Acne.org Products
Oral Antibiotic
Efficacy
54%
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 and only to some people, and may lead to side effects and strains of resistant bacteria. Studies do show they can 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 Minocycline? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
October 30, 2010
Cons:
-dairy products are said to reduce its effectiveness so that limited the times when I could take the pill
I had next to perfect skin before going off the pill in April. A few months later my skin broke out like nobody's business! I was very close to starting Accutane although my issue wasn't chronic and Accutane sounds pretty severe so I went the antibiotic route. Minocycline (twice a day, 50 g/capsule) in combination with Clindoxyl gel helped so much in bringing down the large, painful bumps on my face. My skin still isn't as pretty as it was before (I have red pigmentation marks left over from where the bumps were) but makeup can cover it up no problem. I definitely recommend Minocycline!
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.
July 9, 2010
Pros:
All Acne is GONE 100%
Cons:
Minor headaches, Nausea and a little dizziness.
OK..I read all the reviews on this and all products and I was scared to try. On the other end I was a 30 some year old woman, who never had acne and hated the way my face looked. I was on a small dosage and had no side effects or results. My doctor doubled my dosage and immediately my skin cleared and yes the side effects came along with it. Like all things in life you learn how to manage it. I only stayed on the meds for about a month. My acne is 100% gone and it's over 3 months. Everyone..try it and use your experience. All negative stuff can really scare you. At the end of the day all we all want is clear skin. Good Luck!
August 7, 2012
Pros:
-Cleared all acne
-Inexpensive
-Easy to take
-No side effects
Cons:
-Doesn't help hyper-pigmentation
-Took 3 months to start working
So I almost never bother to review products, but I felt that the reviews on this site for Minocycline are a tad misleading, so I wanted to add my experience. There seems to be a lot of reviews involving side effects for this drug, and I hope that doesn't deter someone from trying it. The amount of people who experience side effects from a drug are a small minority, and those who have a positive reaction usually don't take the time to review products on acne websites any longer, so it's likely that the reviews are negatively skewed. And personally, this medication worked wonders for my moderate/severe acne. After trying tons of over-the-counter acne systems and products, Minocycline was the only thing to keep my skin consistently clear, so I believe it's certainly worth trying if you're dealing with persistent skin problems. That being said, every person reacts to drugs differently, so if you choose to try Minocycline, you should follow the directions of your doctor and carefully monitor your health for any adverse effects.
March 12, 2011
Pros:
None
Cons:
-Didnt clear my acne
-Wasted my time because it did nothing
I had really bad acne and my doctor put me on this for like 3 months and nothing happened. My acne just continued as normal. After reading other reviews I feel lucky because i recived very little side affects from this drug. I fell like it wasted my time because I ended up going on accutane. I heard very little storys of success with this drug from a few peers and reviews on line. Now my acne is clear from accutane but i feel like this drug helped delay the clearing of my skin.
January 17, 2011
Product used: Solodyn (Oral Antibiotic)
Pros:
see results within a few days
clears up larger acne
Cons:
leaves skin a little flaky
I went to see a dermatologist a few days ago because I'm one of the many people that have tried almost everything and I knew it was time to turn to a pro. I'm 18 and I've suffered from acne for 5 years. I've used Proactiv, Murad, and Philosophy and nothing worked. When I went to the doctor, he gace me solodyn to take once a day and he also has me using differin at night and benzoyl peroxide in the morning. After 3 days, I already see a difference. And by the way, I'm the kind of person who wakes up in the morning and has 2-3 new pimples everyday. I hate to see people complain when they get one like every 3 months. That's just annoying. So with this new stuff that I'm using, I'm very happy with what I'm seeing. The benzoyl peroxide dries my face out a little, but then again, that stuff always does. The differin is wonderful. I feel like as soon as I put it one, it starts working. And I feel like the solodyn is the true factor in my results. I love it and I hope that it continues to work. As for the drying out, I just use Neutrogena oil free lotion a few times a day and it makes it better. I highly recommended solodyn and I even recommend the benzoyl peroxide and differin to go with it. Acne is not fun and I know how much it can lower your self esteem. Just have faith and try these products. Good Luck!
