I'm a 24 year old female. My acne has always been considered moderate to a dermatologist, but of course to me it felt severe. In the last few years my acne became worse than when I was a teenager. My zits were cystic, more numerous, and relentless. Unfortunately, my skin had a great effect on my attitude and my mood. Whether my day was good or bad was highly dependent on the degree to which I was breaking out. I had tried antibiotics, birth control, topicals like proactive, retin-a (of varying strengths), reducing my dairy consumption, becoming a vegetarian, and much more and with nothing to show. I think the constant nuclear warfare on my face in fact worsened my skin and caused further irritation. My mom emailed me with an epiphany one day. She recalled after her pregnancy with me she was prescribed a water pill to help her with some horrible cystic acne she was experiencing. She said it cleared her up almost immediately. I made an appointment with my doctor shortly after and was prescribed 25mg of spironolactone daily. The doctor was slightly hesitant, and she made sure to run through the list of every other prescription available (all of which I had tried) before agreeing to prescribe me this pill. I began this medication in March and it is August now and I truly could not be more pleased. My skin is not only clear but it is predictable. I don't dread looking in the mirror each morning only to discover 3 new massive zits. My skin is stable. I am not without some occasional small pimples of course, but they are small and infrequent. I'm not embarrassed to be seen without thick layers of foundation and I'm not afraid of humidity or sweating my make-up off. I'm so thankful to have found this medication. I only wish my mom had recalled her experience sooner! (Note: I do take this in conjunction with birth control. The birth control pill never did the trick for me but it is possible the combination of these two medications are giving me the ultimate effect)

I have tried everything under the sun, and finally my dermatologist prescribed Spironolactone for me and my face has been clear now for 3-4 months. It took about 2 months before I started noticing a difference, but it was worth it. Additionally, I also started running 3-4 times a week and doing Crossfit 3 times a week along with cutting flour out of my diet for all meals except 2 per week. Perhaps a combo of the Spironolactone, a good exercise regime and eating better was the key, but I am so glad because I have battled skin issues for almost the entire decade of my 20s. Also, it's a good idea to increase your water intake with this drug because it is a diuretic, so I have done really well with that. The more water, the better for your skin. Lastly, I swear by washing your face morning and night with the plain orange liquid neutrogena, applying Olay Regenerist moisturizer in the morning after washing your face, and using neutrogena concealer for small cover-ups and a little bit of the neutrogena powder. Foundation is the devil. Everytime I go back to wearing foundation, I can almost always bet on breaking out. Less is more when it comes to wearing make-up AND keeping your skin clear!

Hello all! I have been struggling with moderate face (mainly on my jaw line and cheek bone area), back, and chest acne since I was 14 years old. I have tried multiple topical treatments, as well as oral antibiotics for my acne. Initially, each product seemed to work great .... until it didn't anymore! My acne has been a problem on and off for the past 10 years, as I am now almost 24. A total struggle! Finally I found a provider who actually wanted to help me clear up my acne. And of course I love her, as she is a physician assistant like myself. We decided to go with Spiro, because we both felt that my acne was mainly hormonal. Initially I was on 25 mg 2x / day. I had no side effects at all. Bacne - GONE. You would never know I had an issue. Face and chest not so much. After 3 months I went for my f/u appointment and she increased me to 50mg 2x / day and we added Retin A Micro (I'm using the generic form which is just tretinoin gel). In 2 weeks I've seen MAJOR improvement in my face and chest. I currently have no active breakouts, just some left over hyper pigmentation (which I am eager to get rid of!) I only apply the Retin A at night to affected areas (if I put it all over my face it gets to dry). I also use St. Ives anti blemish exfoliating wash every night (I swear by it). HOWEVER....ladies pay attention to what makeup you are using. Once I switched to MakeUP Forever (you can get their products at Sephora) I have also noticed a HUGE difference compared to drug store brands. It's worth the extra couple of bucks and it lasts longer! I also wash my makeup brushes every other week...and I apply foundation with CLEAN fingers only. DRINK DRINK DRINK lots of WATER! Not only is it necessary while taking Spiro, but it is just good for your skin in general. All in all, Spiro gets an A+++ in my book.

