High DHEA is concerning...you may want to look up the thread on Plan B on this forum, I think the girl who posted it also had high DHEA and she has made a lot of progress without taking any medications.
Ask your doctor about inositol (which he will probably know nothing about, unfortch) and DIM (which he might know something about maybe)...those could help you out alongside vitex.
If vitex is working, you could try to SLOWLY increase the dosage. Tincture works better in most cases. Make sure you are using a reliable brand...there is a lot of bad quality vitex out there.
High DHEA is concerning...you may want to look up the thread on Plan B on this forum, I think the girl who posted it also had high DHEA and she has made a lot of progress without taking any medications.
Ask your doctor about inositol (which he will probably know nothing about, unfortch) and DIM (which he might know something about maybe)...those could help you out alongside vitex.
If vitex is working, you could try to SLOWLY increase the dosage. Tincture works better in most cases. Make sure you are using a reliable brand...there is a lot of bad quality vitex out there.
I actually read the whole thing already since plan B also started my problems i thought it would be helpful 
Maybe the plan B messes with your DHEA levels I don't know. My doctor said taking it wouldn't be connected with my acne but who knows! Unfortunately I've already tried pretty much everything she mentioned.
I actually just noticed that the multivitamin I take also has 50 mg inositol in it. How much should you take for it to work? I also tried DIM and it broke me out quite badly for 2 months. I'll have to see what my doctor has to say. too bad she's on vacation for another 2 weeks -.-
I take Nature's way Vitex fruit. It had good reviews so I think it's alright. I take 800 mg maybe I'll try increasing it and see what happens!
High DHEA is concerning...you may want to look up the thread on Plan B on this forum, I think the girl who posted it also had high DHEA and she has made a lot of progress without taking any medications.
Ask your doctor about inositol (which he will probably know nothing about, unfortch) and DIM (which he might know something about maybe)...those could help you out alongside vitex.
If vitex is working, you could try to SLOWLY increase the dosage. Tincture works better in most cases. Make sure you are using a reliable brand...there is a lot of bad quality vitex out there.
I actually read the whole thing already since plan B also started my problems i thought it would be helpful Maybe the plan B messes with your DHEA levels I don't know. My doctor said taking it wouldn't be connected with my acne but who knows! Unfortunately I've already tried pretty much everything she mentioned.
I actually just noticed that the multivitamin I take also has 50 mg inositol in it. How much should you take for it to work? I also tried DIM and it broke me out quite badly for 2 months. I'll have to see what my doctor has to say. too bad she's on vacation for another 2 weeks -.-
I take Nature's way Vitex fruit. It had good reviews so I think it's alright. I take 800 mg maybe I'll try increasing it and see what happens!
yeah, nature's way seems to be good. I only have experience with liquid vitex...you may want to check how much others are taking to see if it would work for you better at a higher dose.
I took it along with acidophilus in the morning, and I also took a multivitamin and evening primrose oil. Sometimes vitex works better synergistically.
Also, needless to say you need to control your insulin levels and avoid too much sugar, dairy, and soy.
yeah, nature's way seems to be good. I only have experience with liquid vitex...you may want to check how much others are taking to see if it would work for you better at a higher dose.
I took it along with acidophilus in the morning, and I also took a multivitamin and evening primrose oil. Sometimes vitex works better synergistically.
Also, needless to say you need to control your insulin levels and avoid too much sugar, dairy, and soy.
Yeah thanks I'll look into that! So far I've just done what the bottle says and took the 800 mg.
I've never heard of evening primrose oil I'll check that out.
I personally don't really believe that diet makes much of a difference. I used to eat tons of crappy foods and never break out before taking the paln B. I'm a vegan now for reasons other than my skin so I don't eat any dairy but soy is a big part of my diet. I haven't notice any difference in my skin since starting this diet.
Forgive me if I'm missing something in an earlier post (only reading the last page because I'm on my phone not computer) but what about saw palmetto? I've never tried it but it has favourable reviews.
WishClean, does inositol help with DHEA?
I was thinking if trying this lactic acid ( http://www.pureandsimple.ca/puresimple-lactic-acid-original-50ml.html?search=Lactic%20acid ) for my red marks, what do you think?
Forgive me if I'm missing something in an earlier post (only reading the last page because I'm on my phone not computer) but what about saw palmetto? I've never tried it but it has favourable reviews.
WishClean, does inositol help with DHEA?
