This was recommended to me by a doctor in South Carolina after I used Accutane, Birth Control, and every prescription cream on the market. It really helped with the acne, especially the cystic stuff. However, it wasn't until I moved with a new doctor that I found out it causes sever birth defects if you get pregnant while on it. I was told that it levels out hormone fluctuations. This was a big problem for me as I do not take birth control. After deciding to do natural family planning (Creighton method), it became even more clear to me how bad it is for your body to alter your hormone fluctuations throughout the month. It took me several months (almost 6) to gain back normal fertility after I went off this medication. Note: that does not mean you are infertile, my cycle just wasn't normal and predictable.

I am also an active runner, constantly training for marathons or half -marathons and I found this medication too dehydrating while I am training. More than any other medication I've been on.

Finally, when I moved to Nebraska, the doctor took me off the medication right away because it's bad to be on for long periods of time because of the damage it can do to your body. I wish the first doctor had told me all of the side effects.

SPIRONOLACTONE HAS WORKED WONDERS FOR ME!

Ladies, I cannot stress this enough, SPIRO IS A VERY SLOW-ACTING DRUG! Many women go on spiro, take it for 3 or so months (even up to 6), claim it's not working then switch. IT TAKES LONGER THAN THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE!

I have suffered from SEVERE acne since I was 15 and this is the only thing that has cleared me besides accutane which I have taken 3 times (trust me, I have tried everything you can think of at the direction of my derm).

If you have tried accutane and the effects haven't been permanent, TRY SPIRONOLACTONE!

I have been on it for about a year now and honestly, I can just say that within the past couple months it has totally cleared my skin! BE PATIENT, give it AT THE VERY LEAST 6 MONTHS before deciding there are no effects. For me, it took even longer than this but IT WORKS I promise for severe cystic acne.

I also take Microgestin Fe 1/20 birth control pill daily, unsure if this adds to the effect, and treat with Neutrogena On-The-Spot 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream both am/pm. The combo of this has given me perfectly clear skin (thanks to the spiro as I've always done those other things).

ALSO IMPORTANT: You MUST take a dosage of 100mg or higher. I know many derms prescribe less, and perhaps that works for minor or moderate acne even, but if you suffer from moderate to severe acne you must take more than 100 mg. My derm has stressed this as well, he starts ANYONE on atleast 100mg even if not severe acne.

I take 200mg daily. I have a friend who has only very slight to moderate acne and ALSO takes 200mg daily. We both have clear skin. I have a friend who takes only 100mg daily and still has a few pimples at any given time. Take that as you will.

So, in conclusion, SPIRONOLACTONE WORKS. It is very slow-acting, do not give up on it until you have taken it for 6 months or more. Also, you need to take a high dose, 100mg/day or more especially if you have severe a

Here's a bit of background information about my skin:

I started to get little breakouts at a young age but my main problem was just tiny pimples and redness.

Entering high school I cleaned up my diet and my face was clear and glowing. Throughout high school my skin was on and off until my final year when I got HORRIBLE breakouts. At this point I went to a clinic and was put on birth control, antibiotics and I began to do skin peels. My skin cleared once again!

At the beginning of university I went off of birth control and antibiotics and I continued to have little breakouts here and there but nothing too serious... until my last year (again!) It must have been due to stress because my skin went wild! I had painful cystic acne along my jawline and on my cheeks. It came on so fast. I refrained from "picking" at my face to see if things changed but the acne would not go away.

I went back to the same clinic and the Doctor told me he thought it was stress and hormones (vs. bacterial causes) and told me he wanted me to try spironolactone. I agreed because at this point my acne was ruining my face and my self-esteem.

That night I got my prescription filled and came on Acne.org to read reviews. The main comment I got was that this product worked but patience was needed due to the initial breakout. I remember in my mind thinking "this 'initial breakout' cant be too bad". I really didn't think my face could get worse. Unfortunately, it could and IT DID.

The only thing that got me through the first 4-6 weeks was reading all of the comments on the site and constantly reminding myself that I just needed to wait it out. I'm so glad I did because I'm so happy with my skin right now.

I don't know how long I'm going to take spironolactone for or how my skin is going to react in the future on and off this medication but I wanted to come on here and write a review to help someone who is thinking about taking or already

I've been on spironolactone for a month now, and I definitely see a difference. My dermatologist put me on a regimen of 100 mg a day, I use Aczone every morning and night and tretinoin every other night. It's only been a month and my face is almost clear. Literally, the only marks on my face are from old scars which are starting to fade as well.

