I have extremely oily skin with mild-to-moderate acne that fluctuates. I was put on Spironolactone to try and help regulate my breakouts and it really only made me break out in places that are considered to be "hormonal breakout areas" like my jawline, neck and shoulders. It helped mildly with the smoothness of my face but I would still get breakouts around my period. Since I stopped taking it, my jaw and neck don't have any breakouts and the condition of my face remains as it was. I haven't seen enough of a miracle with this product that would make me keep using it.

Hi, I'm 21 and just a few months ago had break outs all over my chin and neck. I'm so confused as to why this is happening given that I never struggled with acne to this level before. In high school I had crystal clear skin. Does anyone know why hormones change like this? Also, I just uped my dosage to 100mg three days ago and have been very sleepy and sluggish. Yesterday I took a three hour nap. I haven't seen much about this side effect and don't know if it will go away or if it's serious. Any feedback would be fantastic!!

Spiro gave me awful breakouts until I hit 100mg which took 4 months. It spread to my cheeks and really took a toll on me. But after 100mg within a week I noticed i stopped breaking out. HOWEVER at the same time, side effects hit me. I told myself in the beginning I would handle the side effects but it was too much. I felt weak, I couldnt exercise, I couldnt hold a conversation. I felt so awful, my heart was beating so fast that I thought maybe my birth control (yaz, which im off now too) was giving me a blood clot. I went to the hospital and all they could find was that I was peeing out all my phosphates (spiro is a diruetic). They gave me an attivan and it turned out it was also really bad anxiety. So dumb. I got off my bc and still had the issues and it was getting worse, I couldnt do anything without crying. I finally made the choice to get off it and feel like myself again. Im still breaking out but I never want to feel like that again

Overall: I do recommend giving this medication a shot, especially if you are suffering from acne that's caused from internal issues/hormonal/PCOS and you're down to your wits about getting results for a better/normal complexion. I will say, however, that I honestly don't want to depend on this medication for the rest of my life. The side affects are a big nuisance and hindrance at times and sometimes I still suffer from bad breakouts. I'm just okay with it at this point until I can find a different solution once and for all. Below I have attempted to compile a detailed review of my experience with this drug so far. I suffered with acne and cystic acne around chin, jawline, and partial neck area severely, sometimes forehead but not often and sometimes around nose area as well. I was also a bit more hairy on my upper lip and chin area. These issues started once I turned 19 back in late 2011. I was using ProActive for a few years prior, which helped tremendously during the time I was in high school, but stopped working and actually destroyed my face once starting college. I was prescribed various topical treatments including retinol and have also been given several types of antibiotics, all of which did not work. I have also been on 3-4 different brands of BC that really screwed me up emotionally and physically. I refuse to take any now. At that point I knew there was something deeper and internal causing my issues so I was sent to an Endocrinologist. 2012 ' Diagnosed with PCOS. Main issue was androgen levels too high (as of summer 2015 also found out I do get ovarian cysts). I also have a Vitamin D deficiency. 2012-2013 ' Began Spironolactone (started off with 50 mg and eventually bumped up to 100 mg) and generic Junel BC. 2013 (Towards the end of summer/sometime in fall) ' Stopped taking both, as my face was clear, and I was given the clear to stop. Over time my face began breaking out awfully in cysts again (also didn't help I was stressed at a new college I transferred to). Decided to begin both medications again, only to find that BC was causing me to break out awfully, ditched it and only remained on spironolactone. Seemed to be helping, but not by much at all. Stopped taking it altogether as well considering the side effects were greatly affecting me. 2014 Spring ' Suffering from awful, hormonal cystic acne with rarely a break, in between. Even if my face were mostly clear, would always have 1 or 2 or more cysts/acne present. Bore through it all just trying to finish my semester until I could see a specialist back in my state again. 2014 Summer ' Started back on spiro again, really made a difference once more. Maybe I needed those several months for it to be effective again. Today (12/16/15) - Still on 100 mg spironolactone, been on it for over a year, although I have noticed I am starting to break out still even while on it. Could possibly be due to stress from school, but I am on break now and relaxed but still breaking out. The cysts and acne go away within a matter of time, only to have one or two new ones pop up on the other side of my face. Right now they're slowly subsiding. - I do get blood work done at 1-2 times a year to make sure my potassium levels are fine, as well as other blood work to help make sure nothing goes wrong. My last blood work from over the summer states I'm still Vitamin D deficient and now I'm low on B12 as well (which I have been taking vitamins for). Side Effects I have and continue to experience while on this drug: - Please note that Spironolactone is a diuretic. It prevents you from retaining salt, which also prevents you from retaining water, which is why you're constantly drinking and using the bathroom. That also explains some of these side effects: - Constant, constant urination (the biggest culprit). I find myself visiting the restroom a lot, which I've become accustom to (though I don't like it), but it makes it really difficult if I'm at an important event and I'm constantly having to step out to relieve myself every 5 minutes it feels like. Even if I'm doing something as simple as drinking water, I will need to unload about 15 or so minutes later. There are times at work where I literally hold my pee in for about an hour before I use the restroom again or else I would be going constantly. This forces me to drink more as well because I'm losing fluids at the rate I'm drinking them, which is extremely annoying. - Constantly thirsty. This coincides with the dryness and constant urination. - Dry skin. My face at times, especially around my chin and jawline area, tend to get more dry now which is where most of my breakouts occur. It's also around my nose. - Weight fluctuation. I don't gain weight as badly, fortunately, but I don't lose it as easily either. It's really difficult. I will continue to monitor this once I start working out again later this month and next year. - Hair is not as thick as it used to be. Fortunately, I'm not experiencing hair loss to the point where I'm balding, but there is a significant difference in my hair than what it once was. I used to have a decent amount of thick hair and the texture of it felt a lot stronger and now it's more normalized and thinner. - Digestive problems. Sometimes I'll be excreting at least 3 times a day or more, others none at all. I've been suffering from constipation a lot lately as well. I never realized or noticed that spiro could cause this as well until I looked it up again. - Periods are odd. My period doesn't last as long while on this medication, however I occasionally have messed up cycles. Recently I had my period and not even a week or two later I had it again. :/ Things I plan on trying to see if they make a difference: - Eating habits, especially cutting dairy out of my diet - Exercising more I try and will update in the future.

