Minocycline
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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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December 20, 2010

Pros:

-Skin got less oily
-Redness gone
-Acne on my cheeks and nose went away
-Didn't experience any side-effects

Cons:

-Didn't clear up my acne on my chin/ forehead.
-When I stopped my acne came back

I've had acne since I was 12, only on my forehead. When I got older the acne spread all over my face and instead of some pimples I had so many of them really close together with a lot of redness. It is pretty severe. But I know people who have/had it worse. Because of that I didn't go to a derm, I thought it was for people with severe acne, and that mine wouldn't be bad enough to do something about it. So I tried the Clinique system first for 3 months. Didn't work. I became pretty depressed about my skin ( I didn't go to sleepovers anymore because of my face, I wouldn't go swimming and I woulnd't do things that would cause sweating ( and so my make-up smearing). I finally went to the dermatologist and they said I should have come sooner. Since I had pretty bad skin I was put on Minocycline + Retin A. I had to do this for 6 weeks. The first weeks it became worse, but it did clear up gradually. BUT it only cleared up the minor pimples on my face (around my nose and on my cheeks) and my forehead cleared a little. My chin was stil horrible. My derm didn't want to stay to long on a medication when it didn't do anything anyway, She said that after 6 weeks I should see improvement and if I didn't we would try something else. I am on accutane now for 2 weeks and it became worse some days ago, it is now starting to go away. I was getting pimples on cheeks again so I know now that that wouldn't have stayed clear anyway. I do reccomend this, but to people with a milder form of acne, when you have some pimples and want them gone, but not when you're entire face is covered with pimples and redness. My acne was to severe for the medication. I really hope Accutane will work!
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December 20, 2010

Pros:

it works

Cons:

your body gets used to it and then it becomes ineffective

this is a good solution for a short term basis. i personally didnt have a lasting effect. my body became used to the medication. be ready to break out once your finish the cycle and get on another medication ( i suppose this is depending on severity )
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November 27, 2010

Pros:

Is effective for a while.
Takes a long time to kick in.

Cons:

Nausea.
Depression.
Anxiety.
Listlessness.

When I took this, at first I was on a low dose. It took about a month to two months to work. But i worked great along with some topical medication I was taking. I had to get off it after about five months because of insurance/cost. Got back on about two months later. It took even longer to do anything almost half a year. I noticed some other effects the medication was having on my body/mind this time around that were only minimal the first time (it may have been because I got on a higher dose the second time). I felt like I was in a fog, watching my life subliminally. I became extremely depressed and suicidal. I never did anything that had interested me before. It was hard to think or care and it took me a while to realize it was the medication. I do hate acne very, very much. I'm sick of living with it for about half my life now. But not being myself, not caring about things and people that I love, is not worth it. I'm going off the medication. I'll try other things. I would maybe recommend this on the low dose. It didn't seem to psychologically effect me as much on a lower dosage obviously.
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November 9, 2010

Pros:

cleared up inflammation on forehead

Cons:

slowly seeing results
lightheadedness
migraines

I have never before had acne. I'm 22 years old and after months of stressing over financial issues, family problems, having a poor diet that included little to no intake of water i broke out with bad acne. I went from having one or two random ones that went away within a matter of days, to having papules all over my forehead, cheeks, chin, jaw, chest... everywhere. I skipped periods. All in all, I feel like my lifestyle caused this to happen. I went to my doctor and she prescribed me ortho tri cyclen birth control. I had an adverse reaction from it after taking 1 pill. Severe nausea, dry heaving, blood clots all over my calves. It was bad. I got off of that and finally went to see a dermatologist. Its been a week since I've taken minocycline. The marks on my forehead have reduced significantly. I have scars on my forehead left and on my left cheek. It'll take time but I still have acne on my right cheek/jawline. Strange but I'm hoping for all of this to subside. Its taken an emotional toll on me. Never thought I would be one to suffer from acne and here I am, frantically searching for solutions online. I'm hopeful about this pill. I'm not a drug person (prefer to stay away from these kind of things). So I'm hoping I won't have to take this for long. Wish me luck! Thanks for reading.
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September 28, 2010

Pros:

None

Cons:

Hyperpigmentation and darkening of scars in black skin, bluish lips,nausea, drunk feeling,cracked lips, worsening of acne, increase in appetite, moodiness

I started taking this 3 weeks ago along with ziana at night and benzaclin in the morning, both of which I have used before. I still have blackheads on my chin and I now have scarring on my cheeks from where the acne was. I have never had any bad scarring like this before. Hopefully, once this drug leaves my system the scars will too. Ziana and benzaclin have worked for me before. I will never use this again. It's not worth it! I gave one star because you can't leave the stars blank!
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August 21, 2010

Pros:

* Helped keep cystic acne under-control
* Noticed cleared skin after 14 days (2 weeks use) ... even dark pigmentation seemed to clear! (perhaps with the help of Differin cream)
* Easy to take (pills were fairly small in size)
* Killed off bad bacteria in my body!