3 months ago my doctor put me on a 50mg dosage.. to say the least it did not help with my acne at all it was all around my jaw line and forehead. about a month ago he bumped my dosage to 100mg a day (2 pills) and ever since then my acne got 100xs worse!! Its all over my cheeks and my neck. Does it get worse before it gets better? Should I wait it out? has this happened to anyone ? any info would be great

I experienced my first breakout at age 11, saw a dermatologist at age 12, and was prescribed spironolactone at age 15. (This was among all kinds of other topicals, and within the past couple years--I'm 19 now--a couple antibiotic courses). My original dermatologist prescribed spironolactone mainly to combat my extremely oily skin, which no doubt is a major contributing factor to my acne. It is still not "normal" oil-wise, but does not get noticeably oily after cleansing/applying makeup for 3-4ish hours now as compared to 45 min-1 hour before (yeah awful I know...my skin hates me. The oiliness almost made me more self-conscious than my moderate/sometimes severe acne). However, my original dermatologist retired and I started seeing a new one, who told me the main reason spirono is usually prescribed is for hormonal acne. This was never a problem for me before, but since I was about 17 I began getting cysts on my chin around the time of ovulation as well as the start of my period--but the spirono takes them down in just about 2 days!!! When I have been taking spirono religiously (i.e. not missing a pill for a couple months) I might get 1-2 cysts a month if that--which I can deal with. However, if I forget to take it for 2-3 days, sure enough its a guarantee that I will get a cyst or two within the next few days. The only side effects I have ever experienced have been occasional dizziness or light headedness when I stand too quickly. Since I have been taking spirono for so long, I do not remember if there was an initial breakout or not. Because it is potassium sparing and has other potential side effects, you should get blood work done once a year if you are taking it long term. I have never had any problems, although my derm recommends that I avoid eating like multiple bananas in one day--too much potassium on this drug is no good. If you are experiencing more than mild and occasional side effects/are afraid to start spirono due to potential side effects, just make sure you are on the proper dosage for your weight, as it is important to find the balance between effectiveness and how much of the drug your body can tolerate. I am 5'6'' and 120 lbs and take 50mg a day. Bottom line--if you have hormonal acne or very oily skin--try spironolactone!!!!! When used correctly, it is super effective and should have very little side effects.

Ok so I have had acne since I was a teenager. I'm 23 now so it's been a long time. I went on birth control during high school which managed the problem for a while. When I was in college I went off birth control for about a year, and then started getting horrible cystic acne. They were large, painful cysts which usually came 3 at a time. For a while birth control and antibiotics did the trick. After switching birth control and going off antibiotics, the cystic acne came back. Going back on antibiotics didn't work this time, so I asked my dermatologist about Spiro. Accutane has always been my last possible result so I wanted to try this first. This site was what motivated me to try Spiro and I will say that it has definitely worked for me! Like everyone has said, this med takes time to settle in so don't be discouraged if it hasn't been a miracle after 2 weeks. I'm on my 3rd/4th month and I've started to see big big results. I changed my dosage about 3 weeks ago which has helped too (I'm on 75mg vs 50) so that may be what some people need to do. My breakouts haven't disappeared (I'm superstitious so I feel if I rave about this I'll get some horrific breakout) but they are minor if they happen and are basically pimples rather than giant cysts. Originally I was wary about trying this because of side effects but here's the deal---side effects may happen, they may not and they are different for everyone. If it doesn't work for you, stop taking it. My side effects were muscle aches and lack of appetite during the first few weeks. The muscle aches went away (keep exercising, this really helps) and I really have no complaints about the appetite part, I lost some weight which is always a perk. Some people on here have said they had hair loss, weird menstrual cycles, weight gain. Again, this is possible, but if you are really looking for a solution, Spiro is worth a try.