I have been on spiro 100 mg for about six months now and have seen great results; however about three months ago I noticed my hair hair really begun thinning. A little bit of history about myself. I am 47 years old and have suffered from cystic acne since a teenager. I have done several courses of accutane, which cleared my skin greatly only to go back to breaking out again. My new derm said I would love Spiro since my breakouts were hormonal. She was right. It reduced my oiliness and cleared up my skin. My skin never looked so good. I got so many compliments. However, then I started noticing the hair loss. So I do have some family history of hair thinning in women and had noticed that my crown had thinned in the last seven years or so. However this new hair loss has been pretty drastic. My scalp is really showing on the top of my head, and I seem to be shedding lots of hair when shampooing and throughout the day. I'm going back in to see my derm tomorrow hoping she may have some answers. I share this info in case anyone else has experienced similar symptoms. I've read up on it and can't really find that hair loss is a symptom rather quite the opposite as it's used for hair loss?? So if you don't experience the hair loss with it, I think it's great and would recommend trying it.

So I have been on it for over 11 weeks and there have been improvement in my skin however I have been getting my period every other week, not exaggerating! Then after my last period it went 8 days and started up again! I stopped taking it for a few days and I have been getting really bad headaches, not sure if that's related. I see others comments but no one really stated about if they have had messed up cycles and if that went back to normal...

Well, sprionolactone did work well for clearing my acne. I've been on it for almost two months, and my face is completely clear and was completely clear towards the end of the first month. But I'm now having to get off of it because of the serious side effects I've had. The less serious side effects started as soon as I got on the medication, but I brushed them off in hopes that they would subside as I continued the medication. But as I started the second month, almost two weeks in, I got up one morning and my right leg was completely numb. Not asleep or tingly, completely numb. Hahaha. (It's really not funny, but it's making me laugh now because I was in a huge rush, so I JUMPED out of bed, and fell immediately to the ground. Several times hahaha.) Anyway, It's so easy to stay on meds for acne cause it sort of feels like a one stop shop. No need to change your diet, don't have to be too careful about what you wash your face with, at least that's how it was for me. I've always been a natural person, trying to cure anything I had with natural remedies, supplements, internal cleanses, all that good stuff. And it all worked until my skin decided to go absolutely crazy. I started breaking out like normal, probably something you could clear with a good cleanser, but then it started getting progressively worse. It started to be more cystic, and then really before I could even keep up with it, I had horrendous cystic pimples everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Shoulders, down my arms, all over my entire face, even sometimes on my thighs. It was ridiculous and I always felt gross. So I broke down and gave up my ideas for natural cures for a while, and got on the meds. They cleared me right up! About one month and almost everything was gone. But then of course I had the terrible side effects, which is why I'm now having to get off. My sister on the other hand had no side effects at all. Everyone is different. So, hopefully I can find a natural way to keep it clear from now on. Good luck to anyone trying:)

I have moderate stubborn acne and even though it didn't clear me up, it did make my breakouts less frequent. At any given time I would have about 10 pimples on my face and while this I'd only have about 4 or 5. It's definitely for hormonal acne though. I did only take it for a month though before trying something else so maybe I just didn't give it enough time.

My derm put me on Spiro to get rid of the cysts on my chin after switching from birth control pills to an IUD. I hated it. It worked, after two months I had no cysts, but I was SO dehydrated. I could not keep enough water in me. Felt like I had to pee all the time, was constantly worried I had a UTI, etc. Went to my primary care physician twice because I was convinced I had a UTI, and both times it came out negative. I stopped taking it after 2 months and thankfully, the cysts were completely gone after that.

I cannot really give a full review, since I've only been on it for barely a week..but these reviews keep me hopeful. I'm a 25 year old female, and while I've always struggled with mild to moderate acne, my face recently broke out in the worst hormonal acne I have ever had. It started off as a few cysts on my chin, then went to my right side of my face, and then to my left. It was horrible. I'm still breaking out, but I feel like my skin may be starting to calm down. I was also out on a birth control for acne, called Estrostep. I've read a lot of mixed reviews for it, but I'm hoping it helps when paired with the spiro. Wish me luck!