14 replies to this topic

[I'mHeather]

Well, I started Spiro a few days ago and I am completely nervous about it. I haven't taken much for my acne because I have always been scared of the initial or possible increase in acne some things can cause. I did use Azelex a while ago and wow, my skin was horrid for the 2 months I was using it. I figured I would rather live with the monthly 6-8 pimples than have massive pimples all the time from some topical crap. Anyway- I am just tired of dealing with acne so I decided to try Spiro. I had thought about a low dose of Accutane but I thought I would try Spiro first because of all the side effects Accutane comes with. I am only on 25mg right now...Derm said to take that much for a week to see if my body was okay taking it, them bump up to 50mg. Too soon of course to make a judgment of it but just thought I would document my progress, or non-progress here. I will seriously cry if this stuff causes some big, bad breakout that some of you have spoken of. I am 32 and have a professional job with tons of younger ppl that have NO acne! I will just curl up and die!
Reading the treatment reviewson here of 427 ppl giving it a 4.1 I am hoping I will be one of the ones that love it. I have my doubts though, as I don't have oily skin and I keep reading how ppl see a reduction in oil, thus a reduction in breakouts. I told my derm I had dry skin and she didn't really make a comment about it, so I don't know. I am not willing to go past 50mg so I will give it 4 months and if it doesn't help then on to something else.
Here's to hoping for success!

[JLC]

I wanted to tell you my experiences with Spiro real quick, hopefully it will help give you an idea of what to expect.
To start this off positively, Spiro is the only thing that has ever cleared me up, I have been clear, (except 1-4 pimples around my period) since May 2008.

Let's see, I am 27, have what I call bad, consistant hormonal acne. I weigh about 115lbs, 5ft 3, fair skin. I have had acne since I was 15 or so.
I have used everything with the exception of accutane.

I take 50mg of spiro 2x per day. The first 3-4 months, I did not think it was working. I still broke out as usual, I am not sure if it necessarily gave me an initial breakout, because my skin always looked like crap. Like you, I have combination / dry skin. The first few months, I wouldn't say they were tough, but I did have some minor side effects. I would feel lightheaded and dizzy alot, very thirsty, and sometimes a bit fatigued. mY period was out of wack as well. Nothing crazy where I could not go to work or function, but I would not be able to run at the gym. I hope that makes sense! They are totally worth improvement. During this time, results were just not predictable, you can have nothing for 2 weeks, then break out out of nowhere.

I started to feel that after 4 months, my skin just looked a little better. It was smoother, flatter, less redness, and when I would get pimples, they would heal very quickly, unlike having the same ones for 4 weeks. I noticed a tiny difference, other people noticed as well.

After the mid to end of 5 months was when I finally felt that spiro worked for me. My skin was smooth, I did not get any zits for weeks, and my red marks were smoothed out. I couldn't believe it. Some people (including doctors) like to say that spiro takes 3-4 months to kick in. It definately took longer for me. Normally, I would have quit based on the results I was seeing by 4 months, thinking it just was not working, but I figured I might as well just take it anyways , since I would have pimples either way. I still cannot believe something actually worked. I still have to keep up with my skin and take good care of it, but the spiro does most of the work for me. If you have any questions I can help with, let me know. Good luck
Jessica

[I'mHeather]

I wanted to tell you my experiences with Spiro real quick, hopefully it will help give you an idea of what to expect.
To start this off positively, Spiro is the only thing that has ever cleared me up, I have been clear, (except 1-4 pimples around my period) since May 2008.

Let's see, I am 27, have what I call bad, consistant hormonal acne. I weigh about 115lbs, 5ft 3, fair skin. I have had acne since I was 15 or so.
I have used everything with the exception of accutane.

