Hey guys - apologies for the very long review! I always read these reviews and I figured I may as well share my story since I've been on Spiractin (Spironolactone) for over 7 years now. When I was a teenager my skin was pretty great, I had a few little pimples every now and then, but nothing too extreme. Then at the age of 19, while I was living overseas in London at the time (I'm from a woman from Australia), my skin started to get a lot of painful pimples around my jaw line and cheeks. They worsened over a few months and eventually became full on red, painful under the skin acne. I had no idea how to treat this, so I bought Pro Activ. Probably the worst thing I could have done, it only made my skin more irritated and red. When I came home from London, it was summer time over here. With a lot of sun and ocean swims my skin started to clear up and eventually it was back to normal. However, as soon as summer disappeared my acne came back with sore, under the skin pimples. I went to a dermatologist and he instantly put me on 100mg of spironolactone and on the Yasmin pill. I suffered bad side-effects of being on such a high dosage of Spiro straight away, so he took the dose down to 25mg, moving up 25mg every 3 months. Eventually I was on 100mg. I started to notice that my body was not reacting well to the Yasmin pill, my skin was actually worsening from the Yasmin so I took myself off it and continued on 100mg of Spiro. After stopping Yasmin, my period didn't come back for 3 years - this is a side effect of being on Spironolactone. I started to notice my skin would become accustomed to the dosage of Spiro I was taking, so I started to increase my dosage so it would continue to work for me. At the age of 25 I was on 200mg of Spiro (taking it at night time so the dehydration I would get from the drug wouldn't effect me during the day). The 200mg started to stop working and i was seeing pimples that i would never have gotten previously, like forehead pimples and big under the skin pimples under my eyebrows. I upped my dosage to 250mg of Spiro and this worked really well, however I noticed my breasts were larger and I'd put on a bit of weight around my hips. I also got my period back, but it was random and sporadic, sometimes it would be every 1-2 weeks, sometimes it would be every month. Because my period schedule was all over the place I decided to lower my dosage. I instantly dropped it back down to 200mg, my skin was fine. So i continued to lower it down to 175mg. My skin started to worsen and I noticed a lot of small bumps on my chin and my face was a bit oily. I lowered it down to 150mg after about 3 months on 175mg. My skin worsened almost instantly. After 2 months of being on 150mg I went back up to 200mg and my skin became clear again, with the occasional few pimples and bumps after a big weekend or something. I also stopped getting my period again. Now, I'm 27 years old. I was on 200mg of Spiractin and my skin has started to worsen again, I've started getting sore pimples along my jaw line (something which hasn't been an issue for years!), I always have bumps on my forehead which don't pop or come to a head, they just sit under the skin. Yesterday I increased my dosage to 225mg to see if my skin will go back to normal again. I still haven't had a period - so it's been about a year since my last period. Conclusion: I rely on this drug far too much now. I have tried everything, from going vegan, exercising often, detoxing, Vitamin A serums, Vitamin C serums, benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, etc. But nothing has worked like Spironolactone has. I would recommend going on this drug if you are ok with knowing you will most likely be reliant on it for the rest of your life, or at least until menopause (you need to go off Spiro if you want to get/are pregnant, which means your acne will come back during that time). I would recommend going to see a Naturopath first and trying to sort out your hormonal imbalance naturally before jumping onto this medication. I wish someone had told me to do that when I was younger so I wasn't so reliant on this drug. It's been a lifesaver for my acne, but also an inconvenience on having to adjust the dosage every year or so. I'm lucky that the only side effects I've experienced is an irregular or no period and some breast tenderness/enlargement.

Hi! This is the first time I have ever posted a review on here, but I am really excited to be trying Spiro finally. I have been experiencing breakouts since I was 14 (I am now 23) and literally have tried absolutely everything in the book. Some treatments temporarily cleared me up but initially dried out my skin so much they ended up causing even more breakouts. Finally I decided that my breakouts must be hormonal, possibly a sympton of PCOS. I have been on ortho tri cylen lo for about a year and it has helped reduce some of the breakouts but not all. That's when my gyno recommended trying Spiro. I am currently taking 50 mg a day and am 3 weeks in. I know it takes much longer than this to see the full results but so far it hasn't been that bad. I had a little bit of a breakout the first week I took it- but as of right now it seems to be clearing my skin. Has anyone had the initial breakout come after the first month of taking it? Also my skin is dryer than normal right now but I'm hoping that evens out once my body adjusts to the Spiro even more. I will right another review in a few weeks with an update! Good luck to everyone trying this- I'm praying it works.

