I'm on Day 7 of Spironolactone 100 mg . I've been on the same birth control for the past 3 years, so I'm on that as well.
Info about myself:
-have always had a FEW pimples since high school.. nothing too major UNTIL summer 2011.
-23 years old, female
- I was looking at pictures of myself from March 2011, and I could not find a single blemish on my face.
- I have no idea what happened over the summer that caused me to break out.. and not stop breaking out.
- In September 2011, I was prescribed tretinoin - I should have researched it BEFORE using it... unfortunately, I broke out like crazy for one month and couldn't take it anymore so I stopped. It was AWFUL. It seems like my skin has been trying to recover from that horrible breakout + whatever happened over the summer .
Day 1-7: I haven't noticed anything too different except I have been urinating more frequently.
Day 7 (today): I currently have 2 under the skin pimples (not sure if they're considered cystic). 2 is not bad for me... but I do have TONS of acne scars - it's horrible. They're not ice pick scars or anything, but they're just red and dark... unsightly!
Daily Regimen:
Morning:
- 100 mg spiro
- wash with Clean and Clear Foaming Cleanser (antiseptic)
- put a little AHA cream on any new pimples
- Olay moisturizer with SPF
Night:
- wash with Clean and Clear again
- 2.5% BP
- AHA
Day 8 on 100 mg Spiro - 1/26/2012
-had 2 under the skin pimples... one got slightly redder and bigger, but it seems/feels like it's going down ALREADY!! I'm so happy! Usually these under the skin pimples become really big. I'm hoping that this means the spiro is working!
Day 10
- 1 new bump appeared on my cheek
- seems like I'm continuing to get bumps, but smaller ones than before... I just want to wake up and not have to worry about new bumps... sigh...
- the big one I had before is still going down... it's taking quite a long time
- was looking at pictures of myself from June 2011, and I can hardly see any blemishes on my face... so sad. Why couldn't my face stay like that??
was the birth control not enough to help you get clear? I was following your other blog and it seemed like you were getting great results already?
I think you have me mistaken for someone else. This is my first time writing on this site.
Day 12
A bit depressed right now. I have all these bumps on my face, not pimples, but BUMPS... not sure how else to explain them. I also have this weird big bump that looks like it could turn into a cyst.. no idea what happened. Is this the initial breakout??? I think so, because I didn't have these many bumps when I first started... hmmm I hope this passes quickly. SIGH.
That sounds a lot like the IB that I had from spiro as well. It was just bumps, a lot in places where I have never broken out before. It should clear in about a week or so!!
Good luck! Stick to it!
I hope you're right!! The annoying this is I double checked with my dermatologist about the possibility of an IB, and he said in the 15 years he's been prescribing spiro, not ONE patient complained about an IB. I was so hopeful I wouldn't have to deal with this.
Thanks for the feedback.. I really need some encouragement these days.
Definitely stick with it! I still have some up and down days, and I'm frustrated sometimes too. It does get better though. The first couple weeks are rough, for sure. I freaked out when I started breaking out after only 3 days of spiro, so I called my derm, and he said that its normal to break out, because this is a hormonal treatment, but it should resolve within 2-3 weeks.
I think the AHA and BP will help with some of the bumps too!
Good luck!
Day 14
Still depressed about my skin. It's really hard to not think about it ALL THE TIME. Seriously... my skin consumes 90% of my thoughts. It's sad.
Okay, so I have one big active pimple on my lower cheek... yuck. I still have all those small bumps on my cheek - they aren't pimples, just bumps. I sincerely hope that they don't turn into pimples or else I will have a TON on my cheek.
My dermatologist told me that I would see results in 4 weeks. 2 more weeks to go. I hope he's right... he seemed SOOOOOO confident.
I have been urinating more frequently. Not really a nuisance. I kinda like that I'm drinking more water. Makes me feel healthier.
Day 15 on 100mg spiro
- I just noticed that my hair is less oily! I take a shower every morning, and the next morning my hair is usually veryyy oily. However, today I noticed that my hair was totally fine! It wasn't greasy like it normally is! Must be the spironolactone working
- I'm a bit happier today because I don't see any new pimples... but I still have remaining active pimples.
- Still hopeful
what birth control are you currently using as well? sorry, you have a similar SN to another member on here. Stick with it. I am following your progress and from what others have said, spiro could give you an IB. Do you notice any side effects such as dehydration, urinating more often and lightheadedness?
what birth control are you currently using as well? sorry, you have a similar SN to another member on here. Stick with it. I am following your progress and from what others have said, spiro could give you an IB. Do you notice any side effects such as dehydration, urinating more often and lightheadedness?
I'm on Levora - haven't changed my BC in over 3 years.
Side effects: urinating ALL THE TIME! I don't mind though. To avoid dehydration I drink a lot of water. I just keep a reusable water bottle with me at all times. No lightheadedness. That's about it!
Are you on spiro?
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Day 17 on 100mg Spiro
Day 3 of NO NEW PIMPLES
I AM SO HAPPY! I am quite hopeful that my initial breakout is over.
My hair is still noticeably less oily.
I accidentally burned my face with BP. Last night, I got home really really late, so I only put on the BP and fell asleep. Usually I put on AHA after the BP dries.. so that might be way my face got burnt. It's red ):
Day 20 on 100mg Spiro
- Unfortunately, my days of no new pimples didn't last long...