I take 50mg of spiro 2x per day. The first 3-4 months, I did not think it was working. I still broke out as usual, I am not sure if it necessarily gave me an initial breakout, because my skin always looked like crap. Like you, I have combination / dry skin. The first few months, I wouldn't say they were tough, but I did have some minor side effects. I would feel lightheaded and dizzy alot, very thirsty, and sometimes a bit fatigued. mY period was out of wack as well. Nothing crazy where I could not go to work or function, but I would not be able to run at the gym. I hope that makes sense! They are totally worth improvement. During this time, results were just not predictable, you can have nothing for 2 weeks, then break out out of nowhere.

I started to feel that after 4 months, my skin just looked a little better. It was smoother, flatter, less redness, and when I would get pimples, they would heal very quickly, unlike having the same ones for 4 weeks. I noticed a tiny difference, other people noticed as well.

After the mid to end of 5 months was when I finally felt that spiro worked for me. My skin was smooth, I did not get any zits for weeks, and my red marks were smoothed out. I couldn't believe it. Some people (including doctors) like to say that spiro takes 3-4 months to kick in. It definately took longer for me. Normally, I would have quit based on the results I was seeing by 4 months, thinking it just was not working, but I figured I might as well just take it anyways , since I would have pimples either way. I still cannot believe something actually worked. I still have to keep up with my skin and take good care of it, but the spiro does most of the work for me. If you have any questions I can help with, let me know. Good luck
Jessica

Thanks so much for the reply! I'm glad it has worked for you. So frustrating when things can take so long to work!
I am still only on 25mg...I started last Wednesday and so far okay I guess. Nothing major of course after 5 days except the excessive thirsty feeling...I have constant dry mouth. Feels kind of wierd. I get occasionally light headed and a little queasy if I don't eat and that's about it. I would think the real test will be in the next few weeks, when my period comes. I usually start to break out about 5 days before I start. Then again, I'm not sure how regualr I will be anymore, hoping it won't effect my cycle too much. I was toying with the idea of staying on the 25 mg a day for a month just to see. I hate the idea of taking medicine at all, but I was desperate so I figured I would at least try a little. After a month if I don't see results I will up it to 50mg. Just going to play things by ear.
If this doesn't work, I may do a very low does of Accutane-like 10mg a day. I have heard ppl have success with a low dose and not all the side effects. If of course your derm would do that.
Anyway, thanks again! I always appreciate feedback.

[I'mHeather]

Well, it's been a week and so far so good. No IB, so far anyway. I'm not sure if that's going to happen-when it would. Besides to pimples that I got about 2 days after I started, I haven't gotten any new ones. Only affetcs I have are still the slight dizziness and dehydrated feeling. Though both seem to already be slowly diminishing.
I don't see why ppl would get an IB from this either...but I guess they do.

[zen.garden]

I have been taking spiro since September. I never did have an IB but the dehydration/thirst nearly drove me crazy. Even now, I have to have something to sip on constantly throughout the day. The thirst isn't as intense as it was during the first two months, but my mouth still gets dry very quickly. I also felt really dizzy/weak for the first few weeks.

Last month I jumped from 50mg to 150mg a day, and I was terrified that I would experience those side effects again. Apparently, though, once you've adjusted to it you'll be fine. I haven't had any problems at the higher dose and after four months my skin is SO much better. I don't break out any more at all; it's just a matter of waiting for my red marks to heal (I've been on Depo for many years so period breakouts aren't an issue for me). I can't believe how much less oily I am - I can wear makeup all day (10+ hours) without blotting for the first time in my life.

My derm draws blood at every appointment to make sure my potassium levels are normal, so I feel a little better about the possible long-term effects knowing he is monitoring things. As far as I'm concerned, I'll take this drug for the rest of my life because no other prescription has helped me like spiro has.

[I'mHeather]

Thanks for the reply Zen- So glad it has worked for you. I am bumping to 50mg tomorrow...I decided to stay at 25mg for 2 weeks just to see how my body reacted to to it.

For those that have used this...if your going to get an IB, when would it happen?

[peachy_D225]

I don't mean to be a downer, but if you plan to quit after 4 months if your skin doesn't clear, and only plan to go to a maximum of 50 mg, you might not get the results you are hoping for. As many have shared, spiro seems to take a good 5-6 months at the least to start seeing consistent results. Also, most have noted that it takes at least 100 mg daily to achieve these results.

