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
March 17, 2010
Cons:
The side effects
Been on this antibiotic for 4 years and it cleared up my moderate-severe acne completely from my face. The best way for this medicine to be effective is: Take 2 daily, each of them at 12 hours apart. The key thing in making this antibiotic effective is having the constant flow of antibiotic in your system, the moment you disrupt the flow then you give the bacteria time to grow and cause acne.
October 10, 2007
Pros:
clearing up the skin
have only been on it for a week
Cons:
seems to be drying up the skin
i have only been on it for about a week so i cant really tell but it seems to be clearing up. i think i want to go on accutane though.
August 22, 2015
Temporary Solution
I've been struggling with acne since i was 14, I am now 19 years old. I was given oral antibiotics (Minocyline) just last year after being given so many prescription topical treatments (that did nothing but dry out my skin). I took the pills for one month and my skin cleared out instantly, all of my cystic acne went away. I got the occasional bump every month during menstruation but that was it. HOWEVER, recently I've started breaking out again, it's not as bad but it's getting progressively worse. My doctor has prescribed me the same medication for 2 months again, it's not clearing out as fast as it did the first time I took it. I'm not sure if it's clearing out at all. I'm not sure if I would recommend the medication, it works but just temporarily.
October 22, 2014
Works wonders if you use Properly
This is the best Antibiotic on the market hands down. Will clear you up if you use properly. Taking a Probiotic is a must while taking any antibiotic. Most negative reviews on here are from people who likely used this medication not the way it is intended and suffered the side effects. I am on week 4 and almost all existing acne is gone, now I just have to deal with the hell that is red acne scarring, but Minocycline has kicked acne's a$$ for me! Just remember to take a probiotic to keep the good bacteria in you, and the bad bacteria OUT!
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.
August 28, 2012
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
Clear skin!
Cons:
Not an immediate fix
Tiredness
Initial breakout
So I grew up with clear skin. I went through high school, and even my first year of college, with just the occasional zit here and there. But when I turned 20 that all changed. I would usually get a zit or two right before my period, but now I was getting five or six HUGE zits. They hurt really bad, and would last practically the entire month. I let it go on for too long, because I was in denial about actually having acne. Finally I went to the dermatologist, and he said I had cystic acne. He prescribed me Solodyn (80mg). I started taking the pill and I noticed that I couldn't get enough sleep. I was always tired! Also, the initial breakout was TERRIBLE. There were lots of tears, and I thought it was 100x worse and never going to get better. My advice is to just get through the few months of horrible skin, because the results are magical! After my third month of using this pill I suddenly had clear skin! I'm on month four now, and I'm slowly getting off of this antibiotic. I haven't had a zit in a whole month! I didn't even get one around my period! I'm so excited that it worked. It will work for you too, just give it the full three months.
January 6, 2012
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
Reduced painful cystic flare-ups on chest and back....so far so good. My face (shaving-related) breakouts seem better.
Cons:
Having weird and vivid dreams.
Does anyone else on Solodyn experience weird/bad dreams?
January 4, 2012
Pros:
reduces acne until it is completely gone!
It works!
Cons:
None!
I am 17 and up until now I never really had a lot of acne... Then my senior year came and maybe it was cause of the stress but my acne got worst.. I tried everything! Creams, Clinique, tea tree oil, natural stuff nothing worked! Then I went to see my doctor and he prescribed me Minocycline! It works! It took about two weeks for me to see the effects but now I hardly have any pimples! And if I do they are very small and last a day or two! If you have acne that won't go away this is for you! It helped boost back my confidence! I take 50mg once a day! I won't stay on this pill for a long time probably 3 to 5 months! Hopefully my acne will be gone for good by then! :)
This stuff works!
September 22, 2011
Pros:
Fewer pimples that are A LOT smaller and less painful
Cons:
Had extremely bad period cramps a couple days after I started taking it
My doctor prescribed me this two months ago to use with a 0.05% tretinoin cream. My acne has cleared up a lot! It took a while, but I am finally seeing results. I have a couple pimples right now, but they are dried up and fading more each day. I mostly have a lot of red spots where there were pimples before.
The thing I love about this is that the pimples that I do get are small and not super painful like before! They go away a lot faster!
I think the only side effect that I had (and I'm not even positive it was because of the medication) was extremely, extremely bad menstrual cramps a few days after I started taking it. I've always had very, very bad cramps, but these were so bad that I almost fainted and could hardly breathe. I was throwing up and sweating and shaking, and my skin turned gray until the pain went away. It was terrible, but I haven't had them like that since then, so I'm glad!!
I would definitely recommend this! It has helped me so much!!
August 10, 2011
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
It really helped my acne
Only one pill per day
Cons:
Sensitivity to sun
I am 26 years old and broke out in horrible acne (the worst I've ever had) after stopping birth control pills. Nothing was helping, and after 7 months I went to the dermatologist. She prescribed me Solodyn. I was nervous to take it at first after reading so many bad reviews about horrible side effects. I've been on it for 2 months now, and so far it has been great. My face is almost completely clear! I take it every morning with breakfast on a full stomach, and I have not experienced any side effects as of now.
Pros:
Works