Accutane plus antibiotic?

[BostonGirl44]

I have one extremely persistent cyst on my cheek that doesn't want to go away. Yesterday was the third time I had it injected with cortisone, and although cortisone has always worked on my cysts in the past on the first try, this one keeps filling up again after 2-3 weeks. It's about 1 - 1 1/4 inches across my cheek and looks extremely bizarre when I have an otherwise clear face. Anyways, I just began my second month of Accutane yesterday. I also got the cyst reinjected yesterday and my derm gave me a prescription of Cephalexin (500mg 3x/day). I don't expect to have any adverse side effects yet but I'm kind of scared about Accutane and Cephalexin at the same time. Has anybody's derm given them antibiotics while they were on Accutane? I obviously trust my derm on this but I was wondering about everyone else's opinions. Thanks!

[CraigTS367]

Using tetracycline antibiotics with Accutane can be very dangerous. I've read that it can cause pressure on the brain which leads to other problems. I'm not sure if Doxycycline is a tetracycline or related but you may want to check. I would assume that if it was, then your dr. wouldn't give it to you. But you never know. I've come across some pretty incompetent derms in my day.

[BostonGirl44]

I just looked up Cephalexin and this is what I found:

"DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Cephalexin belongs to a class of antibiotics called cephalosporins. They are similar to penicillin in action and side effects. They stop or slow the growth of bacterial cells by preventing bacteria from forming the cell wall that surrounds each cell. The cell wall protects bacteria from the external environment and keeps the contents of the cell together. Without a cell wall bacteria are not able to survive. Bacteria that are susceptible to cephalexin include Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, E. coli and several others.

DRUG INTERACTIONS: Serious interactions of cephalexin with other drugs are uncommon."

Reading about that definitely makes me feel better. That's not to say that something couldn't happen to me, of course. But so far, I haven't had any of the negative side effects that are possible.

[leb1977]

Boston Girl,
I have a similar situation. This huge cyst on my cheek. Went to derm, he drained it some than shot it with cortizone and gave me the same antibiotic. I am also on accutane (1mo and 1/2). This was just two days ago, but so far nothing major has happened. I too was worried about the interaction, but hearing your story makes me feel better. I think it will be okay. My derm gave the prescription for 2 weeks, how about you?

[Geek_USA]

Accutane + Antibiotics = Brain Swelling

The brain may not (but usually does) swell if both antibiotics and accutane are used, which can lead to serious damage, which can then lead to death.