- Fortunately, my 2 pimples that I just popped were small!! MUCH smaller than the ones I was getting before. I know I'm not supposed to pop, BUT the last time I left a huge one alone, the pimple seriously took FOREVERRRRR to go away, and in the end, it became a whitehead again. Soooo I don't really see the point of not popping them.
- I have 10 pills left. Gotta get a refill soon from my doc.
- Still hopeful
- PS. My skin has been super flaky since I burned it with BP. I haven't used BP in over 3 days, so this could also be a reason for the new pimples. Going to use BP starting today again. Hopefully my skin's flakiness is over.
Day 23 on 100mg Spiro
I didn't have any new pimples today. I still have these small bumps on my cheek, but they don't appear to be blackheads or whiteheads. I honestly have no idea what they are. It's really annoying because they are visible and might look like pimples to others. UGH!!!
I just came back from my second session of non-ablative fractional laser. I am doing laser treatments for my scars because I have WAY too many (as you can see in my pictures). My cheeks are covered with scars. It's quite depressing.
My face is extremely red and swollen right now... and just uncomfortable. I'll post pictures tomorrow when it's not so red, so I can show you guys what my skin looks like right now. It probably doesn't look that much different from the first pictures I posted though.
I just want my skin to go back to the way it used to be... clear with the occasional pimple. Sigh...
hey there
im glad that your not breaking out like usual and that your skins started to clear up. I just wanted to ask if your scars are actually just hyperpigmentation and not pitted scars. In time, the pigmentation will get lighter later and i feel that by using lasers will only make things worse in the long run especially if you are still breaking out a little bit. As for the scarring, you can do peels or other methods that are less drastic.
Just trying to help.
hey there
im glad that your not breaking out like usual and that your skins started to clear up. I just wanted to ask if your scars are actually just hyperpigmentation and not pitted scars. In time, the pigmentation will get lighter later and i feel that by using lasers will only make things worse in the long run especially if you are still breaking out a little bit. As for the scarring, you can do peels or other methods that are less drastic.
Just trying to help.
Hi Daria,
My scars are just hyperpigmentation, not pitted scars. I have so many that I want to get rid of the ones I have now... even though I might be getting more in the future. As long as the number of scars has decreased, I'm happy. I start school in June, and I won't have time or money to get laser treatment, so that's also another reason I'm doing it now.
Just curious, why do you think the laser will make my skin worse?
Day 26 on Spiro 100mg
-My face is pretty dry and a flakey around my mouth and nose. This is to be expected after laser though.
-I have added 2 new photos. You can see that my face is covered with scars, hence my decision to have laser treatment. I'm so sick of looking at these scars everyday.
-I can feel a new pimple coming in, but I'm hopeful it will be small and go away quickly.
-My dermatologist told me that all my chest and back acne would go away. I still get some zits on my chest, but I use AHA for that. AHA for my chest zits always works!! I highly recommend using 10% AHA on chest acne.
---My back IS looking clear!! I don't put any cream on it, so it must be the spiro. I've never had a ton of pimples on my back, but have had a couple here and there. I don't see anything now!
RECAP FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ EVERY ENTRY POSTED SO FAR:
--had an initial breakout for the first two weeks on 100mg spiro, but now I'm getting a new small pimple every few days...
--had fractional non-ablative laser therapy a few days ago for my scars (2nd treatment) and now my skin is dry and flakey (as I knew would happen)
--still using BP (not every single day though) and AHA
Day 29 on 100mg Spiro
-I'm sad to say my skin isn't looking its best. I have about 4 actives which means: I can either feel them growing orrrr they are going down. It's crazy how one day I can have 0-1 and the next have 4-5. UGH so annoying!!!!!!! I'm getting a facial tomorrow, so hopefully they can extract all my actives.
-When I was first prescribed spiro, my dermatologist said "give it four weeks MAX." I believed him. He was wrong. I also believed him when he said his patients have never had initial breakouts. He was wrong about that too. SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
-I'm still hopeful that if I stick with this for a couple of more months, my skin will be back to normal (back when I wasn't OBSESSED with my skin and didn't need as much makeup). HOWEVER, I'm still dealing with 8230984903 scars.
Keep up the good work! You're only a month in! I am at 31 days of spiro and am in the process of recovering from probably the worst outbreak I've ever had. Remember it takes a while! We'll get there
Thanks... I just wish I didn't obsess over my face 24/7.. it'd probably go by faster! haha
Day 33 on 100mg Spironolactone
I have 3 current actives on my right cheek right now. I hate waking up and automatically wondering if I have any new pimples. It's pretty sad that that's the first thing I think of when I wake up. UGH I'm so tired of my skin being the ONE THING that consumes most of my thoughts.
I have been urinating less frequently. Does this mean I'm getting used to the spironolactone? Or that the spironolactone isn't working as well? I'm not sure.
My face is definitely less oily, and like I said earlier, my back acne is all gone! I never had a lot before, but I did always get a few here and there. Nothing right now!
Here are a couple of pictures. As you can see, I have A TON OF SCARS!!!!!
Day 36 on 100mg Spiro
I had 2 big actives that are finally dying down... took about 3-4 days. Now that those are going down, OF COURSE another one is coming in. When will this end????
I'm wondering if I should go back to the dermatologist. He told me my skin would look great in 4 weeks. It's obviously over 4 weeks, and my skin is far from looking good.
Still hopeful...