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WEEK FOUR OF SPIRO...
my face looks like a peperoni pizza. cystic acne ALL ALONG the jawline, left and right side of my face. infectious eruptions all over both edges of my face; swollen lymph nodes because of the cystic acne.
i never had cystic acne on my jawline, so spiro is obviously causing this.
did anyone else take more than 4 weeks for spiro to start kicking in?
would greatly appreciate any responses... thanks.
hi pankins~ thanks for your reply
i'm taking ortho tri cyclen lo with 100 mg of spiro... my acne before was pretty bad before too, it's just that now my acne is getting worse.
i made an emergency call to my dermatologist, and i'm supposed to go in tomorrow and see wut's up. she said, "we'll get it all taken care of" sooooo hopefully i can get rid of these volcanos...
I am 26, and was on 200 mg of Dynacin prior to pregnancy and had to discontinue due to pregnancy. Around the 5th month my skin started breaking out around my jawline, neck, shoulders, and back. My son is 7 weeks and it is still horrible, even getting worse. Can anyone help? I am currently taking 200 mg of Dynacin and have been for 4 1/2 weeks now. I am also taking Estrostep as a BC pill. Has anyone ever experienced this? Along with Post Partum, it is devastating. Do you have to take a BC pill while on Spiro. The Derm said Dynacin may not work. Spiro would be 2nd regimen and Accutane 3rd. Please help anyone.
hi kelly,
i was on ortho for about one month before i started spiro.
it's been a month since i started spiro, and two months since i've started ortho tri-lo... i didn't get this jawline acne until i went on spiro...
***
i think i'm falling into depression because of my acne; my self esteem/confidence is shooting downwards. i can't even make eye contact with people anymore.
but the derm tells to stick to the spiro and to come in tomorrow. if she gives me any thing special that works a miracle, i'll be sure to post. i had considered accutane, but now with my severely unstable emotional state, i don't think i should take it anymore.
i know everyone loves spiro, but i seriously am having my doubts about its effect on me. my face isn't even the same shape anymore cuz its so swollen with the lymph nodes. looks like i have a DOUBLE CHIN!
Hello ladies,
I want to share my *positive* experience with spiro. I am currently 24 and haven been taking it for 2+ years. Prior to taking spiro, I lived with oily skin and acne since I was 12 years old. Like many others, I had tried the full spectrum of treatments with disappointing results: SalAc face wash, cleocin-t, retin-A, benzyl peroxide, amoxicillin, tetracycline, minocyclene etc. Since absolutely nothing worked, my dermatologist was pushing me to take Accutane, but I was not interested. He finally suggested spiro, at 200mg/day. After just a few months my face was completely clear, and general oiliness was down. I couldn't believe that after 5+ years of no results that my face was clear. I also take orthocyclene birth control and my periods are completely normal.
The ironic thing is that when I was in high school I had irregulalr periods and in addition to taking birth control, my OB/GYN suggested spiro since it might help regulate my periods and clear up skin oiliness. I was taking 100mg/day and did not notice any improvement with my skin. But when my dermatologist suggested I take 200 mg/day everything cleared up so well. I have never experienced any of the side effects associated with spiro, other than an increased craving for salt. I am careful to avoid too much potassium and get my blood tested a few times per year.
For those of you on lower doses of spiro that do not see any improvement after 3 months, I would suggest you try increasing your dosage. With so few serious side effects and a relatively safe history, I wonder why spiro is not prescribed more, especially since it seems to be very effective for some people. Dermatologists tend tp push Accutane (maybe a cozy relationship with the pharmaceuticals), but I wish more attention was given to spiro!
mazzi~
reading your post has given me a *glimmer* of hope... i am also taking ortho-tricy-lo, and my periods are SO irregular...
my derm told me today that i need to wait out for the ortho-tricy-lo and spiro to kick in: "give it a few months at least!" he said.
i have some questions:
*did you have an initial breakout?
*how many weeks into treatment did this happen? when did it go away?
*also, when did you make the switch from 100 mg to 200 mg?
thanks so much~
Audrey- Spiro helped me too! My skin's not perfect (I've only been on it for about 2 months, I think) 100 mg, 200 mg day befrore period. I think my initial jawline breakouts were caused by the bc switch I did in late July/early Aug. Skin is soooo less oily! Still some very small breakouts but over all, all is well. I use no topicals now by the way but do egg white and lemon masks.
hi everyone... thanks for all the information you've been giving me. i went to the derm after my emergency appnt. i was hoping they would perform acne surgery on me or something (i look AWFUL... i would post pictures, but you would seriously puke, especially since my eyes are all puffy and red from constantly crying), but all the "team" [i guess my acne is so bad they need 3 doctors to look at me] did was look at me...
i asked if i could up my dosage to 200mg... but the head honcho doctor was like, that's kind of a lot. i was like, WTFFFFFF... there are SO many ppl out there who take 200mg! i'm ready to just pop more pills on my own.
he gave me a prescrip for topical zo-derm (6.5% benzoyl peroxide gel) to alleviate the madness going on on my face. he told me to wear it in the mornings only.
so welcome to spiro, week 5... so far, i hate it. i haven't left my room, haven't seen anyone, don't answer my phone (cuz i don't want to explain why i can't go out, etc). hopefully, all the positive stuff that i'm hearing from you all will eventually come to me too... honestly, i would LOVE to start posting some improvements and be able to encourage others to use it too. and post some non-puke-eliciting pictures...