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
June 17, 2011
Pros:
Clears up red, inflamed acne
Cons:
Acne came back worse after discontinued use
Makes hair extremely greasy
Dairy consumption limited
Takes WAY too long to even start working
I've been taking these damn pills since late April and only saw minimum results until late May. It did manage to clear some of my big zits and small bumps, but after finishing my 2 1/2 month cycle, a week later, my acne came back with a VENGEANCE. I started breaking out in places I haven't broke out before. The Retin-A I was taking with the Minocycline also seemed to lose it's effectiveness after a month. And to top it all off, it left my hair EXTREMELY greasy, like I could squeeze all the grease out of my hair and use it to fry up some french fries... That greasy. So daily-washing is a must. Plus, I'm a growing boy, I NEED MY CHEESE AND MY MILK, waiting two hours before and after taking the pill to eat dairy products is too much of a hassle for me. It may clear your acne, but if I were you, and my dermatologist told me I was going to be taking these pills, I'd ask for something different.
August 14, 2010
Pros:
Cheap. Only $10 per month's supply.
can see a difference within first few days.
reduced redness
Only thing that has worked for me.
Cons:
Some times get bad headaches.
Got thrush from it. :( :(
I wish i tried this earlier & saved a tonne of money. I am 24 years old and have battled moderate acne since i was 14. I am a total health freak so I am against taking drugs or strong medications which is why it took me so long to finally try it. I normally get 3-5 zits on my face. I never had 1 day without a zit before so over time i got used to having a few zits on my face and didn't worry too much about it since it was not severe and i kept thinking that it would go away over time. Then at 23.. a year ago I started developing more cystic acne and i started to develop acne on my chest & neck. I have tried benzoyl peroxide, sacrylic acid, tea tree oil and have bought alot of expensive brand name products from chanel to clinique to dermatologica products in the past and none of them have worked. My advice is to Save your money. Those expensive products do not work.
I finally got minocycline. Within the first 3 days i already noticed a difference in my skin. I am very pale and always have alot of redness on my face. Within the first 3 days i noticed my redness on my face has reduced alot. I am so happy that i can walk outside without needing make-up to cover my redness. I used to get people staring at me in public because my face was always pink. lol I am on my 3rd week of using it right now so it's still early days but I have not had any newly zits form on my face since i started using it. I am very happy with it. I do get strong headaches at night once every few days. I am having one right now. It seems to come randomly once every few days. I think every one should try this if you have mild to moderate acne instead of trying over the counter products and wasting your time and money trying them. I know there is some bad reviews here about the side effects but You can always stop using this if the side affects hit you. there is nothing to lose by trying this out. If you have severe acne.. i would probably suggest something stronger like accutane.
May 31, 2010
Pros:
Major improvements in my skin after the first week of use and thereafter
Cons:
Extreme nausea for the first 2 weeks of use
This has been my miracle drug in my teen years and also during my first year of grad school. I was recently prescribed Yasmin in combination with minocycline to help with my severe cystic acne and this combination has worked wonders for me. The first 2 weeks of taking minocycline was literally hell for me. I was completely debilitated every time I took the recommended dosage (2X daily) which gave me severe nausea attacks. Some days my nausea was so bad I wasn't able to get up and go to school and my appetite was suppressed quite a bit because I wasn't feeling well. I went back to the doctor and said that this drug is completely incapacitating me but she said that it is one of the side effects but as my body gets used to it, the nausea will eventually go away. Thankfully by the 2nd week my nausea attacks were gone and my face was starting to improve noticeably. 8 months later, my skin has improved by 95% and my mild breakouts come along with my monthlies, which is quite normal for me. If you are someone who has hit rock bottom and you have nothing to lose because your face is in the worst condition it has ever been, please give this drug a try. It has helped me during the worst possible time in my life and it might help you. Everyone reacts differently to treatments and I can only speak from my own experience but it might just work for you too.
Pros:
-cleared up my severe acne relatively quickly
-noticeable results in 2-3 weeks
-all of the large bumps I had around my jawline reduced in size in a week or so
-the pills are small, easy to take