Hi!
Has anyone taken tetracycline? Does it
work for you? Thanks
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XST6
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Jul 2004 Posts: 3
Posted: 07-04-04 16:56pm
I use it now, have been for the last 2
months.. It works a little. It's helped
with reoccuring acne.
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hnb
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Jul 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Colorado
Posted: 07-06-04 14:52pm
It helped a little but I was on it for
over a year and still got horrible
breakouts...I finally started accutane and
it is really helping dry up my skin:-)
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ungj85
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 Jul 2004 Posts: 21
Posted: 07-10-04 14:57pm
My doctor set me on tetracycline and a
topical benzoyl peroxide 5% face cream for
nearly 4 weeks now and I don't see any
real change or improvements, except for
the fact that now I notice my condition is
worsening slightly.
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the one
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Jun 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Miami Beach
Posted: 07-24-04 12:32pm
I've used tetracycline and for the most
part I *think* it's helped me... I was
prescribed three things at once, so i'm
not sure what did the trick. For a lot
of the time I have only been using
tetracycline and i've used other meds like
the ones I was prescribed so I think it
was the pills that helped with the aid of
the duac gel, mostly.
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ungj85
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 Jul 2004 Posts: 21
Posted: 07-24-04 14:45pm
Here's my update on my condition with
tetracycline. Been past a month through
and there has been few breakouts, maybe
one or two at a time. I don't feel any
side effects at all. Different thing work
for different people.
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sandyallen
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Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 07-24-04 15:57pm
Deleted
Last edited by sandyallen on 08-16-04 20:15pm; edited 1 time in total
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chazzzzer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 4 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: 07-25-04 19:37pm
sandyallen
wrote:
i am no Dr., but, too many
anti-biotics and too much anti-bacterial
soaps are not good for
anyone.
well, i'll have to agree that you're no
doctor, as you've made several common
mistakes in your understanding of
antibiotics. Don't feel bad though, as
they really are common and most people
would agree with you because of what
they've heard from others.
First, a clarification: "germ" is not a
technical term (i.E. Not used by
scientists), but when it is used it
generally means "a microorganism causing
disease." a bacteria, on the other hand,
is "any of a group of prokaryotic
unicellular round, spiral, or rod-shaped
single-celled microorganisms that are
often aggregated into colonies or motile
by means of flagella, that live in soil,
water, organic matter, or the bodies of
plants and animals, and that are
autotrophic, saprophytic, or parasitic in
nutrition and important because of their
biochemical effects and pathogenicity."
that's obviously a technical term, and the
important difference is that it makes no
distinction as to the bacteria being the
cause of disease. In fact, most bacteria
are harmless or even beneficial.
Now, moving on to your points:
sandyallen
wrote:
i am no Dr., but, too many
anti-biotics and too much anti-bacterial
soaps are not good for
anyone
too many antibiotics are not good for
anyone? Actually, the opposite is true,
in a way. The problem with antibiotics
comes when people stop taking them before
they are supposed to, usually because they
are feeling better. There's a reason
that you are supposed to take them for 7
or 10 or 14 days, even if you feel better
after 3 or 5 days...It has to do with
natural selection. You see, some
bacteria are extremely susceptible to an
antibiotic, and will perish almost
immediately. Others in the same colony
may not, and may hold on for many days.
If you only take antibiotics for a few
days until you feel better, then the only
living bacteria from the colony that
caused your infection are the ones
resistant to the particular antibiotic
that you're taking. Once you stop taking
it, those resistant bacteria that didn't
die will continue to reproduce and will
form a new colony of bacteria that are all
resistant to that particular antibiotic.
Whereas most of the time if you take the
entire prescribed amount of the antibiotic
then even those that are naturally
resistant will succumb by the end of the
treatment.
Perhaps it's time for a definition:
"antibiotic: any of a variety of
substances that inhibit the growth of or
destroy certain other microorganisms." in
fact the things we group together as
antibiotics are really unrelated to each
other in all ways except that they inhibit
the growth of or destroy bacteria. In
other words, to make a broad statement
against all antibiotics and their effects
or side-effects is ignorant, as they all
work in different ways and have different
side-effects.
sandyallen
wrote:
i am no Dr., but, too many
anti-biotics and too much anti-bacterial
soaps are not good for
anyone
i know, it's the same quote again, but
this time i'm commenting on the
antibacterial soaps part. This is a
common misconception, that antibiotics and
antibacterial soaps are related and that
both are bad. In reality, the problem I
think you are referring to is with
antibiotic soaps, not antibacterial soaps.