Hi. I am a 21 year old female with hormonal acne. All throughout college I have dealt with non stop acne on my chin and mouth area. After trying many different birth controls and topicals I was beginning to feel like I couldn't do it on my own. I have been on 100 mg for a month and my skin has transformed. It definetly got worse before it started getting better. Please understand that this pill is no joke I have lost 7 pounds and my appetite. I am hoping that after 6 months I can start to slwoly go off of it. For the time being tho the results are great.

Okay so I started taking spiro one n a half months back, I was dealing with cystic kinda acne on my jawline n cheeks n some pimples on my forehead , all of these things use to get worse around the period, so I think it's hormonal plus my doc told me that I hv pcos but I never did a hormone test. I had skin during my life but since last year I started getting acne, and slowly and steadily everything went to cystic and painful bumps, I am 23 now.. I did a lot of research and got encouraged from this website only, for results I could say as people say you could have an IB, yes I had it for like for the first three weeks since beginning, it's too early to say anything but I can see my pores are less clogged, my period is coming every 15 days. Peeing problem yes I had it though I guess my body is adjusting it to it now. Will get back next month to share what's going on for now spiro is worth trying!

I have adult hormonal cystic acne on my jawline and I take 100mg of this daily. It took about 3 months, but it did end up clearing up the cysts. I will still get a cyst every once in a while, but not in big clumps like I used to. Just a warning, though, this does cause more frequent urination. I'm getting up 2-3 times a night to go.

I take 50mg a day. Sometimes when I'm starting to break out a little, I take 100mg. (My Dermatologist has approved this) Not to sound too dramatic, but spironolactone has changed my life. It has cleared 95% of my breakouts. Even though my acne has never been cystic, it is very severe. I would get tiny pustules all over my body which looked like folliculitis. Even my stomach had acne!! Everyone thought I had PCOS until an ultrasound proved them wrong. For some reason my adrenal glands produce over twice the limit of DHEA-S and this is what causes my acne. If you're in the same boat as me, spironolactone is worth a shot. I'm on Yaz as well, and I dread the day when I have to go off these meds.

I was on spiro for about a year last year and then a few months again this year. The first time I took it I was soo happy and amazed. I cleared up all of my big pimples on my cheeks and forehead and the only side effect I noticed was that the first few weeks I felt kind of light headed but that went away. However, I also experienced some really bad dry mouth which started to really bug me (still not 100% sure it was from this but I think it was). My other problem was that it did not clear up the tiny forehead bumps I got all over my forehead. Those never went away with this medicine for me. So I stopped taking it due to the dry mouth and forehead bumps and wanting to be "all natural" and not take any medications. My face broke out some more so I took it again for a few months but then stopped taking it again for all the same original reasons. Moral of the story: It works great but if you dont want to have to take a pill forever or deal with any possible side effects then try something else! Also- like other reviewers, i also lost about 5 or so lbs while on it because it makes your body release all of its water so you lose water weight and look a lot less bloated which was a plus

