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Spironolactone Reviews
Total results: 721 Viewing page: 1 of 73
Caroline from Charleston, SC
August 24, 2010
| Pros | With spironolactone, my face is the clearest it has been in almost 25 years (I am now 40) I was always a terrible "picker," but I no longer do this as there is nothing to pick at! |
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| Cons | Felt very tired for the first few days taking it, but as with many medications, your body must get used to it, so after a few days I no longer felt fatigued Give your body a chance to get used to it--it is well worth taking |
| Bottom line | I am 40 years old and have had moderate (but persistent) acne since puberty. I was on antibiotics off and on for years. My face would break out before that time of month and then take a couple weeks to clear up and I'd have only a few days of clearer skin before the whole cycle started over again. When surveys ask, "How many days a month do you have blemishes?" I thought it was a joke. For me it would have been better to ask, "How many days a month do you NOT have blemishes?" Answer: Not many! I became an expert in concealing blemishes. Within 2 days of starting to take 50mg of Spironolactone a day, my skin cleared up 95% !!! I hate to think of all the money I've spent over the years on cleansers, lotions, medications, dermatologist appts, etc.--but no more !!! I'm just glad that I won't be wasting any more money on products that don't work for me. In addition to the 50mg per day of Spironolactone, my dermatologist also prescribed Aczone (which I had never heard of), Retin-A, SkinCeuticals Clarifying Cleanser and SkinCeuticals Daily Moisturizer. The cleanser has a pleasant, light scent and is not too drying and the moisturizer is not too heavy (most of my life I have not needed to use any moisturizer). I also use Olay Complete Defense UV protection for my face--I use it every day to prevent sun damage. It does not make my face feel oily. Am also using GLO minerals foundation and their redness reducing powder (I bought these at my dermatologist). The redness reducing powder has a yellow tint and does a great job of covering redness so you don't need to use a heavy layer of foundation. I have used many birth control pills over the years and I recently switched to Jolessa (generic Seasonale). I have had migraine headaches since the 3rd grade. Since I have switched to this pill, I have had only 1 headache in 2 months! For me, amazing! Thanks to everyone who commented on this website! I had never heard of spiron |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $10.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
kjd4071 from Geelong ,Australia
August 17, 2010
| Pros | My acne is almost gone, weight loss, hair less oily. |
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| Cons | need to drink more water sore back at first but this has gone now period irregular |
| Bottom line | My dermatologist prescribed Roaccutane but after reading about iall the side effects. I wanted to try spiro first. I have taken Yasmin in the past but have been unable to continue due to bad migraines. Spiro has made a big difference already to my hormonal acne. I started on 50mg daily and have been on 100mg daily now for about a month. I still have a few pimples but am hoping I will be completely clear soon. I am 39 years of age and wish I had known about this years ago! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Anonymous from Wisconsin
August 16, 2010
| Pros | -I almost never get acne anymore -I never get cystic acne anymore -Lighter body hair -Lost water weight -Less oily skin / hair |
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| Cons | -More light-headedness when I stand up quickly -Some doctors require that you get your blood drawn regularly to check electrolyte levels (I have only had to do this once in 1.5 years) |
| Bottom line | I first heard about this in Elle magazine, and I am so glad I asked my doctor about it (though she had to look it up, as she'd never heard of it being used this way). I have been taking 50mg/day for about 1.5 years with no problems and consistent results. Though I've never had terrible acne, I always got it hormonally. And whenever I got acne, I would pick at it (check out [link removed] for more info). This would create a vicious cycle in which picking would lead to more acne, etc. When my skin was bad, I'd get depressed, become a recluse, and buy ridiculous, expensive skin products in hopes that they'd save my skin. Spironolactone is the only thing that has helped me break that cycle (and I've tried everything from OTC washes to extreme diet changes, only to realize that my acne is completely hormonal). My skin is now beautiful all of the time. I no longer wear makeup to bed with my boyfriend, and I don't have to hide in shadows when I walk down the street. I don't dread stores with fluorescent lighting. The list goes on! Why not give it a try? Give yourself a chance to start living your life fully. For $20-$30/3 months, it's well worth it. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $6.00 |
| Acne severity | light |
Finally Happy
August 15, 2010
