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ACNE - Oxytetracycline and 0.1% Differin Cream

I have mild acne that is really embarrassing. It is to the point where I cannot go outside without feeling different and spotty. My face is covered, mainly around the forehead (partly in temples), cheeks, upper lip and chin. My nose seems not to get spotty, but it covered in blackheads. I have no success when it comes to spots, and it is really digging into my confidence.

It got to the severe point that when I'm invited out with friends, instead of asking parents "Are we free?", I take one look in the mirror and that decides whether I'm up and comfortable for my friends to see my current situation with spots.

So, I went to the doctors the week before last. He prescribed to me oxytetracycline (4 times a day; 2 at morning and 2 at night) and 0.1% Differin Cream that I apply on my face every night.

I have been taking the oxytetracycline ever since they were prescribed to me, and don't really see any changes yet. This is the same with the cream, but they appear less red in the morning and more raging towards the evening.

Has anybody else been on these prescriptions? If so, how long does each of them take to work? Like has anybody has success with either oxytetracycline or the Differin Cream? Are there any other things I can do to help treat my acne?

I posted this anonymously because it's embarrassing and I didn't really want my name to be on this post in case my friends see this...

Thank you!

Reply 1

rachel.h

You will have to give your tablets at least 2-3 months to work. ****, I know.

I've been an acne sufferer for 10 years, you can PM me if you want to. I'm sure I know how you feel :smile:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

be awake

First you need to understand that other people dont notice acne as much as you do. They will just notice it as blemishes and not really take note because most people are too busy worrying about themselves. So dont feel so insecure.

For me, with age and a better lifestyle I managed to control acne. It doesn't matter what cream/treatments you do, you are still just attacking the problem externally by preventing the pores from getting blocked etc. The first thing you need to change is your diet and you need to figure out and observe what type of foods cause reactions on your face which are usually sugary, fried and processed foods. and milk sometimes.

In traditional chinese medicine there is a strong link between the skin and the lungs. Do you exercise enough/regularly? What type of environment are you most in?

To fix any health problem you must attack it from all sides - meaning improved diet (eat more greens, fish drink enough water), improved physical condition, improved mental condition. Even if none of these have caused your acne it will still strengthen your body enough for it to get rid of the acne itself.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Thank you for all the replies!

I'm not really a fit energetic person, put I cycle for about an hour a day because of my paper round. I have a 6 pack peering through my belly, but that is mainly because I am stick thin.

Thanks rachel.h, I will take that advice :smile:

Reply 4

SHABANA

Original post by Anonymous

...

I used Oxytetracycline when my previous antibiotic stopped working (Lymecycline). It can take a little while (definitely over a couple of weeks) for it to start working. Mine started working within a month.
I had acne for many years (forehead, temples, chin, cheeks) and I understand how horrible it can be - when you don't want people to see you when you have a particularly bad flare-up, when touching your face hurts etc. I know it may not seem like it, but one day it may just improve on its own. In my experience, the antibiotics do work but they are not a long-term solution as you have to keep taking them.

I stopped taking my Oxytetracycline around 2 years ago because my acne had calmed down and I had also been taking it for too long. Instead, I use Quinoderm face wash when I think my skin is starting to break out, and daily I use my normal face wash and twice a week I use quite a rough exfoliator.

So do not lose hope, use the antibiotics and in the mean time take extra care over your skin as the main thing you want to work on is not scarring your skin. I know you are not supposed to 'pop' spots but sometimes you have those big horrid ones that you need to get rid of. The only reason my skin scarred was when I would try to squeeze them out and not all of it would come out and it would come back time and time again. The better way I have found is to put tea tree oil on them and calamine lotion. I did this repeatedly until it came to a head/seemed like it had dried out a bit. The most effective way I have found of getting all the rubbish out is by using the curved end of a bobby pin.

Time-line wise this is how I treated my acne:
Ages 14-16: using stupid off-the-shelf stuff like oxyclean, only got worse if anything!
Prescribed Benzoyl Peroxide which was awful, did not treat my acne, caused hyper-pigmentation which I still have
16-20: Antibiotics
20-23 (now): tea tree oil, freederm spot cream, calamine lotion, quinoderm face wash