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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4
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2
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1
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January 31, 2012

Pros:

might have worked had i stayed on it. not sure but probably not

Cons:

-depression
-made face worse
-can't get go out in sun and get daily sunlight which is good for your skin

i went to the dermatologist because i kept getting severe breakouts on my neck after shaving. she took one look at my face w/out closely examining it and prescribed me this. this was the worst decision of my life for taking it. i took it for about a week and my face was so much worse than it was before. i had been prescribed for two weeks btw. it also made me severely depressed as a result. i have been off it for about 3 days now and my face has cleared up so much just by using a little hot water w/ lemon juice, Cetaphil face cleanser twice a day, and some desonide lotion 3 times a day. honestly i think i had razor bumps/razor burn and not a lot of acne but she still prescribed me this to kill the infection i guess but it did not work for me. im not a doctor but unless you have tried other options and given up then i guess try this. just remember your acne will get better just have faith in yourself and God and you'll be fine i promise. but all in all i don't reccomend this. try my solution i mentioned earlier. it might work. God bless!
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January 21, 2012

Pros:

none yet

Cons:

few side effects, nothing major

ive been prescribed mino a couple of times in the past. I believe the last time i was on this was 2 years ago, and I stopped after experiencing really bad dizziness. Im now back on it and i've been taking it with the full glass of water at 10pm (once a day) and just today i felt slightly dizzy, but nothing too dramatic. Im trying to stick it out for the 3 months and hoping for good results. Every time im prescribed the pill by my doctor (never been to a derm) Im also put on benzaclin, but didnt get it this time since it is very expensive (broke college student) but im using an over the counter BP, I LOVE BP.. It truly works wonders. I use the 10% from acnefree (terminator 10) but im currently on 5% bc my mom thinnks its better this way. I have really strong skin, 10% never really burns and it only does burn when im alternating with maderma (scar gel) .
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January 19, 2012

Pros:

Helps acne a bit

Cons:

Headache, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, itching

Helped me a bit, but two weeks after I started it my whole body started itching nonstop, and I felt very tired and I felt some serious anxiety.
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January 12, 2012

Pros:

Reduces breakouts
Reduces overall size of pimples
Clears skin during dosage

Cons:

Slight disorientation
Calcium intake inhibits the antibiotic
Inconsistent results
Little effect on cystic/nodular acne
Slight constipation

I am an athletic 21 year old male with moderately severe acne, and the biggest problem I have are cysts and nodule acne. The smaller pimples and black heads are still present, but just less annoying and obvious. So take this review just as a reference not as you would react to the actual medication. Luckily I had little side effects while taking Minocycline, but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the results to be honest. I've currently been on 100mg twice daily for three months ingesting them at 10:00am and 10:00pm. And if you're just looking to rid yourself of small pimples and black heads because of hormone shifts and what not, then this is definitely ideal for you. If you have extremely embarrassing cystic acne on a high or low scale, then I'm sorry it just isn't. It takes a very long period of time for the antibiotic to penetrate deep into cystic pores where the infection is taking place. The only thing that has ever cleared my cystic acne is a vitamin called, "B5". I highly recommend it if you're desperate like I was, but after two years of taking it my acne came back with full force so now I'm looking for something that's a little more permanent. Remember a lot of your acne is genetic, not necessarily an external problem with your cleansing routine or hygiene. Oral medication is often times what's needed in order to train your body and, '˜'rewire your brain' as my doctor would say to see any noticeable results. The bottom line is it did a great job of clearing smaller acne including blackheads because of how much easier it is to penetrate, but the bigger and deeper pimples were almost unaffected. I've been clinically depressed because of acne and I plan on whooping its ass in the near future, so I hope you all recover and find something that works well for you, please don't give up just keep searching and I promise something will turn up.
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January 12, 2012

Pros:

had clear skin for the first time since i was 12!

Cons:

effects didnt last long, have to limit dairy intake

we have a high insurance deductible that we never meet, so thats why it was so expensive for me. cleared up my skin! NO acne whatsoever, even on half the dose! didnt last long though, after a few months i started breaking out again, so naturally i went back to the prescribed dose of 2 pills a day... it's been a month now with no improvement. also, eating anything rich in calcium 2 hours before and after taking the pill reduces the effectiveness.... thats 8 hours a day that i cant eat milk, cheese,, yogurt etc.
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January 5, 2012

Pros:

cleared acne fast

Cons:

dizziness, headache, cold chills, light sensitive (darken existing spots)

My face suddenly broke out everywhere badly a couple of months ago. I went to my primary doctor, and he put me under Minocycline 100mg twice a day. The second day I took this drug, I started feeling light headed. I read on here that people experienced the same symptom but eventually went away. So I thought I stuck to it and forced myself to stay on it longer. 6th day into the course, I had to stop completely because I wasn't able to walk straight without having to hold onto something. My face did however started to clear fast on the 4th day of treatment. In addition to the dizziness, I was feeling this pressure in my head and a weird headache also. My whole body was feeling cold like I was having a cold/flu. These symptoms stayed even after I stopped taking the minocycline. It wasn't until 1-2 weeks later, I started feeling fine again. My doctor recommended me to take half the dosage, but I just refused to do so. I understand that everyone reacts differently to this drug. If you can tolerate the side effects, then I'd say it's worth taking. But for me, this is a dangerous drug with serious side effects affecting your central nervous system.
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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!
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January 2, 2012

Pros:

Cleare skin

Cons:

Extreme allergic reaction

After taking this drug for several years, I suddenly began to have debilitating joint pain and extremely high fevers (104 and higher). See Mara from Chicago, below). After weeks of scary testing with possible prognoses of things like cancer, lupus, and hepatitis; doctors finally figured out it was the minocycline causing it. Of course this doesn't happen to everyone, or even most people, but like other reviewers, I'd advise people to be wary of side effects when using this drug.
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December 31, 2011

Pros:

Helped clear up acne

Cons:

Hives!
burned esophagus

This works for some people but for me the side effects were too much. I would get hives regularly and you have to drink this with LOTS of WATER because it can eat away at your esophagus and cause an awful burning feeling near your breastbone. I used this for a while and the burning was the only problem so I got off. I used it a year or two later (drinking lots of water) and the hives were a big problem.. I'm not allergic to anything!
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December 30, 2011

Pros:

acne didn't get worse after getting off the pills

Cons:

diarrhea, no difference acnewise

my derm prescribed minocycline promising it will help my chin acne. i guess in europe we're very careful with prescription drugs, so i got pills for 3 weeks. the first week i had diarrhea and after 3 weeks there still was no change in my acne. when i was done with the pills the acne didn't get worse either though.
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The right dermatologist can make a big difference to your patient experience and the success of your acne treatment plan. Here are the steps to find a dermatologist who is a good fit:

  1. Use the search feature on the American Academy of Dermatology website to look for board-certified dermatologists in your area, and filter the search results for doctors with a special interest in treating acne.
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