Acne Tablets?

dceire

Dose anyone know of any tablets for treating acne, preferably that you can buy over the counter. I heard about some on the Moncrieff show yesterday but can’t remember the name of them.

My acne isnt terrable but its bad enough, I tried some cream stuff and it seemed to work but had bad side effects drying out my skin untill it was really flakey and sore.

Idbatterim

ok first of all where do you have it, and how bad is it? secondly no you cannot get acne medication without a precsription from either your gp or a dermatologist...

Dave!

Some people recommend 'Minocin' tablets. I dunno if they're OTC or prescription though. I personally found them crap, but for mild acne it might be effective. I gather from your post that it's not bad enough to go on Roaccutane (prescription), but if you think it is, then "drying out [your] skin untill it was really flakey and sore" would be the least of your worries in terms of side-effects, so I wouldn't recommend it

Idbatterim

yeah i agree i was put on minocin for about 6 months and it didnt seem to do much. also i would be reluctant to take antibiotics for an extended it can lead to antibiotic resistance and damages your friendly bacteria in your gut, you can replace these with acidophilus however. But id do some research before jumping into anything.

dceire

Idbatterim wrote:

yeah i agree i was put on minocin for about 6 months and it didnt seem to do much. also i would be reluctant to take antibiotics for an extended it can lead to antibiotic resistance and damages your friendly bacteria in your gut, you can replace these with acidophilus however. But id do some research before jumping into anything.

Yea, I think i'll probably pop down to my GP at some stage, I think Minocin tablets were the ones recogmended on moncrieff.

To answer your other question its mainly my face but also my chest and back thats affected. The gel I tried was PanOxyl Acnegel 5 as I said it seemed to work but left my skin very dy and tender.

Dave!

dceire wrote:

Yea, I think i'll probably pop down to my GP at some stage, I think Minocin tablets were the ones recogmended on moncrieff.

To answer your other question its mainly my face but also my chest and back thats affected. The gel I tried was PanOxyl Acnegel 5 as I said it seemed to work but left my skin very dy and tender.

Yeah I used to use that too... It really depends of what type of acne you have, whether you should use that or not. I won't get into too much detail, but just talk to your GP about it If they recommend an anti-biotic, ask if you should continue using the cream simultaneously. I'd say they'll suggest not using it though.

Idbatterim

right, that panoxy gel 5% is asking for trouble, i mean it is seriously harsh! there is no way you wouldnt have dry, chapped and flaky skin, try brevoxyl its a 4% benzoyl peroxide cream far less harsh than panoxyl. How bad is it mild, moderate or severe? For more information check out acne.org...

Attol

My little brother had some acne pills and got a little bit depressed. Nothing major but it did affect his mood. He had some stomach problems such as throwing up and not being able to eat normally. Now he has started having shakes so we're bringing him to the doctor and he's not being given any more tablets until teh doctor has been consulted. He's 16 btw.

Idbatterim

yeah sounds like roaccutane

dceire

I'd say moderate, the pharmacists recommended that PanOxyl to me but what do they know :rolleyes: I might give that stuff you said a try

Idbatterim

yeah seriously, they are probably only trying to help, but on the face that stuff is like a nuke believe me! i always preferred salicylic acid as opposed to bp, its chepaer, doesnt sting or bleach anything. neutrogena do it, its orange in colour and you can get it in boots and other pharmacies as well im sure, google it to see how it works, but it basicly cleans out pores and causes your skin to shed ( stops blockages) now dont worry you wont be able to see it, its nothing on the panoxyl. Clear Pore Wash its called. I definetly wouldnt go near a gp or dermatologist and give him 50 or 60 euro for him to put you on another over the counter cream and then just go back in a few weeks again and get reassesed. Try one or the other, but you have to use either consistenntly for several weeks before judging its effectiveness although it should only take around two weeks to three weeks to see how its working out, as spots take from 2 - 3 weeks to form... If that still dosnt work out then id consider a GP or Derm...

lodgepole

LadyLotts wrote:

My little brother had some acne pills and got a little bit depressed. Nothing major but it did affect his mood. He had some stomach problems such as throwing up and not being able to eat normally. Now he has started having shakes so we're bringing him to the doctor and he's not being given any more tablets until teh doctor has been consulted. He's 16 btw.

It's a serious issue with acne products.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-01-26-accutane-usat_x.htm

andrew163

You can get PanOxyl in 2.5% aswell as 5%. The lower concentration is (apparently) just as good at killing bacteria but without alot of the peeling/flaking/drying/redness/pain (I've been on it [the 5%] before too..).

Also try the Aquagel (water based)... as opposed to AcneGel (alcohol-based)... might be a bit easier on you.. Possibly even consider moving away from that particular brand altogether. I found it to be generally **** to use... started using the Oxy BP cream... while it was more expensive, it was far easier to put on/etc.

And FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD, USE MOISTURISER if youre going anywhere near benzoyl peroxide :eek:


*cough*

I'll return to my corner now..

If you go to the doctor (I had to eventually because I couldn't stand BP much more... bleaching hair, clothes, etc) they'll probably give you antibiotics if you're not severe enough for accutane. They work quite well when used properly. Although their effect wears off after a year or two... but hopefully by then you'll have grown out of it. If not, there's other options.

dceire

Idbatterim wrote:

neutrogena do it, its orange in colour and you can get it in boots and other pharmacies as well im sure,Clear Pore Wash its called. .

Is this the brevoxyl you recogmended or different stuff? If is different which of the two should I go for?

daiixi

Idbatterim wrote:

yeah sounds like roaccutane

Ohmygod! I can't believe they're still prescribing that stuff?! I was on it for about a year and it cleared up my skin (which wasn't that bad in the first place) but also drove my body and my mind mental! My periods went haywire and I was suicidal at one stage. I also ended up with cluster headaches - nonstop headaches 24/7 for about a year with the feeling of sharp knives stabbing into the back of my left eye. Steer clear of Roaccutane! About six months after I stopped taking it there was a news program about a group of youths who had horrible reactions to it and about a couple of youths who had committed suicide.

Although, like I said.. it did work!!!

Attol

Yeah. They clear up the problem but seriously **** you up in so many other ways. I can't believe they can prescribe drugs with so many side effects, and from what I can tell the side effects are quite commom.

Idbatterim

ok they are different, you could try the brevoxyl first and then if that dosnt help which it really should go for the neutrogena salicylic acid wash, i wasnt aware you could get panoxyl in 2.5%, and also if you can use a water based bp over an alcohol based one definetly choose the water based one, it will be far less harsh and cause less irritation and irritation does not help when it comes to spots! But Panoxyl in general seem to be harsh id definetly give Brevoxyl a chance...

Dave!

daiixi wrote:

Ohmygod! I can't believe they're still prescribing that stuff?! I was on it for about a year and it cleared up my skin (which wasn't that bad in the first place) but also drove my body and my mind mental! My periods went haywire and I was suicidal at one stage. I also ended up with cluster headaches - nonstop headaches 24/7 for about a year with the feeling of sharp knives stabbing into the back of my left eye. Steer clear of Roaccutane! About six months after I stopped taking it there was a news program about a group of youths who had horrible reactions to it and about a couple of youths who had committed suicide.

Although, like I said.. it did work!!!

It's certainly harsh stuff, but I've been on it for an unpleasant year and a half at this stage, and while the side-effects certainly SUCK ASS, I've been able to handle it, and it's working quite well, albeit slowly because my derm was afraid to put up the dose for bloody ages.

It's hardcore sh!t, but it's the most effective medicine for serious acne.