Question re: Teenage girl- acne& orthotricyclin

[cargal]

Hey, Peds nurses-need your advice:

My sixteen yo daughter has been taking minocyclin po bid for about 2 yrs now, with topical meds am&pm. Still suffering- not bad enough to consider accutane, but still bad-not just random zits now & then. We are changing dermatologists,and have been set back a month on the appointment, so she has not been seen for awhile now. My question is - would the birth control pill advertised on TV as helping your complexion be appropriate to look into? She is not and does not have plans to become sexually active, but this sounds reasonable to look into rather than daily antibiotics , especially if they aren't working, or accutane , with its unknown future consequences. Please advise. Thanks very much.

Carrie

[fiestynurse]

My 16 y.o daughter is also on Minocycline 100mg BID for acne. She is presently using Retin-A Micro Gel 0.1%, but has also tried Cleocin T Gel, Differin 0.1% Gel, and Erythromycin Topical solution. She washes her face at least twice a day with Aveeno Acne Treatment Bar. Her face gets very dry and peely with the Micro Gel, so I just bought some Aveeno Skin Cleanser with a moisture-rich soy extract to see if that helps the dryness. It's important that all facial cleansers are soap-free, because regular soap seems to cause her to breakout. She also has to be careful about what types of make-up she uses. Anyway, this whole acne thing causes her great distress and I know it hurts her self-esteem. I am afraid that she may be getting some permanent scarring because nothing seems to clear it up completely. I am at the point where I am considering Accutane or OrthoTricycline. Of course, both of those meds cause me some concern. I too, would like to know if anyone has any experience with using either of these meds for acne. As you can see from my lengthy story here that it's not an easy thing to treat. The trials and tribulations of having teenage daughter! GEEZ!

[CMAtoRNPLZ]

Hi,

I just thought I would give my input as a young woman who has been tx with Accutane and Ortho Tricycline for acne. I had cystic acne as a teenager up until I was 22. I was on Doxy, and then Retin-A. It didn't work, so my Derm put me on Accutane and Ortho Tricycline. Of course, the BCP plays two roles, one to help prevent pg while on Accutane ( which you know can cause sever defects), and to help clear acne. I used only one course treatment of the Accutane and continue to be on the Orth and have been clear and free for 6 years. It worked wonders for me. Luckily I haven't had to be on a second course of Accutane yet, and hopefully won't. I understand the increased concern of a teenager on Accutane, so my derm won't use it on anyone unless they ahve cystic acne.

Hope this helps a little.

LIsa