Sara,

I've been on spironolactone since 2009 and had this same thing happen to me about 2-3 yeas ago. It seemed like it had stopped working for about 3 months but I finally figured out that soy milk was making my acne worse (I was drinking quite a bit). It cleared up pretty quickly after I stopped drinking it. Almond milk seems to be fine, though. Another thing that seems to make me break out is peanut butter. I've read that both soy products and peanut butter can have an effect on hormones, so maybe that's why? I'm not sure. I am also mostly vegan and gluten-free. I think diet makes a big difference but it can be very difficult to figure out which foods to avoid. I hope you're able to get it figured out soon, I know how discouraging that must feel.

Sara,
I'm in the same spot. It cleared and smoothed my skin for several years, making me look younger than my 33 which was of course wonderful.Now, within the last few months, I'm getting cysts on the jaw, chin and a bunch on my f-ing back and need 30 minutes a day to smother everything with concealer. Nothing has been more infuriating, especially after the endless journey of doctors and meds and cleansers and herbs and all the bullshit you have to go through because dermatologists are incompetent.
I'm on 25mg which is tolerable compared to the 50mg that had me fatigued and losing my hair. I'm questioning whether to keep going and just cycle the meds out for 7 days every month or add Evening Primrose oil. The only certainty that has come from this medicine is knowing my acne is 100% hormonal. A disappointing discovery as I cannot take bp since they give me blood clots.
For what it's worth, there are many who went off this drug when it was still working for them due to other side effects. So, my point is that even though it may have worked for us, it doesn't appear to be a permanent solution. I disagree with the other posted about diet. I have tried clean diets, no dairy, no gluten, vegan, non processed, you name it, I've been there. It does not change the effectiveness of the meds.
Good luck and stay away from crap doctors.

This is pretty terrifying to me considering my doctor will most probably prescribe me with Spironolactone on top of the Tazorac I'm using. Have any of you considered using retinoids topically?

Hey!

Just wanted to share this information, I figured out why my Spironolactone stopped working - my Estrogen finally dipped way to low that even Birth Control was not enough to get it where it needed to be, and addressing my high Testosterone was not enough anymore. I had my hormones tested (results below) I have been on BC and Spironolactone for 8 months now. With my hormone tests -I am very low in Estradiol and actually average range in Progesterone which I think may be from the Vitex actually (it has been 2 months on it now, somewhere around there). And my Testosterone is high, which I am hoping is being caused by my other hormones being too low to balance it out. Because I actually have never had any 'high testosterone symptoms' I have very little body hair, and sweat very little. I am excited but also a bit scared to get these results because I did not except to be so extremely low in Estrogen. I am meeting with my naturopath tomorrow so I am interested to see what she thinks I should do. I believe I should stay on the Vitex, get on a bio-identical estrogen cream, probably get on a progesterone one as well because I have read that an estrogen cream should always be taken with some progesterone. I will have to figure out when exactly I should be taking the vitex, estrogen & progesterone during my cycle - because I think it needs to be specific and not just all taken everyday, but to follow along with my cycle. As for Tesosterone, I will let that be for now and see if it evens out after getting my Estrogen back up.

It makes sense now why the Spironolactone worked for so long, it was just dealing with the high Testosterone but not getting to the root of why it was high because my other hormones were so low and unbalanced. Then the Spironolactone stopped working (also I wasn't having a lot of periods while on it) because my Estrogen must have just gotten so LOW, and I started getting all of these weird under the skin acne bumps, lowering my Testosterone was no longer enough because the Estrogen was not being produced - why? I have no idea about that root, I'm afraid it is my pituitary, ovaries, or adrenals - (thyroid, I had that checked though). I was checked for cysts on my ovaries a few years ago and there was nothing. My pituitary has had issues in the past of producing too much Prolactin from being on a terrible antipsychotic drug when I was in high school. (All high schoolers are probably told they need to be on antipsychotic medication, ugh). Also another mystery I posted on here YEARS ago was why my skin got so very clear the week before and during my period. Because while I was on BC and Spironolactone my skin was clear, but I mean it got so PERFECT during these two weeks, now I know that is because that was the time during my cycle when a woman's Estrogen is naturally low and mine was already low so at this time it would finally be in balance with my other hormones.

What a mess. Hoping amping up my Estrogen will finally stop this acne, and I can start being myself again.

On October 30, 2015 at 2:23 PM, PeanutsTheGuineaPig said:

Sara,I'm in the same spot. It cleared and smoothed my skin for several years, making me look younger than my 33 which was of course wonderful.Now, within the last few months, I'm getting cysts on the jaw, chin and a bunch on my f-ing back and need 30 minutes a day to smother everything with concealer. Nothing has been more infuriating, especially after the endless journey of doctors and meds and cleansers and herbs and all the bullshit you have to go through because dermatologists are incompetent.
I'm on 25mg which is tolerable compared to the 50mg that had me fatigued and losing my hair. I'm questioning whether to keep going and just cycle the meds out for 7 days every month or add Evening Primrose oil. The only certainty that has come from this medicine is knowing my acne is 100% hormonal. A disappointing discovery as I cannot take bp since they give me blood clots.
For what it's worth, there are many who went off this drug when it was still working for them due to other side effects. So, my point is that even though it may have worked for us, it doesn't appear to be a permanent solution. I disagree with the other posted about diet. I have tried clean diets, no dairy, no gluten, vegan, non processed, you name it, I've been there. It does not change the effectiveness of the meds.
Good luck and stay away from crap doctors.

