....I can now look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. I couldn't see "beautiful" for a long time. I didn't even know what smooth skin looked like....I do now....try it.

Okay so I just started this med today and will write a nother review in a month or two but I want to stress to all the lady's asking about having baby's. My derm was very clear and said she usually only gives this med to woman in their 40's and 50's because they already have kids and dont plan on having anymore because this drug can cause birth defects. This drug can be in your body well after you stop taking it so it's a major NO for you to want kids and just stop the pill and try to get pregos. I didn't ask how long you should wait but i'm guessing if your on it for years it will be longer then say if you only on it for 6 to 12 months. I see my derm in 2 months and will ask her this question. I also found alot of threads where people only take 25mg to 50mg because their doc wont put them on anything higher but if you want this drug to work you must take aleast 100mg to 200mg. If your doc say's no to upping your dosage go see a derm who know's what their saying!

29 y.o. Female with moderate acne since 12 years old. I have tried every over- the- counter creams/ lotions/ gels, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, zinc, homeopathic remedies, antibiotics, proactiv, birth control, retin-a gel, etc. I did not see improvement except with oral antibiotics which are not good to use long terms so I hated that I was even on them for extended periods when I was younger. Finally after some research I discovered spironolactone. I discussed this with my doctor and she prescribed 100 mg/ day. I started out on 50 mg/day 8 months ago and after tolerating it fine jumped up to 100 mg/day. I did not notice any negative side effects, although I will say that I was also on birth control which can help keep women's periods regular when taking spironolactone. I did not notice significant results until about 1-2 months ago. So it has take over 6 months to see results but wow are they there!! I have gone over a month now with clear skin, something that hasn't happened since I was 12 years old. I went from having to wear foundation/make up 24/7 to going out in public with no make up! Any females struggling with acne please give spironolactone a try. And if you don't see results (I saw little before 6 months) stick with it! If you would've told me at 4/5 months that things were gonna improve I wouldn't have believed it. Because I'd felt like if it was going to work it would've already. But at about 6 months it's like a switch flipped and my skin cleared. Stick with it ladies!!

I've been taking spironolactone for almost two weeks now for severe cystic acne, and I'm so happy to say that I think I finally found my solution!! A bit of background about my skin: I'm an 18 year old female who's had acne (regular acne from age 8-13, and then cystic from age 13-18). My cystic acne is very severe. Even if I don't have a lot of breakouts, the ones I do have are very large and painful. For a while I thought I had my cystic breakouts under control thanks to chemical peels, vitamin c, exfoliating, and trying lots of different skincare products. Though I have definitely managed to reduce breakouts and get rid of regular acne, the cystic acne seemed unstoppable. After a bad experience with my last dermatologist, I decided to give dermatology another try and went to a dermatologist recommended by a family member. I was ready to get on accutane at this point, and thought he'd put me on it right away. He did mention it as a last resort IF spironolactone didn't work. I've been on 50mg twice a day for almost two weeks now. I was supposed to move my dose up to 50mg morning and 100mg night, but I feel like my body needs more time to adjust to the medication and this dose has already done so much for my skin. I'm used to feeling a new cystic spot forming everyday/every other day, but I only had two cystic breakouts within the first two days of taking it. They were both small, which is a miracle in itself, because like I said I'm used to massive breakouts. They began to go away within 24 hours, along with a lot of inflammation from recent breakouts. My skin is less red and my skin texture is getting softer. It did get really gross for a while but I just stayed patient, chemically exfoliated and moisturized and always wear sunscreen. The only side effects I've exeprienced are most likely from not staying as hydrated as I should. I get a little lightheaded/faint feeling and drowsy sometimes after taking it, but I've also started increasing the amount of sodium I intake. I've spent so long looking for something that would get me clear and I think I finally found it. I know it's early to review spironolactone, but I really feel like it started to work right away for me. I was expecting it to take a few months but I'm already seeing results. I will most likely move my dose up to 50mg morning and 100mg night to maximize my results, but for now I am very satisfied with 50mg. CAME BACK TO UPDATE! Sorry this is going to be long and sappy but if you're a female and struggle with cystic acne, spiro could change your life. I've dealt with really severe cystic acne for around five years now. I don't even need to explain how horrible it is; if you have cystic acne you know how life ruining it can be. I've been on 100mg spiro morning and night for a little less than a month now. I didn't think it would work at all, and after reading reviews I thought even if it did I wouldn't see results until at least six months after taking it. I started seeing results within the first two weeks. I still can't believe how much it's changed my life though?? I never thought I'd get this clear. I was used to having 5+ severe cysts all the time, and I have none right now. NONE!! Not only that, but my skin looks so much healthier too. I thought even if I did manage to get clear that I'd have more scarring or discoloration or texture issues or something but no. My skin is looking better and better everyday. I love trying out new skincare products and having fun with a little bit of makeup here and there. For the first summer in my teenage life I actually want to go out into the sunlight and have fun this summer instead of hiding my face 24/7. Kind of an unexpected result of having clear skin is that I feel more feminine. I've always been insecure about my femininity and spiro unexpectedly gave that security back to me. I go in to my dermatologist later this month for a checkup and I'm so excited to see him and thank him for prescribing spiro to me because it's changed my entire life. And this is only the beginning. I know the longer you're on spiro, the better the results get. I'm so happy spiro worked for me and I'm ready to go live my life and not be self conscious of my skin anymore. I'd definitely urge any females dealing with cystic acne to try spiro BEFORE accutane. Accutane was my last option and I'm so relieved I don't have to take it.

