I am taking 100mg once a day at night. I also take lo loestrin. The combination of these two medications has cleared up my acne almost completely. I get a pimple here and there, but I truly do not have problems with large breakouts anymore. I have had acne since I can remember--started at around 12. This is the only thing that has worked for me in my entire life. I have been through retinol creams, antibiotics, birth control pills, accutane, laser treatments, you name it--I've tried it. My parents are both OBGYN's they have prescribed this regiment to their patients and it truly works!! Ask your doctor, you will be thrilled after a few months!

Cleared my skin within a 9 month time period from December 2010 to August 2011. This medication is originally for ppl with high blood pressure, but it has shown to cure acne. I was told by my Dr. that I might urinate more often, and desire to drink more water, I haven't have any of these changes in me. All I can say, I haven't had breakout since July 2011. My face was disastrous on December 2010 with nodules, cysts, and blemishes (for about 8 years, from 19-27). the pain was horrible but since I started taking water pills combined with antibiotics; Bactrim for 9 months, I stopped having breakouts, and I just remained taking water pills only. It's exactly a year that I am on them. Pharmacists recommend to stop once acne is cured, but dermatologists suggest not to stop, unless trying to get pregnant. Will have an updated review when I stop taking the pills, to tell you guys if I have broken out or not. Good luck and be patient, it takes months to see results, and NEVER give up your face clearing routine. Always use medicated cleansers twice daily. B/c you never know, acne might come back, especially for those who developed adult acne, such as myself.

Bottom line is that I am 25 years old & have had acne since I was 13. I have tried everything you can think of! Over time my acne has changed from teenage acne (mostly in the T-zone) to adult acne (along my chin, jawline & neck). My new dermatologist told me "all acne is treatable, we just need to find what works for you" this was the best news I have ever heard. I have a love-hate relationship with dermatologists. But finally this one got it right! I have been taking it a little over a month now & at first I was skeptical because I was still breaking out pretty badly, but then I read reviews that people normally do break out badly at first. A month later & my skin is flawless! I have had no new pimples & I didn't even break out during my periods! Other than old scars my skin looks & feels fantastic! I cannot believe how much this has changed my skin!

this is an update - i'm on my 2nd month (about half way in now). I had a severe breakout about midway through my treatment - just after I wrote my previous review. My skin had been clear and then one morning I woke up and my entire face - forehead, chin, cheeks etc.. had broken out - places that I hadn't broken out in years and my breakout continued for a few weeks until I went back and saw my derm. She put me on Retin-A micro .03% 2x a week (pea sized amount at night, every 3rd day) - and wow - that helped clear things up. I continued with the 100mg of Sprinolactone, and with the RAM my skin began clearing and healing within 3 weeks (I had no new breakouts, just lots of red marks and swelling from previous lesions) My skin is now fairly clear. My cheeks, nose, chin, are all smooth (no peeling, no flaking, no redness because I'm only using it every 3rd day, and I'm moisturizing after the RAM goes on) - and am using the RAM on my forehead every other day, because it's still breaking out and is still badly marked up. The big pluses to being on the Spirno is that I'm no longer oily. Before I went on it I was having to wash my hair 1-2x a day (I have thin, baby fine hair, with bangs that would be stringy within a few hours of washing it) - and now I can go 3-4 days in between washing my hair without it being oily - and the same goes for my face. I used to wake up with it looking like it was doused in baby oil - and my pillow cases would need washing every other day, and now my face is totally "normal" in the morning, and this is after moisturizing right before I go to bed. I also switched out my birth control pill for the Nuva Ring because I was having issues with breakthrough bleeding on the pill. The Nuva Ring eliminates fluctuations in hormones so no worries about that any more. I've also lost 10lbs ,most of which was water retention, awesome. I look forward to having clear, beautiful skin by the Spring, hopef

I am currently in my early 20s, and I had to come off of birth control a little over a year ago. Since I discontinued my BC, I have had some of the worst acne my friends of I have seen. I have been taking 100mg of this medication for approximately a month. At first, my skin dramatically became clearer, but then it broke out horribly around week 2. It has since gotten better and is slowly improving, but I still have a few cysts and LOTS of whiteheads. However, this month when I got my period, I didn't break out horribly like I usually do. I see several others said their skin cleared up after the 1 month period, so I'm hoping that mine continues to clear, as I am getting married 7 months. :-/

Give it a try! It takes months before you actually see results, but if you want something that is going to prevent constant breakouts, this is the way to go!

