15 replies to this topic

[ugly_skye]

I have read so many posts from people on this site that say if you are female, with hormonal acne, then just go on Spironolactone, it will definitely clear you up.

I have been on Spironolactone for years and it doesn’t help one bit with my acne (I use it for other PCOS related symptoms). I know this site is all about providing support to people, but we should also be realistic when giving advice and not provide false hope to people, because I know I am not alone in my views that Spironolactone will not sort out all hormonal acne.

Don’t get me wrong though, you should definitely give it a try if you have hormonal acne, but be aware that in many cases it doesn’t help acne.

[peachy_D225]

That's true. Just curious though...what dosage are you taking and how long have you been taking it?

[ugly_skye]

I'm on 100mg a day and have been for at least two years. I was on the same dosage when I was about 16 for a year and it still didn't help with the acne.

[Suede]

I've been on 100 mg a day for almost 2 months now and I don't see any difference in the oil production. My face and my hair are still oily as hell...I wonder if it's normal because people always say that Spiro can take a long time to be effective on acnee but it acts rapidly in reducing the sebum production. ???

[missypooh]

Well, I'm interested in hearing others ideas on this - I just got home from the Derm with my Rx for Spiro 100 mg per day.... I took Accutane from Jan to Apr this year, and as of about 6 weeks ago, I'm getting sporadic hormonal cysts AGAIN.

My derm didn't think I needed Accutane again, yet, but my oiliness is HORRIBLE (more so than before Accutane....) and the cysts are returning. So, he said we'd try Sprio - and pray it does something.

Please respond - I'd like to hear the good and the bad - like you said, Skye, this site is about support and realistic sharing. Thanks! Patti

[Hollaback]

I have read so many posts from people on this site that say if you are female, with hormonal acne, then just go on Spironolactone, it will definitely clear you up.

I have been on Spironolactone for years and it doesn’t help one bit with my acne (I use it for other PCOS related symptoms). I know this site is all about providing support to people, but we should also be realistic when giving advice and not provide false hope to people, because I know I am not alone in my views that Spironolactone will not sort out all hormonal acne.

Don’t get me wrong though, you should definitely give it a try if you have hormonal acne, but be aware that in many cases it doesn’t help acne.

True. I've been on spiro for 6 months now and haven't seen a difference in acne. Although I can say that the hair on my legs and underarms grows slower. Also, sweating under my arms was a problem for me. It ruled my life almost as much as acne. I could only wear black or white and still had to have something to absorbe all the sweat with. Seems like Spiro took care of that. Now I'm just waiting for my acne to clear up.Keep ya posted.

[lovelycrimsonred]

My derm didn't think I needed Accutane again, yet, but my oiliness is HORRIBLE (more so than before Accutane....) and the cysts are returning. So, he said we'd try Sprio - and pray it does something.

i'm sort of in the opposite situation. i just started spironolactone 1 week ago....50mg twice/day. it's my 2nd-to-last resort. after this, it's on to accutane. so far, my skin is breaking out a lot and making me miserable. nothing i've tried has worked, so i don't have much hope for spiro, or for accutane. but, i'll try anything at this point. my derm said to give spiro 2 months to START working. if it does anything at all after 2 months, we'll continue. if not, we'll give accutane a try.

[lily80]

Spironolactone along with Metformin for my PCOS cleared up my cystic acne. I still have blackheads though. Has your doctor ever combined your Spironolatone with Metformin? I hate it that it didn't help you. I too take 100 mg. a day. I don't know if its the spironolactone or the metformin that helped me, or the combination of the 2 together. I'm assuming the 2 together. Anyways, the metformin (if you insulin levels are out of whack due to pcos) might be something to look into to add to the Spironolactone. Seriously, the combo was a god send for me in terms of acne! It hasn't done a darn thing for the rest of my PCOS symptoms, so I feel your frustration. Best of luck.

