Here's my story i'm a 25 year old asian male with mild to moderate but persistent acne on my face. Now on my back I also get acne although they are never anything big, but over the years they have left black marks..yuck. My face gets really oily if I don't wash it during the middle of the day. Most of the oil is produced on the forehead and nose region ( T-Zone). I use to have clear skin until around 18 years old just when I started college. Although my acne is persistent i've never had cyst problems once in a great while I'll get a cyst but they normally go away pretty quickly. Most of my break outs are small whiteheads/blackheads and I believe what they call papules (small little sand paper like patches of acne). Currently the region on my face that is infected are my forehead/temple region and jawline/lower cheeks although they aren't to visible. I went to the Derm. and he put me on Doxycycline twice a day..one pill in the morning and one at night...and at night before i head to bed i apply tazorac. I started treatment on March 14th, 2003 so i'm three weeks into it. After the first week of taking my medication my lips started to get real dry and chappy to the point where it was flaky and breaking. Now I know one of the side effects of Accutane was dry lips but is it the same for Doxycycline?? Also my skin started to get dry but I do use a moisturizer (Curel). Currently i've seen some improvement but I do get an occasional new pimple but they start to dry out after a day or two..so maybe the medication is working and i'm getting a somewhat small break out before the clearing really starts. My lips are a little dry but is no where near being chappy and flaky. I've noticed that dark spots that are left where a pimple use to be are peeling off. Is this a sign of the medication working?? The only marks left on my cheeks are a few of these dark spots but as I rub around there i can still feel small bumps. well anyways I'll keep you guys posted on my treatment and see how things go. Good luck to all who are suffering socially from this agonizing disease....

It's been Five days since I started this journal but so far my acne is under control...I dont have any new breakouts. It just seems that the pimples and zits I had on my face when I started this treatment turned into small white heads but quickly disappeared. Marks that were left on my face from past acne are actually peeling off my skin..I feel Like a snake shedding old skin. Currently there is just a couple extemely small not very noticable white heads on my forehead close to my hair line. There's only a few bumps around my jawline. Other than that my skin feels really smooth compared to when i first started. Tazorac is working great...I don't know if I should be doing this but during the day time I use it as spot treatment in certain areas of my face. Seems to be working fine and no harsh side affects. April 14th would be my first full month on this treatment....hopefully the positive progress continues...seeya in a few days..

How many milligrams of doxycycline are you on?

WEll today is exactly one month since I started my treatment. I have to say my skin is way improved over what it was before treatment. I did have an initial breakout around the second week but it was nothing to bad it was mostly small bumps around the forehead/temple and jawline...all of which are clearing up or have cleared up...I am using Burt Bee's facial cleanser and exofliate and that has helped improve my skin also...and i've only been using those products for 3 days. I know it's kinda soon but my face is really smooth and supple where before it was dried or oily. Plus my skin tone is really evening out..Currently my skin have yet to develop new zits..it seems like the ones that are on my face already just develops into whiteheads but go away pretty quickly..in fact this morning I had two whitehead and I used Burt's exfoliate and facial cleanser and they just went away with no marks or skin bleeding....nice stuff.....i'll post again in a few days or so..but any question feel free to ask...

Well it's been five weeks since I started my treatment...my forehead area seems to be alot smoother there are just a couple of bumps but way better than a bunch of mini bumps across the forehead. The only problem area is my left temple area...a small cluster of bumps( about 5) but they're flattening out. My jawline did breakout a few big ones but they're disappearing..my cheek are is clear and the spots are peeling off. Overall things are looking bright and hopefully continue so until i'm fully cleared...any question feel free to ask

I still feel the tazorac is digging up junk. I used neutrogena on the spot bp to dry out a few...now I have dry red spots!! I can't win ! Plus I'll bet a dollar the pimple is still under there somewhere--lurking and waiting for another chance. I still use it for about 5 - 10 (just increased) minutes before washing face at night. I do like it I guess, but was feeling clearer and now am not sure again. I hate the stuff under the skin. It takes forever to come up. I will apply a little extra jojoba oil to take the dryness and redness out of them today and I will apply the tazorac "around" them tonight. Don't know if that's a good idea or not. Very depressed today.

Any thoughts?? I also use cp serum.
L http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

When I first tried tazorac for the first week I just applied it for 30 mins and washed it off....hmm..I saw maybe a little positive results but nothing significant...I decided the next time I put it on it would be for the whole night..the next morning I actually saw great results...alot of the small bumps were flattening out and the few white heads i had dried out...I would suggest putting it on for the whole night..try it for at least one night to see how your skin reacts...I know I went against my doctors recommedation but the only reason he recommended for such a short period of time is he was afraid it might cause discomfort to my face...so far no discomfort just improvement...