I have been eager to write this review but wanted to wait until the three month mark to report my results. You really have to give this medicine at least three months, if not more, to reach full effect. I know how extremely difficult it is to suffer from excessive acne, and I NEVER thought I'd find anything to help me. I thought I was doomed for life since it kept getting worse and worse and NOTHING would help in the slightest. I hope that my review can give others hope that they can overcome their hormonal acne. My story is like many others. Suffered from acne since puberty, I am now 22. Over the last year, it had gotten so bad that I was having constant cysts and spots on not only my face, but down the sides of my neck. It was all over my face, but mostly concentrated on my jawline and cheeks. Huge spots that would shoot onto the mirror if I popped them. I would have 20+ spots at a time (of all different kinds, not including blackheads and clogged plugs) with 5-10 new spots a day. It was exhausting and effected my self-esteem severely, and no one understood why. I tried everything over the last 10 years of course. I started wasting A LOT of my free time doing extensive research on why acne happens. I don't trust dermatologists. I came across spironolactone and printed out scientific studies and such to bring to my gynecologist that has been seeing me since I was 15. I cried to him about how unbearable my acne was and begged him to let me try spironolactone even though he said my testosterone levels were in normal range. I've had extremely irregular periods since puberty, excess hair growth, and cysts on my ovaries... so that led me to believe that spiro could work since those are all symptoms of excess testosterone or testosterone sensitivity. He was familiar with the medication, and agreed. Thank GOD he did. I started on 25MG twice daily for 2 or 3 weeks, then I got anxious and upped in to 50MG twice daily. I started spironolactone in late September(3 months ago and it is now late December. I broke out consistently and constantly during this. Now, finally, within the last week I am noticing definite results. I only have 4 or 5 active spots right now, which is obviously a major improvement. I still have a lot of blackheads, clogged pores, and scaring, but I am confident that will all clear up with time! I'm not at the end of the road quite yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Spiro works, but PLEASE give it time. And don't reviews it after 2 weeks because that's not how this medicine works.... I've had no negative side effects except for frequent urination... but honestly I can deal with that if that means that my skin doesn't look like a mountain range anymore. I dealt with some heart palpitations and anxiety the first few weeks... but determined that it was just from dehydration and electrolytes imbalance since I'm peeing out all my salt and retaining potassium. I just try to drink more water and increase my salt intake... all has been good! I will update in a few months.

Hey everyone, I am 16 years old and I have been on spironolactone for exactly 3 weeks now to treat my hormonal acne. I've had acne for 2 years now but just this past year it's gotten dramactically worse. I was trying everything! No matter how much I cleansed my face, used on the spot treatment, or moisturized my face, there was no improvemnt. In a matter of 4 months, I had 2 cystic pimples underneath my eye that caused it to swell almost completely shut and even slight bruising. I had to miss 2 days of school because of terrible, swollen zits(EMBARRASSING)! I then got put on antibiotics for 10 days which cleared my face up both times, but unfortunately I couldn't use the antibiotic as a long-term acne medication. I got put on birth control 7 months ago solely for acne. Once again, there was no improvement. Each day my self confidence was slowly decreasing. My mom finally took me to the dermatologist when I had one of my breakdowns in front of her. She asked what was wrong and I told her I hated myself. The truth is, I didn't hate myself, but I was so upset and embarrased about my acne. I just wanted a simple clear face like all of my friends and relatives. In the morning I would spend almost an hour doing my makeup to cover up my scars and pimples and even with concealer you could see some blemishes. Now back to spiro... I am SO HAPPY about the results I've already had! This has been the first time in forever the my forehead has been completely clear. The blackheads on my nose are going away more and more everyday. The white heads on my chin have decreased in size. The big zits I had on my cheeks are gone! GONE. I feel like some of the scars on my face are beginning to fade as well. I have 2 small pimples that are tolerable and coverable with concealer. I was actually able to go in public yesterday without foundation and using only a small amount of concealer. I was beyond excited about actually feeling confident with my face with hardly any makeup. I am out of my "hating myself" state and I can't wait to see better results in the next couple of weeks. For anyone looking into this medication whether you're a teenager or an adult, I highly recommend it!! This medicine has helped so much and it's only been 3 weeks. (For anyone wondering, I have been on 50mg the entire time)

I started out on 50 mg twice daily for moderate hormonal acne. I didn't see much improvement after three months, and thought I was actually getting worse at times. The only change I noticed was decreased oil production. My derm upped by dose to 150 mg a day and after about two weeks of that, I started seeing more improvement than I did in the first three months of treatment. This pill takes time, and from my experience and what I have heard from others, it can take getting up to the higher doses to really see changes. I have now been on spiro for 5 months and my acne is 60 percent improved-- in the long run that is not very long for the results I am now seeing. If your derm starts you out on 50 or 100 mg, be patient. They have to make sure your levels are okay to tolerate the medication.

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!

So far, I've been clearing up in only 2 weeks. I've had a minor breakout on my forehead, but reading others reviews I assume that's normal. Maybe it's "fighting" my acne. I'm excited to see what happens! I'm taking 50mg daily. I'll update weekly and let you know!!! Week 3- Breaking out even more. Cystic acne popping up. Going to start taking 100mg per day. Crossing my fingers!! Week 4- Face really clearing up! Remaining acne is drying out. Just keeping moisturized seems to be helping! Week 6- Breaking out off and on, but stopped washing my face so much (down to once at night) and it's helping! I'm not having irregular periods like everyone else either.

