1062 replies to this topic

[blue_eyez]

It was originally used for high blood pressure, but my derm just prescribed it for me today as my chin and jawline acne is hormone related. I have tried all the products and even a strict diet change, but nothing. The derm said its my ovaries producing hormones. I cant go on the bc pill because I got a blood clot from it last year. Have any women tried Spiro (in Canada)? It's known as Aldactone in the USA. Men cannot use it because its a hormone treatment.

[Shortee]

Hi blue eyez -

I started on Spiro 2 weeks ago. I'm in the US, and it's called Spironolactone, but anyway, I'm not having problems with it. I am keeping a journal of my progress if you would like to read it. Let's keep in touch, I'd like to hear how your experience on it goes, since it seems like very few people are on it. I am also using Tazorac and I take Ortho Lo.

Best of luck, Shortee

PS~~ Are yours minty flavored?

Oh, here is the link to my Spiro journal http://www.acne.org/...showtopic=30480

[blue_eyez]

hi shortee,

just read your diary. That's so great to hear about your progress! I've read that Spiro is supposed to be very good for hormonal break outs. I'm really hoping it helps. I've had horrible jawline acne for the past 7 months, I never used to get breakouts like this, and its consistent, not just before my period. Hmm. We will see. Oh, I haven't tried the pills yet, so i dunno if they're mint flavoured! weird!

The derm originally stuck me on Minocylcin for two months, 1 pill a day, cant remember the mg size, but they're all the same I think. I did that for 2 1/2 months and saw zero change. I was using Herbal Logix face wash in the day and evening and Complex 15 moisturizer. I think I'm going to buy Panoxyl Clear Acne Cleansing Gel tomorrow at Superstore. It has 0.5% Triclosan and 2% SA. I'm hoping it will help more than Herbal Logix. I dont put any other creams on my face, ie. BP or SA. My fair skin would get really irritated. I just use a good face wash and let it sit on my skin for 1 minute. The medical ingredient is supposed to stay on your skin throughout the day I've heard. Let's keep each other posted!

[realangel]

girls, do keep the rest of us posted as well. i think many of us do have acne that is hormone related. i am 27, have been wanting to try spiro. interestingly the only 2 times in my life i was completely clear were both times i was pregnant. nursing also kept me 98% clear, make sense? i guess to a dr it may, maybe evigrex will read this and post her take.

i use clear logix was and it works great for me. differin about 4 times a week and take a bc pill, not sure the name of it was just told by my doc it would help. my skin is oily, i use blotting sheets and i partially went to the dr after i stopped nursing my second baby cause aside from the breakouts i also started growing sideburns, i feel much harrier now. have either one of you experienced that?

my doc did not suggest spiro, but i will ask for it if it works for you two. i tried to cure this bymyself for about 1 year before i even went to the dr. now for 2 years i have been using the above regime with pretty good results, but i'd love to be 100% clear again, thanks

[Katiebird]

I was on it a few months ago. I had to have regular blood tests on that as well. Unfortunantly, it didn't help me at all.

PS- Yep, mine were minty flavored! =)

[Shortee]

I am definitely less oily. Usually by now (9pm), I'm wanting to wash my face because of all the oil, but now I feel my oily areas, and there is no oil! This is awesome, I've been horribly oily forever. I will look for your posts blue eyez, and realangel to see how you are doing w/ Spiro.

Best of luck to us all!!

[RaeRae]

Hey ladies,

Wanted to add my opinion of good ole spiro. As a three month veteran I am so pleased by the results. Like Shortee said the oil reduction is so apparent and my skin stays clear. Two years ago my skin was awful and so now I'm just in awe of what this one pill can do for my skin and the effect it has on my life. Any ?s feel free to ask because I go back for my Doctor's appt. in about 2 weeks.

Good luck
Rae

[Kelin]

I've been on it for almost two months, and I'm just now noticing a difference. The reduced oil production excites me more than any effect it has had on my acne. A couple days ago I was actually really clear, then I got two big zits on my jaw, so that kinda sucks. But it's still nowhere near as bad as it was before. My only real complaint is that it is making my scalp really dry... Like, it sometimes looks like I've got dandruff or something. Kinda weird, since I've always had super oily hair...

[blue_eyez]

Hi guys,

so i started my first Spiro pill last night and took another one this morning (they are minty flavour!). I'm going to take them in the morning with breakfast from now on. It's really great to hear feedback from you ladies. I'm glad i'm not alone. It's amazing how much hormones have to do with our "adult" acne.