[I'mHeather]

I don't mean to be a downer, but if you plan to quit after 4 months if your skin doesn't clear, and only plan to go to a maximum of 50 mg, you might not get the results you are hoping for. As many have shared, spiro seems to take a good 5-6 months at the least to start seeing consistent results. Also, most have noted that it takes at least 100 mg daily to achieve these results.

Thanks for the reply- I will stay on it longer if I am doing okay on it. As far as dosage, my Dr. Said many women have success at lower doses so I am going to still with it lower for a while and see if that works before I put even more medication in my body.

[JLC]

Hey Heather, how are you making out with the spiro ?

[cysticgirl]

Hey Heather, how are you making out with the spiro ?

Can someone please tell me what IB is?

[peachy_D225]

IB = initial breakout

[I'mHeather]

Hey Heather, how are you making out with the spiro ?

I think I am doing okay, thanks for asking. It's only been 6 weeks, but the good thing is that I never got an IB from it so that's really good. The last few days my skin has been wierd, bumpy but not regular pimples. I think it's because I was bad and didn't wash my face before bed over the weekend but today it looks much better. I am still getting regular fleshy colored whiteheads on my chin area but those are hardly noticeable, mostly just to me. I think I have only gotten 2 larger sized pimples since I have been on, anything else I have gotten has been small and has gone away quickly, like in a day or two. My problem now is redness and hyperpigmentation...I HATE it! Yeah, most of it can be covered with makeup but it would actually be nice to not have to wear makeup every freakin where I go.
I just upped my dosage on my own from 75mg to 100mg. I started yessterday, 50mg/am-50mg/pm so I am hoping this helps even more. Only time will tell...

[jn9230]

Hang in there Heather. I heard it could take as long as 6 months to see results. You should try for that long at least. That's what I'm going to try to do (if I can get my derm to prescribe it, that is).

jn

[daffodils]

Hi there,
Having tried so many different medications and since I'm allergic to several common medicines (retin-A, benzaclin, tetracyclines), my new dermatologist wanted me to try Spiro, which is one of the few things I haven't tried yet. I started Spiro at the beginning of December at 50 mg/day. I didn't have many side effects, aside from severe dizziness the first few weeks that eventually dissipated. I do also have the redness and marking that you described, which is very frustrating, I agree. However, I also wasn't seeing any improvement at all in the number of breakouts and pimples I was getting.

I went to a follow up appointment with my dermatologist 2 weeks ago and he increased my dose to 100. He said it takes a few months to see results and that I was on a very low initial dose but could now be bumped up. Within 3 days of increasing to 100 mg/day, I had a rash on my chest, upper arms, stomach, and neck that looked like sunburn but also itched very badly, waking me up at night and causing me to scratch all day long. My dermatologist told me to go back down to 50mg as I clearly am allergic at doses higher than 50mg. He said some people just have a 'threshold' level that they can't exceed. I now am going to try Accutane, which I've tried once before (in 2000). It was the only medicine that ever really and truly worked for me with nothing short of dramatic results. I'm ecstatic that this doctor is letting me take Accutane, because I know it works for me and the side-effects are manageable and worth it in the end.

So, unfortunately Spiro has turned out not to work for me. At 50 mg, the dose is too low to produce noticeable results, but I have an allergic reaction at a higher dose. Also, I am graduating in a few months, turning 31 and entering a very competitive professional field - I didn't feel like I had the luxury of giving spiro a few more months if the risk was that it just wouldn't work at all for me in the end and I'd still have to take accutane.

Good luck, and I hope that spiro will work for you. Keep us all posted!

[I'mHeather]

Sorry it didn't work for you. Not all "drugs" are for everyone!
I am thinking of trying a very low dose of accutane if the spiro doesn't end up working out in a few months. I am scared to take too much accutane because of the side effects and have heard low doses can be just as effective with less of the irritation.
What kind of dose will you be taking?