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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52.1%
4
28.5%
3
9.8%
2
4.6%
1
5.1%

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March 4, 2009

Pros:

Clear skin, no more oily skin

Cons:

Slight dryness

After being told by my doctor that there is no cure for oily skin, I researched spironolactone online and got another doctor to prescribe it. My skin was so oily I had to blot it a half hour after washing. It really made me feel uncomfortable and unclean. I would wake up to a wet face and new breakouts every morning. It took a while but during my third month on the medication the oil completely stopped. Now I do not blot my face at all and my skin is clear. I encourage anyone who has tried tons of creams, lotions, antibiotics and accutane with no results to try this pill and give it a chance to work.
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March 4, 2009

Pros:

This pill works! I have been on it for roughly 3 weeks and my face has cleared up. I had cystic acne and haven't gone a day without breaking out in years. My face had people mistaking me for a meth adict. It was awful.

Cons:

Muscle cramps (jimmy legs at night) and dehydration.

It works - it makes acne disappear. I have't gotten to see if it lightens my period, but if it does, that's just one more "pro"!
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March 3, 2009

Pros:

Clear skin, got rid of greasy hair.

Cons:

None

I love spiro! It works so well!
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March 2, 2009

Pros:

Inexpensive, has really reduced oil in just a few weekes on a low dose, skin also looks much clearer, you lose any water wt you've been carrying. I might give it a five in a few months but I just haven't been using it that long.

Cons:

Muscle cramps if you don't stay hydrated, go to the bathroom a little more often, have to check potassium levels every few months.

After reading all the postings on this site my sister and I decided to try spiro. We have tried everything else and nothing has helped for very long. So far, I've had a little bit of a breakout when I first started but now my skin is really starting to look clearer. I wanted to start low (25 mg/d) to avoid any major side effects or break-outs in the beginning and I just now bumped it up to 50 mg/d. I'm really excited that I've already seen such a difference on just these low doses. I plan on getting up to 75-100 mg/d eventually. The part I'm most excited about is that my skin hasn't been getting oily and gross half way through the day when usually I want to wash my face and redo my make-up by then.
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March 2, 2009

Pros:

Can control hormones that cause acne.

Cons:

Weakness, dizziness, fatigue, cancer, and possible tumors.

Please, please, please don't take this medication. I know we all want a magical cure for our acne, even at the expense of a few side effects, but this medication is DANGEROUS. It's been "black boxed" by the FDA, which is the most severe warning the FDA can issue a drug (short of pulling it off the shelves). Yes, Accutane also has the dreaded black box warning, but that's because of the risk of depression / birth defects. Spironolactone not only can cause severe depression, but has BEEN PROVEN to cause tumors in laboratory rats. This medication works a little bit like birth control pills - once you're on them for acne, you cannot get off without having the acne return. Do you really want to be dizzy, tired, depressed, and risk tumors and cancer for the rest of your life? Who cares if you have great skin if you're on death's door? I wish my doctor had told me all of this before I took this crap. I now have a stomach ulcer that my GI doctor contributes to spiro.
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March 1, 2009

Pros:

Almost clear skin, reduced body hair, weight loss of about 5lbs.

Cons:

Muscles pains, low blood pressure, initial tiredness and weakness, initial nausea and loss of appetite.

Not being nasty but I wish people would give products a chance to work before writing a review! It gives an inaccurate rating out of 5 otherwise. I'm using 75mg per day in addition to Dianette and have been on it for 7 to 8 months. I noticed an improvement within the first few weeks and I did not have an initial breakout. My chest and back are completely clear, and my face is almost clear and now looks flawless if i wear foundation. I think if I increased to 100mg per day, which is what I was prescribed, my skin would be completely clear, as it has made a vast improvement. But I'm not going to increase, as my blood pressure has gone down to 98/55. I've had a couple of side effects, as listed, but nothing that has made me want to come off it.
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March 1, 2009

Pros:

I've been on Spiron for a couple of years - and it has greatly reduced my oiling skin - I have very few acne breakouts now - just the scares leftover

Cons:

My dr ramped me up to 200 mg at first - after a few months, my heart started racing - couldn't climb one flight of stairs without my hearbeat increasing to 130 bpm. So I've backed down to 100 mg/day - and have increased my exercise - doing well.

I started seeing dermatologists with I was 11 - I'm now almost 50 - retin-A & oxy-10 did not work - only antibiotics did - but never took those for acne. It is so cool to have my makeup actually stay all day, I can wear eye shadow, and my eyes no longer sting from the oil.
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February 28, 2009

Pros:

this medication is a miracle. I used to have horribly oily skin and only after about 4 days of use (50mg twice a day), the oil is gone!!! I have a lot of small bumps on my forehead that i'm hoping Spiro will clear up as well.

Cons:

Needing to pee so many times a day

This drug is a miracle. Really. It works because it attacks the root cause of most oil and acne--> androgens. It blocks their receptors so that they don't have an effect. It'll work miracles if you have oily skin or hormonal acne.
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February 25, 2009

Pros:

It seems that is working, no regulations like accutane, cheap, appetite supressor so you don't gain weight

Cons:

Irregular period, going to bathroom a lot, waking up thirsty at night

I'm using this drug (100 mg) almost for 6 weeks now, just one day after I stopped my third course of accutane. I had mild acne on my chin after I stopped BC pills, but my main problem was the bumpy skin texture which went from tolerable to horrible after I stoppped the BC pills. I started accutane three years ago, and in 5 months I had the same beautiful skin I had when I was 18. It worked fast. But as soon as I stopped accutane, all the uneven texture came back in a month. I also used tazorac just once or twice and it completely ruined my chin. so I went for the second and third course of accutane (20 mg every other day), but every time I stopped, my chin looked so ugly. Millions of tiny bumps on my chin under the skin that makes it bumpy and wrinkly. So I read about the spiro in this website and asked my derm for it. In my 6th week of stopping accutane and using spiro, a little of the uneven texture has come back but it is not at all as bad as before. I'm sure spiro is working.
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February 24, 2009

Pros:

cleared up my skin

Cons:

dizziness

I have battled acne for 18 years and this is the only time in my life that my skin has been even close to clear. I had tried everything short of accutane and my doctor decided to try just this one "last thing" before going for the accutane treatment. I'm amazed. In one month, I've gone from having about 20 new pimples each morning to having one new one every couple of days. I honestly thought nothing would work for me - I had been on every treatment imaginable - both topical and oral. This is the only thing that has worked for me.
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