease of use, efficacy, cost (free through the military health system). No wrinkles.
Cons:
No milk or calcium for 8 hours of the day. Having to take it for the rest of my life. Being photosensitive, constant sunburns even with sunscreen.
I've been on this or Doxycycline (which made me nauseous or vomiting) for over 10 years. It works for me. In concert with Differin and Retin-A. I was diagnosed with pretty bad cystic acne at 25 and if I go off the treatments it comes right back. On the plus side, the Retin-A keep wrinkles away.
May 18, 2007
Pros:
nothing
Cons:
makes my face worse than it was before, taking this with clindamycin and retin a. nothing is working.
Don't waste your money
April 11, 2007
Pros:
got rid of acne while i was taking it.
Cons:
acne seems to be coming back now that i've stopped taking it.
i would like to try something else considering the fact you must avoid sun exposure while on it.
March 26, 2007
Pros:
Clear skin. No more cystic acne (the big painful ones). I now only take it every other day. No side effects for me.
Cons:
I have to keep taking it. Can't take any supplements within two hours of this (really inconvenient).
I love this because it keeps my skin clear. And, it is also pretty cheap. The only thing I really hate about this is that it seems like I have to take it for the rest of my life. I would like a permanent solution to my acne (which flared in college!) and I am worried about the long-term effects of this med. I am starting to wonder about spiro or accutane...
March 19, 2007
Pros:
Acne will subside while you take it, often with no immediate side effects.
Cons:
There is a laundry list of side effects that can occur with prolonged use. And once you stop taking it, your acne will come back. It's not worth the trip.
I have taken minocycline for almost 6 years, under the supervision of my dermatologist. I never had ance, more like a few break outs every now and then but once I started using this I never broke out. Over the next 6 years, I started noticing that my skin become very sensitive to light, also, when I would get a cut, it would take forever to heal, and the colour of my skin started to change hue. It almost looked like I had jaundice. This past year I started breaking out so my dermatologist increased my dosage. I don't know if it was due to the increased dosage or the culmination of 6 years on this med, but I began getting intense headaches, sore eyes, and my complexion just looked terrible. Everyone said I looked sick even though I wasn't. I stopped taking the pills completely and went to a naturopath who said that my liver was essentially damaged, likely due to my six year stint on this drug. So now I'm in the process of fixing my liver, and have more acne than I've ever had before.
March 15, 2007
Pros:
It worked maybe 50% on face but...
Cons:
It severely disagreed with my stomach, to the point where I couldn't eat for over a week. after 7 days, Doctor reduced the dosage to half, but of course, at half dosage it's effectiveness reduced to maybe 5%..
Did nothing on body acne.
Maybe it was just me, but it is a known possible side effect. And i've had less reactions to much stronger antibiotics.. It is cheap.. and it does half the job.. which is better then nothing.. but I'm sure you can find something more effective.
March 2, 2007
Pros:
It worked pretty well in the beginning and kept my skin manageable for about a year
Cons:
it can make you nausous and it does not work very well on cystic ance
i went on a dosage of 75 mg twice daily of minocycline for about a year. in the beginning it worked really well, i still had acne but it was deffinately manageable and pretty clear. however, it did not clear the occasional cyst. also, i started to build up a tolerence for it and slowly it worked less and less. i guess thats the problem with antibiotics... for the most part it was good, but if you have lots of acne including cysts and constant breakouts, i would recommend talking to your dermatologist about a stronger antibiotic or possible accutane.
Pros:
Took Solodyn. Could take with or without food, only once a day. Wasn't on it long enough to see much difference in my acne though.