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Hi guys! I'm hoping that someone like Green Gables will stop by as she has massive experience with Spiro but anyone can chime in - it will be most welcomed.
I have had mild-moderate and in my younger days, moderate-moderate acne. I have used accutane 3 times which has cleared my skin but acne came back in 2 years. The 3rd course i never stopped breaking out.
Right now i am dealing with a ton of closed comedones and inflamed pimples but Thank God no cysts. This is mostly on the sides of my mouth, chin and by my lips with occasional inflamed pimples on my cheeks which go away in a few days. I used The Regimen for a year with success but it gave me eczema and now i can't use any topicals, especially retinoids because my eczema flares bad. The acne around my mouth looks like a rash because it is bumpy, red and inflamed. I should also mention i break out everyday in 2-3 inflamed bumps and the closed comodones are increasing.
My derm wants to try me on Spiro but i don't think my acne is hormonal (doesn't correlate to my period and i don't have PCOS or excess hair or anything!). Also, i hear it can mess with hormones and BC was an utter nightmare for me in terms of breaking out.
Could Spiro help my acne at all? Even when i could tolerate retinoids, it never cleared me up (still broke out everyday so maybe my acne is hormonal after all?)
Very Confused
Any input is appreciated.
PS: She also wants me to try a salycic acid kit (free of charge since i had to pay out of pocket for retin A and i can't even use it) but murad which is salycic acid never helped me.
Ok, you know my stance on hormonal medication...I say only try spiro when you tried everything else, including topicals. Maybe the salycylic acid will do the trick. Remember, if you choose to go on hormonal medication, you will have to be on it for the rest of your life, or at least until menopause...and the longer you are on it, the more likely you are to develop one or more side effects from long term use.
Thanks Wish Clean - I have tried so many topicals before and now that BP gave me eczema, most prescription stuff induce it. Hopefully the Salicylic Acid can help something. Are there tests i can take to see if i have a hormonal imbalance because my acne doesn't match the typical hormonal pattern at all.
I would prefer the no meds approach too
Thanks Wish Clean - I have tried so many topicals before and now that BP gave me eczema, most prescription stuff induce it. Hopefully the Salicylic Acid can help something. Are there tests i can take to see if i have a hormonal imbalance because my acne doesn't match the typical hormonal pattern at all.
I would prefer the no meds approach too
The first thing is to find a qualified dermatologist who can tell you what type(s) of acne you have. Then you can come up with the right plan for it.
My approach is, the less you put in/on your body, the better...I try to do the minimum for my acne, which unfortunately for me it's a lot of effort but my acne was severe. I still think it was a big mistake for me to take birth control when I was younger...I don't think my acne would have been as aggressive if I didn't mess with my hormones at an early age.
Salycilic acid can help, as far as topicals go...my skin can't take it anymore, but I use its natural equivalent, willow bark (it's in my blotting papers) and also use witch hazel...and sometimes calamine lotion for red bumps.
I think before you decide on spiro, you need a comprehensive hormonal panel to indicate if you have an androgen issue or not...why take something if that's not your issue, right? The best hormonal tests are either saliva or, in some cases, urine....blood tests usually don't show much unless your hormonal imbalance is severe. In my case, my hormonal blood tests did not show anything out of the ordinary, other than slightly elevated testosterone/ DHEA (still within normal range), and low progesterone...for me, progesterone was more of an issue. I also had estrogen dominance symptoms, which the doctor used a symptom-based diagnosis to determine bc blood tests didn't show much in this respect.
My derm looked at my acne and determined i have a mix of closed comodones and inflamed acne, primarily around my mouth and chin (imagine a circle of acne from my nose and circling around my mouth, down to my chin and back to the nose area again). I do get pimples on my cheek but only a few at a time and they go away after a few days. Before my last accutane course my acne started the same way and then spread to my cheeks and forehead - i fear this is what will happen again if i let it be and experiment with all natural remedies (which i did the last time unfortunately - worst decision ever!!!!!!!!).
Where can i get a legit saliva test? I don't get cysts as much since my accutane course so i don't think a dr would seriously want to test for anything
Any suggestions of who to go to?
well, closed comedones are not hormonal, they are usually due to improper exfoliation of the skin ( i.e. your skin naturally can't exfoliate on its own...mine has that too), not removing makeup properly, topical allergies, etc.
As for the saliva test, I would post a question on the diet forum if I were you, or search past posts for recommendations. I know there are some legit online labs, but haven't tried one yet. There are also some that do stool tests (gross, I know, but those can be pretty accurate for food sensitivities).