I started birth control at age 17 (orto tri cyclen) after trying doxy and minocycline and it cleared up my acne like a charm! Then shortly before I turned 21 I started getting acne on just my chin (combo of closed comedones and hard small cystic acne) and after about a month of dealing with the acne, hoping it would clear, I saw a dermatologist and asked to be put on spiro since I read good reviews. She told me it was for older women and just put me on tazorac .05% and aczone 7.5%. The tazorac completely tore up my face but after a month my skin got used to it and definitely was helping the texture of my chin but just not stopping the acne (plus taz made my skin super sensitive so when i would frown or move my face a lot my face/chin would turn kinda red... definitely unflattering and not a good topical for summer months) and the aczone was helpful but not stopping everything. Fed up with my derm, I saw a second derm who took one look at my face and suggested spironolactone and benzaclin (antiobiotic). I stopped the aczone and started the benzaclin which worked really well for a couple of weeks and then didn't work well so I stopped it entirely. I started on 25 mg spiro once a day for a month last November 2016. I didn't see results so my derm upped it to 50 mg in december. I started to see small results like decreased oil production on my face and hair but nothing truly impacting the acne. In january I went up to 75mg for a few weeks and then 100mg (50 twice a day) and that is where I am right now (march 2017) and my face for the first time summer 2016 is completely clear. I almost feel like i'm jinxing myself for typing that but it's been a full month without any sort of pimple (even during my period). I can also go two days without washing my hair and my hair would usually be oily by the end of the day so that is a HUGE plus... and the oil on my nose decreased by 95% I'd say. I don't have any side effects, maybe just prone to headaches from dehydration (so definitely drink lots of water) and I have to get my blood tested for high potassium levels since its a diuretic and can make the body retain potassium. I still work out everyday and I don't feel fatigued or anything! I would definitely suggest spiro, it can take 2-3 months to truly get complete clearing but i'm so happy I waited it out. I did get a slight breakout at upping to 50 mg on my temples which never get acne but it went away shortly and that was my only breakout from the spiro.

Background info: I starting getting acne when I was 16 years old (Currently 23). All through my teens it was mostly little zits all over my forehead and chin. I started birth control that year to keep control of my acne but it only did so much. The next couple years I switched birth controls twice and literally tried every over-the-counter topical treatments and wash, along with 3 other topical treatments from the dermatologist (Aczone, Tazorac, etc.). NOTHING HELPED. All those topical treatments would do was dry out my face and then I would break out even more. I became so frustrated and gave up. I figured through high school and college it was semi-normal to have bad acne and thought it would go away as I matured. Nope, not the case....around age 20 just when I thought my acne was going away naturally my face blew up with cysts. The acne "moved" from my forehead/chin to my cheeks and instead of little zits they were deep cysts, sometimes painful to touch. It has been awful. I haven't been able to leave the house without makeup for over 5 years (which really sucks as an athletic person, I workout everyday). I workout daily, drink a lot of water and have a balanced diet. I came to the conclusion this is 100% hormonal acne. I decided to see a dermatologist and went it determined to start Accutane. She thought it would be better to try something else and less harsh on my body. Medication: I started this med on 12/29/2014 along with a topical cream from my dermatologists (Going on my 5th week). The first couple weeks I didn't notice much. My pores were shrinking slightly and I noticed a decreased size in my normal cysts. I was breaking out more (the cysts were just smaller in clusters) but it hasn't bothered me that much because hey, I have acne, it's normal for me, right? Going into my 5th week I'm starting to see slightly less acne. I'm wondering if it comes and goes for awhile before it really gets better. The most noticeable side effect is INCREASED THIRST which in turn requires me to go to the bathroom every 30 min. I am SO thirsty all the time. I have already drank 3 large water bottles before 9am today and am still thirsty. Other than that, I haven't noticed any other side effects. Bottom line: It seems to be working and I have a lot of hope for this medication. If you haven't tried any hormonal pill treatment, I highly recommended seeing a dermatologists. I should have went on this 3 years ago and now I am stuck with ugly scars on my cheeks. Once the acne dies down a bit I'm going to start using chemical peels to help with the acne scar resurfacing. I'm also thinking I might cut diary out of my diet because I love milk, cheeses, yogurt, etc. I'll update this post in a few weeks to really share the results. Good luck! Thanks everyone for the encouraging process!