I've been using Spironolactone for four months now. I'm 21 and the moderate acne on my chest and back I've struggled with since I was 13 is finally gone. I'm getting no new breakouts, just dealing with the post acne dark spots now. I did not get a bad initial breakout like many other reviewers did. I didn't see a change in my acne for better or worse until the 3rd month when I moved from taking two 50mg pills a day to three pills a day. Every topical medication failed to make a dent in improving my body acne. The only thing that worked a little was Yaz birth control. When I realized my acne was hormonal, my dermatologist prescribed Spiro to me. This medication has given me my body back. If you're a woman struggling with body acne and you think it could be related to hormones, I would absolutely ask your dermatologist about Spiro. It takes commitment and time, but it really is the miracle drug people say it is.

Me: College student, very fair skinned, petite, outdoorsy but not athletic. Problem: Excessively oily (<2 hours after applying makeup), constant cystic acne lasting weeks at surface with many more lurking beneath the surface esp. cheeks and jaw, additional pimples littered randomly, scarring, hyperpigmentation. Occasional acne on back and chest. Solution: Wash and moisturize with CeraVe products every morning and night. Worked my way up over 7 months from 50 to 150mg/day. Initial breakout for every increase in dose. Have not had a new cystic pimple since initial dose. First month saw huge decrease in oil production, back and neck clear by third month in addition to great decrease in cystic acne. By sixth month totally free of cystic acne, decreased oil w/o drying skin. That said I am chronically thirsty and peeing like a racehorse, also, with the water loss I went down a cup size which is a little sad since I am not a buxom girl to begin with, but considering that my cystic acne used to make me skip class, parties, dates etc if it was just too bad, my happiness in infinitely increased. I am no longer too ashamed to let my boyfriend touch my face, or terrified of standing in the wrong light or checking up on my makeup between every class. I have tried various regimens, amoxicillin, doxycycline, various diets, etc, and nothing worked on the deeper issue. Today I still have to deal with regular pimples, but its nothing compared to serious emotionally damaging uncontrollable and unpredicatable cystic acne I started getting around age 19. It been very hard learning to get out of the habit of obsessing over my skin, now that I don't need to worry about it. Also beware, since I began spironolactone I have noticed that in terms of the few baby pimples I still get now and then, even just a tiny bit of picking will leave me with a scar. Huh.

I tried everything. Accutane at one point, a bunch of antibiotics, creams, etc. My derm started me on EstroStep BC and Tazorac. Taz works awesome and really tightens pores. However, once I started on Sprio 100 mg, I began to see results. My derm bumped me up to 150 since I was handling the med fine and my skin TOTALLY cleared and no oil EVER. My pores have shrunk and I don't need to wear make up like I used to. I had a horrible initial breakout for 2-3 months and I almost stopped but my derm said to see the full result I needed to wait until the 6 month period. I am at the beginning of the 5th month and looking amazing. I started to see the major improvement the middle of the 4th month. You need to drink a ton of water on this medicine! I know the initial outbreak can be rough (mine was really intense)... however the difference now is night and day. People tell me I have beautiful skin all the time now. Below are helpful research articles I read about the med that are VERY helpful. Be informed of your medicine and be responsible when taking this med. Best of luck!!! [link edited out] [link edited out] [link edited out]

I'm a 21 year old female with hormonal acne. I began taking Spiro in 100 mg doses daily in July 2013, and was upped to 200 mg daily doses in November 2013. It's definitely a medicine that requires patience and will only show results long-term, but I can say that my acne is much less severe. The acne I do get is much smaller and easier to get rid of, and the rare cystic pimple (once every 3 months approx.) goes away much faster. This medicine IS very dehydrating so it would be best to keep a water bottle available at all times. It can also make mornings a bit more difficult since you NEED to hydrate when you wake up, after sleeping with 8 hours or so with no water. My period also is a little irregular right now, and I am menstruating twice a month. Spiro will mess with your period in some way, so consult your doctor about it first.