Cons:

*Killed off GOOD bacteria in my body!!!
* Diarrhea (entire time during the course)
* When treatment stopped, noticed few pimples re-appearing (on my back only, not face!)
* Stopped treatment due to illness and yeast infections
* Tongue became infected with bacteria/ yeast
* Random stomach pains that often accompanied by gas
* Trouble sleeping (dosage of 180mg was lowered by myself to 50-100mg and noticed improvement in sleeping habits)
* STAY OUT OF THE SUN! Will burn li

It's worth a shot, if you're a male. Antibiotics are NOT good to be used for a long period of time. They can really disrupt the PH balance in your body (hence all the yeast infections I was getting) ... And I wasn't able to have dairy while taking the pills so yogurt, cheese or milk was not an option top keep the yeast away. When taken with dairy it will be less effective. I will go back on it for a few more weeks after I give my body a rest from it all. I'm sure it was quite hard on my liver! Since it did help rid of some pimples, and I used it with Differin cream... there was noticeable results! This is something that should NOT be taken in high dosages because you will feel the effects more. Thankfully, I did not feel nauseous. I took it with food each and every time and refused not to do without it. Drink it with a FULL glass of water and eat right after it's in your system. Headaches are so9mewhat common and it did happen to me a few times. Advil was taken and cleared up my head pains over night. I was also VERY thirsty on this medication and sometimes felt dizzy. I would sit down and feel as if my head was SLOWLY spinning clockwise. DO NOT lye down 30 minutes after taking this medication or you WILL feel sick! My skin seemed to feel smooth and soft after the two weeks. It's strange because after I got off the treatment my acne seemed to still continue to clear itself. Occasionally I would break out with a new pimple on my back though. I felt REALLY tired and lazy on this medication and would spend alot of extra time in bed catching up on my missed sleep or because my body wasn't fully energized. Do not take supplements while on this medication either.
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July 25, 2010

Pros:

I worshipped this product for about a year. My acne wasn't too bad, but enough that it bothered me and this product completely cleared up my face. I used it for a year and experienced NO side effects.

Cons:

After a year of using the prodcut, it stopped working. Completely. And my acne came back worse than when I started using the medication!

I loved this product initially but it does not provide a long-term solution by any means! I'm now using Accutane.
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July 2, 2010

Pros:

Clears up a bit at first then stops

Cons:

Nausea
Yeast infection
Increased sensitivity
Can't lie down for a half hour!!!!!

I got a YI a week in, a bad sunburn and I threw up a lot from taking it. It took forever to work and if it sat in your mouth too long or you took it wothout water there is a DISGUSTING taste, and it gets stuck in your throat. After a while I gave up because there were too many restrictions and side effects. I kinda which I had gotten addicted, that way I would have at least wanted to take them! p.s--By the way, to 'Anonymous from Pangea' It doesn't do that, you're imagining it. My god, and if it really did, you may want to see a doctor, because you never know, it could be cancer. pp.s--I am pretty sure Pangea doesn't exist anymore, what fairytale are you living in?
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June 24, 2010

Pros:

Clearer skin than I'd had in years by the end of 6 weeks!

Cons:

Headaches and nausea after each dose
Could not take with food - had to be hours away from it twice a day.
Constant yeast infections that wouldn't go away entirely, even with Diflucan
Acne comes back within a month or so after stopping.

As a last resort before moving to isotretinoin (Accutane), I let the dermatologist give this a shot. He said he uses it regularly himself, and it was worth a try. I used it with topical Retin-A at night and BenzaClyn in the morning. For the first couple of weeks, my face got much worse and was covered with little red bumps as everything surfaced. By the end of the six weeks, I had clear skin that was smooth to the touch. Lots of compliments from my peers. The downside was that I had 3 or 4 yeast infections within a six-week period - that awful itchy kind that just don't seem to go away. Between those and the nausea and constant headaches each time I took a dose (twice a day), I opted to move forward with isotretinoin instead. I am so glad I did! Now I'm finishing my 5th month of isotretinoin and my skin just glows. I hardly ever get a single pimple. Definitely worth exploring if minocycline doesn't leave you happy/you can bear the minocycline side effects. My biggest concern is the damage that you're doing to your body by being on antibiotics long term - especially such strong ones as these - with no end in sight. Something to consider. But minocycline definitely works!
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May 24, 2010

Pros:

Tamed my Acne

Cons:

Lost its effectiveness

I was first put on Gen-Minocycline after I began experiencing terrible outbreaks when I was 17. With in a 2 week period, their was a major difference. I finally, thought that this product was going to clear up my acne. However, after a while I felt that I was taking these pills for no purpose. I later tried Mylan-Minocycline, which was the most useless thing ever. No improvements at all, and I used it as directed. I think the mylan was not strong enough for my acne.
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Finding a Doctor

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.
  2. Read online patient reviews of any dermatologists you are considering and ask people you know whether they have any experience with these dermatologists.
  3. Do your research and go to your first appointment with questions prepared.
  4. Listen to what your gut feeling tells you once you see a dermatologist in person. If you are not completely comfortable, try a different dermatologist.
Find a Doctor Using The American Acacemy of Dermatology Website

Finding a Doctor

Only a select few plastic surgeons specialize in acne scar revision surgery. Be certain to find a provider who specializes in acne scar repair and who is passionate and experienced in this area.

Be sure to:

  • Look at before and after photos, the more the better, especially patients with similar scarring to your own.
  • Be realistic about results. Look for improvement, not a cure.

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

  • Are you board certified? Be certain that they are board certified.
  • How long have you been performing these procedures? Normally, the more experience the better, however, some younger surgeons may be more on top of the latest procedures.
  • Can I speak to some of your other patients? Ask for references for several patients who had similar scarring and speak to them about the process and their satisfaction with results.

Red flags:

  • Their story changes: As you discuss different treatment options, if they tend to change their mind easily, or agree with whatever you say, consider this a red flag. A confident, experienced surgeon will possess strong, unwavering opinions.
  • Your gut tells you "no": Trust your gut. If you just don't feel that the doctor is the right fit, trust that and move on. On the other hand, if you feel they are the perfect specialist for you, trust that feeling.
Find a Doctor Using the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Website