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
November 24, 2007
Cons:
I haven't had any negative side effects at all. It is like taking any other antibiotic.
I have adult cystic acne and have been taking an antibiotic as well as aldactone for two years. This combination, plus washing my face twice daily has cured my problem. The only problem is, you cannot come off of it, even for a few days without acne relapse, so make sure you have refills at all times. Hope this helps!
October 14, 2007
Pros:
For the most part it does the job
Cons:
Occasional flare ups, continual use
I've had severe acne issues since puberty, and at age 31 I finally saw a dermatologist. He prescribed minocycline, and it's been six years. The first few years he had me on 200mg a day (100 twice a day), with instructions to see if I could cut it down to 150mg a day. At 150mg a day I had frequest flare ups, while at 200mg my skin is normally clear, though I do have the occasionaly flare up about once every month or two on the 200mg dosage. The doctor finally concluded that lowering my dosage wasn't an option, so it's 200mg a day from here on. Compared to pre-treatment, minocycline has done the job for me. It's been six years since I started on it, but I don't remember having any side effects.
October 4, 2007
Pros:
i guess it works pretty fast. I only took it for a few days before i noticed the breakouts on my back/shoulders starting to dry up.
Cons:
terrible side effects. the packaging says that only about 1/10,000 people has an allergic reaction, but it seems more frequent than that to me. after 3 days of taking it, i got a red, itchy rash on my chest that progressed up my neck to my chin.
the rash that i got from this is itchy and miserable and i'm treating it with a steriod cream from the derm who did not seem too concerned about it. it's sort of a splotchy, hot rash and i've had it for 4 days now. the mino also made me REALLY dizzy, so much that i couldn't even go down a staircase without feeling like i was going to fall down. it gave me a sporadic headache too. i was also using differin, and i think i'll only use topical meds from now on. i'm not very comfortable with the idea of using an antibiotic for such a long period anyway. my bf took this med for a different reason and also ended up worse off than before he took it. i guess the rash could be worse, but still - it's sooo not worth having an itchy, splotchy rash going up my neck.
September 22, 2007
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
Cleared up skin a teeensy weensy bit.
Cons:
The cheap tetracylcine pills worked better.
This is crap. For 50$ a month it should be giving me far better results than it has been and I've been on this for four months now. I've just made a dermatologist appointment to tell my doctor to put me on different medication. I'm highly disappointed. I was using this along wiht benzaclin. Benzaclin DOES work but it did dry my skin up a lot. Previously I was just using the clydamicin gel which made my acne much better and didn't dry me up at all. It's funny how the cheap medical products work better than the expensive ones. I used to pay 20$ per month for the prescriptions of tetracylcine and clydamicin. Now I pay 100$ for solodyn and benzaclin. This product doesn't work well. NOT WORTH THE PRICE.
September 18, 2007
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
helped with my cystic acne
Cons:
made me dizzy, headaches
I was on this for 3 months. I started seeing results after 3-4 weeks. My face cleared up a lot. I saw the least amount of change on my back. I also noticed it made my scars a deeper, more noticeable color. Overall, it did help diminish my acne by about 80% on my face and only 30-40% on my back and chest.
August 24, 2007
Pros:
a week into it has gotten worse
should i stick with it
June 18, 2007
Pros:
Cleared my moderate acne, easy to take, no side effects
Cons:
It takes a long time to see results, being dependent on an antibiotic to stay clear
Alright kids, here's my Minocin story. Weeks 1-4: Terrible. Things got much worse before they got better and these four weeks were probably the lowest I have ever been. Week 5: I began to get very frustrated. I was still getting 5-6 brand new nodule or white head pimples a week so there wasn't a lot of sign of improvement. I made the decision to get a refill of Clindoxyl gel and use that in combination w/ minocin. This is when the ball got rolling. Clindoxyl is the sh*t people. Use it & love it. Weeks 6-7: MY acne began to settle w/ new pimples only popping up around that pesky time of the month (sorry boys). Week 8: THIS is where the magic happens, folks. My acne has really improved and right now I only have 2 active pimples. So all in all, I'm really hopeful that this will keep me clear for a while... or at least until I can figure out more of a long term battle plan.
April 5, 2007
Pros:
Cleared up my moderate acne. I had PERFECT skin for a couple months (this was probably more because of the SUN of summertime and CLINDOXYL).
Cons:
Your body gets used to it. When you stop it comes back worse. Makes you feel lazy/dizzy.
I have been taking Minocin for about 1 year.
I have now decided that my PERFECT SKIN all last summer (and many months after summer) was NOT because of Minocin but mainly because of CLINDOXYL!! and Sunlight. I understand that sunlight does long-term damage to your skin but I think it gave me PERFECT skin for a couple months!! The BOTTOM LINE w. ANTIBIOTICS such as this is that you keep having to up the dosages, and you cannot stop taking it. This is not healthy for you. I want to stop taking this before I get too deep into this unhealthy self-perpetuating cycle. I'm 18, hopefully my acne will clear up w. time. For now, SUNLIGHT is AMAZING and CLINDOXYL is the best treatment of all. I may take a year off school and go South. The winter makes my skin terrible.
March 20, 2007
Pros:
-clears up most acne within a month
Cons:
-body becomes used to the minocin, making it less effective
-skin becomes sensitive to light
-liver damage
dont do minocin, just bite the bullet and take accutane. My body got used to minocin after about a year, and then I'd have to stop taking it for a few weeks just so it'd be more effective. Obviously the best way to go about getting rid of acne is to let it happen naturally, but if your going to decide on taking an antibiotic then just take accutane...Once you stop taking minocin the acne just comes back (worse at times), once you stop taking accutane ur skin stays clear
March 2, 2007
Pros:
It really cleared up the acne almost immediately.
Cons:
It sucked up my synovial fluid and I got severe dysabling joint pain. Once off the med. my symptoms went away. Now I am seeing a rheumotologist.
Very bad experience but you don't know until you try it.
Pros:
I've been on Dynacin for two years, my current physician prescribed Minocycline and it seems to work just as well, if not a little better. Plus it is less expensive. It may, I'm not sure, be a generic form of Dynacin. I love it