Spironolactone

Results

Side Effects

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.

[more]

4.2

Used Spironolactone? Rate It:

Choose from 1 to 5 stars

Julia

December 18, 2012

Pros:

Stops acne, mostly the cystic ones, at the root of the problem- hormones.

Cons:

Doesn't get rid of all acne
v-e-r-y-y-y-s-l-o-o-o-o-w process
bad initial breakout that lasted several months

This medicine saved me. I struggled on and off with mild acne until about 22 when the hormonal acne really got out of control. I was miserable and wanted to hide and couldn't tell anyone how I felt because I was too embarrassed... Other people didn't realize how bad it was (or that's what they said) because I got so good at doing my makeup and they couldn't feel the physical and emotional pain I was in. It sounds dramatic-- But true. I started taking this in late January 2011. It is now almost 11 months later and I haven't had a cystic pimple in months (knock on wood!) and my skin continues to break out less and less every month. I broke out very badly for a few months after I started taking it (100mg), so PLEASE BE PATIENT. After a few months I bumped it up to 150. I had this glorious image of myself on the beach that summer with flawless skin sans makeup... false. It is a bit irritating though because I do still have some of the deep little clogs and bumps and enlarged pores, but nothing compared to before. Hopefully this medicine will continue to reveal it's slow results! It didn't happen over night, or in a few weeks, or even a few months. I know some people say it does for them, and I hope it does for you too, but just remember it may take time but it is worth it. I didn't notice many side effects but make sure to stay hydrated, be careful when you are drinking alcohol, etc, and don't forget to take it for more than a day or so. I just fear the day my dermatologist tells me to stop taking it. I plan on being on this medicine for as long as possible.

This Was Helpful

8 user(s) found this helpful

Report

Ind1g0

December 6, 2012

Pros:

Makes skin less oily everywhere
Hair less oily
Inexpensive with insurance
Doesn't dry or irritate skin

Cons:

Need to pee and rehydrate constantly
Initial episodes of low blood pressure and dizziness as body got used to the drug

I had taken bcp for many years until I had to come off of them due to a blood clot. My skin was beautiful on yaz so the dermatologist recommended I try spiro. Started with 25mg/d x 1 mo, then 50, and finally to 100 mg daily. Started seeing a difference at 50 mg. Face, back, scalp, and neck cleared up. Still get a random breakout here and there but nothing like before. Spiro has given me back my confidence. Highly recommend for hormonal acne.

This Was Helpful

10 user(s) found this helpful

Report

November 10, 2012

Pros:

Cheap
Decreases oil production

Cons:

Side effects
Frequent Urination
Slight headache
Joint tenderness

This is my second attemp using this drug. I first tried it 3 months ago. My dose was 75 mg, two pills in the am and 1 in the pm. After the second day I was suffering from a headache and literally had to pee every 20 mins. I could not sleep. So after the 3rd day, I gave up. My derm talked me into trying it one more time. This time I started taking half of a 25mg pill for the first 3 days. No problems with that except some more urination. Can feel a headache coming on if I don't drink enough water. Then I went to a full pill. No problems with this except some tenderness behind my knees. Tomorrow I will be going to 1.5 pills. As far as my skin goes, I do see less oil production, my eye makeup is staying in place longer. I am having a breakout in places I don't normally get pimples like my upper lip and forehead. They are slightly nodular. My hair is slightly more dry. Over all I do see a slightly healthier appearance of my skin that I cannot explain. I also use 302 skincare. It is all natural. I will review this drug again in about 1 month or so. Hopefully I will be at 75 mg and getting some real improvement. I'm 33 years old and have been dealing with this acne for three years. It is time for this acne to go away.

This Was Helpful

5 user(s) found this helpful

Report

Nicole

October 31, 2012

Pros:

-COMPLETELY clear skin besides just the occasional pimple (for a severe acne sufferer, this is GREAT)
-face/hair never oily (decreased oil production)

Cons:

-slow-acting
-need to drink more water
-can make me lightheaded/dizzy at times
-cannot miss doses or will breakout
-overall very minor/unnoticeable side effects

