45 replies to this topic

[annaw]

41 weeks + 2 days (day 287)

hello - i am still pimple-free, yay! no progress on hair since last post. dent on cheek is still there & larger. possible causes: sinus infection scarring, ringworm. i just started using that fungal cream on the area to try & rule out ringworm...it really doesn't appear to be that.

i spoke with my pharmacist to find out if spiro is an immuno-suppressive due to something i'd read about how it negatively affected the immune system in patients with a particular illness. i wondered if anyone had researched whether or not it has a negative effect on EVERYONE's immune system instead. i asked because ever since i started taking spiro, i lost 10 lb, had mono for almost 5 months, 2 sinus infections, 2 UTI's, many gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, dizziness, and low BP.

the pharmacist said she'd do some research and then call me in a few days, which she did. she left me a voicemail saying she read that spiro's pathway is similar to some steroids, which have been shown to negatively impact the immune system.

i will try to see a doctor in september in the new town i live in & discuss this, but i really hope it's not spiro causing these things because i've liked everything else about this spiro/yaz combo.

i HAVE had a ton of stressors in the past 9 months, which can also hurt the immune system (new relationship, mono & other health problems, left my job & city & said goodbye to friends, moved twice in 2 months, started a new challenging job in a new town, was given deadline to achieve difficult certification for work, got pulled into drama at work, got engaged, started wedding planning). hopefully these stressors are the cause of my weak immune system & health problems, and they'll stop once things settle down

[annaw]

46 weeks (day 322)

sunday was the last day that i took my spironolactone. i have decided to quit spironolactone for a test-period of time (still continuing with yaz). i had a sudden realization on sunday that ever since last october when i began yaz & spiro together, i have had constant health problems. the ONLY positive way that these drugs have affected me has been by getting rid of my acne.

i mentioned a long time ago that i have taken yaz once before in my life (2009), and i did not have any serious side effects on it. this makes me inclined to attribute all the crazy health problems i've had over the last year to spironolactone. i know i had mono for a few months, but that cannot explain everything i have experienced. this includes:

faintness when standing (including temporary loss of vision)
difficulty exercising (i was a half-marathon-runner until i started spiro. can barely walk for 30 min now)
nausea
gastrointestinal problems
headaches
UTIs
sinus infections
sore throat
canker sores
extreme fatigue
irritability
dehydration symptoms

i have been spending the last 10 months WAITING to 'get better' from all the sickness i have had. i have spent almost all of my freetime sitting on the couch feeling very tired, nauseous, and weak. it finally occurred to me that i've been waiting ever since i started spiro, and spiro might be the cause of all of these symptoms.

i had great skin success on yaz alone & mostly added the spironolactone to reduce excess hair. this should've become evident a few months ago, but i have not seen significant improvement. i am happy to return to only taking yaz and feel confident that my skin will still be clear.

i have spent so much time thinking about my health for the past week, and i've actually made a number of sudden changes:

drinking 8-12 glasses of water a day
cut out sugar & processed foods
stopped taking spironolactone
increased sleep from 5-6 hrs to 7-8 hrs/night
walking for 30 minutes every other day

i can honestly say i feel incredibly better after only a week. it is very hard to say which change is responsible for the drastic improvement, but i believe that all of these changes are positive and necessary, so i will most likely continue down this path.

i will see a new doctor on sep 21 & plan to fully share my experience with her. i have created a color coded timeline of prescriptions, symptoms, blood tests, etc. many doctors do not support taking spironolactone for PCOS symptoms, which i used to scorn, but after my experience, i believe that might be wise. i have a feeling my new doctor will tell me i have made the right decision by stopping my spiro use, and i will update here when i get the chance.

[Momofgirl]

Keep us posted. I just started a low dose of spiro for my daughter with yaz. THis has me worried for her. Let me know what you find out! Thanks!

[annaw]

63 weeks (day 445)

well it's been exactly 4 months since I last posted & 4 months since I quit spironolactone & went on yaz (loryna) all by itself.

as far as acne goes, i'm pleased to say that yaz is pulling its weight & keeping me pimple-free all by itself. this is great because my wedding is in april, so i didn't want my clear skin to go away after stopping spiro.

as for the year of health-problems that i attributed to spiro in my last post? well, i still believe spiro was the culprit. here is a reminder of the things i experienced during spiro:

faintness when standing, near blackouts
difficulty exercising
nausea
gastrointestinal problems
headaches
UTIs
sinus infections
sore throat
canker sores
extreme fatigue
irritability
dehydration

i am happy to say i am still free of all these symptoms 4 months later. i DID have one UTI in december followed by several weeks of moodiness (i blame the antibiotic for that), but ALL of the other problems have gone away! after 11 months of suffering on spiro & watching my health spiral downward in a multitude of ways, i have had 4 months of health again. THAT is significant.

