Acne medications - my personal review of 10 of them

[1-Cent]

Benzoyl peroxide + Retinoic Acid

Dose/Duration: Applied AM & PM for over a year
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: No
Side Effects: Dry skin
Effect on acne: Minimal but some
Bottom line: Get some if your acne isn't bad or you want to try something OTC first.

B5

Dose/Duration: 10,000mg /day for 4 months
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: No
Side Effects: None
Effect on acne: None
Bottom line: Waste of money

Dalacin + Desquam cream

Dose/Duration: Applied AM & PM for ~2 years
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Treatment
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: Dry skin
Effect on acne: Minimal
Bottom line: I used this cream when I was younger, a pharmacist made it up for me, it helped some by drying out the applied area.

Pro-Active solutions

Dose/Duration: Applied AM & PM for 3 months
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: No
Side Effects: Dry skin
Effect on acne: Minimal
Bottom line: Only thing I've ever purchased off an infomercial... it dried out the acne, reduced it a little but didn't do a much better job than simple Oxypads and it's much more expensive. Not worth it.

Tetracycline

Dose/Duration: 500mg 2x a day for 3 months
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: None
Effect on acne: Decrease in acne for 1st month, came back for following 2 months of the treatment until it was discontinued
Bottom line: Waste of time, and not recommended for bodybuilders since its effectiveness is greatly decreased when food is present in the stomach.

Erythromycin

Dose/Duration: 500mg 2x a day for 3 months
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: Upset stomach after taking it
Effect on acne: Minimal
Bottom line: Not much better than Tetracycline, wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Doxycycline

Dose/Duration: 50mg 3x a day - discontinued within a week
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: Made me severly nausous with or without food
Effect on acne: N/A
Bottom line: Didn't agree with my stomach.

Clindamycin

Dose/Duration: 100mg 3x a day
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: None
Effect on acne: Minimal
Bottom line: Wouldn't do it again or recommend it, very little result.

Minocycline

Dose/Duration: 50mg 3x a day for 3-6 months (in progress)
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: Change in skin pigment, makes my skin appear very red.
Effect on acne: Segnificant so far
Bottom line: I was skeptical after so many other anti-biotics have failed to help me but this one has worked very well so far, my skin is 100% clear at the moment and staying that way. I'm about 4 weeks into the treatment right now, I'm perscribed 3 months worth and the Doc told me I could go 6 months if it works for me. Recommended.

Accutane

Dose/Duration: 60mg /day for 6 months, 70mg /day for 6 months, 20mg /day for 3 months
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: Dry skin, cracked/bleeding lips, dry/bleeding nose, dry eyes, severe sensitivity to the sun at high doses, requires monthly blood tests for liver function
Effect on acne: Extremely effective, clears me up with in 1 month and stays that way, a couple months after treatment ends acne often returns but is reduced in severity each time.
Bottom line: Highly recommended to anyone whos tried everything else, but start at a low dose, 70mg was hell for me with the dryness and sun burns, 60mg was tolerable, just finished 20mg a month ago and that was very effective with almost no sides. But its VERY expensive if you do not have a medical plan, I don't know how it works in the states but if you're Canadian its likely it'll be covered, mine was free.

[Hed]

Id like to add to this:

Minocycline (non-generic name, Dynacin)

Dose/Duration: 75mg 2x a day for 3 years (still in progress)
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: None, significantly less oily skin.
Effect on acne: Significant
Bottom line: First acne pill i was ever put on by a dermatoligist. Only thing that works for me constantly. When i stop taking them, within days the oil worsens and acne appears again. Works amazing. I am currently on 100mg pills once a day from a new Dr., and total cost was $32.26 for 30 pills, and thats actual price, not my co-pay(which is $0.00 anyway). Highly reccomended, but get the generic. The Dynacin, the brand name, is extremely expensive. Each 75mg pill for me ended up costing $4.50, and a month supply would be somewhere around $230 for 60 pills. Generic works just as good.


Duac Topical Gel

Dose/Duration: Cream, apply AM and PM after face wash (still in progress)
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: None
Effect on acne: Moderate
Bottom line: Even alone, Duac works well to supress the acne. It didnt work 100% for me, especially on a cycle, but it does aide in keeping the acne under control. It is expensive, at $108.21 for a month tube of it.


Sulfacet R Topical Cream

Dose/Duration: Twice a day, AM and PM, after Duac gel was applied
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Treatment
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: None
Effect on acne: Moderate
Bottom line: Great product, works well with the minocycline pills. Keeps the acne under control. I do seem to run out of it fast though, as not enough is provided in the bottle. Also, you MUST shake it for about 2 minutes before each use, or the active ingredient will not mix before application. Unsure on price, as i do not use it anymore, because it does almost the same thing as Duac.



Tazorac 0.05% Cream

Dose/Duration: Extremely small amount on face at night.
Preventative/Treatment/Both: Both
Perscription: Yes
Side Effects: n/a
Effect on acne: n/a
Bottom line: Effects to come, my new dermatologist put me on this, said it works amazing. I will post results soon.

[houseofpain]

i also have tried everything on that list and swear by accutane. ofcourse you gotta be careful when using it and use it responsibly but the stuff works for sure. the only other thing that worked on that list was tetracycline which only kept the flare ups down. awesome post bro
~HOP

[need2Bbig]

I was under the impression that minocycline greatly decreased protein synthasis, maybe it was just something i heard?