| Pros | clears up skin, no more cysts, weight loss, cheap |
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| Cons | dehydration, no period |
| Bottom line | I've been on spironolactone for about 1.5 years and absolutely love it! I tried everything but accutane, and this was the one product that worked. It does make you more vulnerable to dehydration, but you become used to just drinking more water. Another issue is that I don't get my period, which my doctors were concerned about. I had blood tests done though and everything was fine. I went on the pill to start getting my period again but it made my skin worse (tried both Yaz and Ortho-Tri-Cyclen) so I have now stopped it. I continue to take 75mg of spironolactone a day. Topically I am now using adapalene (differin) to get rid of scars and aczone for redness. DON'T USE EPIDUO! Everyone may react differently but myself and my friend both got rashes, extreme dry skin and burning sensations from epiduo. One last recommendation for people who get cysts- as soon as you feel it forming apply the Proactiv Sulfur Mask onto it and let it sit overnight, and continue to use it until the cyst is gone. The stuff works miracles on the cysts and decreases the swelling. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $8.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
CP from Denver, CO
August 12, 2010
| Pros | cleared acne by 90% hair is less oily and stronger less facial hair (moustache) increase in breast size no or little bloating at time of month skin is not oily anymore |
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| Cons | some side effects which seem to straighten out after getting used to it: majorly heavy/watery period - spiro is a diruetic (makes you lose water), frequent periods (every 10 days), dizzy, dehydrated, have to pee more often, panicky/tingly feeling probably from the dizziness and dehydration |
| Bottom line | my side effects were so severe at first i stopped taking spiro. i was on 50 2x daily. i then went back on and started at a lower dose (50 1x daily) and the side effects pretty much went away aside from a very watery period (sorry for the detail)! it did take over 2 months to see results for my acne, but they are incredible with it mostly gone! last month i didn't even get any pimples during PMS and now/sometimes i have a few small ones here and there but have upped my dose to 75 to see if that will take care of the last strays. i am also on ACZONE topical cream which stops any acne i do get from becoming inflammed, cyst-like, etc. overall, this is a great pill if your acne is hormonal. mine was hormonal and covered my jaw-line and upper neck (beard area on a man). it was so awful (cysts that would last months) and i had tried just about everything else to no avail. i was so affected by it i became like a hermit, not wanting to show my face anywhere since i even had a hard time covering it with makeup. this prescription has changed my life! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $20.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Anonymous from San Antonio, TX
August 11, 2010
| Pros | The promises of less oily skin and less acne sounded nice....also adding a possible weight loss. |
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| Cons | Unfortunately, I had SEVERE side effects on day 2 and stopped! I had an episode of severe cramping, followed by several trips to the bathroom (diarrhea)....worst of it all is that after I started getting very light headed and my blood pressure plummeted! And this is not including my "fatigue" associated with this med.... |
| Bottom line | I was previously on accutane and had been cystic acne free for 2 years. However, I started getting 3-4 bumps under my chin every month. My dermatologist recommended this medicine. I will call her first thing in the morning to suggest something new. Have you read the side effects....and its "tumogeneric" which means it might cause tumors!!! |
| Recommended | No |
| Price paid | $10.00 |
| Acne severity | light |
Chapel Hill
July 30, 2010
| Pros | Effective when nothing else worked |
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| Cons | Frequent trips to the bathroom |
| Bottom line | I have experienced moderate acne since age 10. At age 23, my acne got HORRIBLE. (Children began to point at my face -- that's how bad.) All topical treatments failed; antibiotics failed; and Accutane made it *worse* (I had to go on a steroid to reduce that inflammation!). I'd just about lost hope when an alternate dermatologist recommended combining 100mg of Spironolactone with a light dose of antibiotic. The pairing worked! Now I take 50mg Spironolactone per day (no antibiotic anymore) and only experience a few blemishes at a time. Whew! There are some mild side effects: it makes me suddenly hungry within 2 hours of taking it, and I pee more frequently than my grandma. But all things considered, it is a welcome tradeoff. Such a relief. |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $10.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
Elle from Boston, MA
July 30, 2010
| Pros | Clearer Skin Weight Loss |
