29 y.o. Female with moderate acne since 12 years old. I have tried every over- the- counter creams/ lotions/ gels, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, zinc, homeopathic remedies, antibiotics, proactiv, birth control, retin-a gel, etc. I did not see improvement except with oral antibiotics which are not good to use long terms so I hated that I was even on them for extended periods when I was younger. Finally after some research I discovered spironolactone. I discussed this with my doctor and she prescribed 100 mg/ day. I started out on 50 mg/day 8 months ago and after tolerating it fine jumped up to 100 mg/day. I did not notice any negative side effects, although I will say that I was also on birth control which can help keep women's periods regular when taking spironolactone. I did not notice significant results until about 1-2 months ago. So it has take over 6 months to see results but wow are they there!! I have gone over a month now with clear skin, something that hasn't happened since I was 12 years old. I went from having to wear foundation/make up 24/7 to going out in public with no make up! Any females struggling with acne please give spironolactone a try. And if you don't see results (I saw little before 6 months) stick with it! If you would've told me at 4/5 months that things were gonna improve I wouldn't have believed it. Because I'd felt like if it was going to work it would've already. But at about 6 months it's like a switch flipped and my skin cleared. Stick with it ladies!!

Hello there! I've had acne since 19 and now 33, i tried everything : amoxicillin , doxycycline, accutane. For the past 5 years was under control with an ocassional cyst every month. 2 years ago i started spinoro and results were great, after a month no cyst at all, ocassionally every 3 months a huge one. What i noticed if you dont stay hydrated can damage your skin avoiding to heal it and can look aged. I had to stop 6 months ago because caused my pain on my Stomach. So right now big cyst almost everyday. I was for 2 years only on 25mg. Does anybody stopped it and then taking it again? I hope it will work as before!! Because i have like 4 or 5 cysts all over the face one on my cheek 2 around the mouth and 2 on my chin! So painfull!!!

I've been taking spironolactone for almost two weeks now for severe cystic acne, and I'm so happy to say that I think I finally found my solution!! A bit of background about my skin: I'm an 18 year old female who's had acne (regular acne from age 8-13, and then cystic from age 13-18). My cystic acne is very severe. Even if I don't have a lot of breakouts, the ones I do have are very large and painful. For a while I thought I had my cystic breakouts under control thanks to chemical peels, vitamin c, exfoliating, and trying lots of different skincare products. Though I have definitely managed to reduce breakouts and get rid of regular acne, the cystic acne seemed unstoppable. After a bad experience with my last dermatologist, I decided to give dermatology another try and went to a dermatologist recommended by a family member. I was ready to get on accutane at this point, and thought he'd put me on it right away. He did mention it as a last resort IF spironolactone didn't work. I've been on 50mg twice a day for almost two weeks now. I was supposed to move my dose up to 50mg morning and 100mg night, but I feel like my body needs more time to adjust to the medication and this dose has already done so much for my skin. I'm used to feeling a new cystic spot forming everyday/every other day, but I only had two cystic breakouts within the first two days of taking it. They were both small, which is a miracle in itself, because like I said I'm used to massive breakouts. They began to go away within 24 hours, along with a lot of inflammation from recent breakouts. My skin is less red and my skin texture is getting softer. It did get really gross for a while but I just stayed patient, chemically exfoliated and moisturized and always wear sunscreen. The only side effects I've exeprienced are most likely from not staying as hydrated as I should. I get a little lightheaded/faint feeling and drowsy sometimes after taking it, but I've also started increasing the amount of sodium I intake. I've spent so long looking for something that would get me clear and I think I finally found it. I know it's early to review spironolactone, but I really feel like it started to work right away for me. I was expecting it to take a few months but I'm already seeing results. I will most likely move my dose up to 50mg morning and 100mg night to maximize my results, but for now I am very satisfied with 50mg. CAME BACK TO UPDATE! Sorry this is going to be long and sappy but if you're a female and struggle with cystic acne, spiro could change your life. I've dealt with really severe cystic acne for around five years now. I don't even need to explain how horrible it is; if you have cystic acne you know how life ruining it can be. I've been on 100mg spiro morning and night for a little less than a month now. I didn't think it would work at all, and after reading reviews I thought even if it did I wouldn't see results until at least six months after taking it. I started seeing results within the first two weeks. I still can't believe how much it's changed my life though?? I never thought I'd get this clear. I was used to having 5+ severe cysts all the time, and I have none right now. NONE!! Not only that, but my skin looks so much healthier too. I thought even if I did manage to get clear that I'd have more scarring or discoloration or texture issues or something but no. My skin is looking better and better everyday. I love trying out new skincare products and having fun with a little bit of makeup here and there. For the first summer in my teenage life I actually want to go out into the sunlight and have fun this summer instead of hiding my face 24/7. Kind of an unexpected result of having clear skin is that I feel more feminine. I've always been insecure about my femininity and spiro unexpectedly gave that security back to me. I go in to my dermatologist later this month for a checkup and I'm so excited to see him and thank him for prescribing spiro to me because it's changed my entire life. And this is only the beginning. I know the longer you're on spiro, the better the results get. I'm so happy spiro worked for me and I'm ready to go live my life and not be self conscious of my skin anymore. I'd definitely urge any females dealing with cystic acne to try spiro BEFORE accutane. Accutane was my last option and I'm so relieved I don't have to take it.

