To not want to take long-term antibiotics for my acne?

[Butterflyy]

I'm in my 20s and have acne on my chin. It's the painful under the skin acne where my whole chin area feels bruised and inflamed. I've been using adapalene for around a year and it worked quite well up until around a month ago. I've also tried topical antibiotics alongside the adapalene which worked well for the 30 days or so I was applying the topical antibiotics.

I spoke to my GP and they prescribed oral antibiotics (lymecycline) for 3-6 months. I feel quite anxious about taking antibiotics for that long and I'm worried about the side effects. I have IBS and recently have been having some flare-ups that have made me feel nervous when leaving the house, so I'm nervous to take something that could potentially make things even worse.

I'm not sure what to do. Do I just take them or could I ask for an alternative? I've looked at the clinical guidelines for acne and I'm not really sure what other options I have. I don't want to take the contraceptive pill due to an underlying health condition I have being contraindicated with it

Does anyone have any advice or experience with taking antibiotics for acne?

DS took Lymecycline for a few years but your body gets used to it. Next line is trimethoprim but they are much harsher on the stomach than lymecycline which never gave any issues.
i took minocycline as a 21 yr old as my acne flared up at uni. After a few months it sorted itself out, but it was def worth it. No problems with stomach (and mine is quite sensitive).

Agree. Every time I came off antibiotics the acne just came back. In the end I pushed to be referred to dermatology for roaccutane. It changed my life!

I was on oxytetracycline antibiotic for years as it was the only thing that worked besides Dianette (co-cyprindol). Now my husband has had the snip and Dianette contraceptive is no longer needed I wanted to go back on the antibiotic and the new doctor said no. She gave me a cream. A useless fucking gel. I'm now in my 40's, pissing about with a fishy smelly, sticky gel all over my face every day and still getting painful spots everywhere on my face and upper body.
I'd say try the antibiotics. They're very, very mild and usually work a treat.

I took Lymecycline for years in my 20s and 30s. It worked quite well for me and I had zero side effects.

I took this type of antibiotics for acne rosacea. Its a very low dose as you go on them for a long time. You could take a probiotic with them to help your tummy.

Hey OP, had to hop on to echo others, Lymecycline is fab and there’s no worries with being on for a while, I’ve been on and off it for years for my skin condition which flares up every 18 months or so.
it has a lovely side effect of making my skin look absolutely glowing, after about a month!
one thing, when you take it, after a few mins if you burp you’ll get a gross taste but that’s literally the only thing. Also you cannot get pregnant on it so be careful with contraception. Good luck and enjoy the benefits, it’s so so effective

I had a course of antibiotics - I think six months? - for acne when I was a teenager. That was 30-odd years ago now so I can't remember what the exact drug was, but I do remember that I didn't have any side effects and that they really did help with my acne. I would consider taking them again if I were in the same situation. I used to get really sore, cystic spots on my chin, forehead and around the kind of 'sideburn' area of my face, and also a lot on my upper back. After the antibiotics it was nowhere near that bad - I had the odd ordinary surface zit like any teenager would get, but not full-on chronic acne, so the medication really did make a difference.

I currently take Lymecycline for a skin condition (HS) and have found that they really help to keep my HS under control. I've been on them for about 12 months and haven't noticed any side effects. I used to get slightly nauseous when I first started taking them but that has gone now.

I used to take Oxytetracycline but they gave me a bad belly all the time

3-6 months really isn't THAT long. You should trust your doctor. If they cause you too many bad side effects you can just discuss it with your doctor about stop taking them.

DD was prescribed epiduo gel and doxycycline which worked beautifully at first but then the acne returned. She tends to have long term blemishes after. She has fairly oily skin so we tried a herbal face wash from our local Indian store called Himalaya purifying face scrub. Very cheap and you can order on eBay, Amazon or iHerb. Seems to be working very well for her and the acne seems to be clearing up as well as the blemishes.

I’m in my 50s and have been taking lymecycline to deal with Acne that’s started a couple of years ago - it’s worked well for me, but the acne comes back if I stop taking them. No side effects that I have noticed

I took dianette from age 18 to 33 when I finally grew out of acne. The antibiotics cleared it for a while but it always came back and they don't work as well a second time.

I would feel uncomfortable too. Long term use of antibiotics is terrible for your gut bacteria. I would recommend taking the 12 week course of Simprove which grows the useful bacteria back. I took it after I’d had to go on multiple courses of antibiotics for recurrent UTIs and it improved my digestion and general health.