The problem is that antibiotics take
time to work, and so using antibiotics in
a soap tends to only kill the most
susceptible bacteria, leaving the less
susceptible behind to multiply and create
a antibiotic-resistant strain. This is
why you can't buy antibiotic soaps. They
are only used under controlled conditions,
like in hospitals when surgeons scrub in
before surgery. (at that point, the idea
is to kill as many bacteria as possible
before they put their hands inside of a
patient, and the antibiotic used in the
soap is not commonly used as a
prescription antibiotic because it
wouldn't work well once the patient has
come out of surgery.)
antibacterial soaps work in a completely
different fashion, they simply kill
bacteria on contact. This is a good
thing. There's no issue of creating a
resistant bacteria, as they just die
instantly on contact.
sandyallen
wrote:
i realize we are all
different, but wee have good and bad so
called germs in our systems, antibiotics
and anti-bacterial products k I l l off
both good and bad germs, as it doesn't
know the
difference.
well, yes, we have both "good" (often
called "probiotics") and "bad" bacteria in
our bodies. Actually, without the good
bacteria, we couldn't digest our food and
would die! Fortunately, the good
bacteria are constantly replenished from
our food supply, which is how they get
inside of us in the first place, and so
are not substantially affected by
antibiotics. It is common to develop
diarrhea when first taking a
broad-spectrum antibiotic, as it tends to
kill off almost all of the good bacteria
in your digestive tract. After a few
days though, the diarrhea goes away. The
key reason is that the new bacteria
entering through the food that you're
eating will take a few days to die from
the antibiotic, by which time they will
have been replaced again and again.
Eating yogurt is a common remedy for this,
as it is teaming with beneficial bacteria
and will curb the diarrhea almost
immediately. However, the point here is
that there is no lasting effect on the
good bacteria from taking antibiotics.
And actually, if you take the same
antibiotic for a long period of time or
repeatedly over time, then the good
bacteria living in your gi tract become
resistant to that antibiotic and are no
longer affected by it. So, in summary,
antibiotics don't make a significant
difference to the good bacteria in your
body.
sandyallen
wrote:
i used to take sooo much
antibiotics and when my body really needed
them like with pneumonia the anti-biotics
did not help!
this is a common symptom of not taking
antibiotics properly, as in not taking a
high enough dose or not taking them long
enough to completely eradicate the
bacteria and thus creating a resistant
strain (to that antibiotic) of bacteria.
Of course, there are other forms of
pneumonia, the most common of which are
viral and mycoplasma, which are not
affected by antibiotics at all because
they aren't bacterial-based. There are
also fungal and protozoic strains of
pneumonia...And even one caused by
inhaling vomit...That are not affected by
antibiotics because they aren't caused by
bacteria. If you actually had a
bacterial pneumonia and no antibiotic
helped, then you probably would have died
from it. Before antibiotics, most people
who caught bacterial pneumonia did die
from it. In fact, it was the leading
cause of death before the discovery of
antibiotics.
sandyallen
wrote:
another note is that if you
are taking anti-biotics they flush out
your system, so, if you are on b/c or any
other meds b/c and other meds will lose
their effects.
you've got me stumped on this one...I
can't find any documentation anywhere that
supports your claim that antibiotics
"flush out your system." actually, for
the most part antibiotics do absolutely
nothing to your body. They cause the
death of bacterial cells, but leave human
cells alone. Otherwise it wouldn't make
much sense to put them in your body, would
it? There are plenty of substances you
could take that would kill both the
bacterial and human cells, but that would
be counter-productive.
sandyallen
wrote:
you can disagree all you
want or you can take my advice as I am
speaking from experience and other
people's experiences.
Sincerely,
sandy
well, okay...I'll have to disagree rather
than take your advice. As usual, the
people that offer their advice against
antibiotics don't really understand what
they're talking about.
As I said previously, antibiotics work in
a number of different ways, and most are
unrelated to each other. For instance,
penicillin works by causing the cellular
wall of the bacteria to stop growing.
The internal parts of the cell continue to
grow, however, so the cell eventually
explodes and dies. Tetracyclines, on the
other hand, retard the growth of the
entire cell. This causes reproduction to
cease, and then the bacteria either die
from age or the body's white cells
eventually catch up with the size of the
infection and kill all of the remaining
cells. And other kinds of antibiotics
work in different ways. The only thing
they have in common is that they kill
bacteria. Don't trust anyone that says
that all antibiotics are bad for
you...They clearly don't know what they
are talking about.
- chas
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chazzzzer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 4 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: 07-26-04 23:24pm
sandyallen
wrote:
another note is that if you
are taking anti-biotics they flush out
your system, so, if you are on b/c or any
other meds b/c and other meds will lose
their
effects.
boy, it took me almost a full day to
figure out that b/c meant birth control
pills. You're right on that point, some
antibiotics can cause a loss of
effectiveness. Here's what
mayoclinic.Com says:
the effects of
antibiotics on birth control pills (oral
contraceptives) may be overstated — except
in the case of one antibiotic,
rifampin. studies clearly show
that rifampin decreases the effectiveness
of birth control pills in preventing
ovulation.
Anecdotal evidence suggests this effect
may also occur with other antibiotics,
such as:
no large studies have proved this effect.