I decided to buy that Panoxyl cleansing gel and I feel optimistic that it will help.

Just to let you women know, I changed my diet completely three weeks ago in hope that the diet was the problem for my hormonal acne. It didn't make a change on my chin and jawline acne, but any spots i previously had around my nose and on my forehead have subsided, so diet DOES play a role. If anyone wants to know, I cut out all "white" foods, potatoes, white bread, white pasta, and enrolled whole wheats instead (rice, pasta, bread, etc), I have started drinking 2 cups of green tea daily, no coffee, no alcohol, upped my fruit intake, I'm also taking Udo's Oil daily (which is a blend of Omega 3-6-9 oils, flaxseed oil, borage and sunflower oils, etc), and taking Milk Thistle capsules (2 per day). They cleanse the toxins from your body through bowel movements (sounds gross I know!). I believe if you use the diet in conjunction with Spiro and any other treatments you're using, it will make that extra difference.

Will keep you guys posted on the Spiro progress. By the way, great to hear that some of your oil production has lowered. My t-zone is an oil slick by 11:30 a.m. I use blotting sheets too. Stopped with the powder (clinique), found it just added to the oil production ironically enough. Keep the updates coming ladies!!!!

[RaeRae]

Hi all,

Just wanted to add that today I got my spiro refilled and was just reading through the precautions again so I could make sure I hadn't missed anything. I wanted to remind everyone that you should not take Potassium supplements or ingest high levels of Potassium (I know bananas have high potassium rates) because it could be fatal. Who would have thought that a blood pressure and congestive heart failure medication would improve our hormonal acne?


Blue eyez: I would like to start drinking green tea for health benefits. Do you drink the hot or cold kind? And could you recommend a good brand? And my t-zone also used to be an oil slick by 11:30 or earlier and would use 3 or 4 blotting sheets a day. NOW I use an average of no blotting sheets I love it! Finally something with long term benefits that you can't become immune to and isn't overly expensive.

Good luck to you all,
Rae

P.S. I'll be out of town till Thursday night so I'll respond and get back to everyone then.

[blue_eyez]

RaeRae: NOOOO blotting sheets!!? I'm jealous!

Yes, Green Tea is fantastic for many reasons, a major antioxidant is the main factor which caused me to start drinking it. I drink Tazo which is the brand that Starbucks uses. It's $6 or so at Save-On for 20 teabags, Stash is a good brand too, about the same price. Be sure, if you get Tazo, to get Chinese Green Tips, not the blended kind, because it doesn't provide the same amount of health benefits. If you dont like the green tea flavour, then get a blend, but honestly, the flavour is so faint, i don't mind it and i dont even like regular tea! Oh and RaeRae, I drink it hot.

Note to others: has anyone on Spiro noticed their hands get drier now (since Spiro reduces oil in the face, maybe overall as well)? I wash my hands a lot and found i never had a problem with moist hands, but they seem quite dry today. I might need to buy a good hand cream.

[Kelin]

My hands AND feet have been drier lately.. but I didn't connect it to the spiro until I just read that... Has anyone else had their scalp getting dry though?
Yesterday was so exciting.... I went the whole 8.5 hours I was at work without blotting my face or touching up my makeup. Spiro is AMAZING! I'd probably be totally clear if I could only stop picking the zits I do get...

[Shortee]

My skin has always been dry so it's hard for me to say if it's drier. My hair is definitely less oily tho, which I guess would mean it is drier. Haven't had any problems with dandruff yet, but I am pretty aggressive w/ scrubbing my scalp when shampooing. I have really dark hair so dandruff really sucks....anyway, less oil rocks!!! My face is really starting to clear up, so happy!

[Pankins]

well, i made a post on here earlier in the week, but it looks as if it was deleted...hmmmmm

I have been on Spiro since April with wonderful results. I am taking 150 mg a day and have had no significant breakouts since I have been on it. I rarely get a teeny tiny little one here or there, but they usually clear up w/in 24 hours. How many milligrams is everyone taking?

