it is really hard to have clear skin with these antibiotics. if it works, whenever you give up, they will come up again. maybe it can be more worthy for mild cases.

Yeah, i would say this is the better review, or at least the one that's similar to my case. One has to be really organized in the bed time and eating habits to get results. Otherwise you will have an unstoppable nausea. You can't drink alcohol while you are medicated and its good to know that ya need to drink one probiotic at day.

Been on this drug 3 months hasn't done a thing! My acne has probably got worse if anything where it is practically being left untreated due to this drug not working which is really effecting my self esteem! May work differently for different people but to me it has been a massive waste of 3 entire months!! Also have had headaches, dizziness and a lot of unexplained mood swings for the first two months! Back to the doctors Monday to see the next step..

I gave this 3 stars because it did help clear up my skin, but I think it was making me really sick. I loved that it cleared up my acne with out any scaring but my happiness was short lived. There are a host of side effects from Tetracycline. I gave up on the antibiotics and felt instantly better. It may be worth it for some people but not for me.

It definitely worked for me!!!! After 6 months taking it my acne is completely gone, it is the only thing that worked for me!!! I had no side effects and could see the improvement in my skin everyday!!!

Please read this if your GP has recommended this treatment, you need to understand and know what I am going to tell you. I've been on this, or I was on this, for about two years. I was also using Benzoyl Peroxide and used Erythromycin (another antibiotic), to treat acne. Antibiotics, at best, kill about 50%-75% of your acne, they will never get rid of your acne as the cause, i.e. hormones, allergies, immune system, is not treated. No matter how much you kill the Propionibacterium acnes, they are naturally occurring on your skin (and perform other functions, like preventing more serious skin infections), and so will only keep coming back, and eventually after long term use (maybe two years or more) will become resistant to antibiotics. MEANWHILE you are destroying your immune system, metabolism and almost everything in your body. The gut contains bacteria, and one of the main warned side affects of antibiotics are diarrhoea, wind, bloating i.e. impaired gut function. The antibiotics demolish the microflora in your gut, and this ecosystem is what controls your immune system, nutrition intake and metabolism. Please do feel free to google any of this, I'm am 100%, have consulted many doctors, read much research, these are FACTS, I will not delve into speculation here. There is plenty of that about on these kind of websites. You either have two acne types as far as I am concerned, you will either grow out of it post-puberty, i.e 19-20 maybe 21. In which case you need to just DEAL with it. Acne is horrible, it ruins self esteem, it feels unfair that you have it, you wish you could be 'normal' like everyone else. But such a high percentage of teenagers suffer from acne, it is not actually such a dramatic thing, and in most cases your acne WILL be gone by your 20's. a) This is the important bit: HOWEVER, if you take antibiotics in your teenage years to try control your skin, you will not clear your skin fully (so you will not be satisfied, believe me I know, you want it all gone, even if there are 3 or 4 spots left, you'll still feel as bad as if there were 9-10. Or 20% back covered in acne, compared to 80%. Any or other similar ratios.) In the process you will have made yourself open to serious health issues in the future, I'm talking potentially many years of weak immune system, diarrhoea, nausea, allergies (milk, egg, wheat) and if you think living with acne is hard - you won't survive with this. This is a very real issue and problem, sure it may not happen to you, but what antibiotics do is they leave you open to stomach infections, and if you get one of those, they can last for years, or permanently alter your stomach function so you no longer can eat wheat, milk, or anything, without feeling severely ill! OR b) you may have adult acne, in which case antibiotics will not make a difference, and you need to take something more considerable like accutane, which WILL cure you 100%, with possible side effects. This is far more preferable to antibiotics, which do not 100% cure you, and WILL cause side effects, and sometimes long term. As for benzoyl peroxide, it may dry your skin, and leave you open to skin infections when you finish using it (damaged skin + not natural bacteria left to fight off infection) but all in all, acne IS a current issue, so I think benzoyls pro's weigh heavier than it's cons. That's me done, I just had to leave this information here, even if its just to settle my mind that I have tried to help others. I used to browse this forum desperately searching for a 'cure', turns out my severe bacne and mild facial acne faded by themselves when I stopped benzoyl and left the teenage years. But now my intestinal dysbiosis lives with me, and I am having to pay £3000 pound for treatment, as well as live with the health consequences. In hindsight it is not worth the risk people, I hope I can get that point across to you. Best of luck

