4 replies to this topic

[tk112233]

right now i go to rite-aid for my spiro prescription (i take 50mg twice a day), and they get their spiro from qualitest pharmaceuticals. i've been on it for almost 5 months now..it hasn't made my skin worse but i still haven't been seeing good enough improvements. i was thinking maybe switching to a different spiro manufacturer would help some way. i did research on these manufacturers: qualitest, mylan, and amneal.
i found a site that showed the inactive ingredients in each one. they all have same ingredients but then there are other ingredients that are different from one another. here's the site with different spiro manufacturers http://www.drugs.com/imprints.php?action=s...=spironolactone

qualitest inactive ingredients:
calcium sulfate, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, polysorbate 80, povidone, sodium starch glycolate type A potato, magnesium silicate, titanium dioxide
(rite-aid and target in my location both use qualitest)

amneal inactive ingredients:
calcium sulfate, corn starch, croscarmellose sodium, peppermint, hypromellose, ferric oxide red, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polydextrose, polydextrose, polyethylene glycol, polyvinyl alcohol, povidone, magnesium silicate, titanium dioxide, triacetin
(amneal also calls it spironolactone hydrochloride. does the hydrochloride make a difference?)
(cvs uses amneal in my location)

mylan inactive ingredients:
calcium sulfate dihydrate, silicon dioxide colloidal, croscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, hypromellose, lactose monohydrate, magnesium stearate, peppermint flavor, polydextrose, polyethylene glycol, povidone, pregelatinized starch, sodium lauryl sulfate, titanium dioxide, triacetin.
(walgreens uses mylan in my location)

as you can see all three have some similar ingredients but then there are some that are different. and amneal and mylan have more ingredients than qualitest.
anyone know if any ingredients listed above have a bad effect on acne or anything?
does anyone use spiro from amneal or mylan? how has these been working for you? do you think these two work better than the qualitest? is there another manufacturer out there that is better than these three?

[jenagain]

i started out on actavis and got really good results. then i switched to mylan when i started using cvs/walgreens. my skin got horrible on the mylan. i've been back on actavis for 3 mths and things aren't as good as the first time around, they have vastly improved.

also, i started a thread awhile back called spiro resistance where i talk about this same topic.

[NEWBURSTREET17]

Hi-

Just wanted to let you know my experience in case it helps you. When I was first prescribed Spiro I was given Amneal. Honestly it took a while to kick in but after two months, I could tell it was making a difference. I use to really really be strict with what I ate beforehand banning anything fun in my diet. Although I was mega-healthy, it was starting to be a real drainer and I it was causing me to have an unhealthy relationship with food. Anyways, point is that when the Spiro Amneal starting really working I would notice that the "food break outs" were a thing of the past and that I could indulge every once in a while with friends and family without going crazy pyscho that I would wake up with a pizza face. Then I did a really stupid thing and I ordered my prescription through a mail in order prescription service. They sent me this HUGE bottle of "Spiro" but it didnt look like anything I had been taking. Nervous over my new found freedom and realizing that I was more sensitive to changes than I had ever thought, little pimples and bumps started showing up again along my cheeks and on my forehead immediately after the change ( I never broke out on my forehead so it was strange) I did a little research and realized that the pills are manufactured by Qualitest. Although Qualitest has less inactive ingredients than Amneal it has to be that the Qualitest's active ingredient Spironolactone isn't supported or as effective with the shorter list. Also, who knows if one of their inactive ingredients is known to trigger acne. I'm sure Qualitest produced their drug without really testing it for people who are acne-prone in mind.

[tk112233]

hmmm yeah it does sound like qualitest spiro isn't all that great. i had a derm appt on the 3rd month of being on spiro and my derm was disappointed cause my skin hadn't cleared up. im on the 5th month now and there's still no improvement. so i think i really should try switching manufacturers..i was thinking either amneal or actavis. none of the pharmacies around here carry actavis though, but they have amneal. i just really hope my derm doesn't stop the refills of spiro when i see him in november cause he said if he doesn't see improvement, then he's gonna take me off the spiro.

[tk112233]

just thought of something..would it be best if i tried the brand name of spiro, Aldactone? i've always thought that brand name medications worked the best. but if i do switch to the brand name, is there a chance that i would get an initial breakout or other side effects? when i first started spiro, the generic, back in May..i never got an initial breakout.

aldactone also has a much shorter list of inactive ingredients:
calcium sulfate, corn starch, hypromelloses, magnesium stearate,polyethylene glycol, povidone, titanium dioxide.

Edited by tk112233, 02 October 2011 - 08:41 AM.