Quick history on me:

Depo Provera gave me cystic acne. Literally a week after getting the shot I experienced my first cysts, along with a few cysts on my scalp that have never gone away. I also started urinating more frequently- this problem has become more and more severe as the years have gone by. I now urinate at least every 30 minutes- sometimes every 15 or more. I'm always thirsty and can drink up to 4 gallons of water a day.

A few years ago I tried Spiro and experienced clear skin for the first time in years, but it exacebated my thirst/urination problem and landed me in the hospital with an electrolyte imbalance, even at a very low dosage. So that drug is out for me, although it did make me suspect excess aldosterone is my problem.

I've been reading up about aldosterone and its relation to the kidneys- it stimulates them to take in more sodium while releasing excess potassium. I have a new doctor now and am hoping he will be open to listening to my concerns (my last one didn't want to hear my research and preferred to run the same tests over and over again.)

I would be interested to hear if any of you have similar problems.

Aldosterone is the primary mineral corticoid produced by the adrenals. Aldosterone increases salt retention, the result of which is increased water retention.

Estradiol increases the number of aldosterone receptors, increasing aldosterone's effects. Progesterone opposes estradiol and therefore decreases aldosterone receptors. Taking the progestin is lowering aldosterone receptors by acting on estradiol. As aldosterone deficiency increases, so does dehydration. The effects of aldosterone deficiency are the most pronounced during the day, particularly when you sit or stand up. My bet is that it's a problem as soon as you stand up in the morning.

The other issue is that synthetic progesterone amplifies the effects of testosterone, causing increased sebum production and acne.

cystic acne is the worst that happend to me in my whole life...my face is all red + with cysts its just terrible im not comfortable in my own skin and its a terrible skin..looks like i cant get rid of them no matter what i try seems like i can only put what my doctor gives me and thats cream...and hope its get better but..its 2 2-and a half years...im male btw..and another thing is i cant talk to girls like this and like i will get a girlfriend with this skin on my face...especially cuz girls how cute the guy is then its personality...some say its the other way but everyone knows that is not true..so story of my life how acne ruined my life..also i cant even go in clubs cuz not that other will look at me...but when they do i dont care what they think, but like i said im uncomfortable in my skin like that and i just cant take it...i really needed to share this with someone.

The effects of aldosterone deficiency

why are talking about deficiency? we have the opposite, i suspect.

i do get a lot of the hyperaldosteronism symptoms. i do (still) have a polyurinia symptome.

maybe this could be a cause, and not dht.

adrenal glands are a target in some acne treatments.

The effects of aldosterone deficiency

why are talking about deficiency? we have the opposite, i suspect.

i do get a lot of the hyperaldosteronism symptoms. i do (still) have a polyurinia symptome.

maybe this could be a cause, and not dht.

adrenal glands are a target in some acne treatments.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Hyperaldosteronism causes water retention. If you are experiencing polyurinia and it's related to aldosterone or vasopressin, then it's a deficiency, not excess.

The effects of aldosterone deficiency

why are talking about deficiency? we have the opposite, i suspect.

i do get a lot of the hyperaldosteronism symptoms. i do (still) have a polyurinia symptome.

maybe this could be a cause, and not dht.

adrenal glands are a target in some acne treatments.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Hyperaldosteronism causes water retention. If you are experiencing polyurinia and it's related to aldosterone or vasopressin, then it's a deficiency, not excess.

i was looking at the symptoms from this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperaldosteronism

but they're too general for me.

i read that spironolactone acts against aldosterone, it's the main treatment for HYPERaldosteronism.

in a book i read, at the acne section, mentions massaging palms and feet at the liver, kidney, and adrenal gland regions (reflexotherapy)

the liver also has the job at removing excess hormones. it would be the main target.

but why adrenal glands? what do they produce or not produce that causes acne? (from what i read it's not hyperplazia, at leat in my case. although it sais it can lead to acne. it could be the androgens)

and where do the kidneys fit in? in conjunction with endocrine organs probably, also targeting aldosterone.

The effects of aldosterone deficiency

why are talking about deficiency? we have the opposite, i suspect.

i do get a lot of the hyperaldosteronism symptoms. i do (still) have a polyurinia symptome.

maybe this could be a cause, and not dht.

adrenal glands are a target in some acne treatments.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Hyperaldosteronism causes water retention. If you are experiencing polyurinia and it's related to aldosterone or vasopressin, then it's a deficiency, not excess.

i was looking at the symptoms from this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperaldosteronism

but they're too general for me.

i read that spironolactone acts against aldosterone, it's the main treatment for HYPERaldosteronism.

in a book i read, at the acne section, mentions massaging palms and feet at the liver, kidney, and adrenal gland regions (reflexotherapy)

the liver also has the job at removing excess hormones. it would be the main target.

but why adrenal glands? what do they produce or not produce that causes acne? (from what i read it's not hyperplazia, at leat in my case. although it sais it can lead to acne. it could be the androgens)

and where do the kidneys fit in? in conjunction with endocrine organs probably, also targeting aldosterone.

Aldosterone is the primary mineral corticoid. As it's concentration increases, so does salt. This causes water retention through the process of osmosis. If you have elevated aldosterone, then the most obvious symptoms are swelling and high blood pressure.

Spiro is an aldosterone antagonist used to treat high blood pressure. It also has anti androgen properties. I don't know what the mechanism is, however this is property is not true of most aldosterone antagonists.

The adrenals also produce DHEA. This hormone converts to testosterone and is involved in acne.

If you want something that lowers testosterone without the spiro side effects, try inositol. It improved my acne so much since I started taking, and there are actual studies on it for hormonal imbalances.It helps if you have low progesterone too. I didn't notice more frequent urination than usual, but I do drink a lot of water anyway so I guess that's expected.

Btw, progestin and progesterone are different. You need something that boosts your body's natural ability to produce progesterone, not a synthetic progestin that can cause more acne. Natural progesterone shouldn't exacerbate acne if your progesterone levels are in the normal range.

Thank you for your responses. I understand why you mentioned hypoaldosteronism- when searching aldosterone and frequent urination, it is practically all that comes up. But upon further research, it is evident that hyperaldosteronism can cause it, too. Being that spiro cleared me so well, and also that I was clear during pregnancy (neglected to mention that earlier, apologies)- I'm strongly leaning toward hyperaldosteronism.

Something I found:

Primary Hyperaldosteronism and Increased Urination

Primary hyperaldosteronism, or excess aldosterone production as a result of a tumor, can cause high blood sodium. Water always follows sodium; if sodium is reabsorbed, then water is reabsorbed, and the opposite is true as well. Initially, in primary hyperaldosteronism there is normal to low urine output because increased sodium reabsorption favors water reabsorption; eventually, when there is an increased concentration of sodium and blood volume, the kidneys lose their ability to reabsorb sodium.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/385529-sodium-imbalance-with-excessive-urination/

I'm very disappointed in how my doctor's visit went. I had high hopes- he is so good with my children. But it's like pulling teeth getting these doctors to order labs that check aldosterone and renin. Don't understand why. He is, however, ordering ultrasounds for my bladder and kidneys. The inositol interests me, but I will wait until the results of my ultrasounds, as it can be dangerous if the kidneys aren't functioning properly.