[S Gumby]

I have had a similar experince as ugly_skye. I know how you feel. I was put on spiro a year and a half ago with promises of clear skin. SO I waited and waited. My acne did improve but in no way is my skin clear. It has helped some of my other pcos problems: hair growth, thank goodness. I am 22 and think that if my pcos was diagonsed sooner that my that it might have worked better. I am on 200mg a day which is pretty high dose. I have days were i have hope and others were i have none!!! for ppl who are on it and not seeing results I would say wait at least 6 months.

[laurenbee03]

my derm put me on spiro and doxy and i have PCOS... well now im really sad.. i just dont think my acne will ever clear up with all these treatments for acne.. i think i need a treatment for my hormones instead and maybe that will just follow??

[Reyssel Rj]

WHATS ACNE?

[ugly_skye]

Spironolactone along with Metformin for my PCOS cleared up my cystic acne. I still have blackheads though. Has your doctor ever combined your Spironolatone with Metformin? I hate it that it didn't help you. I too take 100 mg. a day. I don't know if its the spironolactone or the metformin that helped me, or the combination of the 2 together. I'm assuming the 2 together. Anyways, the metformin (if you insulin levels are out of whack due to pcos) might be something to look into to add to the Spironolactone. Seriously, the combo was a god send for me in terms of acne! It hasn't done a darn thing for the rest of my PCOS symptoms, so I feel your frustration. Best of luck.

I have been on an off Metformin since I was 16 in the hope it would fix my pcos symptoms. Unfortunately, it didn't, so I stopped. My insulin levels are on the upper level of normal. I honestly don't know what to do, my hormones are a mess.

Best of luck to everyone.

[LATOO]

I also was on spiro with no luck (for about 8 months). Went to accutane, on my 5th month....still breaking out. It is so depressing. I dont knwo what to do I had my fasting insulin levels checked and they said they were fine (8 months ago i was "insulin resistant" and put on metformin) along with the spiro and that didnt clear me either!

I want to enjoy my 20s and feel beautiful but it is hard to feel that way with acne.

[plainjane311]

I have had good results with Ortho Cyclen (Sprintec) and Spiro. I started taking Spiro a little over a year ago, and am up to 150 mg/day. I do break out sometimes (not usually bad) and I am constantly terrified that my skin will be disgusting again and I will need to go in hiding! I really hate the feeling that my life stops when I have bad skin, but it does. It's not so much how I look, but how I feel. I have decided that if my skin ever gets bad again I will get acupuncture. It has helped in the past with my migraines and I have been reading up on it. If it helps a lot of other stuff, it can help for hormones/fertility/cystic acne. And it is natural which I love. Anything is worth a shot! I have thought about accutane as a last resort but it scares me! Anyway, just wondering if any of you have considered acupuncture...

[Loci]

Here, here. I wish I could say I was a spiro success story, but I am not at all. I have combo skin, so I don't really experience a whole lot of oiliness, except for my t-zone, but I do struggle with PMS acne. I really thought this would be the answer to my years of rough patches dealing with hormonal acne and it wasn't the case.

[alternativista]

There are different ways your hormones could be imbalanced which is why there are different BPs that help some people and make other people worse. So whether or not it helps would depend on just what kind of imbalance. Or other hormone issue. Sometimes you don't really have an imbalance, it's just that your receptors are sensitive to any amount of androgens.

I don't think it should take any time to work. People are always saying to give it time. I was prescribed spiro in the hopes of helping my hirsutism, but I could never deal with the dehydration. I kept cutting the pills to start out small and work my way up to a higher does, but just couldn't handle it. And any time I took 100mgs, I could go a week without washing my hair. Otherwise, it's oily in 2-3 days. So it drastically reduced my oil production immediately.

I tried dissolving the tablets and applying topically to problem areas like my chin, but it never did anything.

Now, I started drinking peppermint or spearmint tea this summer and it has made a huge difference. The hairs are a lot less coarse. It's all still there, but softer so it seems smoother longer.