I'm 36, have had cystic acne since 14 (usually under control via various means, sometimes out of control). It is a very mysterious and shape-shifting disease. Since the age of 29, I was religiously using benzoyl peroxide face wash as the "insulin" to my "diabetes", but moving to a new climate, and being older, I simply could not handle the chemical anymore. My dermatologist offered me Spiro and I'm the last person to take anything extra - I'm vegan and straightedge, but the acne was ruining my life. (This can show it is not a dietary induced cystic acne: I eat a ton of plants and mostly organic). This drug worked within one week. Now, I'm just dealing with acne scars and rebuilding my self-esteem. I also use the acne.org jojoba moisturizer and straight jojoba oil on my face at night

After 10 years of being embarrassed of my own face i finally feel confident. Ive taken 100mg for 6 months and i finally see results. Stick with it, its worth it

I have struggled with adult acne increasingly over the last few years. After going off of oral BC and switching to an IUD, I noticed that my acne had gotten to a frustratingly chaotic level, not immediately, but over a couple years such that I never seemed to fully put 2 and 2 together that hormones were causing my skin issues. No matter what I seemed to do, I would have frequent/daily breakouts. At any given time, I would have anywhere between 3-10 active acne spots on my face of all the varieties of pimples-- clogged pores, under-the-skin pimples, simple whiteheads, blackheads, everything. To combat the breakouts, I tried all kinds of things: washes, scrubs, dietary changes, increased water intake, exercise regimens, more frequent washing, water filters, various acne-friendly makeup brands, prescription creams, antibiotic pills, OTC spot treatments, salycylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, glycolic acid, exfoliating masks, and natural skincare alternatives. Nothing consistently worked. Even if something momentarily alleviated the breakouts, it wouldn't be long before an irritated spot would crop up that would turn into a hellacious and many times painful pimple. An odd series of events led me to try spironolactone, despite previously being convinced that accutane would be my last hope-- trying sprinolactone became my last ditch attempt to clear my skin before the final option of accutane... and lo and behold-- IT WORKED! THIS IS IT! Now, granted, this is not an overnight, life-changing kind of medicine. Rather, over a period of weeks, it involves minute changes in the amount of hormones that affect your skin. It works well paired with another prescription cream or wash to help clear surface level dirt. What it does is it essentially blocks androgens that circulate in your system from actually connecting with receptor sites. For those with hormonal acne, this should result in less breakouts and formation of pimples. I've been taking this for almost 6 months now and my skin is about 97% clear. So what is this other 3% that's not perfectly clear? Well, about once a month at this point, I may get a single pimple. The other bit, is that I occasionally have a few blackheads, which I manage to treat with a blackhead extractor tool, so they don't end up becoming anything worse. I'm almost at the point where I could feel comfortable going out of the house without make-up on. For me, that is HUGE. Previously, I was mortified to be seen even by any relative with my bare skin showing because it was so red, hyperpigmented, and spotty. Now, my complexion feels and looks literally relieved-- clear, not congested, calm, under control. I have a tiny amount of healing still to do on my hyperpigmentation, but undoubtedly at this rate, I expect it should be healed within the next 3-6 months. If you're like me and you've tried everything with no relief from your adult acne, you should really give spironolactone a try. It may do wonders for you.