now here's a reminder of all the things i had suddenly changed back in september & thought could be responsible for the improvements:

drinking 8-12 glasses of water a day
cut out sugar & processed foods
stopped taking spironolactone
increased sleep from 5-6 hrs to 7-8 hrs/night
walking for 30 minutes every other day

out of all of those changes, i have only stuck to two of them, and those are avoiding sweets & discontinuing spironolactone use. before spiro, i ate plenty of sugar & never had all those health problems, so i believe it is safe to say that spiro was responsible for almost everything on that list. i truly believe it put me in an immunodeficient, severely dehydrated state.

so the moral of the story is:
- spironolactone didn't do anything for me (except try to kill me)
- and yaz is sufficient at keeping my skin clear

i have given up on the excess hair issue. i have switched to a consumer driven health plan for health insurance this year, which essentially means i am taking a year off from the doctor (crossing fingers). i will possibly speak with a doctor again one day about alternative methods of treating the excess hair. for now, i'm just satisfied to have my health back. and the continuation of clear skin is a plus.

as a side note, i never gained back the 10 pounds i lost when i started spiro. i kept thinking was going to gain it back once i fully recovered, but no such luck. it's possible all my half-marathon muscles have just turned to fat by now, so the permanent loss is just muscle-weight loss. i look pretty flabby for losing 10 lb from my rock-hard body a year ago (okay, maybe not ROCK hard, but i was in shape!) i want my athleticism back, so i'm going to pick back up on the exercising again soon. gotta look toned for the wedding!

i don't believe spiro is poisonous to everyone. it just didn't go over well with my body, just like yaz doesn't go over well with some women. thanks for reading my rambles. goodnight!

[Freemimo]

i am so glad i found your log. i am a week into my second pack of yaz and have been experiencing a horrible breakout. (about 20 active pimples on my lower cheeks and jawline and 1 cystic pimple by my ear) i cant wait to start seeing improvement like i saw during the first few weeks on the first pack. unfortunately im not on spiro so hopefully the yaz is strong enough to cure my suffering.

[annaw]

It's me again. Thought I'd give an update (one year since the last one!).

 

In August of 2012, I went off Yaz, so I no longer take Spiro OR Yaz. My skin was still clear when I stopped, but when they did blood tests on me, I still didn't have any estrogen in my body. I also hadn't had a period since Spring of 2010, which is unhealthy, so they wanted to put me on something with higher estrogen. I was also still not able to exercise like I was before I'd gotten sick, so they thought with some estrogen in me, I might have a little more energy.

 

So I made the slight switch from Yaz to Yasmin in August. I have had an AMAZING amount of energy since then. I've regained that weight I'd lost on the Yaz (10 lb), but I'm back to a healthy weight now. I'm able to work out almost every day again, and I have a lot more energy to do the things I like to do on a daily basis. It's been almost 6 months, and it's been great. I honestly think Yaz was keeping me dehydrated (especially in combo with Spiro). I also immediately started getting my period again on Yasmin, which was a good sign.

 

Unfortunately, despite my lifestyle being enhanced by the extra energy, my acne has started to return around my jawline. I'm getting multiple cysts at a time again. So it proves once again that while the Yaz was bad for my energy, it was good for my skin.

 

If the acne were the only bad thing that's happened since starting Yasmin, I'd stay on it, because the restoration of energy has been significant enough to outweigh the acne. But there's been some other stuff too. I've had some insomnia (apparently Yasmin can interact with your adrenals), breakthrough bleeding, and I've been more sensitive (emotionally). Something I liked about Yaz was that it tamed my emotions. I was just always 'chill'. I'm still stable on the Yasmin, but I've noticed fluctuations in my moods that weren't there before, and it's cyclical with the pills.

 

The breakthrough bleeding usually indicates a lack of estrogen, which was the whole point to begin with. So the doctor has just prescribed Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, which I will begin in February or March. I'm skeptical, since it doesn't have much more estrogen than Yasmin.

 

I hate having to switch from med to med so much in the past few years. It confirms my original impression of prescription drugs - that they are no good! I hate the idea of pumping chemicals through my body that cause obvious side effects and probably also cause unknown side effects as well.  In the back of my head, I keep thinking there must be more natural solutions. I've exhausted myself reading about both natural & unnatural treatments to health problems & acne though, and I feel like I can't find any conclusive solutions.

 

So I'll try the Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and see what happens. I'm also interested in focusing more on oral hygiene after reading a few posts on here tonight. Found out this week that I have 6 cavities and also need 3 sealants. I don't floss regularly or rinse with mouthwash often, so I wonder about all that bacteria hanging out in my mouth & blood stream.  I didn't have any cavities when I went to the dentist in 2009 though, and I still had acne problem then. Wow...I've gotten a lot of cavities in a short period of time! And I avoided sugar too! Not fair!

 

Goodnight everyone