I've had acne since I was 12. After four runs of accutane (I was one of the first to use it), I discovered my acne could be completely controlled with the right birth control pills. After I had my ovaries removed a few years ago, I foolishly thought all my skin problems would be over. Wrong. Two years after the surgery, I looked so terrible, I couldn't go to work. Plus, I was having to wash my face every 30 minutes, that's how oily my skin was. I found out about Spironolactone, and within two weeks, I looked like a new person. In retrospect, I wish I had known about this medicine decades earlier. I've done a lot of reading, and suspect I have some sort of congenital adrenal problem that makes me produce too much testosterone. Thank goodness this medicine works, is all I can say. Oh, and I tried getting by on 50 mg, but it wasn't enough. At least for me, I need the whole 100 mg to gain effect.

I'm 36, have had cystic acne since 14 (usually under control via various means, sometimes out of control). It is a very mysterious and shape-shifting disease. Since the age of 29, I was religiously using benzoyl peroxide face wash as the "insulin" to my "diabetes", but moving to a new climate, and being older, I simply could not handle the chemical anymore. My dermatologist offered me Spiro and I'm the last person to take anything extra - I'm vegan and straightedge, but the acne was ruining my life. (This can show it is not a dietary induced cystic acne: I eat a ton of plants and mostly organic). This drug worked within one week. Now, I'm just dealing with acne scars and rebuilding my self-esteem. I also use the acne.org jojoba moisturizer and straight jojoba oil on my face at night

I started breaking out about 2 years ago when I was 22. - i have never had acne before that besides the odd spot. I had moderate cystic acne mostly on the bottom half of my face. Anti-biotics would kinda help but the acne always came back. I tried to fix it with diet, that didn't work and it was honestly no way to live, I was becoming obsessed with food and constricting myself to too much! I went to the dermatologist and he put me on spironolactone. I started on 50 mg a day for 30 days. It helped, but it did not clear it up' (I hear it takes a few months for most people though). After 30 days my doctor bumped me to 100mg and added a birth control. In my case it is diane-35. My doctor told me that spiro works best to it's full potential when paired with a birth control. This combo did WONDERS for me. I was acne free within 2 weeks. I still get tiny break outs when I am on my period but they are totally manageable and small, I wouldn't have even noticed them back when I had big cysts. Side effects? Yup one major one, but I am not complaining about it. Weight loss! I was 130lbs when I went on this med and I now weigh in at 117lbs! I feel better about my face AND my body. I sometimes feel my heart beating faster than normal, that is just an indicator that I need to down some H2o and I'm all good. If you are a woman and you think your acne is hormonal ask your doctor about spironolactone and if it's right for you. Most GP's don't really recommend it because I think they are just not knowledgeable on it? That's only my assumption. I was going to the GP for my acne to get antibiotics and they did not recommend sprio to me. Once I went to a skin specialist they recommended spiro right away! Wish I knew about it earlier to save myself 2 years of agony on my face haha. Thanks guys!

Having just completed my fourth month on Spironolactone I could not be more thrilled with the outcome. My acne has only been a recent struggle which started with a sudden onslaught of pimples in my early twenties after having a pretty good run with my skin throughout my teenage years. I had hormonal acne so it being an internal imbalance, no amount of fancy serums or radical diet changes were going to help clear it up. I was prescribed Sprio at my local GP's office and placed on a dosage of 100mg per day, I've maintained this dosage since. The main side effect in which I personally experienced was the frequent urination and dehydration as a consequence. These have since subsided though and now I currently have no issues with the drug nor my potassium levels (having got them routinely checked). In terms of how long the medication took to have an effect on my skin, it sure as hell wasn't a quick fix solution, nonetheless after three months of patiently waiting my skin cleared up miraculously and I haven't had a single pimple since, hurrah! I did experience the dreaded initial breakout but it only lasted a couple of months and was well worth enduring in order to achieve the long term results which thankfully have today. So at this stage I will happily continue to remain on the drug alongside till partaking in the occasional blood test at the GP's office tom monitor potassium levels. For just $25 for a three month prescription of Spiro here in Australia, this medication was an extremely cost effective solution to treating acne as well. I would highly recommend Spiro for any females experiencing hormonal acne only but encourage you all to take into account that it isn't a cure as such but a masking solution to the problem, it will only work as long as you remain on the medication, so with that in mind if you're skin isn't that bad to start with, maybe don't commit to such a drastic measure. If you do decide to start taking Spiro be sure to listen to your body and pay attention to any changes if you're concerned as at the end of the day, clear skin is great sure but it's not worth compromising your internal health when nothing was essentially wrong with you in the first place. Hope this helps anyone who's unsure about giving Spiro a go and are also struggling with hormonal acne.