My derm prescribed Doxycycline to me yesterday but after reading ...

Try changing your diet, author Paul Pitchford- Healing with Whole Foods. Excellent book. It talks about different conditions for people with different conditions and body types and all sorts of foods that are healing! Give it a try. if you love seafood- some seafood can cause acne... you should eat lots of dark leafy greens, and lots of garlic- it purifies the blood and you will have amazing skin very soon....

Honestly, doxycycline isn't that bad. You just have to be vigilante about your routine when taking it. When you take it in the morning, make sure you eat some bread (preferably non-enriched bread as too many vitamins or minerals hinder your body's full absorption of the drug) right afterwards to avoid an upset stomach. Be certain you do this, because although sometimes you may get away with not eating something after a dose, other times you may have stomach pains that make you want to lay down. Also do not take it at right before going to bed, the doxycycline needs at least an hour to get down your esophagus properly. Laying down can cause it to dissolve in your throat which could result in throat damage. Believe me, it happened to me. Granted, I recovered from it in 3-4 days with no need of a doctor, but the throat pain is something you dont even want to mess with.

Other than that, make sure you dont consume anything with a lot of calcium in it 2-3 hrs before taking and 2-3 hours after. Things with a lot of calcium in it, such as milk (read nutrition facts on boxes as many items you wouldnt think of have been enriched in calcium) and cheese also hinder your absorption of the drug.

Honestly, it's really not too hard to stay on top of taking the drug for acne. And if you have a dairy fetish, you just need to make sure you get your dairy fix in between each segment, I eat things with cheese in them around lunch time because it's 4 hours after I've taken the pill in the morning (8:30) and I usually dont eat something with dairy in my dinner, and if I do, I just go to bed later so that I can still take the pill that night. And keep in mind that most dairy (cow milk) isnt really that healthy for you in the first place. It contains a lot of sugar (lactose) and fat. You're better off with soy milk (which I hated at first, but actually isnt so bad if you get the regular or vanilla flavored, it's great for cereal (vanilla flavor) and cooking)).

But the above advice about eating more vegetables, especially the leafy ones and garlic is good as well. Anything to purify not only the blood but the to clean out the digestive system, so that you're not harboring too many toxins in your system, is good. Basically, proper use of doxycline is complemented by proper care of onesself. Look at this clean skin thing as a opportunity to embark on a healthier lifestyle, and as you look better in the face region, so will you in the body region, and as a result you'll feel much better.

This is my experience with doxycline. Im still taking it and my cysts are kept in pretty good control. I still experience the occasional bump here and there, but most of that comes from shaving.

Also I'd recommend a good acne skin cleanser regiment, I use Acne free for redness control to help take the inflammation out of any bumps I get. Also, getting some tea tree oil and mixing it with whatever repair/moisturizing lotion you get out of your three part acne cleanser regiment is good as well. It is an oil that kills a lot of acne bacteria and can keep your face from drying out in the winter or as a result of acne cleansers which often dry out the skin.