SPIRONOLACTONE HAS WORKED WONDERS FOR ME! Ladies, I cannot stress this enough, SPIRO IS A VERY SLOW-ACTING DRUG! Many women go on spiro, take it for 3 or so months (even up to 6), claim it's not working then switch. IT TAKES LONGER THAN THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE! I have suffered from SEVERE acne since I was 15 and this is the only thing that has cleared me besides accutane which I have taken 3 times (trust me, I have tried everything you can think of at the direction of my derm). If you have tried accutane and the effects haven't been permanent, TRY SPIRONOLACTONE! I have been on it for about a year now and honestly, I can just say that within the past couple months it has totally cleared my skin! BE PATIENT, give it AT THE VERY LEAST 6 MONTHS before deciding there are no effects. For me, it took even longer than this but IT WORKS I promise for severe cystic acne. I also take Microgestin Fe 1/20 birth control pill daily, unsure if this adds to the effect, and treat with Neutrogena On-The-Spot 2.5% benzoyl peroxide cream both am/pm. The combo of this has given me perfectly clear skin (thanks to the spiro as I've always done those other things). ALSO IMPORTANT: You MUST take a dosage of 100mg or higher. I know many derms prescribe less, and perhaps that works for minor or moderate acne even, but if you suffer from moderate to severe acne you must take more than 100 mg. My derm has stressed this as well, he starts ANYONE on atleast 100mg even if not severe acne. I take 200mg daily. I have a friend who has only very slight to moderate acne and ALSO takes 200mg daily. We both have clear skin. I have a friend who takes only 100mg daily and still has a few pimples at any given time. Take that as you will. So, in conclusion, SPIRONOLACTONE WORKS. It is very slow-acting, do not give up on it until you have taken it for 6 months or more. Also, you need to take a high dose, 100mg/day or more especially if you have severe a

This Was Helpful

20 user(s) found this helpful

Report

Zoe C.6

October 22, 2012

Pros:

clear skin
inexpensive
easy to take
initial side effects went away after a couple of months
increased self esteem and confidence

Cons:

initial bad breakout
initial temporary headaches
initial temporary dizziness
takes a long time to work
cant take nsaids( advil, aleve)
have to watch potassium intake and get bloodwork done every 6 months to monitor this

I am 37 and have struggled with acne since age 13. I have tried everything and spent thousands of dollars searching for a cure and finally found it after suffering for over 2 decades! At age 21 I went on my first round of accutane which cleared me for several years. when I had my daughter at age 24, my acne came back. I have since tried accutane 3 more times on the heaviest dose allowable and up to 8 month treatment periods and it would come back within 3 months of stopping treatment. Horrible side effects from accutane including a chronic sore in my nose that wont heal from mucous membranes drying so severely.I would never go on accutane ever again. It ablsolutely amazes me that no dermatologist or doctor or endocrinologist that ive seen over the years suggested spiro- i had to request it after reading reviews on here. I had a bad initial breakout that lasted a couple of months. I started on 75 mg /day. I had an almost constant low grade headache the first 2 weeks that went away. After the first month i started to experience some severe dizziness that really scared me. I stopped taking spiro for 1 week and then resumed to 25 mg/day for 2 weeks, then upped it to 50mg/day. It took almost 2 months for the dizziness to completely go away, but it hasn't returned.Its now been over 6 months and my face is almost completely clear!!! i get the odd little pimple now and then, but nothing even close to the pizza face i looked like before. It takes so much less time to get ready for the day- i dont have to wear a ton of makeup and try to cover it all. I have done numerous expensive treatments over the years( lazers, pdt, blue light ala treatments, chemical peels, tazorac, antibiotics, topicals, many over the counter cleansers and acne treatments, proactive,diet changes) this may not be for everyone, but it changed my life! it was free with my insurance coverage. I do have some melasma & hyperpigmentation, but i do a "skin culture peel 4000" once a year to clear that

This Was Helpful

17 user(s) found this helpful

Report

melisaperone

October 18, 2012

Pros:

clears skin
less oily
does not dry
inexpensive

Cons:

need dr.'s order to be prescribed
blood tests every few months

This is a great product for anyone suffering from hormonal acne. I have been using Spironolactone for about 3 months now and my face is about 80% cleared up. I occasionally get a pimple here and there due lack of sleep or poor diet but I am very pleased with the results so far. Will continue to use until my prescription runs out. I am a bit hesitant taking pills but I am hoping that this will be a very short term solution at attacking my acne.

This Was Helpful

3 user(s) found this helpful

Report

Deanna

October 12, 2012

Pros:

Clears skin
Less oily
Eliminates cystic acne

Cons:

Period every two weeks
weight gain
tender breasts
emotional

The bottom line is despite the side effects, this medicine works. Do not give up hope if your acne is hormonal. It took a few months of working my way up to the highest dose of 200 mg. I take 100 mg at lunch and 100mg at dinner. I did not experience a true clearing, and almost stopped the pills I was so frustrated, until I upped my dosage to 200 mg. But, that's when I began having a 7 day period every two weeks and gaining weight despite not changing my eating habits. I put on about 10 pounds, my boobs got about two sizes bigger. However, my skin is amazing so I hired a trainer and am working hard to get that ten pounds off. I would recommend this to someone despite the side effects. I do notice if I miss a dose, which recently happened when I ran out of the presciption for a day, that I get a small breakout or one or two pimples.