I was thinking if trying this lactic acid ( http://www.pureandsimple.ca/puresimple-lactic-acid-original-50ml.html?search=Lactic%20acid ) for my red marks, what do you think?
I'm not sure what helps with DHEA...it seems that everything helps lower DHEA only indirectly.
Hmm the link you posted isn't working for me... what are the ingredients? I never ordered a peel online, I prefer to either have an esthetician apply it or buy it from a doctor's office just to be safe (e.g. expiration date, etc). But really, plain yogurt also does the trick, it's my cheap version of lactic acid.
Hey, thanks for the quick reply.
Interesting about DHEA.
I'm sorry the link didn't work, I'll post it again at the end of the post-- I have had issues viewing the site in the Internet Explorer browser (Chrome is better).
Is it OK to use yogurt on your skin even though acne sufferers are supposed to avoid dairy?
http://www.pureandsimple.ca/puresimple-lactic-acid-original-50ml.html?search=Lactic%20acid
Forgive me if I'm missing something in an earlier post (only reading the last page because I'm on my phone not computer) but what about saw palmetto? I've never tried it but it has favourable reviews.
WishClean, does inositol help with DHEA?
I was thinking if trying this lactic acid ( http://www.pureandsimple.ca/puresimple-lactic-acid-original-50ml.html?search=Lactic acid) for my red marks, what do you think?
I'm not sure what helps with DHEA...it seems that everything helps lower DHEA only indirectly.
Hmm the link you posted isn't working for me... what are the ingredients? I never ordered a peel online, I prefer to either have an esthetician apply it or buy it from a doctor's office just to be safe (e.g. expiration date, etc). But really, plain yogurt also does the trick, it's my cheap version of lactic acid.
ahh I can see the link now. It seems that there's more algae than lactic acid in the product, but it has very few ingredients so the risk of breakouts would be much less. It seems to be a good product, let me know if you decide to try it.
Well, yogurt (plain one) works differently on the skin than internally...it has lactic acid in it, but the peels & exfoliants have a higher concentrated % of lactic acid, that's why they can be more effective.
Forgive me if I'm missing something in an earlier post (only reading the last page because I'm on my phone not computer) but what about saw palmetto? I've never tried it but it has favourable reviews.
WishClean, does inositol help with DHEA?
I was thinking if trying this lactic acid ( http://www.pureandsimple.ca/puresimple-lactic-acid-original-50ml.html?search=Lactic%20acid ) for my red marks, what do you think?
I haven't tried saw palmetto but I've heard it works similar to spiro so maybe it would help me. I want to talk to my doctor before trying anything new, I don't want to make things any worse by adding things I'm not sure of From what I've read I got the impression that spiro only works for high testosterone and I don't seem to have a problem with that. But then again I'm not a doctor so I'll have to wait till my endo gets back from her vacation. Soo frustrating..
Lifesnotfair,
Do you think the vitex or the DIM is ultimately making things worse for you? I have been using a calander to mark my cycle and breakouts; this might help you have a clear picture when you go to your doctor.
Thanks WishClean. That makes sense about the yogurt, I just wasn't sure since my skin is so sensitive. I'll repost if I order the lactic acid.
Do you use any spot treatments when you get a flare up? When you get a cystic breakout, how long does it take to go away?
I also took the morning after pill as a teenager, but could that really cause problems so many years later, I'm 30 now? I also took bc on and off for years and I attributed that to the escalation of my acne from minor pimples to nodular/cystic acne.
DIM broke me out pretty badly and I quit taking it after 2 months. Maybe I should have stayed on it longer but I couldn't bare it. After that my skin has broken out more than usual. I started taking vitex when quitting the bcp to avoid any crazy flare up and I'm not sure if it helped but my skin stayed the same that it was on the pill up until now(6 months later). at least it didn't make it worse
That's a good idea and I tried marking my break outs down before but for me there's no specific time when I break out. I get pimples all around the cycle..
My endo said that taking the pill shouldn't be connected with acne and it was just a coincident that I got it after taking the pill. i've probably always have had an underlaying hormone imbalance. I don't know what to believe because to me going from perfect skin to severe acne in a few months after taking the pill seems pretty obvious.. But if you've taken it years ago I don't think it's related. Then again hormones work in mysterious ways so I don't know
I'm not sure if that question was addressed to me but I use 2,5% Bp cream all over my face/chest/back and Clindamycin lotion on active spots. I mostly get these big inflamed puss filled pimples (so gross) I don't know if they're considered cysts or not but they can take weeks to go, if I can resist popping them that is..
