[PSA] Doxycycline ruined my digestive system.

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I had cystic acne when I was a teenager. I started developing acne super young, like 12 years old and it just got worse, it seemed, daily. I cried about it often, got made fun of for it all the time, was super depressed. My parents finally took me to a dermatologist that had a year long wait list. Right off the bat I was prescribed 100mg of Doxycycline 2x per day (so 200 mg total). Once in the morning, once at night. It worked fantastically. My skin became clear and I thought I was on the right track. The only issue I had was if I didn’t take it with food (huge mistake) so I rarely ever did that and if I did, it was purely from forgetting to eat breakfast.Fast forward 10 years (yes TEN), I was still on doxy because I was afraid if I came off that my acne would return. However, my dermatologist also never recommended coming off. We had our appointments every 6 months, she would say my skin looks amazing, and we’d schedule the next appointment. Well I started developing severe severe GI issues. Constant diarrhea if I ate anything other than plain carbs. Couldn’t ingest any fat or protein. Basically ate bread with jelly, plain rice, dry cereal, bananas. Was sick all the time. Missed work all the time.Went to a GI doc who couldn’t find anything initially. Did a colonoscopy (I was 24), didn’t find much. No ulcerative colitis, which is what they thought it was. They considered removing my gallbladder right before my wedding when I was 25, but I asked them to hold off. Couldn’t even eat the food at my wedding and I was the thinnest I’ve ever been because I literally couldn’t eat anything.Came home from my honeymoon and decided to keep my standing appointment with internal medicine before scheduling gallbladder removal. Finally, after seeing my PCP, GI doc, endocrinologist, and my OBGYN about these horrific digestive issues, the internal medicine doc was the FIRST one to ask me how long I had been on doxycycline. I said 10 years. He told me I needed to wean off immediately. Turns out the doxy had killed all the good bacteria in my digestive system. None of the other doctors had ever asked me about this medication even though it was present in my shared chart. I also never considered the possibility that it was the culprit.I’m now 29 and have 0 digestive issues. None whatsoever. Which feels so amazing. I just wanted to share this experience because I know it’s still being prescribed for acne. Please please please be diligent about following up with how long you should be on it. Question your provider, do your own research. I wish I would have. A friend of mine, who was in medical school at the time, told me that they only prescribe doxy to Lyme disease patients for 21 day cycles at maximum and here I was on it for 10 years. Ugh.
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