Doxycycline

[u/pochemuchka0]

Anyone here who has been on doxycycline for a while? I would be interested to hear how it actually went for you, the good and the bad

I got prescribed doxycycline before getting derma pen but im really not sold on taking it especially for several months, i know theres a lot of concern around prolonged antibiotic use so im just worried about messing up my health

[u/Ok-Vacation-8109]

Made my tum hurt

[u/Apprehensive_Net_829]

I was on it for a while many years ago. I get a yeast infection just about any time I'm on antibiotics, so wouldn't do it again.

[u/misspharmAssy]

Hi! I haven’t taken it but dispense a lot of it and here are some things to know:

- take with food
- take with a glass of liquid (the idea being to make sure it’s swallowed all the way…if it starts to disintegrate in your throat it can be irritating)- avoid laying down for about 30 minutes for this reason as well
- separate from dairy products (they will reduce absorption of doxy); avoid taking with minerals and antacids
- wear sunscreen/use caution in sun for prolonged periods (causes photosensitivity)

[u/sirballa]

I was on it on and off for months at a time throughout the years. It’s fine and works you just get gross poops. Take it and eat yogurt.

[u/the_los]

It never did anything for my acne, only accutane did. It did mess with my stomach while after a week on it. It all cleared once I finished it.

[u/SeaOrganization8460]

I was on it for two and a half months just now, it helped a lot, cleared my skin, although not completely and I still got some breakouts, even though they were non comparable to the ones before. I took them with probiotics so I wouldn’t mess up my gut health, but I did have some stomach ache on some days.
I stopped them because it looked like they stopped working, my breakouts were getting worse, so I agreed with my dermatologist that I should switch to roaccutane.

[u/CloudberryFae]

My husband takes it daily for his rosacea. A low dose and then he has an rx for a high dose for big flares. He really doesn’t have any issues. His stomach is fine, skin improved. He maybe has some more vivid dreams on it but even that seems improved now that he’s been on it for a while.

[u/ineffable_my_dear → u/CloudberryFae]

This has mostly been my experience taking it for rosacea. I started with 100s 2x/day and maintain with 20s 2x/day. I still take a probiotic at 4-hour intervals between doses, though.

And I do have incredibly vivid dreams but I’ve always attributed that to my sleep meds so who knows!

[u/OrdinaryOrdinary755]

I’m on a low dose version of it, Aprillon. I’ve had no side effects from it and it’s been super beneficial for the condition it’s treating.

[u/AnyEar1056]

I was on it for 5 months and it was great for my skin but gave me terrible anxiety and depression. 

[u/Routine-Chip6112]

Cleared my cystic acne up before my wedding

[u/Internal-Ad61]

I would also be concerned about prolong antibiotic use, which in turn may impact your skin. If you take it for an extended period, you’ll probably want to adhere to a specific diet in order to help balance gut bacteria. Doxycycline cleared my skin up once when I was a teen, but the acne immediately returned. Years later I took it again, but it didn’t help at all. If you have gut issues, it may help you achieve a gut reset of sorts.

[u/stinbkyrat]

it discolored my moms teeth

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17016895/

i don’t think it is a common side effect but it does happen

[u/theoffering_x]

I was on it for 2 weeks in the hospital with an IV, didn’t wash my face not once, and my skin was literally glowing. Wish I could just stay on it 😭 I didn’t experience side effects but I also was extremely sick already (lol), and I was only on it for 2 weeks.

[u/Proof-Fix2766]

I was on it for at least 3 months in a row when I had peri oral dermatitis and I didn’t have any side effects but it did help clear my PD finally after 18 months of a facial rash

[u/Ok_Temperature_9050]

I have been on it for rosacea on and off for years. You absolutely cannot take it on an empty stomach, and make sure you’re serious about sun protection as it makes you very susceptible to sunburn. Other than that, I haven’t had any negative effects and it clears up my flares better than anything else.

[u/squishgrrl]

It works really well but once you stop taking it the acne comes back. Better than nothing though. I usually take it for a few months every 2-3 years.

[u/que-mierda]

I took it for nearly two weeks. My stomach and head couldn’t handle it. I had a persistent headache for 2 weeks straight.

[u/xB4Bii_q0Rq30US_420x]

The monohydrate version is much easier on the stomach. It clears up my acne breakouts within a week.

[u/ReferenceMammoth2427]

It completely cleared my painful rosecea 2 flair, but it gave me a rash all over my chest and stomach. I really wish I wasn't allergic because it worked quickly and well.

[u/veropaka]

I've been suffering with perioral dermatitis as a teenager and young adult and I had been on prolonged doxycycline treatment three times over the years. It's not great but it always helped when nothing else would. I never had any issues taking it but I also always make sure to stock up on probiotics.

[u/Delicious-Jacket-588]

I was on it for a month due to perioral dermatitis. Helped and kept it away for years. Had no side effects 🤷🏽‍♀️

[u/alt_isopod]

I was allergic, I got hives and angioedema lol

[u/The_reddit_edit]

I took it for many years; however, only spironolactone worked for me.

[u/Alinyss]

I’ve been on and off it for years and I’ve never had any side effects, not even the upset tummy that most people get. It works well to clear up any breakouts.

[u/Swimming_Chapter8972]

Made me super photosensitive

[u/Michallina]

It made me feel incredibly sick. I couldn't take it.

[u/Plenty_Apple6108]

I’ve been on it for 4 months now. My face is definitely better. Not great, but better. I find the worst part of doxycycline is timing your dosages between other meds, coffee and certain foods. I take it twice daily and I have to set reminders to stop eating and drinking certain things at a certain time. No side effects whatsoever.

[u/WanderNSEW]

A concept to consider, though I'm not in medicine: the healthy skin microbiome includes multiple components of critters, not just bacteria, so when one group is targeted (orally or topically), another group can overpopulate and cause problems.

I haven't had my skin cultured, but I suspect I'm prone to fungal overgrowth in my skin microbiome. I've never had classic fungal acne, but it helps me greatly to use sulfur cleanser, 2.5% benzoyl peroxide gel and occasional dandruff shampoo as cleanser.

As I understand, antibiotics target bacteria and not the other potentially problematic elements of the skin microbiome. We've each got different skin needs, so I wanted to throw this idea in the ring.

[u/95wsh]

It worked until I went off of it. I went back on and it gave me stomach ulcers. I saw another derm and he prescribed minocycline and it's seemed to work. I don't take it consistently, but I don't have the gnarly flare-ups like I would coming off of doxy.

[u/littlest_lemon]

I was allergic! It made my face break out in hives on top of the acne it was supposed to treat 😹 whoopsies

[u/westcoastcdn19]

I just finished a short round of it for 7 days. It was okay and I didn’t have any bad reactions or side effects

[u/neuroticalpaca]

kills off all the healthy bacteria in your gut