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
June 8, 2011
Cons:
Broke my skin out horribly for the first three months.
Minocycline did not work for me sadly. It broke my skin out all over my face for the first three months I was on it. My skin became smoother but the acne marks were still there. I visited a naturopathic doctor and with help of diet change, vitamins including zinc and fish oil, among other natural remedies I am seeing great improvement.
March 22, 2011
Pros:
Works for some.
Pretty safe compared to stuff like accutane...Bleh.
Cons:
Stomach burns a little and changed eating schedule, but just man up.
Alot of the problems people post on here are Probably not caused by minocycline. How can an antibiotic mess up your emotions? Yellowing teeth should only happen to kids under 14 who's teeth haven't even developed yet. Yes its a temporary fix, what do you expect? One magic pill wont cure acney forever...without messing up your whole body. Many people here have other problems besides acney. Eat yogurt during the day to help with any side effects. If you take it with other topical creams it works really well, please dont expect one pill to fix up acney. Shouldn't effect oil since its purpose is to kill acney bacteria.
March 11, 2011
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
Cleared up my skin when used with Tazorac
Saw improvement fairly quickly
Cons:
Shedding hair
SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING!
Made me break out even WORSE than before I was on it.
I started taking Solodyn 90mg in conjunction with Tazorac 0.05% in late March 2009. After a few weeks, it started working, and soon enough, my face was nearly flawless. Regardless, my dermatologist prescribed my Solodyn 135mg, and still, my face was nearly flawless. I LOVED my clear skin. Everything was perfect. Then, in September 2009, I had my wisdom teeth removed. After that, both prescriptions suddenly stopped working, and I broke out even worse than my original acne. It was bad. Really bad. There was hardly a spot on my face which wasn't covered in pimples,varying in size. There were a lot of huge zits. I still continued to use the Solodyn and Tazorac as recommended, and the size of the zits went down, but the number increased. It wasn't until late December 2009 when I stopped Solodyn and Tazorac all together that my face actually started to clear up. I believe that by taking Solodyn, an antibiotic, that the P-acne bacteria in my body had built up an immunity to the Solodyn, thus rendering it useless. Why it came on so suddenly, I'm not sure. Still to this day, my acne is worse after treatment with Solodyn. Be careful, you're not supposed to take Solodyn for long periods of time, it warns that it can change the color of hair and teeth. And it only seems that it works in short periods of time-- 6 months or less. My doctor fed me the line that "Solodyn is supposed to be the best out there." Some crap that was.
July 16, 2010
Pros:
Completely clears cystic acne in about 1 month, Can take with food so is very easy to use on a daily regimen
Cons:
Dizziness, Stomach Pains, Nausea, You might develop a resistance to it
In the beginning, Minocycline was the answer to my acne problem. It completely cleared up my acne in less than 1 month. I was overjoyed and couldn't believe that I had worried about acne in the first place. My doctor made the mistake of changing my antibiotics, and having proven unsuccessful one after the other, my Doctor put me back on Minocycline. It no longer works for me, since I have developed a resistance to it. There was a recent study stating that nearly 25% of people will develop a resistance to a particular antibiotic they are prescribed over time. It was great while it lasted, but in the end it did not prove to have long-term benefits.
June 30, 2010
Pros:
-Makes your acne fade away
-Works AMAZINGLY AWESOME!
-Insurance will pay for it (most likely)
Cons:
-Use a lotion..skin will get very dry!
-Be consistant...or it won't work
I have BAD acne-first of all. And I needed my acne to leave...NOW! I spent thousandsof dollars at trhe dermatoligists, paying for new treatments every month. But then...-I learned a VERY important lesson. BE PATIENT! Give your medicine at LEAST a month before changing it. Out of ALL treatments, this one works the BEST. I didn't sat the FASTEST, but the BESTEST! Go to your dermatoligist today, and get it! You'll feel, look, and be happier and healthier once again. Love you all! Bye for now!
December 21, 2009
Pros:
some improvement in day3 .my skin cleared some what.i will take only when my acne is worse...
Cons:
blurred vision,nausea,illness,body pain, feel ver very sick,always to be to take rest.
i have taken this antibiotic before two months no use. i only take it when i have lots of acne.now i am taking this for my bacne.my acne is due to dandruff daily i should wash my hair with anti dandruff shamp otherwise my shoulders full of acne.when i use head & shoulders shampoo my acne will mild on my shoulders,just four days i have stopped using shampoo because of dryness,now i have lot of acne on my shoulders.If i use anti dandurff shampoo(H&S) my face full of pigmentation,dryness,scary but no acne on shoulders.i dnt know what to do.I am sure acne is mainly because of dandruff especially acne on shoulder and back.Use daily antidandruff shampoo on ur hair u wil see difference within a week.Now i am taking mino it make me very very sick like patient came from hospital. God only can help me.
now my acne is fading mino make it into small acne.But my eyes are paining blurred vision, i dnt know whether i can take this tablet.i will take mino only for a week then i stop.Lot of medicines available for acne without these serious side effects.I know my acne is mainly due to dandruff i try to slove dandruff problem then my acne automatically fade.I tell to every one If ur Scalp is clean ur face also clear.Mino is ruining ur health keep it in mind.Take it for short not for long term.