I really just want to speak to those of you who have suffered like me from acne. There is nothing I have wanted more than clear skin the past 5 years, and I've never gotten it. I wouldn't go out or just keep my face hidden or cover my acne with my hands always. I'm outgoing, but a hermit when I'm breaking out terribly, even though I almost always was. I have done it ALL ladies and gents! Accutane for a year'yes longer than usual, that worked but it came back 6 months later almost as bad. I went to UPenn and they told me my options were 1. Accutane again (huge hassle with government protection but still worth the clearer skin nonetheless) 2. Birth control targeted to reduce acne, which i was already on 3. Spiro, which was supposed to reduce my apparently high testosterone levels as a woman. I tried it and 2/3 months later it REALLY worked. IT WORKED! And it continues to!! Please, please if you are like me and your skin controls you and upsets you, TRY IT!! And good luck:)

Here's a bit of background information about my skin: I started to get little breakouts at a young age but my main problem was just tiny pimples and redness. Entering high school I cleaned up my diet and my face was clear and glowing. Throughout high school my skin was on and off until my final year when I got HORRIBLE breakouts. At this point I went to a clinic and was put on birth control, antibiotics and I began to do skin peels. My skin cleared once again! At the beginning of university I went off of birth control and antibiotics and I continued to have little breakouts here and there but nothing too serious... until my last year (again!) It must have been due to stress because my skin went wild! I had painful cystic acne along my jawline and on my cheeks. It came on so fast. I refrained from "picking" at my face to see if things changed but the acne would not go away. I went back to the same clinic and the Doctor told me he thought it was stress and hormones (vs. bacterial causes) and told me he wanted me to try spironolactone. I agreed because at this point my acne was ruining my face and my self-esteem. That night I got my prescription filled and came on Acne.org to read reviews. The main comment I got was that this product worked but patience was needed due to the initial breakout. I remember in my mind thinking "this 'initial breakout' cant be too bad". I really didn't think my face could get worse. Unfortunately, it could and IT DID. The only thing that got me through the first 4-6 weeks was reading all of the comments on the site and constantly reminding myself that I just needed to wait it out. I'm so glad I did because I'm so happy with my skin right now. I don't know how long I'm going to take spironolactone for or how my skin is going to react in the future on and off this medication but I wanted to come on here and write a review to help someone who is thinking about taking or already

I am 37 and have struggled with acne since age 13. I have tried everything and spent thousands of dollars searching for a cure and finally found it after suffering for over 2 decades! At age 21 I went on my first round of accutane which cleared me for several years. when I had my daughter at age 24, my acne came back. I have since tried accutane 3 more times on the heaviest dose allowable and up to 8 month treatment periods and it would come back within 3 months of stopping treatment. Horrible side effects from accutane including a chronic sore in my nose that wont heal from mucous membranes drying so severely.I would never go on accutane ever again. It ablsolutely amazes me that no dermatologist or doctor or endocrinologist that ive seen over the years suggested spiro- i had to request it after reading reviews on here. I had a bad initial breakout that lasted a couple of months. I started on 75 mg /day. I had an almost constant low grade headache the first 2 weeks that went away. After the first month i started to experience some severe dizziness that really scared me. I stopped taking spiro for 1 week and then resumed to 25 mg/day for 2 weeks, then upped it to 50mg/day. It took almost 2 months for the dizziness to completely go away, but it hasn't returned.Its now been over 6 months and my face is almost completely clear!!! i get the odd little pimple now and then, but nothing even close to the pizza face i looked like before. It takes so much less time to get ready for the day- i dont have to wear a ton of makeup and try to cover it all. I have done numerous expensive treatments over the years( lazers, pdt, blue light ala treatments, chemical peels, tazorac, antibiotics, topicals, many over the counter cleansers and acne treatments, proactive,diet changes) this may not be for everyone, but it changed my life! it was free with my insurance coverage. I do have some melasma & hyperpigmentation, but i do a "skin culture peel 4000" once a year to clear that

I have been on spiro for 5 months now. My skin is virtually clear for the first time in my life. I do get pimples from time to time, but no serious breakouts. Before this medication I had tried every topical gel, antibiotic, and even accutane. This is the only thing that has cleared my skin after almost 10 years of chronic acne.