I started birth control at age 17 (orto tri cyclen) after trying doxy and minocycline and it cleared up my acne like a charm! Then shortly before I turned 21 I started getting acne on just my chin (combo of closed comedones and hard small cystic acne) and after about a month of dealing with the acne, hoping it would clear, I saw a dermatologist and asked to be put on spiro since I read good reviews. She told me it was for older women and just put me on tazorac .05% and aczone 7.5%. The tazorac completely tore up my face but after a month my skin got used to it and definitely was helping the texture of my chin but just not stopping the acne (plus taz made my skin super sensitive so when i would frown or move my face a lot my face/chin would turn kinda red... definitely unflattering and not a good topical for summer months) and the aczone was helpful but not stopping everything. Fed up with my derm, I saw a second derm who took one look at my face and suggested spironolactone and benzaclin (antiobiotic). I stopped the aczone and started the benzaclin which worked really well for a couple of weeks and then didn't work well so I stopped it entirely. I started on 25 mg spiro once a day for a month last November 2016. I didn't see results so my derm upped it to 50 mg in december. I started to see small results like decreased oil production on my face and hair but nothing truly impacting the acne. In january I went up to 75mg for a few weeks and then 100mg (50 twice a day) and that is where I am right now (march 2017) and my face for the first time summer 2016 is completely clear. I almost feel like i'm jinxing myself for typing that but it's been a full month without any sort of pimple (even during my period). I can also go two days without washing my hair and my hair would usually be oily by the end of the day so that is a HUGE plus... and the oil on my nose decreased by 95% I'd say. I don't have any side effects, maybe just prone to headaches from dehydration (so definitely drink lots of water) and I have to get my blood tested for high potassium levels since its a diuretic and can make the body retain potassium. I still work out everyday and I don't feel fatigued or anything! I would definitely suggest spiro, it can take 2-3 months to truly get complete clearing but i'm so happy I waited it out. I did get a slight breakout at upping to 50 mg on my temples which never get acne but it went away shortly and that was my only breakout from the spiro.

I was on spiro for about 4-5 months before it FINALLY started to work. I had mild-moderate acne before, which i had under control for 3 years on Doxycycline. Of course, you can't be on antibiotics forever so I was taken off of Doxy and it came back full force. Then my derm put me on spiro and i started out at 25mg, which wasn't enough. I was bumped up to 50mg (once per day) after 2 months, which cleared everything right up! I never thought anything would work as well as Doxycycline at clearing my acne, but I get even fewer occassional pimples now than I did on antibiotics! I was on birth control for 3 years before I took spiro (and I'm still on it), so I think that really helped minimize side effects.

I am a 38 year old female who has had fluctuating acne for over 22 years. My acne piqued about 4 years ago. I'm talking persistent, mind numblingly painful cystic acne on my chin, jawline and unto my neck, they reproduced and had babies all over my face, forehead and anywhere there was room, including on top of each other (ouchie!!). My face was an oil field requiring face blotting every hour. I had been on the BP regimen for years prior but it did nothing for the the cysts when they came full force seemingly out of nowhere. I still thank the BP regimen for years and years of controlled acne, so no resiment here, it just wasn't a match for for my spastic hormones. I needed a systemic fix, not just topical. A sidebar to reflect on some facts of life: 1) We live in a society that demands a quick fix. You see it all over TV, radio, etc... But the reality is quite different. It took years and years of imbalance for your hormones to turn spastic for a plethora of reasons (age, genes, family history, environment, diet, etc). Your hormonal acne and the underworkings did not just suddenly happen although it feels that way. So give Spirinolactone at least that same amount of time to do its job. It's a systemic drug. It needs to be given months and months of tweaking with the dosage before you can expect it to work. 2) Manage your expectations. This med worked for me but it is not a miracle drug. I had a horrendous initial breakout once the dosage was increased. I was a hermit for months. I started at the lowest dosage and that did nothing for me other than make me go pee a lot. Painfully and slowly, my derm increased the dosage to the max allowed which is 100mg twice a day. That was 8 months ago. I continued to pee a lot, my oil production was cut by 90% , I had headaches, my period was coming every two weeks and my acne decreased by 85%. I was persistent. Even though I wanted to quit because I wanted perfect, glowing skin and microscopic pores right now (see bullet point #1 ;))! 3) At 8 months out with the 200mg daily dose and having been on this med for almost 2 years with incremental dosage increases, I now have zero oil which requires copious amounts a daily moisturizer (because I'm dry now 🙂). I still get a few pimples around ovulation and my period. I still pee a lot but I'm used to it now. Headaches are gone once my body got used to the increase in dosage. My period has normalized although my cycles are shorter but the flip side is that my periods are lighter. Win/win. 4) Quality of life: improved! I still have a few pimples but I'm ok w that. I have improved 90% overall and I can live w that considering where I started. Conclusion: Be patient ladies. Hormonal acne is vicious and soul sucking but you are not alone and you can push through! These blogs and positive reviews inspired me and helped me suck it up on days I just wanted to stay in bed and eat lime flavored chips all day long 🙂. I promised myself I would pay it forward and write a review once my acne was under control. If only to inspire one person to push through and be persistent with the medication, I feel like it was worth it. Each individual person has to reach their own conclusion on the risk/benefit of any drug they are taking. There is no risk-less medication out there, do your due diligence, inform yourself and be comfortable in your decision. Most importantly, remember that you are not alone and there are others out there dealing with the same thing. I'm sending you all happy vibes and a wish for glowing, acne free, with maybe the occasional little pimple 😉 Skin! Persevere, you got this!

Perfectly clear skin now! Haven't had skin this good since I was a child! It doesn't work overnight, it really kicked in at about the 2-3 month mark, but absolutely it worked for my constant hormonal cystic acne which I've had for years!