Acne.org Products
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
November 4, 2009
Cons:
Didn't make any real impact after 3 months.
Started using this back in the summer. Used it everyday for 3 months, never made any real impact on my skin. Went back to the doctor and she put me on doxycycline which worked better, now on my second course of doxycycline now along with Duac once daily gel.
October 23, 2009
Pros:
Cheap and worked well to being with.
Cons:
After a while the tablets have no effect on my skin. Plus you can't eat an hour before or after taking them!
Worked quite well to start of with, then I guess I have become immune as now has no effect on my skin and the acne has returned to how it was before the treatment began!
May 8, 2011
Pros:
- I'm staying hopeful...
- Mild improvement (Very mild indeed)
- First course completely cleared my skin for about 4 months after treatment
- FREE ( NHS doing us all proud.)
Cons:
- Very bad IBS
- Bloating (Due to IBS)
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Stomach pains
- Yellowing teeth
I'm considering stopping this course of antibiotics, but I'm very very scared that stopping half way through the course (I'm at about 5 weeks) will just cause intense acne breakouts.
The first course of this treatment had cleared me by this stage and my acne was a LOT worse. This time round however I have been dealing with insufferable side effects, and despite being used in combination with Duac I've not seen any real improvement. I apologize if this review isn't particularly helpful as I think most useful advice has already been dispelled in previous reviews, so I don't really know what else to say! I'd far rather be the bearer of good news than bad, but I've been very disappointed. And mega uncomfortable in college 9 - 4 squeezing my arse so I don't fart with every step.
I might stick at for a further 2 weeks and if things improve I will retract my review and replace it with a really nice one, promise. I do think however, if your considering this antibiotic maybe consider another. I'm not saying it won't work, it would be incredibly audacious for me to do so, as clearly it does for a lot of people, I just think there are probably more helpful products out there.
One last thing, I have read on here that this product won't yellow teeth unless they are growing, which does in fact agree with the leaflet... but it really isn't the case. I'm very teeth conscious and have been monitoring them using a tooth shading card. My teeth have become two shades yellower in the past 5 weeks, which is pretty bloody poor. So invest in some whitening toothpaste and take great care, please! Oh, maybe some air freshener too...
All the best of luck to you all. x
June 6, 2010
Pros:
decreased oil production
Cons:
-made teeth yellow
I took this prescription for a while before I realized what I was doing to my teeth. My father had really bad acne and took this medication when he was young. Little did I knwo, that it tints your teeth. It was not very effective regarding my acne; it took the oiliness away but I still broke out. But this little result was not worth having yellow teeth for the rest of my life. Please, do NOT take this medicine! Take something else!
November 2, 2010
Pros:
I could see how my entire back and face cleared up in just 15 days. (only temporary)
It's a surprise attack to the acne bacteria.
It's cheap.
Cons:
When u stopped using it, IT BACKS WORSE or WIT OTHER BONUS DISEASE.
I ended up with PUSTULAR ROSACEA. (It will make your face red and sensitive to ALL).
Gastrointestinal problems. (that in fact makes acne worse)
I had moderate acne in back and face.
My derm told me about Tetralysal (a tetracycline derivative) and i took it in hopes to "kill" the acne bacteria in my body for 3 months (june, august and september). I stopped using it just for 5 days in the beggining of august because i had fever. (i dont know if it was because of the medicine) Since that i continued using it consistently.
In just 15 days after starting it i saw my back cleared and just a few spots on my face. It was amazing !. But after that day the acne bacteria in my body slowly becomes more resistant. The antibiotic "try" to keep acne at bay but u will still getting pimples and stomach problems (GI Issues)
And when u stopped using IT. OMG ! IT COMES BACK WORSE AND RESISTANT !
I ended my treatment with a bonus disease :S ROSACEA (Ur face looks red all the time and get flushes BAD when u take a hot shower or the cold wind just touch your face)
I would recommend it for u if u have a party or something like that and u want to be clear in a short period of time. But then... i think ITS NOT WORTH IT for ur general health and for acne itself because it make it WORSE and an ANTIBIOTIC CANT CURE ACNE.
I hope this helps someone. Plz, search for an alternative treatment (i know it's hard to find a solution but this is NOT).
August 12, 2011
Pros:
Clear Skin
Cheap
Cons:
You have to plan meals around it.
This was my lifesaver. I was 14 when acne struck me and it struck me hard. I had tried EVERY topical solution imagainable. Eventually after about eight months I gave in and went to a dermotologist and got a tetracycline and epiduo. I take 250 mg twice a day and use epidou at night. It takes about 2 months for it to completely get rid of your acne. Since it is not a cure, you will get a breakout everynow and then but they go away much sooner. Unfournutaly since my acne got so bad, i have some hyperpigmentation but other than those spots, i have NO acne whatsoever. I never experianced upset stomach or teeth yellowing but everyone is different. I highly reccomend this product as it really changes your skin completely. Im 15 now and my skin and self confidence couldnt be better. (:
May 3, 2010
Pros:
cleared up my acne amazingly!!
Cons:
i had a sever allergic reaction to the pill. all the joints in my body were completely inflamed for almost a year.. i was unable to walk or barely sit up due to the terrible pain. i had to see specialist for almost 2 years until the reaction had been cleared up. i was unable to be exposed to the sun or the inflammation would worsen. i missed about 8 months of school because i wasn't able to walk up stairs.
it worked great for the purpose! just be prepared that there are bad side effects with the medication, it was just bad luck that i was allergic to the tetracycline family..
May 2, 2010
Pros:
None at all.
Cons:
Messes up my eating plan.
Didn't help acne but let it get worse.
Wasted my time.
Ugly colored pill
The most useless acne antibiotic I have ever come across in my entire life. I might as well have been taking some placebo pills. Just don't bother.
January 23, 2013
Pros:
Cleared me up 100% in 8 weeks (along with BP and cleanser)
No side effects on me whatsoever. (Took it with lots of water to avoid stomach issues)
The cheapest prescription I've ever purchased. 6 USD for 60 generic capsules.
Revealed scarring (which I've never noticed before for being constantly broke out)
Cons:
Had to take it on an empty stomach
Had to cease taking Milk Products
As with all antibiotics, your probiotic flora may be affected.
I'm a 25 y/o male, been struggling with moderate acne for the past 9 years. So far I've tried topical Erythromycin, Doxycycline, Salicylic acid, Vitamin A, Benzoyl peroxide in all its presentations, which I've used daily for 5 years or so. I finally decided to go to a proper derm 3 months ago who prescribed me with 1gr/day of Tetracycline, 10% BP, and a Calendula-based cleanser. It's been a tremendous experience, began seeing results after the second week, and completely cleared me up in eight weeks.
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
Pros:
Cheap on NHS prescription.