Is my $$$ Doryx ever gonna work?

[enola]

Hi, I have suffered from mild to moderate acne for about 8 years. Mostly just regular pimples with a big painful cyst about 2x a year or so. However my acne took a turn for the worse about 9 months ago and it has gotten quite severe.  Tired of feeling constantly embaressed I went to a dermatologist months ago where i was prescribed 100mg Doryx and Triaz 6%pads.  My derm, although very nice, doesnt speak the most fluent english but i thought he said my skin should begin to clear in 6 weeks. And it would probably get worse before better.  Well 9 weeks latter and hundreds of dollars poorer I have seen NO improvement.  I refrained from poping these puss filled lumps for so long but now im giving in. I cant take it.  They dont heal at all -yet if  I let the puss ooze out they seem to heal up in several days.  Its amazing how quicky a pimple can surface but how long it takes to disapear.  Every day i awake with new pimples. My face looks probably the worse ever and i have wasted so much money. I dont leave my room much anymore and when i do i constantly look toward the ground in embaresment.  Its awful to see customers at work staring at my skin out of the corner of my eye. Im misrable.  My next dermatologist meeting isn`t for a month. Should i make an apointment sooner? Think my dosage will be bumped up from 100mg 2x a day or will i be given something that actually works? My mother also had very bad acne when she was younger. If this treatment might never help then id like to stop spending all this money. Any tips to help my treatment would be much apreciated.

[WGS]

Hi:

I have just been diagnosed with folliculitis and my dermatologist has prescribed me to take Doryx (100mg q 12hrs) for eight weeks.  Other than the price of the medication being ridiculous-is 8 weeks too long to take antibiotics?  I have always heard that long use of antibiotics will break down any resistance your body may have against other microbes.

Signed
Concerned WGS

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Doryx is a brand-name of doxycycline.  It's less likely than generic to cause stomach upset, but is much pricier.  This drug is a reasonable choice, but if any treatment hasn't worked in 2-3 months, it's time to try something else.  There are many options, several of them generic.  You should share your financial concerns with your doctor.  However, you absolutely must leave them alone, no matter how much you hate them.  Squeezing them always makes pimples look worse and last longer.

Acne treatment can be lengthy and frustrating, but there are enough medications available now that anyone can be successfully treated, you included.

Please follow through with your dermatologist, or choose another if you feel you can't communicate.  Don't give up, and don't squeeze.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff