5 replies to this topic

[acnelove]

I made an appointment with my doctor to ask for Spironolactone, What information should I have in case she asks? It is my gyno who I will be seeing, I only want Spiro for acne, Is it hard to get it prescribed?

How do I get my doctor to prescribe me Spriro?

[Green Gables]

I went to a derm that I knew prescribed it (referral from a friend). Barring that, i would just print this out and bring it:

http://acne.about.co...ronolactone.htm

It explains why spiro works for hormonal acne in clear language, AND cites several Dermatology journals at the bottom.

Edited by Green Gables, 15 August 2012 - 05:03 PM.

[acnelove]

Great advice, thank you

My gyno prescribed me 25 mg for two months. I could tell she did not want to put me on it though. Do you have to do routine blood tests for your spiro prescription? I had one the day she wrote the prescription for me and I'm scheduled to have another in two months. yikes. I'm not sure if I need to be on Spiro at all now. I have an appointment with a new derm on Tuesday. Though, I've never met this derm and haven't found a derm I could trust in my area. Should I try and get my prescription from the derm instead to avoid the blood tests? Is my gyno being too precautious?

[Green Gables]

The safe route is to get a potassium test every 3 months...but only for the first year. Any doctor should require that. Spiro's only serious (very rare) complication is hyperkalemia, so any doctor will want to cover his butt and test you to make sure you're not in that 1% of the population.

I'm not sure what to recommend except to ignore her hesitance and just fight to keep the spiro, or switch doctors. Unfortunately many doctors still react on emotion and don't want to try things they are unfamiliar with. Spiro wasn't even mentioned to me until my current derm. He is pretty unusual in that he and his NP prescribe spiro regularly instead of loading you with antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide.

Edited by Green Gables, 19 August 2012 - 02:00 PM.

[acnelove]

Wow, that sounds like a great dermatologist to me! I wish more would stray away from the antibiotics and topicals route. I remember reading a post of yours where you mentioned you planned on taking Spiro until menopause, why is that? Has your blood pressure been affected at all? Should i expect to see any results on 25 mg? Your skin looks beautiful, by the way.

[Green Gables]

Wow, that sounds like a great dermatologist to me! I wish more would stray away from the antibiotics and topicals route. I remember reading a post of yours where you mentioned you planned on taking Spiro until menopause, why is that? Has your blood pressure been affected at all? Should i expect to see any results on 25 mg? Your skin looks beautiful, by the way.

I would only expect results on 25mg if your acne is very mild (2-3 zits on the face), or if you are very small (less than 110 lbs).

Well when you hit menopause your hormones completely change.