This Was Helpful

6 user(s) found this helpful

Report

beautypro1

September 26, 2012

Pros:

-works well for cystic acne
-less oily face and hair
-clears pretty quickly

Cons:

-extreme hair fall

I am 20 years old and have had somewhat severe acne since I was 13 or 14, it consistently got worse and I started trying topical treatments like Proactiv, epiduo, differin, and little face washes from the drug store. Nothing worked well so I decided to try a dermatologist. I tried birth control but didn't see much of a difference after a few months, then I tried antibiotics which seemed to work for about a month and then just stopped working. I researched like crazy and read reviews and doctor websites about Spiro and thought it would be perfect. I have been on Spiro for about 7 months and within the first month my face and hair was less oily (which I loved!), I lost a bit of water weight (but it does balance out later so you don't actually lose weight), and my face was already getting better. By month 4 there was an extreme difference! But now at the 7th month I am still getting little pimples frequently, although my cystic acne is basically extinct! I didn't get an extreme initial breakout that a lot of people said happens. A weird side effect I had was not getting my period for about 5 months, it came back but it was pretty weird. I LOVE that this medication has made my face and hair less oily, it's nice to not worry about re-applying powder to make my face not look greasy halfway through my day. But I have noticed that while I have been on this medication, I have had significantly more hair fall. They say it's normal to lose about 100 strands a day but I must be losing about 400 or so a day. My shower is clogged every day and my hair seems a bit thinner. I have heard Spiro is supposed to make hair grow but that definitely isn't the case with me. I will be talking to a doctor soon to see if I can fix that but still take the Spiro. Bottom line, this works different for different people, but I would recommend this medication to anyone who has tried lots of acne products with no luck.

This Was Helpful

6 user(s) found this helpful

Report

carereviewer39

September 25, 2012

Pros:

-No breakouts almost immediately upon starting the drug
-Skin looked almost completely flawless
-Very safe drug in that it has been on the market for many years

Cons:

-Broke out into hives due to an allergic reaction :(

So, I had read tons of great reviews raving about this drug and asked my dermatologist to put me on it. Almost as soon as I started it - I was in love with it. My face looked fantastic and I didn't have a single breakout. I was on the drug though for a little over a week when I had an allergic reaction and broke out into severe hives. I'm pretty upset. The one thing that I have finally found that really, really works for cystic acne and has almost no side effects to taking it and I can't because I'm allergic. I talked with a pharmacist today and he said there is nothing else out on the market like it, so I'm pretty much back to square one. I take perfect care of my skin, I wash my sheets and towels regularly, I keep my hair out of my face, I've been on birth control for 6 years, I've changed my diet and eating habits, I take vitamins and supplements, I exercise regularly and still battle cystic, hormonal acne. I was really happy to have found spironolactone, since I knew that there was nothing I could do on the outside to change how my face looked and it was just an internal issue. If I wasn't allergic to this medication, I would have stayed on it for as long as possible. PLEASE- If you have acne, try this drug! It seems to have worked wonders for tons of other other, but for me I just can't stay on it due to allergies (just my luck). I've turned to chemical peels now and recently just had a Vi Peel done for the first time to help with acne scarring and pigmentation. Did not hurt one bit and actually was not bad at all! I am going for another one in a few weeks and I am hoping that 3-4 more Vi Peels and regular facials will keep my skin in check. If anyone else had an allergic reaction to Spironolactone, but knows of something else I could take that would help - please let me know. I have struggled with acne for over 12 years and it's reached the point where it just brings me down no matter how hard I try not to let it.

This Was Helpful

13 user(s) found this helpful

Report

Giang

September 9, 2012

Pros:

reduction in acne, even the pustules and nodules
affordable

Cons:

energy level slightly lowered
sleepier more often
takes a while to work

It took 7 months for me to see results. I use it in conjunction to benzoyl peroxide 5% and Tretinoin (Retin A), which aren't bad. The Tretinoin is a bit expensive since it isn't covered under any insurance for people 27+. The spiro and benzoyl peroxide were super affordable. I was worried for 7 months when nothing happened. Things actually got worse for the first four months, then my doctor upped the dosage from 50 mg to 75 mg, and it started doing its magic. I'm not completely rid of acne, still some cropping up every so often, but thank god I don't have to deal with painful nodules and pustules (they make my lymph nodes swell). I hope this will keep on working.

This Was Helpful

10 user(s) found this helpful

Report

1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 33

Relevant Article(s):

Relevant Forum(s):

Prescription acne medications

Used Spironolactone? Rate It:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Relevant Article(s):

Relevant Forum(s):

Finding a Doctor

Finding a Doctor

Be sure to:

Questions to ask a potential scar revision specialist:

Red flags:

New Report

Close