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| Cons | Lightheadedness Fainting Dry mouth |
| Bottom line | I had only been on this drug for about a week and had started to see positive results for my skin, unfortunately I was getting very lightheaded later in the day (I was taking 100mg in the am) which ultimately led to me fainting in the middle of a restaurant at the end of dinner. If you are having the same lightheadedness after taking it for not that long you should stop, passing out and being taken away in an ambulance was sooo much more embarassing than having bad skin! If it works for you without the side effects its a great drug! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $10.00 |
| Acne severity | moderate |
liiivelife
July 28, 2010
| Pros | - gets ride of acne |
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| Cons | - the side affects were something I had to deal with tremendously. - fatigue - extreme tiredness - racy heart beat |
| Bottom line | Spironolactone helped me so much in reducing my acne. I never had severe acne problems during my adolescence days, but this year (3rd year in college) I started breaking out like I have never seen in my life. Spiro did not make my acne disappear overnight. It took me a span of two to three weeks for me to notice how my face was no longer flooded with new pimples, while the old ones were going down. Yes, spiro helped me so much in calming down my acne and I am so thankful for that. However, the side affects were... in other words, extremely difficult to deal with. The side affects of fatigue and tiredness hit me so hard since DAY ONE and hasn't changed since (and I've been only taking 25-50mg). The fatigue feeling is almost to the point of anxiety. I recently stopped taking spiro (after 1 1/2 months) last week because I felt that I was going to faint. Spiro sometimes (and by sometimes I mean most of the time) makes my heart beat so fast to the point that it makes my whole body jittery. Even when I got a good nights sleep, i would take 2-3 hour naps (and even so, it makes me feel that I just pulled an all nighter). The other day when I took spiro, I ended up taking a nap on the living room floor because I was THAT TIRED to even go upstairs into my bedroom. just sayin' The only reason why I sucked it up was because spiro DID help my acne. However, let me emphasize how difficult it was to even maintain my daily tasks (going to class, focusing, trying not to fall asleep, or trying to sleep with my heart beating so fast- not fun) So if you try Spiro and the side effects are nothing how I described, I'm so happy for you. But if you're like me, beware. Here are some before & after pictures. You can see how different my skin looks (despite the different lighting in each pics). Now it's only the acne scars that are left. BEFORE [link removed] |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $30.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Kristianne9 from OR
July 25, 2010
| Pros | -greatly reduces oily skin and hair -reduces acne (for me, acne was eliminated) -reduce cysts (for me, cysts were eliminated) -pores look smaller, less noticable -reduces body hair -unlike Accutane, you can take it long term -with health insurance, it can be very cheap |
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| Cons | -not for pregnant women (it can feminize male fetuses) -not for men (sorry guys!) -tastes bad -it might be hard for some woen to swallow the 100 mg pills as they're about the size of a dime (the 25,50 mg pills are smaller) |
| Bottom line | I had severe acne compounded with rosacea for several years, (it started out mild in junior high and became progressively worse over the years). I went on Accutane twice to clear my skin (it also helped with my rosacea) but I knew my oily, inflamed skin would return as it always did. I also had moderate hirsuitism and had done a few electrolysis sessions to get rid of the hair that bothered me most, but even that didn't work to get rid of the hairs. Although my hormone levels were normal (I had them checked), my endocronologist told me that I was most likely sensitive to androgens, and that was why I had such oily skin and hirsuitism. I was prescribed 200 mg Spironolactone 8 months ago and it cleared up my skin within a few months after taking it regularly. It reduced my oil production tremendously, and gave me back my self-esteem. My hair is beautiful now and I only need to shampoo it every three days instead of every day like I used to. I have more of a problem with my skin being too dry now than being too oily. Spironolactone has also reduced my body hair by about half - the hairs grow back slower, are less thick, and are not as dark. You don't have to get it proscribed by a derm-you can also get it prescribed by your OBGYN or endocronologist if you have one. For me, it's only $5 every month because I have health insurance (I'm not sure how muh it woud be without it). I would definately reccomend this drug to women who have a hormonal inbalance or have had trouble clearing their skin with Accutane or antibiotics. Good luck! |
| Recommended | Yes |
| Price paid | $5.00 |
| Acne severity | moderately severe |
Total results: 721 Viewing page: 1 of 73
