I have one extremely persistent cyst on my cheek that doesn't want to go away. Yesterday was the third time I had it injected with cortisone, and although cortisone has always worked on my cysts in the past on the first try, this one keeps filling up again after 2-3 weeks. It's about 1 - 1 1/4 inches across my cheek and looks extremely bizarre when I have an otherwise clear face. Anyways, I just began my second month of Accutane yesterday. I also got the cyst reinjected yesterday and my derm gave me a prescription of Cephalexin (500mg 3x/day). I don't expect to have any adverse side effects yet but I'm kind of scared about Accutane and Cephalexin at the same time. Has anybody's derm given them antibiotics while they were on Accutane? I obviously trust my derm on this but I was wondering about everyone else's opinions. Thanks! :bouncing:

I just looked up Cephalexin and this is what I found:

"DRUG CLASS AND MECHANISM: Cephalexin belongs to a class of antibiotics called cephalosporins. They are similar to penicillin in action and side effects. They stop or slow the growth of bacterial cells by preventing bacteria from forming the cell wall that surrounds each cell. The cell wall protects bacteria from the external environment and keeps the contents of the cell together. Without a cell wall bacteria are not able to survive. Bacteria that are susceptible to cephalexin include Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, E. coli and several others.

DRUG INTERACTIONS: Serious interactions of cephalexin with other drugs are uncommon."

Reading about that definitely makes me feel better. That's not to say that something couldn't happen to me, of course. But so far, I haven't had any of the negative side effects that are possible.

Leb,

My derm gave me a 2 week prescription too. Tuesday is the beginning of my second week on it. So far, nothing bad has happened to me. My derm talked to me about the brain swelling but I was told that the chances aren't as high as everyone says. He said I could fill the prescription if I was comfortable with it and I decided to go ahead and do it. No regrets. How is Accutane and Cephalexin working for you? My annoying cyst is completely flat now but there's a slight discoloration which can kind of be covered up with makeup.

Mine took about 5 days to finally flatten out. Hopefully that'll be the end of it. This has been a persistent one that's been injected 3 times and has been making a home on my face since mid-February. I think all that was left of mine was a bit of blood too. Hopefully the combo of Accutane and Cephalexin has done its job! :) I haven't decided if I'm going to refill for one more week of the antibiotic but since I'm so happy with it, maybe I will.