Does saw palmetto really work for males? Looks like it works for womens only, I barely have found something positive posted by males. The only men here who had success with saw palmetto was arqa22. Anyone know something more? Anyway I'm gonna try to use it for month or so. I have never tried hormonal therapy for my acne before. Accutane/antibiotics/diets didn't do anything.
Lifesnotfair,
Do you think the vitex or the DIM is ultimately making things worse for you? I have been using a calander to mark my cycle and breakouts; this might help you have a clear picture when you go to your doctor.
Thanks WishClean. That makes sense about the yogurt, I just wasn't sure since my skin is so sensitive. I'll repost if I order the lactic acid.
Do you use any spot treatments when you get a flare up? When you get a cystic breakout, how long does it take to go away?
I also took the morning after pill as a teenager, but could that really cause problems so many years later, I'm 30 now? I also took bc on and off for years and I attributed that to the escalation of my acne from minor pimples to nodular/cystic acne.
Yes, I use witch hazel and sometimes tea tree, and also calamine lotion for red bumps.
My cystic breakouts take less time to heal now, but I have to say that last week I had some flare ups. too much stress, lack of sleep, and a very poor diet...now I'm back on track I think.
Thanks WishClean, I was thinking about trying witch hazel.
lifesnotfair, I also have had a doctor tell me my severe breakouts post-pill weren't related to the pill itself, but I completely disagree and there is evidence to support this now in scientific literature and even in the most recent issue of Glamour magazine. An article on adult acne in Glamour notes the potential for post-pill flare-ups. Obviously if you have an underlying issue with acne, it will re-emerge post-treatment but the pill can exacerbate the state of the original condition.
vitex helped me a lot the first time, a bit less the second round, and third time I had an allergic reaction to it. Won't work for everyone, and won't work every time. Maybe this is why:
"The herb Vitex stimulates progesterone production in the body and therefore helps to balance the hormones. Experience from many of my clients has shown that taking the herbal tinctures Fem-Mate (contains Vitex) and Chinese Bitters is beneficial to PMS sufferers. However, if estrogen is high (and not just high in relation to progesterone but high in absolute terms), then Fem-Mate should be taken, only for a few weeks, in order to balance the hormones. Please note that if you take it for longer than a few weeks, it could actually raise estrogen levels, because Vitex stimulates progesterone production by stimulating the adrenals, which also produce estrogen."
My doctor called today and she said that my testosterone seems fine and DHEA is only slightly elevated and is nothing to worry about. It might cause my acne but she's not sure. I asked about spiro but she wasn't too eager about that. She prescribed me qlaira which is a birth control pill but more natural than say yasmin or diane and shouldn't cause migraines and such (it also says that acne is a common side effect and that scares me a lot). So I'm not too exited about that.. I'm not sure what to do next.
I could try saw palmetto but if my testosterone is normal would it help? I can't start bc for another month anyway so I could give saw palmetto a go before that but I'm really scared..
Hey I just want to let you know I was taking DIM for about 6 months and it cured my hormonal acne. I used to get big red painful pimples around my chin and mouth and after a few weeks on DIM not ONE came back! I took two a day and got it from [removed]. It's the best product by Pure encapsulations because it contains such a strong dosage of DIM and broccoli extract. I found it helping almost instantly and had clear skin for months. I did however have to stop taking it because I'm pregnant and now my acne is back so I KNOW it helped! Also not eating a lot of dairy and meat can help. I noticed that it REALLY made my acne worse if I ate a lot of cheese or milk products or ate too much meat. And vitex is ok but I didn't notice a drastic improvement. I took both Vitex and DIM but I would say you don't really need the Vitex it just kinda speeds things up. I also take a green tea extract, make sure you get one with 95% polyphenols and above 55 percent egcg or it could be ecgc, I'd have to double check. Green tea is an amazing antioxidant. I was drinking a few cups a day and it helped improve my skin as well as taking two supplements. It cleanses your body!