[The Massacre]

Good post although tetracycline has made a DRASTIC change in my skin. I'm not even 1 1/2 months done but its worked great. Now I'm gonna try to run tane at 20mg E3D or something for the KNOCK OUT! I've used tane at 40mg and I wanted to die.

[LeanMeOut]

Great post


I've used basically everything on the list there and agree with you 100% on Accutane & Minocycline are the only two drugs the dermatologist has ever put me on that worked.

[Logan13]

evening primrose oil, try it. it is cheap and the stuff works.

[hugeishuge]

I'm using proactiv right now. It's been working for me, my skin is almost back to normal after 6 years. The first three days were amazing however the daily results have been less noticable since (4 weeks). I've tried other stuff but they were way to harsh on my skin. I would have to use them every other day because of them drying out my skin. My former dermatologist prescribed me retin-A and something else (can't remember) and my skin cracked and bled because of the sides. It was PAINFUL and embarrassing to go through.

[1-Cent]

Yeah I think it depends alot on how sensitive your skin is as to what works for you.

[EastCoaster]

even though this is opinion... its a nice research post...

I say make it a sticky

[mark956101957]

BenzaClyn topical creme works great but is script

[beenie]

A couple additional points to be made are that some of the medications that you took are for cystilic acne, while others are for surface acne. Usually tetracycline, Erythromycin, (which I believe is a generic of the first), and Minocycline, which are all antibiotics are used exclusively for cystillic acne. So, if your acne is surface acne they will have minimal effect.

Accutane, which as you say has seve side effects but is used for both types, but only in severe cases because of these side effects, is very good. For me it solved the problem perminently.

Desquam IS benzoyle peroxide, but with a milder base then the OTC variety. While it requires a presription in the USA. I do not believe that it requres a prescription in Canada.

Another product that you did not mention is Retin-A cream. It is made in .0025% and .005% Works pretty well without the drying. In the USA I think a prescription is reqired for this product. There are some countries where it is not.

[Bryan2]

im suprised retin A didnt do much for you because it has worked wonders for me it is the same chemical as accutane just in a topical form!!!

the peeling skin is the only side effect.

[beenie]

im suprised retin A didnt do much for you because it has worked wonders for me it is the same chemical as accutane just in a topical form!!!

the peeling skin is the only side effect.

Thats right. They are both topical derivatives of vitamin A. I use it for wrinkles (don't tell anyone).

[1-Cent]

im suprised retin A didnt do much for you because it has worked wonders for me it is the same chemical as accutane just in a topical form!!!

the peeling skin is the only side effect.

Yeah so was my doc, creams just don't work for me, they dry out my skin (which I guess is the point) and the acne with it but after each disappears, I get a new one in its place.

[1-Cent]

Just an update on the Minocycline, I had to discontinue because I had a horrible reaction to it. My doc said its a rare condition that can be caused by the drug called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome which for me included symptoms like - swelling, painful & itchy raised red blotches all over the skin like blisters, rash, flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, red eyes, fever. If you need a visual aid to my experiance try here http://www.sjsupport.org/htmldata/reactionphoto_1.html (its not pleasant).

I think I'll leave the original post alone though since the doc said its a very rare complication and hes never personaly seen it caused by Minocycline till now, it did work for the acne... although I'd take back the acne to get rid of SJS

[beenie]

Just an update on the Minocycline, I had to discontinue because I had a horrible reaction to it. My doc said its a rare condition that can be caused by the drug called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome which for me included symptoms like - swelling, painful & itchy raised red blotches all over the skin like blisters, rash, flu-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, red eyes, fever. If you need a visual aid to my experiance try here http://www.sjsupport.org/htmldata/reactionphoto_1.html (its not pleasant).

I think I'll leave the original post alone though since the doc said its a very rare complication and hes never personaly seen it caused by Minocycline till now, it did work for the acne... although I'd take back the acne to get rid of SJS

OMG, did this happen to you recently?

[phwSSJ]

Tazorac works awesome,

tetracycline is a waste of money, it also can stain your teeth yellow!

[phwSSJ]

I got BAD acne all over my body from a series of epiduaral steroid injections for my herniated disk.

My dermatologist prescribed me dynacin (minocyclin)

http://www.dynacin.com/PRESCRIBING/main.html

http://my.webmd.com/drugs/drug-7722-...cline+HCl+Oral

tazorac cream, and duac topical gell but it is really expensive if you dont have good health insurance.

This stuff works awesome.
I have tried almost everything out there and besides acutane, this stuff works the best.
I wasnt prescribed acutane cuz I had spinal surgery and it would have been to hard on my spine.

Also,
dawn liquid soap works really great.
I had some mild acne on my back and shoulders and after using dawn in the shower with a loofa, it went a way.

Keep the dawn away from the genitals though, cuz it will dry you out down there too, and that is not fun!

[playa4933]

if anybody here is a member at outlawmuscle have yall tried the acne anialator(sp?) Looks interesting.

[kman]

Pro active works for me, too many sides with all that other crap..

[phwSSJ]

Pro active works for me, too many sides with all that other crap..

Pro active is a scam!
they get you on the come back!
get some tazorac and duac
and dawn liquid soap.

If you have insurance it is way cheaper, and after you go through one tube of the stuff, you will never need to use it again!

[kman]

works for me, dawn only works for my dishes bro...

[Hed]

phwSSJ, im on tazorac and duac right now also, with 100mg minocycline again. weird, we are on exactly the smae stuff.

[sauceman19]

anyone heard of brevolxyl... its a prescription body wash... cleared up my shoulders nicely