Also, I had awful acne all through my 20s until a year and a half ago (I’m 28 now). I went through all the treatments suggested by the dr including oral and topical antibiotics and nothing worked. They refused to give me roacutane.

In the end I read on here about a £20 monthly online subscription dermo called Dermatica and thought fuck it, I’ve tried everything else. I sent pictures of my skin and they made up a formula for me. My skin totally cleared up. I now only get a tiny spot on my chin if I’ve forgotten to put the treatment on for a week when I’m on holiday or something.

I really recommend you try it!

I had horrible cycstic acne for years all round my chin and jaw that started in my late 20s when I came off the pill. I never went to the GP but tried a ridiculous different amount of products.
Eventually signed up for skin + me and got a cream with tretinoin in which completely cleared it up after about 6 weeks! I’m still using it now but can’t believe the difference. It’s £20 a month but they do intro offers for £3.50 I think.

I take that exact antibiotic. Honestly take them. They’re really not at all inflammatory for the gut, and help a lot. I don’t take anything alongside them, but I do use azelaic acid cream (it’s prescribed because it’s 20%) at night only and use a heavy duty sunscreen all the time.

PS I’m nearly 40 and take them for type 2 rosacea - so yeah, still waiting for my skin to clear up!

All the skin stuff people are suggesting is fine, but so disheartening and expensive when ultimately you’re just left with a skincare regime that is ok but doesn’t clear up the acne.

This. It's snake oil. These companies flogging skin care creams at huge prices are taking advantage of young people. If it was that simple your doctor would know.

I had this in my late thirties. They were so painful I sometimes couldn't eat or smile or even talk without it hurting.

I took antibiotics for over a year which I wasn't happy about and tried topical antibiotics along with many other prescribed lotions and potions. Nothing really worked for me, or at least, not for very long.

Eventually went to see a consultant who put me on Roaccutane and I never had another one since. It was the only thing that worked for me and I wish I'd done it earlier as I've got done quite bad scarring on my chin now.

I took them for years, from 14 to 50, fortunately my skin has finally sorted itself out (menopause maybe?)
My brother is in his 70s and still has acne occasionally.
What I am trying to say is that taking the antibiotics is the best thing that I have ever done, it was years before I routinely looked people in the face while speaking to them.
Illogical I know, but subconsciously I felt that if I couldn't see the other person's face, they couldn't see mine, and this was just one issue, the acne was on my back and arms, so I had was limited in what I wore.
Acne ruined my early teens, and also my twenties and beyond, because I still felt dirty and ugly.

Antibiotics changed my life

Please give them a go, it's got to be worth a try 😊

I can sympathise with your concern. Oral antibiotics were the only thing that helped. I was in them for about 4 years. I decided to come off them as I'd developed a treatment resistant thrush that was agonising and had grown v lethargic following a virus, so run down that i thought i might have post viral fatigue. I came off them and went on a "candida diet" for a few months. I then used prescribed ointments for several years. More lately my skin is ok-ish i will have periods of months with chest skin (rosacea but no spots) then I'll get a spot that lives for months. But i find niacinamide kills them pretty quick, then my skin just takes ages to heal.

I also take lymecycline for the same under the skin massive boil type spots just on my chin that used to throb and be so sore but after a few weeks of taking this its all gone and not come back. I hope I can take it forever!!!!

My teen ds was on antibiotics for 6 months about a year ago (think was doxycycline). He had really bad cystic acne all over his nose it looked really bad. The antibiotics cleared them all after a few months. I was worried they would return when he stopped taking them. He has had the odd spot but the huge cysts haven’t returned. Didn't have any side effects.

Did nothing for me when I took them as a teenager - and I built up a resistance to each one in turn after taking them for so long.
I’m now in my late 20’s, and after avoiding hormonal birth control for years, I finally relented and went onto the Lucette combined pill last year. Since then, my skin has been the best it’s ever been. I get the odd small spot in my chin during my pill break, but nothing compared to what I used to deal with.

I'd take it. I had awful acne and the antibiotics cleared it up permanently. I didn't have any side effects. I'd want it for my DC if they get out of control acne.

If you can afford it, pay for a private dermatology appointment to discuss your options. Laser therapy is great for acne scaring and combined with a six month course of antibiotics and appropriate skin care will work.wonders. If you take anti biotics with a probiotic supplement you.will avoid gut issues. Roacutaine is really very unpleasant. Try to avoid that!