[theresasix]

Ladies...
It's great to hear that Spiro is working so well for you all! I took it for a few months some time ago, but stopped because I got freaked out that it would make me get a lot of migraines (everything that causes fluctuations with my hormones does). Is it true that Spiro doesn't actually change the level of testosterone, but merely "blocks" it from being so overwhelming in the body? Hmmm, I guess so if it IS an androgen blocker...duh

I'm trying to gain the courage to try it out again because my hormonal acne is out of control and nothing has helped at all! I'm going to find a good alternative form of BC (again can't take the pill) so I won't worry about the birth defects that Spiro could cause (a big concern of mine as well). I just REALLY want to give it another chance because I didn't take it long enough before to tell if it helped or not plus I'm running out of options on other things to try. It also caused crazy irregular periods, but my periods are already irregular so what the hell...why not?

BTW it's very conforting to hear that so many women are having good luck with it. Please continue to share your experiences with it...it's been very helpful! How long does it take before you start seeing true results? Thanks.
T

[Shortee]

I am on 50mg twice a day right now - so a total of 100mg daily. My derm said he may bump me up to 200mg daily in 3 months...I wonder if he would do this if I was clear on 100mg?

theresasix ~ I've only been on Spiro for 3 weeks and am already seeing great results. I haven't been on it long enough to comment on the irregular period thing, but it definitely disrupted my normal cycle last month. I started taking it a week before my period would normally start, and instead I ended up having my period THAT day and all through the week. It was weird because I was still taking the pill during that whole time and so instead of taking a week off from the pill I decided to just go right into the next pack. To be honest, I don't know exactly how Spiro works. I have done some brief searches on the net about it, but have only found out how it works for blood pressure. Any articles people have on it would be interesting to read, for our own knowledge

Pankins ~ So awesome to hear your results! I hope by the end of my 3rd month that I will be as clear as you are! Right now my breakouts have greatly diminished, and less oil.


EDIT:::: Just found this ~ Oral spironolactone is a steroidal antiandrogen that prevents excessive oil production by blocking androgen receptors. Spironolactone also decreases androgen production in both the ovaries and adrenal glands, resulting in fewer flares. In order to decrease spironolactone's side effects, which include breast tenderness and menstrual irregularities, it is usually given in conjunction with oral contraceptives.

Spironolactone is an antihypertensive (anti high blood pressure) drug with a very long history of overall safety. It does not affect the blood pressure of those whose blood pressure is normal. ----I was wondering about that!

[RaeRae]

Hi all,

Glad the boards are back up.

Blue eyez: Hey about time I got to chill out on buying oil absorbing sheets haha. Okay another ? about the green tea, If I go to Starbucks how do I order the kind you specified? Also does it have any properties to fight fatigue? Because my LSAT is this Saturday and right now i'm so drained and need something so I can concentrate and study. Much help would be appreciated. And about the dry hands, I've definitely noticed it .

Pankins: Congratulations on the results! I hope I can be so lucky because I'm so tired of dealing with breakouts. Finally I don't live in fear of the next big "breakout" haha.

[blue_eyez]

Hi guys, finally the board is working again!

RaeRae: about green tea, i think Starbucks' only green tea is the Tazo one....it's also sold at Save-On foods, try Stash if you want to buy from the store....only $6. As for fatigue, it has very minor caffeine....so it may not give you the boost you're looking for.

Ok guys, I have only been on Spiro for I guess a week now but my skin is looking much worse than before....did anyone experience worse skin when initially taking Spiro? My jawline acne is really really horrible.....

Also, what facial cleansers do you gals use? I'm using PanOxyl at the moment, maybe its too overdrying for my skin? keep the updates coming!

[laurenem]

Just to let you know, drink a lot of water when you're on spiro. The reason it lowers blood pressure is because it dehydrates you... hence lower pressure. My derm said you will avoid all side effects of this medicine as long as you stay hydrated. You won't be a sluggish and stuff, plus your skin will be less dry!

good luck with it... it's working for me so far

[Shortee]

blue_eyez ~ I didn't have an inital type breakout w/ Spiro, sorry it seems like you are, hope it clears up soon! And Laurenem is right, lots of water!! I never leave the house w/o my water bottle, plus it's dam hot!

For me I use in the PM, Cetaphil Bar... and Aveeno Scrub in the AM. I think I might soon switch to a moisturizing cleanser for the PM because I don't moisturize at night usually, but my skin feels slightly tight after washing....not enough for me to want to moisturize tho. You'll clear up soon blue_eyez, hang in there! Even though my results aren't perfect yet, I'm still so pleased!