Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
69%
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 to only some people, and may lead to side effects and strains of resistant bacteria. Studies do show they can sometimes 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 Tetracycline? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
July 3, 2011
Cons:
Made my stomach upset, when taken
No improvements
Tetracycline made me really nauseous, took it over 4 months, no improvements, its almost like i didnt take it at all.
May 18, 2011
Pros:
-Works fast
-dries out your skin all over your body
Cons:
-increased brain pressure and headaches
-very bad stomach aches
-diarrhea
-even got pain in liver and kidneys...
I would not recommend using this antibiotic unless you are certain that your body is so resilient it will be able to tolerate a medicine that is this heavy... I was prescribed this for my severe acne and after taking it for 2 weeks I saw great improvement on my skin but then suddenly my brain pressure increased and I got 1 endless headache for more than 4 days... I also experienced pain in my liver and kidneys... I can tolerate medication really well usually, but the side-effects of this one really freaked me out. Howver it seemed that no harm had been done to my body, but I quit immediately as the doctor said this might damage liver and kidneys if taken over a long period of time. I am now taking a topical gel, Epiduo and combine it with home remedies (baking soda and apple cider vinegar) I promise you I got the same result on my face as I did from Tetracylines... I did like how TC dried my skin over my entire body though, I felt "clean" for longer and my hair didn't get greasy. I would have loved this medicine had it not been so heavy to tolerate with such serious side-effects...
April 27, 2011
Pros:
Works really fast, It cleared up my acne in almost 2 weeks
Cons:
After you stop using it, acne comes back
Plus every morning after taking the pills i had a horrible nausea, problems with stomach, moodiness
I've had moderate acne since 16 (now i'm 23). Till last summer i only had acne on my forehead and sometimes on my nose and chin. But last august i had the most horrible breakout in my entire life. i had severe cystic acne around my mouth, on my chin and around my nose. I used Nature's Cure pack for women before the breakout, and it was working wonders to my skin, then suddenly it just stopped working. I guess i got immune to it. So derm prescribed me tetracycline for a month with some cream with antibiotic for topical use. Here in Mongolia where i live tetracycline is not that cheap, so i paid 45$ for a month supply, plus 12$ for the cream and 10$ for a derm's consultation. I got so broke cuz of it. So the pills got rid of my horrible acne in just two weeks, did nothing with the scarring. But aster a week as i stopped using it, my acne came back and it's really bad. If you wanna get rid of your acne fast this could be a good solution.
April 12, 2011
Pros:
Works well
Reduces blackheads
Cons:
Increased urination
Increased appetite
Extreme thirst
Cannot be taken with dairy products
Cannot lay down within an hour of taking (else severe heartburn)
Within an hour of taking these pills, I feel as if my stomach has been emptied, and since the pill does not work well with dairy products, I find myself in a constant struggle to find something to binge on that has no dairy.
Also, I find myself with a unquenchable need to urinate and drink, often at the same time, which can be quite frustrating when in public, that lasts for about an hour.
My skin DID clear up quite nicely, however, but this pill has too many side-effects to be ideal.
March 31, 2011
Pros:
-limits breakouts while using it
Cons:
-yellows teeth
-once you stop using it breakouts come back
-can't be taken with meals/milk
I am against taking pills to begin with so when my doctor prescribed me an antibiotic I was very reluctant to take it. I wish I had never started these pills. They turn your teeth yellow. I can never find a time to take them on an empty stomach b/c I'm out of the house all day and I don't want to bring the pills with me. I didn't want to be on these pills for an extended period so I stopped taking them after taking them twice a day for a few months. Pimples have started popping up again mainly on my chin and around my mouth. It's very disappointing.
February 14, 2011
Pros:
None
Cons:
It's an antibiotic, and it's generally not healthy to be on antibiotics for extended periods of time.
Slight nausea and headache.
This product had very little to no effect of me.
January 29, 2011
Pros:
Got rid of all my acne whilst taking it.
Cons:
Acne came back at the same level pretty much immediately when i stopped.
After taking this prescription continuously for about 9 months I feel I can finally write a decent review for acne.org. I would like to point out I followed the empty stomach instrctions religiously so this review would be accurate.
After having suffered with acne for about 5 years I finally decided to man up and go to the doctor. He classed the acne on my face as moderately severe and that on my chest as severe. I was given a 3 month course of tetracycline which was eventually extended to 9 months after visiting each time I ran out. Now the good stuff, after about 2 weeks of starting taking this medicine I never saw a zit again for the rest of the 9 months. It took about 2 months for those red painful bumps (anyone with bad acne knows what I'm talking about, the ones that hurt to touch) to stop appearing. After 5 months all the red marks had faded and I had perfect skin apart from some pretty heavy scarring. As you can imagine I was over the moon and could finally experience all that good stuff we acne sufferers dream about; massive boast in self confidence and finally some interest from girls.
So why have I only given a two star review I hear you ask, well because it is not a permanent cure :( As soon as I stopped taking this my skin went back to its old ways. It took only a few days for zits to start appearing again and after about a month I started to get those painful red bumps all over my face again. Now 3 months after I stopped taking I'm back to pretty much where I was a year before. I wake up with 4 new zits every morning and at least one of those painful deep bumps. This is made all the more cruel by the fact that I have experienced an acne free life and my self confidence has plummeted. I'm embarrassed to be seen in the street again and it is sorely tempting to skip uni so my friends won't see me.
So in conclusion tetracycline is amazing when you are on it but after you stop the acne comes straight back and it is all the more depressing when
November 30, 2010
Pros:
Helped with acne a little bit.
while on it.
Cons:
It took months to see some minor improvement and it all came back as soon as I stoped taking it.Had to plan meals.yellow teeth.
Can help while on it, but no cure since it comes back (sometimes worse than before).
August 20, 2010
Pros:
Cleared up my acne in 5 months.
Cons:
-I had moderate acne and it took 4-5 months to clear my acne.
-Acne returns once you stop taking them.
-Lips and skin are dry.
-The first few months are the worst as it makes you break out. After that your acne begins to heal.
-Stomach aches.
-It's poison to your body.
This has too many bad side effects and it didn't work too well for me even tough I used it for six months.
October 19, 2009
Pros:
...there aren't any
Cons:
no improvement, even after 2 months
my doctor gave me the prescription for these a little over two months ago and it's as if im not on them at all, i haven't seen any improvement! i'll have to go back to my doctor soon and try get a prescription for something else.
Pros:
None