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.

This stuff works so well. I'm on 100 mg a day and combined with the pill, I've seen major improvement. My skin still breaks out, but it's 80% better than it was! I will agree with other posters that you will feel the need to go to the bathroom ALL the time. To me, it's worth it to have better skin. Drink lots of water!!

Let me preface by noting that I have had cystic acne all of my adult life. I am middle aged and have tried everything from Accutane (ugh) to topical prescriptions. Because I am also hypersensitive to most oral and topical medications, typically I have unusual and/or severe reactions. With that being said, I feel like I am the poster child for what symptoms an individual could possibly experience on the "negative side effects" end of the spectrum. It should also be noted that about two months prior to beginning treatment with Spironolactone, I began using a topical solution of vitamin B3 (niacinamide 5%) by Gia Naturals in place of my very expensive Dr. Dennis Gross moisturizer. The results were noticeably positive but not spectacular. Additionally, I use Bare Minerals liquid foundation, GloMinerals compressed powder, and Lancôme blush to avoid makeup based flare ups. Regardless, I was still having trouble with slow healing and (mostly) hormone related cysts. At my wit's end, I went back to my dermatologist. He prescribed an initial dose of 50mg of Spironolactone to start my treatment. I took the first pill around 7pm and within hours developed a severe dehydration-type headache that lasted all night and part of the next day. I called my dermatologist and after explaining my symptoms, he instructed me to cut the 50mg pill in half and try the lower dose before deciding to give up on the Spironolactone. I did and, thankfully, had no more headaches. I continued to take the reduced 25mg dosage for a couple of weeks (along with the above-mentioned products) and was seeing signs of improvement! About five days ago, with my menstrual cycle looming, I got brave and began taking the entire 50mg Spironolactone pill. I am happy to report that the headaches did not reappear and I made it through the worst of my period with no new cysts. The only side effect I have experienced over the past five days on the increased dosage is a notable tiredness. Bear in mind though, I am a 7th grade English teacher and my tiredness could be symptomatic of dealing with 85 twelve to thirteen year olds with spring fever while I am on my period!! Overall, I am cautiously optimistic about Spironolactone. My side effects have been manageable, the results thus far have been notable, and most importantly, the long term use of Spironolactone poses no significant physiological or psychological threat to users according to long term research findings. If you are considering Spironolactone, it is probably a safe bet to at least give it a try. As the poster child for side effects, however, I suggest starting with a low dosage and working up to higher dosages as your body becomes accustomed to the drug. WISHING YOU THE BEST! Sharron Z-W Post Script: I failed to mention that during this time I also began taking 500mg of vitamin B3 (niacinamide) orally every day along with my Spironolactone. My dermatologist said there are no contraindications and the vitamin is better absorbed when taken orally. (Please see research on vitamin B3 use for problem and/or aging skin)

I've been on spiro for two years. I started at 50 mg and was quickly moved up to 100 mg the dosage which I have stayed on. It has cleared up my skin and greatly decreased oil production. I suffered from extremely oily skin all my life, and now my skin is mostly dry, sometimes combination, but I have to moisturize constantly. I hate to say it, but I almost miss my oily skin, because it gets too dry now. I've also noticed weight gain, around 20-30 lbs! I am 30 years old 5'8 and when starting spiro I was 125-130lbs now I am well over 150 and have a lot of cellulite! I'm also extremely emotional and moody especially the week prior to my period. I'm on Trinessa as well, so maybe that has caused some of these side effects. Has anyone else experienced this with spiro? I love how my skin looks as long as I moisturize, but I hate all these negative side effects. I'm kind of torn at this point.......

I am a 30 year old female who went on Mirena IUD in August 2015. Before this I would say my skin was normal, mostly blemish free. A few weeks after having Mirena inserted I noticed a change in my skin. It was horrible :( I would get pea sized cystic bumps on my hair line, neck, chin and cheek and they were very painful. I tried doxy, with no luck and also had peels etc... in an attempt to fix this. Like most others when the problem comes from the inside you can't fix it from the outside. After reading reviews I asked my doctor to prescribe me spiro. She was reluctant but I begged. I started the end of Jan on 50mg once daily. I took this at night. At first I did need to go to the bathroom a lot more. But with time my body has become use to this and is retaining more fluids. After two weeks I had a week of blemish free skin. This didn't last long though and came back with a vengeance. Every day I would have a new bump on my cheek or chin. After 4 weeks I upped my dose to 2X50mg a day. The next three weeks my skin was just as bad. I am now at 8 weeks and I haven't had a blemish in 7 days. Fingers and toes crossed the worst is over and my body has adjusted. My advice is to stick it out. Yes it will be hard and it will get worse but for a short term break out for clear skin it is amazing. I will update my review at the three month mark.