It may be different for everyone, but I did NOT have an initial breakout, my face started clearing up instantly.

I'm getting my confidence back and I feel great! I recommend this regimen to any female dealing with acne!

Before I tried every acne care system, Proactiv, Exposed, Murad, etc. Nothing helped, and Proactiv made it even worse. Take my advice and don't waste your money!

I am 37 and have struggled with acne since age 13. I have tried everything and spent thousands of dollars searching for a cure and finally found it after suffering for over 2 decades!

At age 21 I went on my first round of accutane which cleared me for several years. when I had my daughter at age 24, my acne came back. I have since tried accutane 3 more times on the heaviest dose allowable and up to 8 month treatment periods and it would come back within 3 months of stopping treatment. Horrible side effects from accutane including a chronic sore in my nose that wont heal from mucous membranes drying so severely.I would never go on accutane ever again.

It ablsolutely amazes me that no dermatologist or doctor or endocrinologist that ive seen over the years suggested spiro- i had to request it after reading reviews on here. I had a bad initial breakout that lasted a couple of months. I started on 75 mg /day. I had an almost constant low grade headache the first 2 weeks that went away. After the first month i started to experience some severe dizziness that really scared me. I stopped taking spiro for 1 week and then resumed to 25 mg/day for 2 weeks, then upped it to 50mg/day. It took almost 2 months for the dizziness to completely go away, but it hasn't returned.Its now been over 6 months and my face is almost completely clear!!! i get the odd little pimple now and then, but nothing even close to the pizza face i looked like before. It takes so much less time to get ready for the day- i dont have to wear a ton of makeup and try to cover it all. I have done numerous expensive treatments over the years( lazers, pdt, blue light ala treatments, chemical peels, tazorac, antibiotics, topicals, many over the counter cleansers and acne treatments, proactive,diet changes) this may not be for everyone, but it changed my life! it was free with my insurance coverage. I do have some melasma & hyperpigmentation, but i do a "skin culture peel 4000" once a year to clear that

Ok, so I had REALLY bad hormonal acne. I never had acne until I had PCOS... and then all hell broke loose on my face.

After struggling for a while, my dermatologist put me on doxycycline first and then spironoactone before putting me on accutane...10

Luckily for me, the combo of spiro+doxy+birthcontrol pill WORKED PERFECTLY. I no longer break out.. what so ever. I get maybe one pimple a month. I'm so relieved I didn't have to take accutane!

This is a great product for anyone suffering from hormonal acne. I have been using Spironolactone for about 3 months now and my face is about 80% cleared up. I occasionally get a pimple here and there due lack of sleep or poor diet but I am very pleased with the results so far. Will continue to use until my prescription runs out. I am a bit hesitant taking pills but I am hoping that this will be a very short term solution at attacking my acne.

I'm 22, and have tried almost everything, including Accutane when I was 16 (AWFUL side effects including bringing forth allergies, dry skin, sensitive skin, depression), which cleared my skin until about age 20-21, but was NOT worth the side effects. My skin began breaking out into painful cysts and blackheads, but was too sensitive to use any other products on (other than a very sensitive Avene moisturizer - Thanks, Accutane!). I began researching for a product comparable to Accutane, without the nasty side effects. Spiro was the first and only medication that seemed remotely comparable, so I approached my doctor to try it.

I've been using it for 3 or so months now, although the initial breakouts were rough, I now have amazing skin. Within 3 weeks, my skin went from extremely oily to dry (good thing!). I understood the increase of urinary frequency, as Spironolactone IS a diuretic, specifically used for lowering blood pressure. My blood pressure has been unaffected as well, which was a concern of mine.

I'm infatuated with this medication, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone suffering with acne.

The bottom line is despite the side effects, this medicine works. Do not give up hope if your acne is hormonal. It took a few months of working my way up to the highest dose of 200 mg. I take 100 mg at lunch and 100mg at dinner. I did not experience a true clearing, and almost stopped the pills I was so frustrated, until I upped my dosage to 200 mg. But, that's when I began having a 7 day period every two weeks and gaining weight despite not changing my eating habits. I put on about 10 pounds, my boobs got about two sizes bigger. However, my skin is amazing so I hired a trainer and am working hard to get that ten pounds off. I would recommend this to someone despite the side effects. I do notice if I miss a dose, which recently happened when I ran out of the presciption for a day, that I get a small breakout or one or two pimples.

Spiro did help when I became desperate for clear skin but I was just taking it for remission. Once it started slowly but surely coming back I decided to do a second round of Accutane. I believe Accutane is going to give me the result that I am looking for.