11 replies to this topic

[saraebru]

I am a 29 year old female and I have had very bad cystic acne for about 10 years. Every year it seemed to get worse. I have been to 4 different dermotologists and taken countless prescriptions with no relief. I have seriously tried EVERY THING I could buy OTC and still nothing. So finally I went to see an Endocrinologist (hormone Doc.)
He started me on Spiro. and I have been on it for about 4 months now and finally I am clearing up. I currently have 2 small pimples on my face!!!!! I don't get the cystic, painful pimples at all and I used to have 10 - 15 BIG, painful pimples at once! This is the best thing in the world! I LOVE IT!!!!

[saintsvalentine]

Have you experienced any side effects? I tried taking it too, but I was on 200mg a day. I experienced a stimulant-like effect that was very unpleasant. I had to stop taking it. I'm thinking my dosage was just too high. Glad to hear it's working for you! Are you still taking the Spiro? Have you noticed any changes in mood, sleep, or energy?

[theComfyCat]

Have you experienced any side effects? I tried taking it too, but I was on 200mg a day. I experienced a stimulant-like effect that was very unpleasant. I had to stop taking it. I'm thinking my dosage was just too high. Glad to hear it's working for you! Are you still taking the Spiro? Have you noticed any changes in mood, sleep, or energy?

Unless you have something like PCOS (which causes elevated androgen levels), it's a good idea to start at a lower dosage... the effects, and side effects, of spironolactone are generally dose dependant.

It's a good idea to find the lowest effective dose... Many people do well with 50-100mg/day, or even 25mg/day... 200mg/day is much more likely to give you stronger side effects.

[serena22]

thats awesome you are seeing such great results!!!!!!! i am starting 25mgs this week and i have high hopes it will show those androgens whos boss. I am starting retin a too....has the combination worked well for you?

[theComfyCat]

thats awesome you are seeing such great results!!!!!!! i am starting 25mgs this week and i have high hopes it will show those androgens whos boss. I am starting retin a too....has the combination worked well for you?

I have horribly stubborn acne... the combo of retin-a micro and spiro does finally seem to be putting a kink in it, though. I got an initial breakout from the retin-a, but switching to the higer 0.1% concentration (after about 11 weeks on .05%) is finally doing the trick. The spiro has helped a lot with oil control, which is great... I no longer have to worry about oil blotting throughout the day.

Did your doctor warn you about what to expect with the retin-a at all? You might want to check out some retinoid logs to get an idea of what to expect (amorfati has a good retin-a log)... retin-a is one of the most effective topical acne treatments, but it can be rough for the first few months.

I also recommend that you read this post about initial breakouts on retinoids.

[iceopal]

Thank you for sharing!!! Its encouraged me to stick with i. I've been on 100 mg a day for a month. What dosage are you currently on?

[serena22]

thank you comfy cat! those posts were really helpful....i am still easing in to retin a using it every few nights, so far breakouts are not worse. I am starting yasmin too soon, hopefully this and spiro will be enough - im so nervous to start a new BCP!

[Andi B]

I am a 29 year old female and I have had very bad cystic acne for about 10 years. Every year it seemed to get worse. I have been to 4 different dermotologists and taken countless prescriptions with no relief. I have seriously tried EVERY THING I could buy OTC and still nothing. So finally I went to see an Endocrinologist (hormone Doc.)
He started me on Spiro. and I have been on it for about 4 months now and finally I am clearing up. I currently have 2 small pimples on my face!!!!! I don't get the cystic, painful pimples at all and I used to have 10 - 15 BIG, painful pimples at once! This is the best thing in the world! I LOVE IT!!!!

saraebru, you've encouraged me a bit. i'm on nearly week 11 and still breaking out (see my gallery). i see it took 4 months for you to see improvement...so i'll keep trudging along...

[atlliving]

Have you experienced any side effects? I tried taking it too, but I was on 200mg a day. I experienced a stimulant-like effect that was very unpleasant. I had to stop taking it. I'm thinking my dosage was just too high. Glad to hear it's working for you! Are you still taking the Spiro? Have you noticed any changes in mood, sleep, or energy?

I have experiencd the unpleasant side effects....stimulant-like is a good description. I feel a bit moody, can't sleep good, heart a bit 'racey' and i get headaches all day...I don't really like it. I have only been on a week at 50mg/daily...I want to give it a bit longer to see if it will kick in...but i read somewhere sometimes doc prescribe patients to just take it a week before their cycle and i am thinking that would be better...I don't want to take this continuously week after week if these side effects continue.

[jjp007]

Ive been taking aldactone/spiro for years now. 50 mg twice a day and besides having to pee a lot more I don't think I've had any other side effects. I was on Yaz and just stopped that as it was giving me headaches. I'm hopin I won't start breaking out from stopping the bcp though. Ugggg.

[qrs]

Hi,
For those of you who have been using Spiro for at least 2 months or more and have now greatly improved skin, did you experience gradual improvement over those months or did you look about the same for a while, then finally in the last month you saw a big difference? I've been on Spiro for a little over a month now and just had a second visit with my new derm, and she was discouraged that the med hadn't provided any improvement. She commented that I looked the same or possibly even worse (that was quite discouraging for me!). She strongly suggested trying out Accutane but I've ready too many horror stories on that treatment. Should I continue to use Spiro for at least another month or two and wait patiently for the big break in the next few months? I know it's different for everyone, but I just don't know whether I should expect some steady or gradual improvement over time, or whether my skin will stay about the same (and possibly worsen on some days), then expect a big clearing later, later on...please, for those of you who have been on Spiro for some months and have seen the major breakthrough, please advise! THANK YOU!!!

I'm currently on 50mg a day, and my doctor may bump it up to 100mg. She also put me back on Doxycicline as well, which hopefully which help. But I'm getting nervous with all the pills, I've never been on two different pills simultaneously before...nervous.

[Boston50]

Hi,
For those of you who have been using Spiro for at least 2 months or more and have now greatly improved skin, did you experience gradual improvement over those months or did you look about the same for a while, then finally in the last month you saw a big difference? I've been on Spiro for a little over a month now and just had a second visit with my new derm, and she was discouraged that the med hadn't provided any improvement. She commented that I looked the same or possibly even worse (that was quite discouraging for me!). She strongly suggested trying out Accutane but I've ready too many horror stories on that treatment. Should I continue to use Spiro for at least another month or two and wait patiently for the big break in the next few months? I know it's different for everyone, but I just don't know whether I should expect some steady or gradual improvement over time, or whether my skin will stay about the same (and possibly worsen on some days), then expect a big clearing later, later on...please, for those of you who have been on Spiro for some months and have seen the major breakthrough, please advise! THANK YOU!!!

I'm currently on 50mg a day, and my doctor may bump it up to 100mg. She also put me back on Doxycicline as well, which hopefully which help. But I'm getting nervous with all the pills, I've never been on two different pills simultaneously before...nervous.

I know it sucks but you will probably clear up on 100 mgs. plus doxy. DD looked the same for quite a while. Showing more clearing now in the 6 month range. She just dropped down to 50 mgs. spiro plus Yaz due to extreme fatigue. She's been off of antibiotics for a while now but used to take doxy with good results. Just take probiotics also to offset the negative and try not to be on them too long.