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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October 27, 2010

Pros:

Effective, with no side effects whatsoever

Cons:

I've become fairly dependent

I'm 20 years old and I've had horrible acne for the past 3-4 years. It gets so bad it hurts to open my mouth just to speak. And the embarrassment and depression I get is unbearable. When I finally took to seeing a Dr about it I was prescribed minocin and it worked very well. I actually began to have attractive skin for once and my existing scars had a chance to heal a little. However, if I ever go more than a single day without taking this drug I start to breakout. More than 3 days without taking it and I am right back to square one. Painful cysts, depression, etc. For this reason it is very annoying to have to carry my pills with me on vacation, camping, sleepovers, etc. And I'd also like to specify that I lift weights on a regular basis and take lots of protein, creatine, and some occasional caffeine supplements with no ill side effects. I would definitely recommend this drug, I'd just really really love to have a long term solution.
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October 11, 2010

Pros:

Cleared up my skin extremely well.

Cons:

I am still on it and it causes me insomnia and "backne" (back acne)

Overall it works. It got rid of my acne. I stopped taking if for about a week and my acne came back, so I went back on it. I just hope I don't get lupus or hyperpigmentation from this product.
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October 4, 2010

Pros:

Works better than anything I've ever taken (and I've gone the whole nine yards, except Accutane).
Cheap, if you have insurance.

Cons:

Nausea.
Headache.
Dizziness (don't go on roller-coasters ;)

I started taking this about a year ago with two other topical medications my doctor prescribed. At first, my acne got way worse and started peeling. It took about a month and half for it to get better. But when it did, it really did. I didn't have a single breakout! Then I got off my insurance and couldn't afford it anymore. About a month later, my acne was breaking out like crazy. Got back on Minocycline and it took longer this time to clear up but I'm a hell of a lot clearer. Frankly, it's the only thing that works for me. :) So try it. Yeah, I get a little dizzy but it's worth it. I'm still not on insurance so it's still expensive though :/
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September 22, 2010

Pros:

Cleared skin

Cons:

None spring to mind....No noticeable side effects

Its been over a month, and have had only one or 2 major spots. Which is rare as in the last 5-7 years I havent gone longer than a few days without some sort of a spot, and never longer than a fortnight without a breakout. Being black, I have some hyperpigmentation so Im now including some glycolic acid into my routine to hopefully clear that up and in due time im hopeful this combinatino will enable me to restore my skin to what it was many moons ago I've already recommended to my sister, hopefully she sees some results in the near future too. But definitely give it a go, all of us with bad skin know it can really destroy your confidence, its a joke how vanity can do that, but it is what is.... Hope this helps
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August 29, 2010

Pros:

Clears up acne and helps with scarring

Cons:

makes you itch

If you can take the severe itching then get it but if you like me and you can't don't!
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August 9, 2010

Pros:

halved my acne breakouts, less angry spots, less scarring and the last 2 years on it I was acne free 100%

Cons:

upset stomach, nausea, takes a while to start working, resistance to the drug after some time

this did help my acne, it did not clear it and I still had breakouts. I was on it for 10 years and it stopped working for me, but I would say to others to try it.
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July 15, 2010

Pros:

-Once daily dosing
-Clears and prevents comedonal acne fairly quickly

Cons:

-MAJOR gas (lol) and bloating within the 4-6 hours following each dose
-Cant consume ANY calcium during treatment (deactivates minocycline).
-Gastrointestinal aggravation.
-Takes long time to work (been on it for 2 1/2 weeks and have only seen minor improvement)
-Moderately expensive if you don't have insurance or a rx discount card.

Hello, 25 year old pharmacy student with moderate acne, which was not present during adolescence, yet showed up about 6 months ago. So went to my primary care physician and requested minocycline. I would say the largest inconvienience of this drug is that you cannot consume ANYTHING with even minor amounts of calcium in it. If you do, the calcium binds to and encapsulates the minocycline molecules and deactivates them, preventing metabolism and absorption into the bloodstream. Therefore, you have to PLAN everything and look at the labels of every single thing you eat to see if it contains more than 1-2% calcium per serving. Which has gotten quite inconvienent and annoying lol. The second most annoying thing is...the BLOATING and gas that this drug causes.. which is not specific to just this drug, but most antibiotics, albeit this drugs bloating and gas side effect is more pronounced. Anyways, as far as the drugs purpose goes, only been on Minocycline for 2 1/2 weeks, so cant expect ALL my acne to be gone, but to be honest, the larger, more troublesome pustular "deep" acne lesions dissolved within 7-10 days of induction. Still have lots of little tiny 'goose bump' looking raised tiny bumps on my entire forehead area, so hopefully as time goes on using this drug, they too will disappear. Oh, as a note, my treatment is as follows: I take 100mg minocycline, once daily (instead of the usual 50mg twice daily), and as an adjunct to the minocycline, and an attempt to clear the tiny forehead bumps, I use the 'Stridex' brand 'acne pads' (2% Salicylic Acid) pads, once in the morning and once at night. Good luck to all, down with acne! :) -Chris
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July 9, 2010

Pros:

Gets rid of redness in face
Clears up bacne
Clears up acne , eventually

Cons:

Long time to work
Side effects

I have never had acne until this year. I was on proactiv for a bit but that didn't help at all. As my acne got worse my doctor prescribed minocycline and clindamycin. I have been on both medications for a month now and my face is less red, my bacne is completly gone and my acne on. My face is just starting to clear up. The only bad thing about this medication is how long it takes to work. When it does start to work though it produces good results.
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July 3, 2010

Pros:

I noticed a difference with the acne in my face in 1 week. It was pretty much gone in about 6 weeks.

Cons:

I had a slight stomach ache the 1st 2 weeks after taking it. It also made me feel sluggish. After About 4 weeks I noticed a rash on my hands & wrists, but I was in a foreign country & though it was something there I was allergic to. After 6 weeks (after I was back home) hives started to break out on my hands, arms, stomach, legs, & feet. I immediately stooped the medication. I've had hives for 14 days now.

This medication is great if you are not allergic to it. It gave my skin a glow & cleared up my clogged pores. Do not take if you're allergic to TETRACYCLINES.
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June 29, 2010

Pros:

Kills off infections under your skin
Clears up acne pretty fast

Cons:

Short-term only
Minor side effects (headache)

This does it's job better than topical antibiotics or benzoyl peroxide. It fights your acne by killing the bacteria under the surface, not by unclogging the pores. Long term use is not recommended since p. acnes can become immune to antibiotics. This is why I occasionally will use benzoyl peroxide to prevent immunity. I was only prescribed this for a week after my doctor increased my retin-a dosage to .1 mg to prevent any type of breakout. It did it's job. Within a few days most of the pimples on my face healed and I was only left with red marks. However once I stopped using it, acne of course came back again until the retin-a started to kick in. Bottom line: It's effective, but isn't a permanent solution. I'd recommend using it along with a retinoid.
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