Spironolactone
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Spironolactone is a type of oral medication called an anti-androgen that is sometimes prescribed to females. Androgens are male hormones that are present...

Spironolactone is a type of oral medication called an anti-androgen that is sometimes prescribed to females. Androgens are male hormones that are present in both males and females that lead to more acne, and spironolactone helps reduce androgens.

It is usually taken once or twice a day, around the same time(s), preferably with a meal.

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September 30, 2008

Pros:

Life-saver

Cons:

None that I've noticed

This drug was a miracle for me. I'm so happy I tried it. Went from doctor to doctor my whole life with no results. Went to an endocrinologist at 42 and he prescribed it. I don't dread waking up in the morning anymore and looking at my face. Used to spend hours washing my face and being obcessed with it. I would make up excuses for not going places and find reasons to stay home. Now, my breasts have gotten bigger and I have some hair loss, but who knows if it's from this pill or a number of other things. I just wish I had gotten it sooner.
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September 24, 2008

Pros:

Totally cleared my severe acne

Cons:

it takes a while to work, so stick it out!

I love this medication! I have been taking Spiro for about 6months and my face has been transformed. I started out taking 100mg and worked my way up to 200mg. At 200 I really began to see a difference. I no longer wake up in the morning dreading to go outside or to look in the mirror. I no longer have to avoid eye contact with people. My face is completely clear and has been for about a month. Before I was getting a new breakout every week, once one got better I would get another one. It does take a while to work, for me it took almost five months but I stuck it out because I did see changes and now I have great skin, with exception of the scares I have left over. Spiro was my life saver!
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September 22, 2008

Pros:

1) Completely cleared up tiny flesh colored bumps on forehead.
2) Small Pill

Cons:

1) Very dehydrating when I first began to use it

I'm 28 and I've been suffering from acne (hundreds of tiny flesh colored bumps, a few big bumps under the skin, extremely rare pustules) for the past couple of years on my cheeks, forehead, and jawline since stopping hormonal birth control. Now the tiny bumps are gone and my skin feels almost normal. My forehead is smooth with the occasional "regular" teenage type bump. My cheeks are beggining to clear up although I can still feel a few bumps under the skin. I do still have 6 or 7 small bumps around my jaw, but hopefully those will be gone soon too. Right now I'm more concerned with the red spots on my cheeks - I've had these before and know that they will fade with time - but the waiting sucks! Overall, I highly reccomend this product. I felt a little dizzy and a little dehydrated at first, but now I'm fine. I will continue to use this product for a couple more months and report back. I'd say that after 1 month my face looks about 50% better.
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September 18, 2008

Pros:

Works great clears my skin beautifully, love the diuretic effect

Cons:

Frequent trips to the bathroom. I don't like the idea of having to be a pills, but it seems to be the only thing that works. Takes a few months to start working.

It works great on acne if you can deal with some of the side effects.
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September 16, 2008

Pros:

My skin is clear clear clear, plus my jeans fit less tightly.

Cons:

None so far

I started taking this last week. I went to my OB/GYN to see if there was anything going on with my body, but it was "just" hormonal acne. My whole chin felt like one big cyst and every morning a new one appeared. After taking one 25mg pill at night, I woke up with the swelling gone on my "cysts" and I haven't had a new one in a week. I am taking 25 in the morning and 25 at night. I haven't had any side effects either besides a little water/weight loss, which is a plus for me. Try it. I have been on antibiotics for the last 2 years, but for some reason the last 2 months they stopped working. this is the only thing that has helped at all. I went from not wanting to leave the house to being OK with my skin over night.
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September 15, 2008

Pros:

clear skin, less oily skin, less oily hair

Cons:

sometimes a little dizzy at the gym if i am taking a step class and have to do a spin. weird, i know.

i have taken this medication for 4 months now. it has definitely improved my skin. i am getting comments from people that my skin looks amazing (it never looked amazing before with all the acne) i take a very low dose of only 25 mg/day. i saw results immediately, which is hard to believe, but true. my face is awesome. my back is much improved, but still not perfect. my doctor said i could increase my dosage to see if my bacne would go away, but i am happy with my low dose and am using apple cider vinegar on my back. this medicine works!!!!
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September 13, 2008

Pros:

It's actually working!!!! I've been on Spiro for 2 months and 1 week and it's really working! This is the 1st time in years I finally don't have a break out!

Cons:

In the beginning, I broke out worse than I ever had!! and I got very weepy around my period, which I think has to do with the hormones

I'm 36 and have had adult acne with cyst acne since I was 19. I've tried everything except accutane. I started out with Spiro 25mg 2x a day for the 1st month then the 2nd 50mg 2x's a day+ 100mg of Doxy 2x a day. My acne is always my cheeks and jaw line. I have tons of red marks from picking and I'm going to start Derma-abbrasion but I'm really happy and I just think it's going to keep getting better. IF you try it, get through the bad break out in the beginning, it takes like a good 6 or 7 weeks for the break outs to stop. I feel like my self-esteem is already getting better.
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September 11, 2008

Pros:

Much less oily skin, never made me dehydrated or gave me the urge to use the restroom more than usual

Cons:

dry hands and feet, bad initial breakout

I started taking 100 mg of Spiro on July 15, and I'm very broken out right now. The break out is almost completely on my chin and jawline, which I've heard is more hormonal acne than anything. It alot more cysts/papules than anything, and I usually don't get those. Still, I have faith this is going to work! I hope to start seeing some improvement within the next couple weeks, but if I still don't see any within 6 months then I'll stop.
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September 9, 2008

Pros:

Spiro cleared my cystic acne within 2 weeks. I started with 25mg twice a day and moved up to 50mg twice a day after 1 week. My skin was very clear and I went from having very oily skin to normal skin. I loved it!!!

Cons:

Very dehydrating. Also, after being on it for 6 months I broke out in a hive-like rash on my arms and legs. The doctors advised that I discontinue spiro because they were not sure what caused the rash. The rash cleared up within 1 week of stopping.

I loved it while I was on it. I am bummed that I can't take it anymore because I loved not having to worry about oily skin or acne while I was on it. It is probably best that I stopped it when I did though because when researching Spiro I discovered many studies that claim that it causes tumors in rats and that it is actually banned in England. I have started Yasmin because it is similar to Spiro. So far my skin is less oily and acne free.
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September 6, 2008

Pros:

It works! It really works!

Cons:

None for me!

Please ask your doctor for this med, give it a try. I could see an improvement in days. Do not suffer with breakouts a day longer then you need to. I wish I would have known about spiro years ago, would have saved my self-pride and my skin from scarring. I am so grateful that I finally found a doctor that had a solution for my acne. It's so easy and effective. Check it out! Feel better fast! I am combining 50mg Spiro 1x a day with a low dose antibiotic 2x a day (doc said I can stop antibiotic soon), Benzyclin pump topical every other night, and tazorac every other night (to start to resurface this new break-out free skin I have!) Exciting to see something work after trying so much.
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