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The new doctor at the local dermatology clinic confirmed that I had progressed from having just moderate acne to some severe inflammatory "nodular", "cystic" or "nodulocystic" acne.

I had some of these deep acne cysts on my neck, chin, cheek, back, shoulders, and chest. Luckily, puberty had given me some face and chest hair so I could hide some of it.

My second dermatologist prescribed Minocycline 50mg oral antibiotic pills twice daily, Cleocin T Gel and Differin Gel.

I had learned my lesson with the Doxycycline antibiotic pills and was now taking each dose of the Minocycline with a full glass of water and food if possible.

I learned to keep my antibiotics either by my toiletries or in front of my computer monitor to make sure that I remembered to take them twice a day every day. I'm not going to lie. Every now and then I would forget a pill but it was a rare thing. Being consistent with taking your oral antibiotics and keeping the level of medicine in your bloodstream constant is the #1 most important thing to make sure they actually help reduce your acne breakouts. It took over a month before I really started to notice my skin clearing up a bit.

While the pills were killing the P. Acnes bacteria from the inside, the doctor had me using the Cleocin T Gel brand of topical clindamycin antibiotic to help eliminate the P. Acnes bacteria that were living on my face, neck, back and shoulders. When I first starting using the clindamycin gel, it caused a bit of irritation, redness and peeling but those side effects eased up after about a week of daily use after my morning shower. Learning to use just a tiny amount and spreading it well also helped.

The Differin Gel is a "topical retinoid" with .1% of the drug adapalene as the active ingredient. It works by slowing down the production of skin cells, reducing the oil or sebum that your skin releases, and causing your skin to exfoliate or shed dead cells. My first two weeks of using Differin Gel was tough because my skin became very red and was peeling off thin layers of skin like crazy. My over eagerness to clear up my face probably caused me to use too much Differin and exacerbate the side effects. Just like with the Cleocin T Gel, when I learned to only use a tiny pea sized amount spread thinly over my face did the peeling and irritation subside (but never completely).

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