On 8/8/2014 at 7:55 AM, leksibabi said:Hey I just want to let you know I was taking DIM for about 6 months and it cured my hormonal acne. I used to get big red painful pimples around my chin and mouth and after a few weeks on DIM not ONE came back! I took two a day and got it from [removed]. It's the best product by Pure encapsulations because it contains such a strong dosage of DIM and broccoli extract. I found it helping almost instantly and had clear skin for months. I did however have to stop taking it because I'm pregnant and now my acne is back so I KNOW it helped! Also not eating a lot of dairy and meat can help. I noticed that it REALLY made my acne worse if I ate a lot of cheese or milk products or ate too much meat. And vitex is ok but I didn't notice a drastic improvement. I took both Vitex and DIM but I would say you don't really need the Vitex it just kinda speeds things up. I also take a green tea extract, make sure you get one with 95% polyphenols and above 55 percent egcg or it could be ecgc, I'd have to double check. Green tea is an amazing antioxidant. I was drinking a few cups a day and it helped improve my skin as well as taking two supplements. It cleanses your body!
Thanks for your comment! I'm glad to hear DIM helped you. I tried it before and unfortunately it made me broke out quite bad 
I guess it just isn't for me. I already am a vegan for ethical reasons so I know animal products aren't the cause of my acne.
I'm trying to go and get me some saw palmetto extract today. It's worth a shot I guess.. Anyone know what dosage should I get?
I figured I'd do a little update on my skin.
I've been taking Saw palmetto for over a month now and I think it's still early to judge whether it works or not.
Since I've started taking it I feel like I've had more acne but the pimples have been smaller, mostly little red or clear bumps. At the moment I do have one or 2 big painful inflamed pimples but I just got my period so that's probably why.
I haven't really had any side effects except that my boobs were really sore and swollen when I started but that went away in a week.
I think vitex stopped working for me because my cycles have been really irregular for the past 3 months so I stopped taking it. I don't know if sp is affecting it too because my cycle was only 20 days this month when it usually is closer to 40..
I've also done more research on my symptoms(I have night sweats/hot flashes, bad migraines&headaches etc) and figured that i probably have low estrogen. Maybe this is why dim broke me out badly?
Anyway I'm really fed up with my skin and if things won't start to improve soon I think I'll try to go see yet another derm and try to get a prescription for spiro. That's the only thing I haven't tried yet and it seems to help a lot of people. I'm terrified of the idea of an initial break out though..
@lifesnotfair I'm sorry to hear you are struggling.
AND...this may not be what you want to hear, but I wouldn't recommend spiro.
I was on it for almost exactly 1 year, & while it cleared my hormonal breakouts, coming off of it has been pretty miserable.
I just don't want to see another young woman like myself being elated by the results, with the potential for very serious side effects (staring or discontinuing spiro) 
My prescribed dose was 50mg x2 daily, but usually, I only took the 50mg in the morning, only ever used 100mg if I was feeling extra breaky-outy. Like, if I had eaten dairy or sugar or a butt load of refined carbs/alcohol or something.
But, when I actually took the time to look into what exactly this was doing to my body, and the possibility of some nasty side effects, I decided I'd see how my body was going to do without it. Start back at square one so to speak. Like, really square one. No benzoyl peroxide as the side effects scared me away from that too.
Sooo, stopped taking it at the end of June.. I had forgotten to take it a few times in a span of maybe two weeks (and had already been thinking about quitting) So I weaned myself off in maybe 3 weeks time. Truthfully, I should have taken a longer time to wean myself off of it, as I've read a lot about it being REALLY hard on the body if it's done quickly. Didn't know that before hand..
Either way, the first 1.5-2 months off were totally peachy, aside from my period being 1 day early (been on BC for 6 years with success, as I started taking it for painful periods and it helped loads. My period is always like clockwork). I was pretty shocked, as I had been off of benzoyl as well for probably 3-4 months at this point as well, and figured my skin would have freaked out by then..
But, UHG, in the middle of August I got my period a week early along with the largest cyst I have ever had on my chin. I knew this was going to be the beginning of a freakin' battle with my body.
Started looking for other woman who had any sort of a similar experience and found more than I thought i would:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=40353&name=SPIRONOLACTONE
Just gnarly side effects.
Since then I've been sing a naturopath and doing hours of my own research online concerning hormonal imbalances, causes, you name it.
Asked my naturopath what she advised for these types of hormonal breakouts, and she recommended B6, 200mg during my luteal phase (or about 2 weeks before menstruation). Sort of tentative about taking 200mg of any B vitamin, personally.