I'm 35, and before I had children I was on the birth control pill for years and had never had any problems with acne. After my children were born, I decided to get a Paragard IUD because it had no hormones. I began getting painful nodular breakouts, which eventually lasted three weeks or so out of every month. My mom has battled terrible acne and cysts for years - even post-menopause. I figured I was doomed and just dealt with it for around eight years. I went to see a dermatologist for a mole check and decided to add my acne to the list. He prescribed me 50mg of Spironolactone once a day - this is an off-label use since this drug is for high blood pressure. After a month or so, my acne got worse and at my three month checkup it was terrible - I was so discouraged. My face hurt and I just wanted to stay home in bed. At that time he increased my dose to 100 mg (50 2xday) and also added Clindamycin gel. I was headed to Florida in a few days and looking forward to some sun to "fix" my face - yes, I know this is bad...Anyway, a couple of weeks later my face was clear and has been ever since - around four months now. It has been so wonderful to be without the pain and embarrassment. As an added bonus, I've dropped a size or two without any effort. It is just water weight, but I'll take it! I am not certain that I needed the increased dose - may have just been coincidence on timing. I don't always take the second pill and am fine. The Clindamycin gel is really great - keeps my face from getting oily and my pores are so much clearer and I rarely get any little surface whiteheads - if I do, they go away super fast.

All I can say is have patience. It took 4 months for Spiro to kick in for me. I started out with 50 MG and after a month went to 100 MG. In those 3 and half months, my chin and jawline never looked and felt so bad. It's finally GONE!! Thank the Lord in heaven :) Thanks for everyone that posted on here, it helped me out alot. My dermatologist was already giving up, she was ready to put me on Accutane but, thanks to this website, I still had hopes Spiro would work out for me, I dragged the process out a little. I'm happy to say, my skin is beautifully clear. I did get the horrible breakout everyone was talking about!! My current routine is simple, I drink a full glass of water with my Spiro every morning. During the 4 months of bad breakout, I did find one product to work descent on my face. It's called Renee Rouleau Anti-Cyst Treatment. It's a little pricey, but I was happy to have something to put on those bumps. Most of the other products dry out that area and does nothing for the cyst deep down inside. Good luck to everyone out there!! If you're frustrated and reading this, most likely, Spiro will kick in for you too!! Don't give up on it. A closing thought, I am in my 40's and have been battling cystic acne ever since my 30's. I've been putting Tretinoin on my face for the past 10 years. The good news, no wrinkles!! I don't know if it's my genetic makeup but I'm thinking my continual use of Tretinoin is keeping the wrinkles away.

This medication worked moderately well, but I had to take an antidepressant with it (Zoloft). I have hormonal acne, and I have tried everything: accutane, all topicals, all antibiotics, fish oils, probiotics, and even levulinic acid. I am a pharmacist, so I am constantly trying to find new cures for my acne. Aside from accutane, spironolactone has worked the best for a prescription drug, decreasing my acne by about 50%. But I am now taking saw palmetto and it has done wonders in just 3 days.

I have had moderate acne since around age 13. I went on Yasmin which helped my skin a lot in high school, but I didn't like the way it made me feel. so I went off, and my face was okay for months after (it gradually got worse, but I think I had outgrown the horrible face breakouts, although i was still getting a cystic type pimple fairly frequently). I got REALLY bad bacne though. bleh, terrible cysts and lots of smaller zits. I have fair sensitive skin so most topical treatments irritate my skin. 9 months ago I started taking 25 mg once daily spiro. That seems like a really low dose, and it is, but I'm pretty small. It was a big enough dose to give me a hellish breakout for almost two months. then it felt like I was back to normal. I think on the fifth or sixth month i stopped getting acne around the chin area and I have only gotten two cystic pimples on my face since then. And the best part, my bacne dramatically cleared pretty much entirely. And yes, all on only 25 mg daily. My suggestion is to take as little as you need because it is a drug and it comes with side effects. These days I pretty much exclusively get zits around my period on my forehead, but that's always where i broke out the worst. And for me "breaking out" on my forehead means non-inflamed clogged pore zits and stuff. So yeah spiro has helped me a LOT. I suggest you hang on past that IB, it has the potential to be really bad but you'll make it through. results are worth it. P.S. DONT PICK AT YOUR SKIN.

I wrote my first post a few months ago. I am now on 75mg (50mg in the morning & 25mg at night) a day. I'm in my fourth month since starting spiro. I still get cystic pimples, but much less now. They still stick around for about a week though. I've been really patient, but the initial breakout is horrible! Things are improving though. A new side effect I've noticed since my dose was increased is weight gain! I read that some women have had this happen, but for the most part, from what I've read, women have lost weight while on spiro. I've also read that taking a BCP while on spiro may help prevent the wt. gain by keeping hormones more regulated ... Anyone with more info about this?! Would greatly appreciate it! Thanks. Will post again soon =)