July 13, 2012
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
clear, healthy skin; smooth complexion
Cons:
Drowsy
I used to have perfect skin, never had to wear makeup ever. Recently my periods got out of hand and so I went to ask about birth control. Well the birth control I was taking (oral/pills) ignited acne on my forehead. It was nowhere else BUT MY FOREHEAD. And it was disgusting too! They were nodules, cysts, whiteheads, everything you could think of and it hurt so bad! So like anyone else, I went to the dermatologist. This dermatologist that my parents recommended to me gave me a topical gel called Atralin. I was still taking my birth control and using this gel as well. It sort of got rid of it but it was still hurting. It was like every zit that went away, TWO or THREE more formed where it was. It was embarrassing. I tried covering it up with makeup, but that just made it so much worse! :( So my boyfriend recommended his dermatologist to me cause he used to have severe acne (he was a accutane user and his skin has no problems now, ever! He has beautiful skin!!) and so I went to her. Dr. Toni Smith told me to quit using Atralin and she gave me Finacea ( another topical gel) as well as 80mg samples and a prescription to Solodyn. She told me the Finacea gel will smooth out my complexion and get rid of acne scarring. The Solodyn is like Accutane, it stops bacteria in its tracks the moment you use it. I started using Solodyn 3 weeks ago and I saw a difference in just 3 days. NO JOKE. I also read some reviews on this website about solodyn and I was so scared to take it, but I haven't had one side effect besides feeling sleepy in the middle of the day, but that is nothing. I LOVE THIS STUFF! :) Don't be afraid to take Solodyn! It really turned my life around. My boyfriend compliments my skin all of the time now and I don't have to wear make up anymore! none!! I love my skin!
October 27, 2011
Pros:
Prevents Breakouts
Cons:
Expensive if you don't have insurance
Hard to schedule diet around
I was prescribed Minocycline 100mg once a day to use with Retin-A .05%. I was very hesitant to start taking this medication at first because of all of the negative reviews on this website that referenced side-effects. I also didn't want to take this medication because it made me feel worse about my acne, that i had passed a certain point and was no longer controllable. However, taking this medication was probably one of the best decisions i've made for my acne. The first couple weeks i saw small improvements; smaller cysts and breakouts not lasting long. After about a month my breakouts slowed considerably. Now four months in i break out maybe once a week, very minimally. This medication definitely helped my skin to heal from the consistent breakouts i faced in my freshman year of college. I take this medication around the same time each day, and use it with Retin A .05% and Cetaphil. Cetaphil is a perfect face wash to use with retin a as its very gentle, and Minocycline helps to minimize breakouts so my hyper pigmentation could begin to fade. All in all i highly recommend this medication. I've never felt nauseous or sick, or suffered any side-effects with this medication. Just make sure you drink a full glass of water when taking it. Also for guys, its a little tough taking this medication while trying to bulk up because you really aren't supposed to eat within a three hour window. And its effectiveness is limited if its ingested with calcium, so milk is out of the question two hours before and after taking this pill. Finally, as far as drinking alcohol while on this medication. My pharmacist said its alright to drink, just not in excess. Being in college this was a little difficult to fathom, but as for me, i'll go out on the weekends and drink and not have any problems as far as its reaction with the medication. Keep in mind though it might help to make you get drunk a little faster, thats all though. Good Luck
June 28, 2011
Pros:
Cleared Acne
Cheap
Cons:
Nothing really
Got a small breakout during the course
It totally worked, i took it for 3 months, my acne was gone except some redness which goes away itself, I got a small breakout when i was about to stop it, but it was because i ate many greasy foods and eggs in which i have a kind of allergy.
February 14, 2011
Pros:
Took away acme 100 percent. Had severve acme and this with retin a a iis only product that worked
Cons:
Ask your dentist. I have black roots on all my teeth and my permant teeth did. Not fully develop. All dentist I have see and spent thoasands of dollars with say that my teeth issues are from minocycline. I took product fo 7 years and dentist were able to tell I took product without me telling them. As soon as they pulled a tooth they asked about me taking minocycline due to the blackness and lack of development of teeth
The use of this product has destroyed my teeth. Causing me to have ulcers and losing half my teeth. This produxt should not be given to teenagers until teeth r fully developed. Would rather have hbad bad acme for my teen years than have the dental issues I now am facing
Pros:
Helped clear large inflammatory acne.
No overall side effects.