I started getting cystic acne when I was about 15 and it all went downhill from there. Treatment after treatment antibiotics and so forth. I'm sure most of rwading this know the struggle. I finally got referred to a competent Dermatologist in June of 2015 when I started taking Spiro along with a RetinA topical cream. It is now January 2016. My face used to be destroyed and covered in breakouts and cysts. I was so depressed most of the time that I'd be willing to go to far lengths just to not have this plague of a horrible disorder of the skin. It took time and patience, but now people don't even belive me when I say I had horrible acne. Just some light scaring and mild breakouts of a pimple or two around my cycle. On that note, I did experience lots of side effects. Some people don't think it's worth it and it depends on the person but I was at my wits end. Some side effects I experienced were: Dizziness, bizarre dreams (especially when starting and lowering or higher ingredients doses), frequent urination, getting dehydrated easily, dry itchy scalp, dry itchy ears on inside, terrible fatigue, and now I've developed dermatitis on my elbows and hands. I am currently weaning of my 25mg twice a day original prescription to just take 25mg once until I stop taking all together. I am hoping this will help the dermatitis go away. My Dermatologist says the dry skin and dermatitis is unrelated but this started happening when I started the medicine so I don't see what else it could have been. Regardless, I was so tired of having red painful dots that screamed "look at my weird face" all the time that I would happily trade it in for the side effects especially if they leave once I stop taking this medicine all together. I'm curious if anyone else had these kind of side effects with dry skin? Good luck.

To start this off, I want to mention that my doctor did blood tests and found that my DHEA sulfate was very high (622 when it should only be 400 something) so I had some pretty clear evidence that my acne was hormonal. Anyway, one week on the meds! (And three weeks back on birth control). My face is a lot clearer, I haven't really had any new pimples show up, though it does still feel like there is stuff under the surface. As far as side effects, I haven't had many. At first I had to pee a lot of course, but that pretty much went away after the first day (though I did wake up in the middle of the night last night to pee, but I'd had a lot of water before bed). I felt very slightly dizzy once, but I drank some water and it was gone, so I'm not sure if I even was feeling dizzy. I've had some heartburn a couple of times (once after having a glass of whisky) but I'm not sure if I can attribute that to the meds. The thing is, it was a different kind of heart burn, like pressure more than burning. I've also had some super dry skin on my face since starting. I bought cerave in the tub and have used it at night (as well as aquaphor once) and also used a 2% glycolic acid wipe one night, and that seemed to take care of most of the flakes. I'm also still using my pocket derm meds every couple of nights, and washing my face with water once a day and cerave foaming cleanser once a day. I'm going in for blood work next week to make sure there's no problems, and I'll update with any new information then!

Was on it for a year and a half and it works awesome for people with severe cystic acne like myself, but the frequent urination was a lot to deal with. My derm put me on 100 mg daily and I was up at least 4 times a night going pee and every 10 minutes during the day I felt the strong urge to pee. Very annoying side effect of the medication so now I'm switching to Yaz birth control for the anti androgen ;) Lost 25 pounds on this drug probably from water loss :/ I look great but I know the medication is unhealthy for me. No side effects other than the frequent urination though would recommend to give it a shot!!

I have been taking it for three months. I love it my skin is clear. The only problems i have noticed are breast tenderness and i have had a period twice a month for two months ,which i dont like so not sure if i want to stay on it if that continues. I am going to ask my ob about if i should continue or not. I also use Retin A which as long as i keep using it my skin stays nice.

Giving this drug 4 stars because I haven't been on it for 3 full months to see complete results yet. My story is similar to many others; I'm 27 and have had serious acne for about 13 years now. I've been through every medical treatment I possibly can, including two rounds of Accutane. Accutane worked for me while I was still on it, but once I came off, my acne was back to where it was. About two years ago, I was prescribed Spiro for the first time. I took it for about 6 months with great results, but had to stop because I began getting severe headaches and migraines. Because the only drug I was on was Spiro, I assumed my migraines were related to the dehydration caused by the drug. For the last year and a half I've been under the treatment of a neurologist for hormonal migraines. A few months ago it clicked- my acne must be hormone related too! Fast forward to today. I've been on Spiro for about two months now, also taking doxy and using Retin-A at night and Aczone gel during the day. After a month, my skin dramatically went downhill. My derm said this was the Retin-A purge. I had about 10 cysts around my mouth/chin and about 10 cysts on my forehead for two weeks before I finally went to the derm and told her I couldn't take it anymore. She injected them with cortisone and they went away in about 3 days. Today, my skin looks AMAZING. I have only one cyst on my cheek and a TON of milia on both sides of my chin. This is a HUGE improvement from where I was 2 months ago, 6 months ago, 1 year ago, 2 years ago. Today my skin looks the best it has in about 5 years. I think the combo of Spiro and Retin-A is what is working for me. I've noseyed around the acne.org message boards for nearly 8 years now searching for hope. I want you girls with hormonal cystic acne like me to know that IT WILL GET BETTER. Don't settle for expensive OTC methods and sub-par skin. Please, please, please give Spiro a shot, and if your derm thinks you can also use Retin-A- even better!!