I am 20 years old, have had acne for about 5 years! Pretty deep and painful cysts but also many on the surface that take a few days to go away. I have tried Minocycline, Bactrim, and Trimethoprim. I would say that none of these worked for me, not even before I developed a resistance to the antibiotics. So my dermatologist prescribed spironolactone! I have been taking 100 mg, once a day, for almost three weeks. He also gave me Epiduo to use as a topical medication. Also would like to mention, I took hormonal BC for about two months which cleared me up. It also made me seriously depressed so I had to switch back to my minipill. (This is how my doctor recommended Spiro to me, because it blocks androgens, which part of what the estrogen in BC does.) First week: Had a slight headache that I could combat with Advil and lots of water (I still worked a full time job so it wasn't unbearable). I also had about three cysts present themselves BUT they were super easy to cover and are basically gone now. I knew there would be an initial breakout and I am just happy it wasnt worse! I had also used the Epiduo twice that week, so my face was a bit dry, but not anything my moisturizer couldn't fix. Week two: This week the cysts were definetly shrinking and I did not get any new ones. The headaches were completely gone, and I felt like my normal self. Some people claim that this medication makes them sluggish although I don't feel that way at all! In fact I felt pretty good- probably from all the water I was drinking. I used Epiduo three times this week, and I think that it is helping a lot with the small pimples that arise at the surface, I had significantly less than I typically get in a week. So now I am halfway through week three and I feel good! I don't want to get too optimistic because if this doesnt work it will be more of a bummer, but I have to say I am pretty happy! I have been told it takes about three months so I am going to wait it out. My acne is relatively mild, so I am very sympathetic to people who really suffer, and I would like to address the people who worry about the IB or other early on side effects: Three months time is going to pass anyway. Whether you take the medication or not the time will pass, and three months from now, if you hadn't taken the Spiro, you will definetly still have bad acne, but if you do take it, three months from now you could have the beautiful radiant skin that you dream of! That's what keeps my spirits up. Hope this helped! (4 stars simply because I am just starting!)

100 mg-- was what I needed to clear skin. I would say nothing more or less. Ive tried antibiotics, different birth control, changing my diet, and cutting out dairy-- this works. I'm 23, and I've battled spurts of acne since I was 18. My skin would be very clear for months or years at a time and the all of a sudden breaking out everywhere. I went on Gianvi or Yaz first, which cleared my skin when was 18. When I was 18 after taking prednisone, my skin literally was covered over night. I only took it for about a year and a few months after going off it I noticed mild breakouts that occurred all the time. I went to a dermatologist, and was prescribed spironolactone 100 mg and one month later my skin was crystal clear. I stopped taking it, and didn't experience breakouts for over 2 years. After 2 years of literally perfect skin and no medication, I started breaking out on the lower half of my face. Eventually it was all over the lower half with almost no clear places. I was really upset and depressed and didn't want to see anyone-- it was an awful summer, avoiding people and any type of social interaction. I eventually went to the doctor and got on spiro again-- 100 mg. This time, I did not have the quick results I wanted. A side effect that I have noticed with spiro is a breakout period about one week to 10 days after taking it or upping a dose and ending around 2.5 weeks, my chest (something that doesn't break out) and forehead are covered in rash like acne. It's a week at most, but I guess its just my bodys reaction to the hormones. Ive also lost about 5 lbs every time I go on it. I also got back on gianvi both control. After a little over a month and no results, I went to the derm and he lowered my dose to 50 mg because I had upper cheek breakouts. This was a MAJOR mistake. I should have waited the prescribed 3 months. I tried to wait it out because I was told by numerous terms and on this board, it can take 3-6 moths for hormones to even out. My acne became severe on my upper cheeks only for the next 6 months and I was miserable. Even though my derm, told me to I didn't increase my dosage back to 100 mg, fearing the initial breakout I got every time I tampered with my dosage. My next step was going to be accutane. I spent so much of my day worrying about my skin and putting on makeup. Finally after 7 months on 50 mg and still moderate acne on my cheeks, I increased to 100 mg. Within 2 months, I now have clear skin with an occasional breakout. I think 100 mg and yaz is the best option for most people as well.

31 yo female who has suffered from all types of acne since I can remember. Visited the dermatologist in April and he prescribed Spiro. This is the first I had heard of it so I have done nothing but read reviews since. So far, I have noticed a reduction in oil production but not much in the way of acne reduction. I am still holding onto faith that another month or so and I will see improvement in that regards. However, I have extreme discoloration all over my face now. Has anyone else experienced this? Will it even out? I'm fair skinned but always have a red tint which I associate with the inflammation of my acne. is this part of the healing process? Please....I need answers as not much info on discoloration is available in these threads. Thanks :))