Acne.org Products
Antiandrogen
Acne.org’s Real World Take
“Spiro” has been shown to work in a real and noticeable way most of the time. However, messing with hormones is messing with hormones and it’s best to proceed with caution.
Antiandrogen
How to Get It
Have a dermatologist? Make an appointment to get this medication. Don't have a dermatologist? See The American Academy of Dermatology Physician Database to find one.
Used Spironolactone? Rate It:
Choose from 1 to 5 stars
March 10, 2013
Cons:
Didn't work for me at all-- gave me sore breasts, bloated body.
If you are a woman, and your derm suggests it, I would give it a try. I wish it had worked for me, but it didn't. I imagine if you don't respond well to "low dose" birth control pill, you won't respond to this, either.
October 11, 2012
Pros:
-Less acne after 2 months
-Less oil
Cons:
-HORRIBLE HEARTBURN. Just from the pill itself. Am I the only one that this has happened to???
-Acne slowly came back
-NOT a cure.
Spiro did help when I became desperate for clear skin but I was just taking it for remission. Once it started slowly but surely coming back I decided to do a second round of Accutane. I believe Accutane is going to give me the result that I am looking for.
September 2, 2011
Pros:
•Cleared skin after 1st week for 1wk
•helps loose weight quicker with exercise
•no more cyst
Cons:
•1st wk broke out small pimples
•Very oily skin, more than usual
•small red pimples along jawline
Started breaking out at 27yrs old, very depressing. Went 2 a Dermatologist they said I have cystic Acne because I started getting these huge zits only on the right side of my face. 1 or 2 at a time that would last 4ever, sometimes more than a month. Then they would leave a scare 4 2 more months along with small bumps mainly on the right side of my face. The rest of my face clear. I went through numerous topical ointments & creams. Finally they wanted 2 start me on Acutane I said no. So went on Trinessa BC, Aczone cream & Veltin cream 4 6months. It helped but didn't get rid of the cyst. So they said most likely you have hormonal acne & started me on Spiro 25mg. The 2nd wk was great then, but now 3rd wk all I do is break out along my jaw line wit small bumps that r extremely red 4 15-20min then lighten up but stay. I want this 2 wrk but my face itches all the time with red bumps. Not as oily unless I move around a lot. I'm sticking with it cause I want that clear skin. This may not help but I hope it does.
August 2, 2011
Pros:
Cleared up persistent cystic acne
Cons:
May be causing tinnitus
I love this medication. I have been on it for nearly a year now, and my skin just gets better and better. I started getting cystic acne when I was about 20, and it usually took a couple weeks for each one to go away. By the time I was 30, cysts took approximately 2-3 months to heal, and by the time they did I had a new one to deal with. My cystic acne cleared up almost immediately, and the tiny little pimples I get sometimes usually clear up in a day or two, and are very infrequent. On the flip side, I filled my prescription a few days ago, and the pills they gave me looked different than what I have taken in the past. They told me that they had purchased them from a different vendor, but it was the same medication, even showing me the bottle. Suddenly yesterday morning I had a ringing in my left ear, and everything sound tinny (my right ear is fine). Tinnitus is a possible side effect with this medication, and I find it suspicious that it started right after I started taking the medication from a different manufacturer. I am going to talk to my pharmacist and see if it is possible to get the other medication and see if it clears up my problem. In my experience, side-effects to medication show up within a short time of taking them, and when they have shown up suddenly in the past, it was due to a change in the medication (switch from brand to generic, or a change in manufacturers). My old pharmacist told me that it can happen, because while the active ingredient is the same, the binders and other things in the medication are different. We shall see what happens. If I had written this review a week ago, I would have given it a 5 rating. In any case, glad to have the acne gone, but would really love to have my hearing back in my left ear. When I hold the phone to my left ear, my husband sounds like he has been sucking on helium. It is less noticeable when both my ears are being used, but loud noises now have a sharp ringing sound at the en
June 24, 2011
Pros:
Side Effects were tolerable
Cons:
Initial Breakout
Menstrual Irregularities
I asked for this from my derm because I have very oily skin and have had mildly-severe acne since I was 12. Started at 50mg/day for the first month. Had a really bad initial breakout; many cysts along my jawline and behind my ears where I usually don't have them. After a month and not seeing any improvement, got bumped up to 100gm/day which I took for the next two months. I saw another initial breakout but it was not as severe and was shorter. The only other side effect I noticed was my periods were very irregular but they were lighter and a lot more cramp-free. After 3 months total on this med my derm decided that I wasn't seeing the results I wanted and I trust her judgement to stop since she has experience with this drug. I saw very little if any improvement with acne and no decrease in oil production at all. Hopefully this means that since I'm still pretty young (20), I'll someday outgrow acne. I don't regret trying this drug though, as the side effects were manageable. I would recommend that women try it because for those on whom it works, it seems to work very well. But it's on to antibiotics for me.
April 26, 2011
Pros:
-reduces cysts in number & depth
-doesn't interfere w/diet
Cons:
-some side effects aren't listed on label but still will occur
-infrequent (or more frequent) periods
-each time dosage changes, it takes 2 months to adjust & work again
I've used this for 7 mos, along w/another pill & 2 topical treatments. It's pretty effective for cyst pimples. For me, it stopped them from appearing in 2 out of 3 areas on my face. However, I also experienced side effects that weren't on the label...like dry scalp & enlarged pecs, because it made me wonder what else could happen. But these were both temporary & started when the doc increased my dosage to 4/day. This dosage also resulted in frequent periods...I had my period every 8-12 days for 3 months. At this point, I'm going off spiro to regulate my periods & because a lower dosage won't be effective for me.
March 3, 2011
Pros:
cheap
easy to take
minimal side effects
worked somewhat
Cons:
minty taste
It helped get rid of some of my acne and prevented new flare ups, but wasn't a cure-all. Absolutely worth a try though, very cheap and no side effects for me.
June 8, 2010
Pros:
Less oily face
Cons:
shifted my acne to other areas on my face.
I suffer from persistant acne around my chin. My dermatologist said its due to increase in adrogen. I've been taking 50mg of sprio twice a day for a little over a month, and although my chin breaks out less, i'm getting zits of all shapes and sizes everywhere else on my face! in places I NEVER used to break out. I'm unsure to continue using this product since there is a reduction of oil on my face, however i've developed acne in other spots. Any advice?? What am I not doing right??
June 26, 2009
Pros:
I've taken spirolactone for about two weeks so I haven't seen any results yet.
Cons:
I feel very tired and sleepy everyday.
I've have suffering of reallyl bad acne since I was 17 years old. Through out the years it's was taking all over my face. As a teenager I had acne in my cheeks, then in my twenties went on my chin, then after being pregnant I had the works acne of my life taking all of my face. I am almost 31 years old and I have been in so many treatments. My body doesn't tolerate accutane so I only took that for 2 weeks. I have hope in this new medication, spirolactone. I have to say though, I constantly feel tired, sleepy. I'll recommen it, even though, I've only using it for two weeks. I have faith that this will be the cure for my acne
June 16, 2009
Pros:
Nothing.
Cons:
Gave me hives, had an allergic reaction to it, couldn't walk uphill without feeling like passing out.
Didn't take it long enough to see results.
Pros:
Cheap with prescription plan. I imagine it's safer as an acne treatment than most conventional methods (ie antibiotic resistance, liver damage, etc.)