It does not work quickly. I was told to wait 2 months for improvement so that is why when I read some of the "it helped in a few days" reviews I was confused. I hope it starts working soon. For the people who have been on it for months, how long was it from the start of taking minocycline to the what seems to be very far away bliss of clear skin?

Minocycline worked for me the first time, when I was 18-19. But then my dermatologist took me off it for no given reason (my usual doctor was puzzled too, since I'd experienced no side effects --apparently the drug can cause liver problems if taken for too long, but these are usually monitored with blood tests. Dermatologist was, therefore, being over-cautious). I tried other antibis, and the contraceptive pill too, but none of them worked. Eventually, after much begging, I was given Minocycline again--but this time, it didn't work. It seems this drug is effective only when taken regularly. If you can persuade your doctor to give you a permanent prescription, then go for it. Price below is approximate: it's now £6.65 for a prescription on the NHS.

I was on Minocycline 100mg 1qd for the first week and 1bid for 3 weeks before I developed an allergic reaction which was serum- like sickness. I had swelling and hives that mainly on my joints for 5 DAYYYSS!!! It started on Saturday, On Sunday my bottom lip started to swelling on Sunday and I knew it wasn't a big deal because if it was going to spread to my throat it would have happened fast but everyone insisted I go to the hospital, which I did and they prescribed me Prednisone 60mg 1qd for 3 days and Hydroxyzine 25mg 1tab po every 6 hr prn for itching well its Wed. still itching like crazy! but no cystic acne as of yet it's been 5 days since I've took then antibiotic I do not plan on starting anything like it again.... if this didn't work my derm. Wanted to do Accutane but after this I rather just have acne.

I've been taking Minocycline (50mg, oral) for about 2 1/2 months now Worked great at first, 50% of my acne vanished after the first week, and about 95% of my acne was gone by the end of the second week. For the next month and a half, I think I got a grand total of about three zits (which is a very low number for me), and I was very happy with the results. About a week and two days ago now, my acne has come back with one heck of a vendetta- I have twelve new spots on one cheek/jaw, more than that on the other, a few spots on my forehead around my eyebrows, and even a few spots on my cheekbones/under eye area (which is a place I have never previously gotten acne/had a problem with). My diet hasn't changed, I've been exercising exactly the same as I always do, wash my face with the same products as always, and haven't had any increase in stress levels (you know, except for the stress caused by the return of my acne). I was wondering if the minocycline could have stopped working after just 2 1/2 months, or if anybody has any other ideas as to why my acne may have returned? I do plan on going back to my doctor, but he can't see me for a few days, and my graduation/prom is the day before he can see me, and as that event was a big part of the reason I so desperately wanted to get my skin cleared up, I thought id reach out on and see what others have to say. Additionally, if anybody who has had a similar problem could share how they cleared their skin with me I'd really appreciate it. Additional and Background info: 18yo female. I have combination skin (dry/oily) that is pretty sensitive. Until about a year ago, I have never had more than a blemish or two, my skin was pretty 'normal' (perhaps a little on the dry side, but definitely never oily), and minimal redness (I'm pretty pale so my skin was always a bit 'pink' but now half my face is just...red). Out of what felt like nowhere, my skin turned awful, and I suddenly started getting blemishes. At first I'd have about four or five which at the time felt like my face was covered, and then my skin started to get oily too, and eventually more than half my face was covered in spots. More than that, before when I would get the odd blemish/spot, it would disappear without a trace, and now every spot I get leaves a scar...Does anybody know why that is? Anyways, I tried every face wash, acne cream, mask, cleanser etc. I could get over the counter that had worked for other people, I researched diets that were supposed to be good for your skin/help with acne, and I added supplements/vitamins meant to be good for your skin etc. Nothing made even the slightest difference. Skin to about nine months later, I finally went to see my doctor about it, and he prescribed the minocycline. I just want clear skin, and would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks.

IT WORKED GREAT when I first started taking it a year ago 100mg, I then was told by my Doc to take 50mg every other day to eventually get off of it because my skin was finally clear then it came back again milk nothing crazy so I went back to 100mg everyday and now my skin is the worse ever, zits on cheeks, and jawline this started in Feb this year, im on 200mg MONDAY-WED-FRI AND 100 MG ON TUES-THURS-SAT and so far Nothing my face is horrendous, im 32 years old and can't take Accutane so Im going to see a dermatologist in Toronto I heard shes one of the best so I hope whatever gets done WORKS and I stay clear!=(

I was perscribed tetracycline, doxycycline, etc. for 3-6 months each course. While I was on these antibiotics my skin was perfectly smooth. Naturally, I wanted to upkeep this level of improvement so I continued to use these antibiotics. Because of the overuse of antibiotics I have developed a skin condition called "pityrosporum folliculitis." There's is a delicate balance of bacteria and fungi/yeast on our skin. Which, for the most part, is there to benefit the human body. By overusing or inappropriately using antibiotics, this balance can become disrupted and cause an overgrowth of the fungi/yeast. This imbalance resulted in "acne-like" bumps all over my neck, chest, and back. I was genuinely devastated and spent an entire summer seeing a psychologist because I felt so depressed over it. This condition is not curable, it is ONLY treatable. There's not a day that goes by that I wish I had explored other alternative to heal my acne. I have been able to keep it under control for the most part but like bacteria, yeast can become resistant to anti-fungal medications. So please do not try to "fix" your acne with a temporary solution that can lead to long-term consequences. *For the record I am not against taking antibiotics when necessary but doctors should not be allowed to prescribe them for acne.

I am a teen and one of the things I have been struggling with for many years is acne. I tried Proactiv, which helped for a few months and then it seemed had no affect at all, so I went to my doctor. She presricbed me Minocycline 100mg/ once a day and Retin-A. I have, and I know this is bad, been using Mino for almost two years now (I stopped once and in a few weeks my acne came right back, worse than before and showed no sign of leaving, so my doctor represcribed Mino 100mg/once per day and a stronger Retin-A solution). I have found that the Mino helped slightly with the few spots of acne I had on my back and chest, but has not done anything significant of noting on my face... Which is where most of my acne resides, so I'm planning on stopping my taking of Mino. I also found that taking Mino in the morning gave me an upset stomach, so I take it at night now. I have found also that the Retin-A was only drying my skin out, so I switched back to Proactiv and that is what is keeping my skin under control right now. I think for certain people this antibiotic can work, but for me it barely had an affect.

This stuff was just awful. I took it for 3 weeks and all of a sudden every joint in my body started hurting and started swelling up. My hips looked like I had baseballs under my skin. Not to mention my knees were so swollen I could hardly stand up without being in agonizing pain. I contacted my dermatologist and she informed me that I had just had a bad reaction to the medicine and to quit taking it. It's been about 4 days since I started swelling and it still is pretty painful. She wants to see me when the swelling goes down to try and prescribe me something else, but I don't know what she will prescribe me. This was supposed to be helping my red marks but it honestly did NOTHING for my face.

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.

I had been prescribed minocycline about a year ago and used it for about two months and it barely worked. I gave up but my acne somehow cleared up over the winter. Enter spring: another breakout, so I got another prescription of minocycline. It barely worked and even made me depressed and nearly suicidal, which would subside a few hours after usage. I stopped immediately and have been fine ever since.