Hi there. I have been off of spirolactone for a year and still have not been able to lose the 10 lbs I gained from taking it for about 6 months. I workout like crazy, eat very little and have suffered from eating disorders throughout my life. I saw a nutritionist about the issue and she prescribed DIM among other supplements. Nothing has helped. Made it worse in fact. Another side effect of the estrogen dominance is lactation. I feel like a stranger in my own body. The enlarged breasts, soft tummy and cellulite have really messed with my head. All of my researched has me left with little to no hope. Could somebody please, please, lease tell me of a treatment to combat these horrible use effects that has worked? I'm beyond desperate and feeling depressed. Thank you.

Keegan24 - hang in there, I'm right there with you. Before using spiro, I was always a VERY fit person. I was blessed with very toned and muscular legs and ZERO cellulite!!! I didn't have ANY lovehandles, a flabby tummy, saggy arms or fat on my hips (all of which I have right now btw after taking spiro). I could always control my weight by basically eating healthy (I never even had to work out! Crazy huh?) If I wanted to lose weight THEN I'd simply eat a little less and work out here and there (but never anything crazy like those insanity courses). Well, I took spiro 100mg/twice a day for only TWO months I gained 14lbs!!!! My ENTIRE body turned into complete flab! At the time I was taking sprio, I changed NOTHING in my diet or activity level and I was so perplexed as to WHY I was gaining all of this weight and why my body was changing so drastically? Then I asked myself: "what's different in my life?" and the ONLY thing that had changed was me taking spiro so I googled: "spiro/weight gain" and BAM, I read hundreds of posts from other women who all had the same experience as me with the weight gain and disgusting cellulite everywhere. I went to a hormone specialist and discovered that my testosterone levels were 25 (which is EXTREMELY low) and it explained why I'd lost ALL of my once toned and muscular legs/arms and why my stomach was now flabby and why my thighs and hips would spread like butter whenever I'd sit down and why my breasts went from a 36C to a 38D (and I was busting out of those D's but refused to by a bigger bra size out of denial and depression!) I was furious that my dermatologist NEVER once warned me of all of these possible side effects... the only thing he told me was that I'd LOSE weight because spiro is a diurectic - HA! Fat chance! I also want to add that it changed the eleasticity of my skin in general; even my face looks different now because I used to have high and round looking cheek bones when I'd smile and now that I've lost ALL muscle tone, my face looks different in pictures when I smile and my skin sags near my cheeks. I also had a major impact with sex drive! During/after spiro, I had ZERO sex drive. I completely stopped having ANY kind of thoughts/drives and even lost all sensation "down there"... it was as if I went numb. Thank goodness I have a very loving and patient husband who has been so supportive during all of this but it's been so, so hard to not recognize myself when I look into a mirror or see myself in pictures and this all happened back in July of 2015 (Two years ago!!!!) I now work out 4 to 5 (sometimes 6 times week), eat completely clean, drink nothing but water and I've lost 2 to 3 pounds but it often comes right back for no apparent reason! Ugh!!!! I did FINALLY lose all of the weight about a year ago and was starting to get my sex drive back and feel "normal" again but when I went in for my hormone level check, they said my testosterone levels were too high and lowered them and guess what? ALL of the weight came back, the flab came back and my sex drive went back to sleep! I forgot to mention that it took 6 months for the weight to come off once I started with the testosterone treatments, the weight came back with-in weeks once they lowered my levels and now that they've slightly raised my levels again (after a year of ZERO progress) I'm starting to see small improvements here and there and some muscle tone coming back but it's very slow and I've never been more active in my life and never eaten so healthy. I go see my hormone Dr this coming Monday and I'm hoping they'll raise my levels again as I know in my heart that I need more "help" if I'm ever going to return to my "normal" self again. I've also seen slight improvements with the cellulite and my sex drive. So if you're open to it, please look into having your hormone levels tested and if your testosterone levels are low... try taking some bio-identical hormones and see if they help you with the weight loss and cellulite as they did help me but it does take time and lots of working out and eating healthy. Also, just so you know, they started me off on 2% and after 6 months, I saw amazing results, then they lowered me to 1% and I went right back to where I started and they slowly increased me to 1.25%, 1.50%, 1.75% and now I'm on 2.25% (higher than where I started two years ago) and believe it or not, I honestly think I need MORE (Trust me, once those hormones kick-in you'll FEEL the diffeence and you'll know when they're working!) 😉 Don't give up, you're not alone and just keep plugging away and find a Dr who cares and who will keep working with you until your hormones are balanced and you can finally start to lose the weight and dreaded cellulite! Hope this helps you some! <3