I know how you feel,Audrey.I feel crap about my skin at the moment too.It's hard to say whether the ortho or the spiro could be causing the breakout.My skin was terrible when i was 2 months into dianette and at 4 months it'd starting clearing me up alot.It did stop working afew months later though Not saying that would happen for you though because alot of people stay clear permenantly with BCP's.I'd give the ortho and the spiro 4months to kick in
mazzi~
reading your post has given me a *glimmer* of hope... i am also taking ortho-tricy-lo, and my periods are SO irregular...
my derm told me today that i need to wait out for the ortho-tricy-lo and spiro to kick in: "give it a few months at least!" he said.
i have some questions:
*did you have an initial breakout?
*how many weeks into treatment did this happen? when did it go away?
*also, when did you make the switch from 100 mg to 200 mg?
thanks so much~
Lupe,
I'm on Demulen right now. Zovia is the generic form. I have been on the 1/50 and 1/35 pills. Now I'm not going to lie the 1/50 did make me put on weight and I thought since I had already gained weight starting the pill years ago I wouldn't gain when I switched to this higher estrogen pill. I was wrong, BUT I feel like I can loose weight but its harder to lose acne. So I think clearer skin is worth watching what I eat right now. I started Demulen and Spiro in August and now the skin is the least of my worries. Have faith.
Rae
I've started spiro today and i hope it works as well as it has for those women on here that now have clear skin
I'm starting at 100mg and then i'll increase to 150mg and then 200mg.I'm taking it under my own supervision as i ordered it from the internet so any advice you ladies have would be appreciated.
At the moment i'm taking the 100mg in two divided dosages;50mg with breakfast and 50mg with lunch.I have dinner at 6pm normally and i've read that spiro shouldn't be taken after 6pm because of the duiretic effect and not wanting to be peeing all night!
One question;does spiro have to be taken with food?Does it make any difference with the way the spiro is absorbed?Did your docs/derms/gynos etc tell you to take spiro with or without food?
Hey gals! Wow, I am so behind on this thread! I will go back and read them if I get time. I just wanted to put in here really quick that I updated my journal (finally). I went to the derm last week and wrote how that went.
Kelly ~ I sometimes do and sometimes don't take Spiro with food. I'm not actually sure if it changes how it is absorbed or anything like that. I always thought taking food with medicine was more to help your stomach not be upset by it than anything. I have not had stomach upset on Spiro, however. Now, Minocycline was another story! hehe HTH, take care
Well, I went back and read the last couple of pages and just wanted to comment.
Audrey ~ You and I sound like 'twins' when it comes to our acne. I am 25 and am on Ortho Lo and Spiro. I've been on it now for 4 months and it has really been a roller coaster. At about 7 weeks I was ready to give up. I was SOOOO broke out. I stuck with it (because what else was there to do!) and at 4 months I am better. Although not clear completely, it has improved. I am still struggling to control my pre-period breakouts. I used to use Tazorac, but it seemed so harsh on my skin that I quit that as well. Now that I see Spiro is helping some I'm going to slowly incorporate Taz back into my regimen. I truly think it will help me, but I need to be more careful about the amounts I apply, and how often I apply it.
I was on Ortho Lo for 3 months prior to starting Spiro, so I've been on that for a total of 7 months or so now. I don't know if it has done much for my acne since I was also on Minocycline when I started Ortho Lo. However, I know it is hard, please try to keep with it. Someone already said it, and I agree, you need to wait ~3-4 months for Spiro to show you the real results. Best of luck to you!
Kelly ~ I think you will see results on Spiro, and I hope you do! I was just in at my derms last week and he wouldn't give me a higher dose of Spiro, he said it can be dangerous to take more than 100mg. However, obviously other derms would disagree since several ladies on here are at higher doses. So long as you are aware of the possible consequences...
You should get your blood tested a couple times a year if you can, Spiro can raise your potassium levels and cause serious damage to your kidneys at more than 100mg (according to my derm.) I'm kinda pissed my derm wouldn't give me a higher dose. I contemplate taking 150mg a day on my own if I dont' start seeing better results, but I don't know. Anyway, best of luck
Hi all,
I'm new to the whole spiro thing (1 wk in) - just wondering if anyone's wound it back and got off it w/o breaking out again?
My derm said havng kids was pretty much the only sure thing to change yr hormones naturally and stop hormonal acne for good. She also said this was probably why there are so many more women with this problem these days - that people used to start families much earlier and now women are mostly late 20s/early 30s.
Has anyone noticed any good/bad changes since getting pregnant? Not high on my agenda right now - just curious to know
Still, sounds like spiro is pretty much a permanent thing...?
Maudie
I've done some research and it says that spiro can be taken with or without food,but on one page it did say that spiro can be absorbed better when taken with food so i'm just going to be taking it with food in case.It said to take it at the same time everyday too.
Shortee;maybe as the spiro is helping your skin but not completely clearing it you would get that extra clearness by upping your dosage.It could be that you're on enough to show that it helps but just not enough to go the whole way to totally clear.If your derm won't up your dosage i'd order some from the net and take that along with your perscribed stuff.
I've got an appointment with a new derm on the 24th of this month and i'll tell him i'm on spiro which i've ordered from the internet.I might get a telling off but he can't actually do anything to me because of i,can he?! I'll say i'd like to continue the spiro under his supervision and then hopefully i'll get the pills from him and be able to be tested for potassium and the like.
Hi everyone! This thread is really interesting. And congrates to people who have found things that have worked for them. I'm currently on the regimen...and have been for a year but I'm not exactly sure if it is even doing anything for me. But I don't want to chance what would happen if I got off ot it either.
I'm trying to figure out if I should take Diane or spiro right now to control my acne. I'm scared of the health effects of Diane, and spiro you don't have the added benifit of a bc. (which is an extra added plus. lol) I just wanna see how one does before I try another. What would you guys say would work better? Spiro or the Diane (or another bc)?