This morning I woke up to swollen lips and intensely itchy skin.
I’m developing hives not only on my thighs and torso, but now my face, too.
So what are all these symptoms caused by?
Why an allergic reaction to the drug Minocin, of course. It’s an antibiotic prescribed for acne that I have just started taking again to help my skin.
Why am I so disappointed?
Because it seems I am allergic to it, and it was the only medication out there that cleared my skin up. Considering it may be life-threatening to continue treatment with it, I’m now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I started taking it last year, and miracle of miracles it actually cleared my skin up. For the first time ever I wasn’t breaking out; my face was actually healing and I had nothing to pick at. I got compliments all the time, though people couldn’t figure out what had changed about me. I felt confident enough to reduce my makeup usage, and even go bare-faced on occasion. It felt incredible knowing that little pustules of grossness were no longer growing on my face and marring my complexion.
But after about 3-4 months of it, I started developing a bad case of hives. They were so itchy and uncomfortable, and just about everywhere on my body, and I was going nuts. Not long after there was an evening where my throat closed up a little, much like during allergies, or a cold or asthma. Then I started waking up with swollen lips and face, and my skin took on a blue tinge on occasion.
By this point I was getting pretty concerned, so I booked an appointment with my derm and started researching Minocin and its side effects. Suffice to say, it sounds like I was allergic to it (or something). The derm confirmed this.
I stopped taking it, and also stopped tanning (which I had been doing at the same time) and everything eventually cleared up. But boy, am I ever frustrated. My zits came back in full force, and I had the hives a couple of times again… months after the medication had left my system (Derm said it takes about a week) which leads me to think I may have been reacting to some other irritant at the time. (I have a lot of allergies).
So I decided to give it another go. Summer is coming up, and I can’t wear a lot of makeup in the heat. I would love to be able to go bare-faced all summer long. But it looks like that might not be happening anytime soon After just 2 Minocin pills, I am experiencing all my symptoms again, in record time. I am hoping it’s just a psychological response (I’m worried about the symptoms and the worry is being channeled into a manifestation of the symptoms… a self-fulfilling prophesy) but I can’t be too sure.
I am afraid that if I continue taking the meds that I will go into anaphylactic shock at some point (not to mention being itchy like crazy!) but I am also unwilling to give them up in the hopes that my skin will clear up, and my body is just retarded and will get used to the meds. Stupid, I know. But I’m desperate.
I think what I am going to do is take another pill tonight and see if my symptoms worsen. If they do, then I’ll reconsider it. In the meantime I’m going to set up another appointment with the derm and do some research. I want to see if there is anything else out there that will help me. My hygiene is exactly as it should be, I take birth control for my skin, and there’s no way that I can take Accutane.
My options are pretty limited.
To anyone reading this that has suffered with acne, what worked for you? What meds should I ask my doctor about? I’m at my wit’s end with this.
7 responses to “Bitter Disappointment”
Your blog’s layout is amazing. And I love your post, always full of good information. 🙂
I used to breakout all the time and couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. Then I read an article about skincare and changed my routine which resulted in my skin being a thousand times better!
My routine is…
At night – use a makeup remover (my fav is neutrogena makeup remover face wipes) then I wash my face with cetaphil liquid cleanser and then apply mosturizer.
Morning – Just splash lukewarm water on my face a couple of times and apply mosturizer. It might not work for you but it has done wonders for me!
Hi Ginger,
First, I’m so excited to find another Toronto personal finance blogger! Yah!
I’ve also had long-term acne problems. After consulting with a dermatologist, six years ago I started taking Diane-35, which is licensed in Canada as acne medication but is also a birth control pill. It took a good six months to reach full effect, but the difference was night and day. It controls the production of androgens — male sex hormones — which tend to contribute to skin problems.
A year ago, I also started using ProActiv, in an attempt to take care of the last occasional zit. I highly recommend the product… although you don’t need as much as they try to sell you — I’ve changed my frequency to one pack every 3 months, which has been more than enough. (The company tries to send you product every 6 weeks.) Recently, ProActiv’s introduced a standard Canadian price of $19.95 plus shipping, which is a huge improvement over before, where the price was dependent upon the current currency conversion rate from USD.
If I was in your position, though, and hadn’t yet started using Diane-35, I’d consult with a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, and also go for electrodermal testing to see if food sensitivity was causing my acne. Although Diane’s been effective for me, I can’t stop it easily: I’ve tried a couple times now, and my acne returns twice as bad as it was before. I would have to stop using it before I could go to a TCM doctor; thus, for you, now might be a good time.
I also need to find a solution to not using Diane because I’m worried about what I’ll do when I want to become pregnant — I don’t look forward to suffering through the months of crappy skin.
Of course, it’s possible that neither Diane nor ProActiv nor TCM would work for you, but hey, maybe they will.
Good luck — I’ve been there, and it sucks, but eventually you’ll find a solution.
Auburn Kat: Thanks for sharing your regime with us! I hear Cetaphil is pretty good, I know my doc recommends it for a lot of people.
Rachel: What a detailed response! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve actually been on Diane-35 for many years (I have hormonal acne), and have tried Proactiv as well. Unfortunately it does not contain enough Benzoyl Peroxide to really help anything other than minor acne 🙁 I do love the sulpher face mask though!
Maybe I should look into Chinese medicine, I’ve never even thought about it before. I wonder how it would help? Do you take herbs and stuff, or apply creams?
Like I said, I’ve tried just about everything out there aside from Accutane. Creams, lotions, drugs of every variety, switching up products and routines, herbal supplements… you name it I’ve done it!
The only thing that has worked so far has been a combination of Diane-35, Minocin and Clindasol cream 🙁
Fingers crossed that I’m not actually allergic to minocin and can continue…
Persagel by Clean&Clear has 5% benzoyl peroxide and only costs $7.99 at shoppers drug mart.
Just make sure you wear a light, high SPF sunscreen everyday like Ombrelle that won’t make you breakout.
Also, Diane-35 is not recommended for long term use as it can cause blood clots, and so my doctor recomends Yasmin.
And lastly… gently blot your skin with a clean towel after washing your face as opposed to rubbing.
Hope that helps!
It's been the same reason why I always make sure that I had taken it via skin test to avoid problems that might be a threat to my health. It's not easy to deal with those toxins and as well it cause you a really big trouble.
My recent post what are pustules
It's normal to feel such disappointment yet don't eve lost hope. You can best deal with your acne if you have all the necessary information and an expert with you. Information will always give you a great idea.
My recent post Acne24.Net