Maybe you have to change something in your lifestyle? I can advise you to go to another nutritionist and see what he tells you.

Hi, 

Just wondering if you ever managed to loose the weight gain from spironolactone? I know this is a really old thread but I gained 13 lbs on this medication and I've been off it since March and weight is continuing to go up despite HIIT 5 days a week. I look like a different person.. I can't look at myself in the mirror  my face is so fat... My stomach hasn't gained anything really just all in my upper body.

Same here. I started Spiro at 25 mg for a month. Cleared up my skin but gained 20lbs in that time. INSANE!!! Long story short: I went to my obgyn for chin acne and course chin hairs that when they grow they hurt madly. So was put on Spiro and after a month noticed the clothing getting tighter, and hubby noticed I was gaining weight. But I didn't put 2&2 together till after. I when back to my obgyn to complain of the weight gain and she didn't believe that the medicine could do that. So she advised to stop and do blood work to check my hormone levels. That's what I'm currently waiting on (my results). It's been a month since I'm off the medicine and can't seem to shake the weight. I just won't budge. I went from being 120lbs to 140lbs in a month and a half. Weight gain was very noticeable in inner thighs, and arms and face. Due to the weight gain my varicose veins began to hurt madly. Any suggestions?

I have been reading up on this topic being a spiro user myself. I was on spiro for a year and noticed a sudden increase in my weight. Nothing changed in my diet or exercise regime, but suddenly within one month I had gained 8 pounds.
I had started treatment at 21 years old because I was oily and had some peach fuzz. My dermatologist put me on 100mg right off the bat and claimed I had high testosterone without testing any blood levels. I started and immediately felt a change in my body but figured it would take my body a while to adjust to the new medication. When I started it I would have drops in my blood pressure every time I stood up and would basically black out from headrushes. I expressed this to my dermatologist and she just recommend I split up the pill and take half in the morning and half at night. I did this for about a year until I started gaining weight. I expressed concern to my primary care doctor and she order labs and recommend I saw an endocrinologist. The endocrinologist thought I may have pcos so ordered extensive lab work up once I had been off of spironolactone for at least 2 months. I was off for 3 months when I had bloodwork done and the only thing abnormal was my testosterone being below normal levels. My primary care doctor told me she believed my weight gain was due to the hormone changes and it would make sense that the change in weight would relate back to spiro. When I went into my endocrinologist she said that I should consider changing my diet and be more conscious about my food choices. It is so frustrating hearing those words and having doctors not take you seriously. I basically am just looking for a community that knows what Im going through and the frustrations.

Hi everyone,

This conversation chain is quite old, but I am desperate here! I've been on spiro for a for a year now (50 mg) and I finally figured out why the hell am I getting chubby, despite the workout and a diet. Did any of you manage to get back to your normal weight after quitting spiro? I need to hear that it's not impossible :((

I am telling you its the manufacturer! I was doing great with amneal and then I noticed the pill was white not peach, unfortunately Ive been struggling for the last 6 months and then it hit me! My doc called in a 3 month supply and it must be cheaper for pharmacy to fill bulk orders with Zydus mfg. I just went to pharmacy and asked to heave them fill my prescription with Amneal!! I swear we are not crazy!!!!