In 2016 I decided to stop minocycline after four weeks.

I can’t say I’d enjoyed taking an antibiotic to solve a skin issue.

I was also preparing to start prescribed isotretinoin, so the timing between the two medicines mattered.

The important correction is that this timing should be managed with the prescriber, not improvised from an old blog post.

Isotretinoin should not be taken concurrently with tetracycline antibiotics such as minocycline because of the risk of intracranial hypertension.

In my case I left roughly two weeks between them.

That records what I did.

It is not a recommended washout interval for somebody else.

I had also hoped to fit in another blood donation before starting isotretinoin.

Current Australian Lifeblood guidance says people taking long-term / low-dose minocycline for mild acne or rosacea are generally eligible to donate, but medication and donor eligibility should still be declared and checked with Lifeblood.

Isotretinoin is different: blood donation is not permitted during treatment or for at least one month afterwards.

Around eight days after stopping minocycline I noticed my skin becoming spotty again.

That is a firsthand observation about what happened to me, not proof that minocycline universally “only works while you are taking the pills”.

It had been incredible having such clear skin for a while.

Here’s hoping isotretinoin is a long-term solution! :-)

That was my hope in October 2016, not a treatment result I already knew.

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