I took an antibiotic called "Tetralysal" and it is the only thing that has taken my acne away. No side effects whatsoever, I felt great during the whole time, but it took some time before I could see any improvement. When I stopped taking the pills my skin looked great (I would get an occasional pimple, but in comparison to what I used to look like it was fantastic) and did so for another six months, then I started breaking out again like before I started taking the pill... It works temporarily but doesn't take away the cause of the acne, so once you stop the risk of getting acne again is big. But for me who has tried a lot of things, this is one of few that actually worked, if only for a short time.

One thing I have always noticed is that acne causes more acne. If you have a few days of clear skin, it's easier to keep it clear than after a bad breakout. Tetracyclines help break that constant breakout cycle and give time for your skin to recover. i would not call this a miracle pill, but it does help acne clear faster and breakouts are less frequent and severe (fewer cysts etc). I wouldn't say that it cleared my acne completely, but it did help. The biggest downside is that you have to take the pill(s) on an empty stomach, i.e two hours before or two hours after a meal. this means if you wake up for work, you have to take the pills right away and wait two hours to eat....and no more bedtime snacks either! It also causes nausea and general fatigue, although this does wear off after a few weeks. I guess the biggest problem is that it is not a long term solution....I did not have a worsening of acne after coming of tetracyclines, but I know many people do.

I never used to have acne before I turned 20. In 2 months my face turned into an acne warzone. I got cysts on my chin area, which gradually progressed along my jawline and lower cheeks. These were so red and traumatized me, as I had NEVER had anything like it before. There were so many spots, some would heal, and the marks would remain, and new ones would come. Mineral foundation hid the redness thankfully. I've been on tetracycline for 2 months. It took this long for me to see a DIFFERENCE, but I'm so happy I stuck with the regimen and didn't give up. Now, my face isnt blemish free as when I was 19, but it's really getting better. I have no more cysts on my chin at all, just the red marks which will go away with a little more time. My jawline is not acne-free, but it's getting better as well. When I pass my fingers over my face I dont want to cry anymore. All this to say, please don't give up on tetracycline even if you havent see a difference yet. The regimen for these pills is 3 months. By the 3rd month, I'm sure I'll have my face back 100% (no marks or acne), considering the way things are going now. I'm also using topical products at night and morning. I was extremely depressed when I got acne at 20 for the first time, and so severe. I thought tetracycline would work within 2 weeks. IT DOESNT. It's a gentler antibiotic that takes its time. I accepted that I have an infection, just that it happens to be on my face - which is what acne is. Once I accepted this crappy fact, it was easier to deal with. Sh*t happens. Tetracycline can help you, but dont be impatient and do use mineral foundation in the meantime if you're worried about what people think. Acne is dumb and annoying, but it's really more common than you think, and will go away if you fight it, like any infection.

I have moderate acne, I had been trying topical treatments, Hundreds of dollars later I still have acne probably worse now. It was bad enough for me to go seek treatment but isn't severe by any means. I was given a few options; 1) General Birth control. 2) Tetracycline. 3) Birth Control + Accutane I really wanted to avoid birth control as im not at a state where I need to be on that. I asked my doctor if Birth control caused weight gain of which i would notice (Im 15 and I weigh 92 pounds) He said it would cause noticeable weight gain. I severely wanted to avoid that so I decided to take the second option and take Tetracycline for a period of 3 months as prescribed by my doctor. I just finished my 3 month period a week ago and it didn't clear anything up. I'm absolutely stumped. I dont want to take Birth Control but I really have no other option. I'm tired of having to cake on foundation and concealers just to barely cover the blemishes and redness. I was really hopeful... I really didnt want to be disappointed because I dont have severe acne... its just stubborn :( I wash my face twice a day everyday for as long as I can remember and I just dont know where to go from here.