Acne resistance to oral antibiotics...Does it ever "return"?

Hello all, I will try and keep this brief, here's a quick background. ***MY QUESTION IS POSTED BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ MY BACKGROUND INFO***

I am a 26 year old white male, suffering from moderate to severe acne since about the age of 15.

I have used nearly every topical antibiotic, along with twice daily benzoyl peroxide usage. I have also been on FOUR courses of Accutane. Each time it works wonderfully for the first year, then the acne creeps back.

Last December (2010), I had quite a bad break-out of acne. I went on 2 100MG capsules of MINOCYCLINE twice a day.

***THIS WORKED WONDERS***

Within a week or two, my face was clear, and I suppose combined with the topical stuff (Clindamycin Gel, Benzoyl Peroxide), I was almost totally clear WITHOUT Accutane for the first time in my life.
That is, until this past July (2011).

Towards the end of July, I began to break-out with great frequency, and severity. Large, red, scarring cysts. Nothing in my regimen or life had changed, and I was still taking the MINOCYCLINE twice a day, as I had for the past 8 months.
I cannot help but assume that the MINOCYCLINE worked for those 8 months, but that the acne bacteria grew some kind of resistance to it. To reiterate, this was not a brief flare-up over a weekend or two, but a consistent break-out of multiple new lesions sustained over the past month.
I have since been switched to CLINDAMYCIN by my Doctor. I've only been using it for a week, but there has been little to no change in the frequency or severity of the breakouts.

******MY QUESTION*****

MINOCYCLINE has been the only treatment, outside of Accutane, that has cleared my acne so well, for such an extended period of time. I DESPERATELY wish I could go back on it, but if the acne has developed resistance to it, I'm at a loss what to do. Other antibiotics have not seemed to be effective at all.
MY QUESTION IS, is MINOCYCLINE now USELESS for me, forever? Will the bacteria's resistance last for a certain length of time? Or is it permanent now; whatever acne bacteria affects me will no longer be effected by MINOCYCLINE?
Or is there some amount of time that should/must pass, before I can return to the MINOCYCLINE? And if so, how long?

I thank everyone for reading this, and I appreciate any and all feedback and knowledge you may have on the subject. It is most helpful.

-Gordon J

[meniere135]

I can't answer your antibiotic question.  But my daughter who has been through antibiotics, etc would also get recurrence when the antibiotic would stop.  But she was an acne sufferer who was helped by diet.  She went on a gluten free diet for an autoimmune eye reaction related to psoriasis.  Her eyes cleared up in two days and haven't had a problem since (been 7 years).  The acne on her cheeks disappeared at the same time.  Then she had to get off of all cow's milk products for other reasons three years later.  The acne on her nose and along her jawline and back and chest cleared up.  She can't even have butter or else she has a flare up.  Then she went on a low carb diet to help her lose the extra weight she was carrying around.  And the lack of sugar in her diet closed up the open pores on her face.  I've read that acne can have an autoimmune connection or an insulin connection, etc.  My daughter is unusual in that she actually is capable of eating protein, veggies, berries, nuts, almond milk, etc.  If she cheats, and occasionally she does, she can't hide the fact that she did - it shows up on her face.  If you feel up to the task - maybe try food elimination to see if the problem improves or goes away completely.
Or read up on zinc as a replacement for the minocycline - we tried the zinc before the milk free diet and it did work for my daughter - some people it doesn't help.  But the milk had to be removed for other reasons.  I hope this post helps.  Good luck!

[ohcalcutagirl]

hi, try this; go to vitamin store for best price; buy Pro-biotics enough to take 100 BILLION culutures daily x 2 wks, 50 billion daily x 2 wks stop and stay at 25
NOW IF U R TAKING ANY ANTIBIOTICS , separate the time of day by 3 hrs or u will waste both
your immune system is in your gut and has trillions of probiotics but when u take antibiotics they kill off the bad bacteria and ALSO YOUR GOOD FLORA in your gut

AN ADDED benefit is most to all G.I. problems go away also; gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, flatulence, cramps etc.

good luck AND BTW using topical antibiotics doesn't have any effect on the probiotics so u can use all day