So I wanted to do a little of my own research and looked and looked for any studies or anecdotes praising B6 as any sort of hormonal cure, and didn't find much. But I stumbled upon information about zinc, and quite a few ladies saying that it helped immensely. Especially Optizinc (30mg Zinc, 20mg of B6)
Bought some yesterday, will let you know how it turns out.
Sorry for THE LONGEST POST EVER, I just wanted to inform you of my experience with spiro and my potential plan for help with my poor, angry, hormonal face.
@lifesnotfair I'm sorry to hear you are struggling.
AND...this may not be what you want to hear, but I wouldn't recommend spiro.
I was on it for almost exactly 1 year, & while it cleared my hormonal breakouts, coming off of it has been pretty miserable.
I just don't want to see another young woman like myself being elated by the results, with the potential for very serious side effects (staring or discontinuing spiro)
My prescribed dose was 50mg x2 daily, but usually, I only took the 50mg in the morning, only ever used 100mg if I was feeling extra breaky-outy. Like, if I had eaten dairy or sugar or a butt load of refined carbs/alcohol or something.
But, when I actually took the time to look into what exactly this was doing to my body, and the possibility of some nasty side effects, I decided I'd see how my body was going to do without it. Start back at square one so to speak. Like, really square one. No benzoyl peroxide as the side effects scared me away from that too.
Sooo, stopped taking it at the end of June.. I had forgotten to take it a few times in a span of maybe two weeks (and had already been thinking about quitting) So I weaned myself off in maybe 3 weeks time. Truthfully, I should have taken a longer time to wean myself off of it, as I've read a lot about it being REALLY hard on the body if it's done quickly. Didn't know that before hand..
Either way, the first 1.5-2 months off were totally peachy, aside from my period being 1 day early (been on BC for 6 years with success, as I started taking it for painful periods and it helped loads. My period is always like clockwork). I was pretty shocked, as I had been off of benzoyl as well for probably 3-4 months at this point as well, and figured my skin would have freaked out by then..
But, UHG, in the middle of August I got my period a week early along with the largest cyst I have ever had on my chin. I knew this was going to be the beginning of a freakin' battle with my body.
Started looking for other woman who had any sort of a similar experience and found more than I thought i would:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=40353&name=SPIRONOLACTONE
Just gnarly side effects.
Since then I've been sing a naturopath and doing hours of my own research online concerning hormonal imbalances, causes, you name it.
Asked my naturopath what she advised for these types of hormonal breakouts, and she recommended B6, 200mg during my luteal phase (or about 2 weeks before menstruation). Sort of tentative about taking 200mg of any B vitamin, personally.
So I wanted to do a little of my own research and looked and looked for any studies or anecdotes praising B6 as any sort of hormonal cure, and didn't find much. But I stumbled upon information about zinc, and quite a few ladies saying that it helped immensely. Especially Optizinc (30mg Zinc, 20mg of B6)
Bought some yesterday, will let you know how it turns out.
Sorry for THE LONGEST POST EVER, I just wanted to inform you of my experience with spiro and my potential plan for help with my poor, angry, hormonal face.
Thanks for the reply and I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask you why you wanted to quit spiro in the first place if it was working for you and you didn't have any side effects?
I know taking any medicine isn't ideal and I wish things would just go back to the way they were before I took the plan b. But it's been 3 years now and breakouts still going strong. I'll only end up with more and more scarring if I don't do anything about it and it's already depressing enough as it is.. So I'm willing to try spiro if only I can find a doctor who prescribes it. I understand that if you want to keep the hormones balanced (with any drug spiro/bc) you'll probably have to be on it for the rest of your life..
Good luck with the zinc I hope it helps you! I've been taking 15 mg a day for years now and I don't think it's doing anything for my skin. I tried taking larger dozes of it before and ended up throwing up all night so definitely don't recommend that..
@lifesnotfair I'm sorry to hear you are struggling.
AND...this may not be what you want to hear, but I wouldn't recommend spiro.
I was on it for almost exactly 1 year, & while it cleared my hormonal breakouts, coming off of it has been pretty miserable.
I just don't want to see another young woman like myself being elated by the results, with the potential for very serious side effects (staring or discontinuing spiro)
My prescribed dose was 50mg x2 daily, but usually, I only took the 50mg in the morning, only ever used 100mg if I was feeling extra breaky-outy. Like, if I had eaten dairy or sugar or a butt load of refined carbs/alcohol or something.
