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
April 8, 2007
Cons:
Expensive (with my insurance), gave me yeast infections the entire time I was on it.
I was on 90mg of Solodyn once a day and using Ziana gel at night. While it did help the nodules go down some and the redness go away a little bit, it did not work much than that. I was only on it for a month, so that's probably why. The entire time I was on both of these I had yeast infections, so I was glad when I got off of it. Am now on 30mg of Sotret twice a day and glad!
March 16, 2007
Pros:
None yet..
Cons:
constant bloating and stomach cramps
Ive only been on it for a week or so, but ive had stomach cramps and bloating each day since i have been taking it. Skin hasnt improved or worstened yet... Not sure if its better to take with food or without food.. i take it with food and thats meant to reduce the sickness, but hasnt worked for me..
March 10, 2007
Pros:
non so far been on for a week
Cons:
im really breaking out bad i dont know if im supposed to do that
i have to wait and see if i quit breaking out and i clear up
March 1, 2007
Pros:
Clears me up within a couple of weeks, i had no side effects
Cons:
stopped use brings acne back or drinkin alcohol
washes the drug from your system leading to breakouts
i used this 100mg of this drug but it stopped working but now i use 200mg which is perfect. at first acne worsens but i noticed improvements within 2 weeks
February 26, 2007
Pros:
Clears up facial and body cysts.
Cons:
Interferes with birth control.
I have been using this product for about a year, it is the only thing that has worked on large cystic acne on my face as well on my body ( I have hidradenitis suprativa). I haven't had a large inflamed cyst since starting this medication. It doesn't clear up everthing, but nothing ever will. I am 26 years old, and have had acne forever, since I was 10. I know its hard, but don't let it bring you down. It could be 10 million times worse. It won't kill you, and people don't notice it as much as you do. Just rememeber that normal people are the people you do not know.
February 25, 2007
Pros:
not sure just started today
Cons:
holy crap!i just started and i'm already falling asleep, i hope its because i'm sleep derpived because i cant take this medication 2 times a day. i drive and i attend uni and i dont want people thinking i'm drunk!
i'm very worried about the side effects of this drug, esp the making me sleepy ones.
December 4, 2006
Pros:
cleared up my face quickly, still get a few minor outbreaks.
Cons:
at first made me a little dizzy, felt sick. went away after 2 weeks. not being able to drink milk is a F***er. when drinking you can get drunk a lot faster (not really a con) but be careful, do not get pass out drunk.
afraid about comming off it and having acne come back even worse
February 8, 2018
Cleared my acne!
I have had really bad acne since age 15 (I'm now 20) and I literally tried everything. Proactiv plus, Murad acne kit, tons of topical creams and nothing worked. I had 3-5 active breakouts on my face daily. After trying everything I kinda accepted that I probably will just have acne for the rest of my life (not to be dramatic but it felt like that). I went to my family doctor for a check up (not for my acne) and she asked me about my acne and if I felt like it was getting better. I told her no it's only been getting worse (at this point it wasn't as bad as it was in the past). Finally she recommend that I tried taking minocycline and mentioned that my acne needed to be treated from the inside. I had little to no expectations since I had never heard of it and expected it to not work like everything I had tried in the past. I took the 100mg twice daily and within TWO days I started seeing immediate results! It started off with me waking up with no break out at all to the surface of my skin being completely smooth within 2 weeks. I was so excited because I literally couldn't remember ever seeing my skin that clear. To cut the story short, I started taking it May 2017 (prescribed a three month bottle but I was able to make it last longer since my skin was clear) and my skin has been cleared for months. I get break outs when I'm not taking the pill or just during PMS. Needless to say it worked for me and please don't get discouraged by other people's reviews. Acne treatment is difficult because everyone skin reacts differently to everything. Try it, I hope it works as well for you as it did for me!! Side note: I didn't experience any side effects aside from REALLY dry skin for about a week and then it went back to normal
May 14, 2018
As it turns out, you cannot take minocycline for the rest of your life, sigh. So after a few months with PERFECT skin, i got prescribed a lower dosage (50mg), and my acne came back slowly. The 50mg barely does anything for my skin. It's not as bad as it used to be but the cystic acne and random breakouts are back and in full action.
I got prescribed birth control (Nortrel) for my acne, so well see how it works!
July 22, 2017
Dont even bother with it
i went on minomycin around 3 times or so and it only cleared my teenage pimples up the first time, the 2nd and 3rd it didn't improve my skin and was an utter waste of time. not sure why multiple doctors gave me this same antibiotic 100mg a day, which was useless time after time. I was so faithful and truly believed that the minomycin would cure my acne but i was wrong. i would give it 0 stars if i could.
October 27, 2016
Eh it's ok
Took this when I had moderate acne and it helped just a little bit not much noticeable though.
November 11, 2016
You have to take it on an empty stomach with a full glass of water or it won't work to its fullest potential
Pros:
I didn't see any pros.