But researchers can't rule out the
possibility that this may occur in a small
number of women. If you're concerned,
consider using a barrier method of
contraception while taking
antibiotics.
and femalepatient.Com (written by doctors,
for doctors) says:
what do
pharmacokinetic studies show?
* medications that induce hepatic
enzymes do reduce serum levels of
steroids. This can compromise efficacy.
These include the antibiotics rifampin
and griseofulvin and other medications
such as phenytoin, carbamazepine,
phenobarbital, primidone, carbamazepine,
felbamate, topiramate, vigabatrin.
* pharmacokinetic studies of
antibiotics other than rifampin have not
shown any systematic interaction between
antibiotics and oral contraception (oc)
steroid levels. Studies of serum levels
in the face of amoxicillin and
tetracycline found that such a large
intrasubject and intersubject variability
in steroid levels at baseline, a small
number of women might be vulnerable when
exposed to an antibiotic.
Because oc steroids are strikingly reduced
in women concomitantly taking rifampin,
such women should not rely on cocs,
progestin-only ocs, or implants for
contraceptive protection. pharmacokinetic
studies have not demonstrated lower oc
steroid levels with concomitant use of
tetracycline, doxycyline, ampicillin or
metronidazole or quinolone
antibiotics.
there are many drugs other than
antibiotics that can lower the
effectiveness of oral contraception.
Many doctors believe that the anecdotal
evidence of antibiotics causing the
decrease in effectiveness of oral
contraceptives is due to diarrhea that is
often caused by a new antibiotic. A
standard warning on birth-control pills is
"with vomiting or diarrhea, the absorption
of oral contraceptives may be diminished
and women should be advised to use
additional methods of contraception at the
time of such disorders." diarrhea from
antibiotics, if it occurs at all, is
usually very short-lived. In other
words, someone taking an antibiotic
long-term for the treatment of acne
wouldn't be at an increased risk of
pregnancy.
Of course, you should always tell your
doctor what drugs you're taking so that
they can choose an antibiotic that either
has no interactions or so that they can at
least inform you of the risks.
- chas
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Post temporarily unavailable Posted: 08-09-04 07:53am
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cutiechristina
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 0 Location: cali
Posted: 08-15-04 14:36pm
First off.. Too many antibiotics can be
bad for you. Why? Because as we
continue to constantly take them, the
bacteria that it is fighting become
resistant to the antibiotics. Therefore,
eventually the antibiotic will become
ineffective because the bacteria will be
resistant to the medication. This means
if you have a reoccuring infection later
in life in which the bacteria has become
resistant to the antibiotics, when you
take them they will not work. Does that
mean everyone should stop antibiotics?
No.. But it means you should think about
it before taking it. Acne is not a
necessary reason to take antibiotics
because you will not die from acne.
However, if it is your only option then
you should make that decision. Also,
antibiotics are well known to create
ulcers and stomach problems when taking
them either in high doses or for a long
period of time.
Chazzer is right though that the effects
on b/c pills is very minimal, especially
if you are not taking high doses of the
antibiotics.
Also.. Anti-bacterial hand soaps are not
bad for you at all. It kills off bad
bacteria such as salmonella and stuff that
can make you really sick. It does not
altar your resistance to things in any
way.
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sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 08-16-04 20:13pm
Deleted.
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Mist
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 19 Sep 2003 Posts: 58
Posted: 08-17-04 03:49am
chazzzzer
wrote:
of course the acne comes
back when you stop taking it...People that
are prone to acne will most likely always
be prone to acne. So what? It isn't
causing any problems for the majority of
people taking it, so why should they ever
stop?
chazzzzer
wrote:
this is just ignorant...I'm
so tired of people constantly
disrespecting antibiotics without
understanding how they work or what they
do.
you really shouldn't have to take
antibiotics for the rest of your life. I
was reading this post, and it frustrates
me when someone one starts off telling
people their ignorant. I agree some don't
know how they work. Which is great that
you are willing to educate us. Why call
us ignorant though?
chazzzzer
wrote:
well, yes, we have both
"good" (often called "probiotics") and
"bad" bacteria in our bodies. Actually,
without the good bacteria, we couldn't
digest our food and would die!
Fortunately, the good bacteria are
constantly replenished from our food
supply, which is how they get inside of us
in the first place, and so are not
substantially affected by
antibiotics.
good bacteria comes from our food. Bad
bacteria comes from . . . Where?
Perhaps we should look and see instead of
how to kill whats in us, but at how it
actually gets there, and let our bodies
naturally kill the bacteria thats there on
it's own.
I don't know you. I don't know your
qualifications. I know i'm just a kid who
has done some research and lots of
experimentation. I have decided that
tetracycline doesn't do so much for you.
I only took it for about 4 months which
should have led to at least some
improvement. I had little to none.
Definatly not noticable improvement. So I
stoped paying the $20/month. I am always
welcoming new information, but don't be an
ass.