Ahhh! I upped my Spiro to 150mg for 2 months, and still it is doing NOTHING now. My skin is ridiculous, huge insane cysts and a million tiny whiteheads that I just want to scrub off. I'm also back on the birth control, just over a month, just absolutely no change. I EVEN have been on 200mg Doxycycline for 2 weeks now, and its literally not doing one damn thing. Before that was my last resort that always worked to clear up a flare up, within days they would flatten, now NOTHING. I'm starting to think I have some sort of viral infection. Have you found anything that is working for you again?

Hi hun - i'm in the same boat. Spiro never cleared me up but it did make things more bearable for a few times in the month. Now, it's doing nothing. If you find a solution let me know.

Good Luck!

Hi guys ,

I've been on spiro for a couple months, cleared me up completely, randomly all the acne started coming back again. Ive increased my dosage to 200mg but im still breaking out everyday. I'm so sad, i made so much progress with this skin only for it to just come back under one week. Why is hormonal acne such a curse!! Don't even know what to do anymore, can anyone shed light on this please? Can spironolactone just stopped working randomly less than a year after? Why? What can i do please? Thank u

Hi Gue. Im stumped too. It seems to just quit since the weather changed and now in addition to the plentiful acne around my mouth, I am breaking out on my cheeks and forehead which is not the norm. Did anyone find a solution yet?

On 6/7/2016 at 7:10 PM, saraspoons said:

On 5/7/2016 at 12:09 AM, JustDifferent said:

 

 

Hey!

Just wanted to share this information, I figured out why my Spironolactone stopped working - my Estrogen finally dipped way to low that even Birth Control was not enough to get it where it needed to be, and addressing my high Testosterone was not enough anymore. I had my hormones tested (results below) I have been on BC and Spironolactone for 8 months now. With my hormone tests -I am very low in Estradiol and actually average range in Progesterone which I think may be from the Vitex actually (it has been 2 months on it now, somewhere around there). And my Testosterone is high, which I am hoping is being caused by my other hormones being too low to balance it out. Because I actually have never had any 'high testosterone symptoms' I have very little body hair, and sweat very little. I am excited but also a bit scared to get these results because I did not except to be so extremely low in Estrogen. I am meeting with my naturopath tomorrow so I am interested to see what she thinks I should do. I believe I should stay on the Vitex, get on a bio-identical estrogen cream, probably get on a progesterone one as well because I have read that an estrogen cream should always be taken with some progesterone. I will have to figure out when exactly I should be taking the vitex, estrogen & progesterone during my cycle - because I think it needs to be specific and not just all taken everyday, but to follow along with my cycle. As for Tesosterone, I will let that be for now and see if it evens out after getting my Estrogen back up.

It makes sense now why the Spironolactone worked for so long, it was just dealing with the high Testosterone but not getting to the root of why it was high because my other hormones were so low and unbalanced. Then the Spironolactone stopped working (also I wasn't having a lot of periods while on it) because my Estrogen must have just gotten so LOW, and I started getting all of these weird under the skin acne bumps, lowering my Testosterone was no longer enough because the Estrogen was not being produced - why? I have no idea about that root, I'm afraid it is my pituitary, ovaries, or adrenals - (thyroid, I had that checked though). I was checked for cysts on my ovaries a few years ago and there was nothing. My pituitary has had issues in the past of producing too much Prolactin from being on a terrible antipsychotic drug when I was in high school. (All high schoolers are probably told they need to be on antipsychotic medication, ugh). Also another mystery I posted on here YEARS ago was why my skin got so very clear the week before and during my period. Because while I was on BC and Spironolactone my skin was clear, but I mean it got so PERFECT during these two weeks, now I know that is because that was the time during my cycle when a woman's Estrogen is naturally low and mine was already low so at this time it would finally be in balance with my other hormones.

What a mess. Hoping amping up my Estrogen will finally stop this acne, and I can start being myself again.

 

RESULTS:
Estradiol - 0.8
Progesterone - 112
Testosterone - 48
Ratio: Pg/E2 - 140

RANGES:
Estradiol: 1.3 - 3.3 (Pre-meno / Luteal)
Progesterone: 75-270 (Pre-meno / Luteal)
Testosterone: 16-55 (Age dependent?)
Ratio: Pg/E2: Optimal 100-500 When E2 1.3 - 3.3

Hiii..

You are explaining my case.. kindly can I know what happened to you afterwords? Have you tried phytoestrogen?

I eventually found my doctor and she started me on a combination of spironolactone + tretionine cream + PRP injecitons in the acne lesions. All resolved (I had deep cystic PCOS acne).

She mentioned that in combination it works the best and if not ideal, she would prescribe me stronger tablet that spironolactone which makes skin not reacting to hormons (sorry, I dont know the name, but I know it exist! - speak to your doctor). If you are in Melbourne, I can recommend my dr, she is great

On 10/15/2015 at 4:19 PM, a said:

Sara,

I've been on spironolactone since 2009 and had this same thing happen to me about 2-3 yeas ago. It seemed like it had stopped working for about 3 months but I finally figured out that soy milk was making my acne worse (I was drinking quite a bit). It cleared up pretty quickly after I stopped drinking it. Almond milk seems to be fine, though. Another thing that seems to make me break out is peanut butter. I've read that both soy products and peanut butter can have an effect on hormones, so maybe that's why? I'm not sure. I am also mostly vegan and gluten-free. I think diet makes a big difference but it can be very difficult to figure out which foods to avoid. I hope you're able to get it figured out soon, I know how discouraging that must feel.

Hey there, I just experienced the same story! ( not 100% sure but very likely) so Im on my 10 month of 100mg spiro and has been working wonders in my skin however 2 weeks ago I startedto broke out like never!!! Then I realized that theonly diet change I did was drinking soy milk since I didnt find almond milk in the supermarket (the regular one i used to drink) clearly I stop consuming soymilk andit helped a lot but Im still breaking out :/ , did you noticed another food or ingrediente was making you break out ?