But, when I actually took the time to look into what exactly this was doing to my body, and the possibility of some nasty side effects, I decided I'd see how my body was going to do without it. Start back at square one so to speak. Like, really square one. No benzoyl peroxide as the side effects scared me away from that too.
Sooo, stopped taking it at the end of June.. I had forgotten to take it a few times in a span of maybe two weeks (and had already been thinking about quitting) So I weaned myself off in maybe 3 weeks time. Truthfully, I should have taken a longer time to wean myself off of it, as I've read a lot about it being REALLY hard on the body if it's done quickly. Didn't know that before hand..
Either way, the first 1.5-2 months off were totally peachy, aside from my period being 1 day early (been on BC for 6 years with success, as I started taking it for painful periods and it helped loads. My period is always like clockwork). I was pretty shocked, as I had been off of benzoyl as well for probably 3-4 months at this point as well, and figured my skin would have freaked out by then..
But, UHG, in the middle of August I got my period a week early along with the largest cyst I have ever had on my chin. I knew this was going to be the beginning of a freakin' battle with my body.
Started looking for other woman who had any sort of a similar experience and found more than I thought i would:
http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=40353&name=SPIRONOLACTONE
Just gnarly side effects.
Since then I've been sing a naturopath and doing hours of my own research online concerning hormonal imbalances, causes, you name it.
Asked my naturopath what she advised for these types of hormonal breakouts, and she recommended B6, 200mg during my luteal phase (or about 2 weeks before menstruation). Sort of tentative about taking 200mg of any B vitamin, personally.
So I wanted to do a little of my own research and looked and looked for any studies or anecdotes praising B6 as any sort of hormonal cure, and didn't find much. But I stumbled upon information about zinc, and quite a few ladies saying that it helped immensely. Especially Optizinc (30mg Zinc, 20mg of B6)
Bought some yesterday, will let you know how it turns out.
Sorry for THE LONGEST POST EVER, I just wanted to inform you of my experience with spiro and my potential plan for help with my poor, angry, hormonal face.
Thanks for the reply and I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask you why you wanted to quit spiro in the first place if it was working for you and you didn't have any side effects?
I know taking any medicine isn't ideal and I wish things would just go back to the way they were before I took the plan b. But it's been 3 years now and breakouts still going strong. I'll only end up with more and more scarring if I don't do anything about it and it's already depressing enough as it is.. So I'm willing to try spiro if only I can find a doctor who prescribes it. I understand that if you want to keep the hormones balanced (with any drug spiro/bc) you'll probably have to be on it for the rest of your life..
Good luck with the zinc I hope it helps you! I've been taking 15 mg a day for years now and I don't think it's doing anything for my skin. I tried taking larger dozes of it before and ended up throwing up all night so definitely don't recommend that..
The reason I stopped taking Spiro is because of the side effects of discontinuing..funny reason to discontinue a drug, right? (albeit these are 'potential' side effects, the thought of long-time use freaked me out) & basically because I wanted to see where by body was at hormonally, without taking anything in addition to my birth control pill (been on it 6 years and really don't want to mess with the hormonal fluctuation that will occur from making any changes in that department).
I'm trying to be as natural as I can with my skin care, diet and otherwise. So I figured I'd take the plunge and get rid of the Spiro.
If you are educated about the medication and find a doctor that you trust, I don't want to scare you away from trying something that will work.
Especially when dealing with scarring, I know how painful and frustrating it is to have to deal with active acne and scarring as well. NO FUN. Concerning that though..have you tried aloe vera for moisturizer? I find it helps redness a lot!
My acne was never severe, I feel that vanity caused me to make most of my decisions when it came to skin, and now I'm trying to correct the damage I've caused (I was prescribed Bactrim, preceding Spiro, by a dermatologist who looked at me for about 30 seconds. I never researched the drug and came to find out it is a HARDCORE antibiotic, I've been dealing with digestive and candida issues since)
Just please don't make my mistake and listen to everything they are telling you without doing your own research.
Oh and...The zinc you are taking, is it zinc monomethionine? This form is much, much easier for the body to absorb. and I haven't gotten one stomach ache since starting. Also, I feel that I've seen a bit of reduction in inflammation, as in, my face is less pissed off looking. Still have some painful breakouts though, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for the zinc. If I see no further improvement in the next 2 weeks, I am going to start Calcium D Glucarate next month.
So again, I hope I didn't scare you off from Spiro completely, just make sure you are well informed.
Best of luck with everything. Let me know how you're doing when you can!
-Susan