I got painful cystic acne in my late 20's spent a year or two trying a variety of topical prescription medications as well as antibiotics. I was at my breaking point when my dermatologist suggested I take 50mg of spironolactone daily. I wasn't getting results so without consulting him I increased to 100mg daily. Changed my life! I went from a face Full of painful cycstic acne to currently averaging 2-4 blemishes a month. I have thus told my doctor I'm taking 100 mg daily he said that's fine but don't increase the dose anymore. If you are a women over 25 I Highly recommend you give it a try.

I am amazed by my experience with spiro. I have tried so many topicals, antibiotics, levulan, blue light, etc., and my acne either always came back, or never went away to begin with. It was so frustrating. I never tried Accutane because I was sure I'd be one of the people who immediately starts breaking out again right after they get off the medication. I started spiro 2.5 months ago, and it was the best decision of my entire life. It decreases oil production, and gets rid of cystic acne. Be aware: I experienced a very severe initial breakout, and now suffer from hyperpigmentation from it. Like, 25 active zits on my face. Some cystic, some not. My face had never looked so bad. Full disclosure: I gave up on doxycycline around the same time, because it was doing nothing for me, so that could have contributed to the bad breakout as well. I haven't had any breakout at all in almost a month, and I haven't had cystic acne for six weeks or so. Please give this medicine time to work. I say this from tons of experience...I gave a lot of medicine "time to work," and it never did. But, for me, this was different. That is because I have hormonal acne. But I never noticed it getting worse around my period, so don't let that fool you by thinking if your acne doesn't get worse around your period, it's not a hormonal issue. I was diagnosed with PCOS, but my doctor said even those without diagnosed PCOS can benefit from spiro by regulating hormones because it's not so much about how elevated one hormone is, but about the ratio of one to the other. Give it time to work, and take 100 mgs or more. I started out on 50 mgs for the first three weeks or so and I felt like nothing was happening in terms of oil production or breakouts. Dr. upped it to 100 mgs and I saw all the difference in the world. I used to be so skeptical of reviews here and elsewhere because I just knew nothing had ever worked for me. I finally found what works for me, though, and I hope this will work for you too. Get a blood workup to see how your hormones are. That will tell you whether or not this medicine should be right for you or not. Good luck! Forgot to add: I also use Ziana at night. I believe this also plays a role in me not breaking out anymore. Drying, though. Use moisturizer!

After my dermatologist suggested trying Spiro, I remember reading these reviews on here and feeling SO hopeful. I was praying that I was one of the lucky few who saw immediate results. Well, unfortunately... I wasn't. The medication took a couple months to really kick in. It didn't really make my skin any worse, though, which I am grateful for. I've been on it for 5 months, and I've noticed the most difference in the past 2. I'm currently taking 150mg (1 pill in the morning, 2 at night). A couple months in, my dermatologist also prescribed doxycycline to help clear me up quicker. I'm also using aczone topical gel and birth control pills. Before I started spiro, I had just experienced my worst breakout in over 5 years. I wish I could attach pictures to this comment, because the difference between the before and after is unbelievable. I currently have one small pimple on my cheek that is healing, even though I'm due to get my period in just a few days. My face feels super smooth (best feeling ever). I'm dealing with a some post-acne pigmentation, but I will take that over painful zits any day. I plan to start incorporating some AHA products into my routine, and possibly some chemical peels. I am just so happy that my skin is finally clearing up, and I just pray that it lasts. I dread the day when I have to stop taking this stuff!

I began using this medication about 4 months ago and I am in LOVE with it! After about a month I began to see less and less break-outs. By the end of 2 months, I didn't have any break-outs at all! I didn't have an initial break-out like many users are describing. I am using it along with Tretinoin cream and together these medications work wonders! Now I have to begin working on my unfortunate scarring. If you have hormonal acne, I would definitely recommend this product!

Literally miracle drug for anyone suffering from hormonal acne. I have tried everything from topical to oral and nothing cleared my skin until this medicine. I'm obsessed with it and worried what to do if I plan to have children bc it can cause birth defects.

So like many I have been through the Acne roller coaster since teenage years. Done all the pills including accutane which worked but then came back, all the creams etc. I work with a dermo who was keeping at bay with chemichal peels and dermabrasion rotations, and daily pads with glycolic and lactic acid. Then i got a severe cystic break out on jaw line that i couldn't manage and went to doc and said: go nuclear on me. Give me something strong. So he have me this pill 2x day 100 mg which is a lot. But based on what i have read, anything less doesn't do much or creates a huge break out first. He did NOT tell me how seriuos this pill is for Potatssium count, liver, dehydration , dizzy etc. Did all that research on my own. Its really one step down from Accutane so should not be taken lightly. Anyways, he also gave me an antibotic , a lactic acid cleanser and a super expensive sulfur cream for night. I will say, my skin looks amazing. I have been using it for a little over a week and its completely clear minus a few mini break outs, nothing major. The side effects do concern me, as well as the dosage, so i will not do this permanently. but if for example you have an event, like a wedding, trip etc this will clear your skin in a week. At least it did for me along with the other things. You must drink a lot of water and as always...don't pick!

There are defiantly side effects but for me its totally worth it.

My testosterone levels are all over the place according to blood tests, which is why I'm assuming I have persistent acne. Anyway, I've been taking 100mg every day for 2.5 months. I had about 2 weeks of really clear skin around the 1.5 month mark, and since then it's been downhill again. I'm not going to give up on this medication, though. My endocrinologist told me I can double my dosage (to 200mg every day) but I might try increasing it to 150mg first. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty disappointed this hasn't worked wonders for me the way it has for other people. I guess I just have to stay hopeful.

I am a 42 year old female who has been taking spiro for almost 6 months now. I started on 50mg and quickly worked my way up to 100mg. Oiliness improved almost immediately, but conversely I felt dry all the time and used in conjunction with Epiduo I wanted to claw holes in my skin from the itchiness(I found that I could only spot treat in certain areas with Epiduo). After 4 months my back and chest scalp and neck were almost completely clear and I was no longer getting cysts along my chin and jawline. However, I started having a period every 2 weeks about 2 months into the med. and I felt like I was being kicked in the ovary(I had one removed a few years ago, so this one ovary is doing all the work).... my breasts were tender & sore all the time as well. The derm lowered my dose a month ago to 50mg to try to counteract side effects(I tried BC pills, but started throwing up from them 9 days in). As soon as the dose went down, I started breaking out on my neck, shoulders and jawline again and the oiliness increased. The lowered dose has not decreased the side effects either... I am still getting a period every 2 weeks :( The worst part is that because it is hormonal acne, now I am breaking out every time I get a period which is WAY more often than before. I think if you can take BC pills to control the periods that this medication is good. It was effective at the 100mg dose for me, but not nearly as much at the 50mg dose. I am going back to derm tomorrow to see how we will proceed.

I started getting acne on my chin in my late 30:s Im now 43 and would still get painful cystic acne. I was put on every topical and antibiotic to no avail. Im on a low dose of 50 mg a day. It took awhile to work about 4 months be it did. I only get one pimple every now and then. t