Each of you writing your reviews have encouraged me to stay on spiro and give it a chance. I have never had an issue with acne in my life at my worst breakout I had one barely showing blemish. I am 40 years old. In my teen years, 20's, 30's my skin has been fantastic, Iv been blessed in that area and never appreciated it until now. About 3 months ago this acne began, out of the blue and for no reason at all. I have had an under active thyroid for 18 yrs. I have been taking only one medicine in all that time and its been synthroid. Now i am actually on 4 prescriptions just for this sudden acne. I have an endocrinolgist who doesnt seem concerned at all and a dermatologist that seems to want to help. When i say i have always had clear skin Im not exagerating in the least. This sudden onset of severe acne has depressed me, changed me in someway. I dont talk to people in the eye anymore, I am more figity than ever before. Most of the time i just want to call into work and pretend I dont have to face people. The doctors havin taken tons of blood work have concluded that I have high levels of testosterone and they have further tested to find that I do not have PCOS which is all the internet research talks about. Neither doctor can tell me whats producing the high levels or why. So in my opinion how do you treat something that you dont know what caused it in the first place.? Anyway so I have been on Spiro for 7 weeks and i had the initial breakout that was awful and now only 4 news ones vs 8 to 10 a day. and the others are still there just less inflamed. I am now also taking Acticlate, sulfer cleaner, and aczone gel. Still after 2 weeks of all of it im still breaking out. I swear I am in my living nightmare.

I have never really had Acne until about a year ago. After reading several posts I think the factor that caused me to suffer such a sever breakout was going on and off of birth control 3 times in the last year and stress. I would have to say the end of 2013 and most of this year has been extremely difficult. A little background about me... I am almost 29, and have suffered with thyroid disease for the last 14 years having been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the age of 15. Then having radioactive iodine therapy at age 17. Which sent my body into a complete shutdown causing my thyroid to become hypo. For a really long time I was taking synthroid and it wasn't helping me at all. I was gaining massive amounts of weight, extremely depressed worst part was the excruciatingly unbearable pains in my joints, no energy couldn't stand to be cold, always getting severe colds almost pneumonia all of the time. Until about 2 years ago when I found this wonderful doctor who in a way saved my life. Since then I dropped all the weight, feel happy and healthy. No pain and then this....... About a year ago my skin went crazy. My cheeks and neck became inflamed with nodules, cysts, and huge disgusting white heads. Then the picking and popping began. Everyday it was another and another and there wasn't one day that went by that I didn't get another one. I started seeing a derm by my office who would give me creams, washes and more and more antibiotics. for months doing everything as prescribed and not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. I changed my diet (which I was already eating very health to lose the weight) . I used organic this and no dairy and went for facials, even did Photodynamic therapy with and without levulan leaving more acan and now holes, scars and dark spots.... You name it I did it. After not seeing any results with the first derm about 2 months ago I started seeing another one. She started me the same way blu U, anti biotics, aczone, acyana, epiduo, etc, etc... Last month I went there just heart broken. I was about to host my boyfriend's 30th birthday and I couldn't even bear the thought of going into public like this. All I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and hide. The derm said lets try spironolactone.... She prescribed me 50mg's 2 times per day also kept me on minocylcen 100 mg once a day and creams aczone in the AM and epidou in the pm. wash 2 times per day with neutrogeona ultra gentle hydrating cleanser and cetaphil oil control moisturizer. Today marks my one month on this medication. The only side effects i experienced were in the first few days a little lightheaded and dizziness.. that has pretty much subsided, I am very thirsty and Pee a billion times per day. I did have terrible initial outbreak in the second week which still has not gone away. I have ugly cysts on my check but I have noticed the amount of acnem i normally get is reduced and the length of time a pimple takes has increased. I don't know how much more patient I can be. M skin is still oily and I don't want to wear make-up but walk with my head down out doors because its just so heartbreaking. I am supposed to go back to derm on Monday. Hopefully something with give for me soon. My heart is just so heavy I can't even look in the mirror. If i have to go somewhere i have to cake on pounds of make up and that doesn't even help. I just want to feel pretty again. All I do lately is cry because I have done everything as directed and just nothing. I hope everything I read is true and I start to see improvement soon. I don't know how much more I can handle. I will update again in a few weeks. Good luck everyone out there going through this.

08/30/2014 I am 25 years old, and when I was sixteen I got bad acne on my back. Went to the dermatologist, and it cleared right up. Then after that I was fine, no real problems. Then I hit 22, my acne is not awful, its moderate. It feels awful though. I always pick at them I can't help it. So at 22, I was put on birth control to help, and antibiotics, then retin-a. I read it can take up to a year to work, I used it off and on for the first year, then I decided to get serious so I used it religiously, nine months go by and no change. I get maybe four days out of the month with clear skin. I noticed it got really bad the week before my period, and during. I changed my dermatologist about a month ago. I told my new doctor that I felt like my old doctor would just put me on a different antibiotic at a higher dose, and never really asked my too many questions. He said he didn't understand why I was on retina, because he said it was for smaller pimples, and black heads. He prescribed spironolactone, because my acne was is the right place as hormonal acne, and it corresponded with my period. I am already on birth control, so he said to stay on it. He also paired it with minocycline antibiotic to help with the initial breakout. He told me the first week to do 1-2 25 mg pills a day of sprinolactone, then the next week up it to 2-3 pils, then the final week to take 4 pills, so 100 mg. He left it up to my to decide what dose my skin responds to the best. I am on the first day of the 100 mg week. I am still in the breakout stage, which isn't any worse then one of my bad breakouts. I am really hopeful about this. He told me to come back in November to check in, and see if it was working. I will update my post then. This dermatologist was much more attentive. They that was three months ago above ^^^^^^^^^^ I am updating my review. Going from 3 to 5 stars. 12/08/2014 If you want my acne background scroll down to the August posts, and there it is. I have been on Spironolactone for three month's. I see a huge difference. My acne corresponds with my period. Last month there was still a breakout the week before my period started. This month nothing, no big breakout. My dermatologist wanted to be proactive so he wanted to do another check up 3 months after I started. Which was around my last period. Which was before thanksgiving. I still had a breakout going on when I went to see him. So he added a topical creme, to my birth control, and Spironolactone. I don't know if the spiro kicked in, or the topical put me over the top. Its probably a combination of both. My skin has been clear for three weeks now. Which is unusual for me. I only have moderate acne, but I still got pimples every week. Nothing since I started the topical. Its called AcZone, apparently is pretty expensive if you don't have insurance. My insurance covered the whole cost though. When I tried to fill it at the pharmacy, the girl said the insurance won't let me fill it, because they want to see I had tried other topical's. So she called the insurance and ask them to override it , because I had tried other things. It took only about ten minutes. I am pretty sure all three things I am on has helped me become totally clear. The birth control, and spiro helped the hormones. So that treated what was wrong on the inside, then the AcZone just put me over the top. I would recommend all three to you guys if your breakouts correspond with your period hormones! Birth control was free with insurance, AcZone was free with insurance if you have met your deductible, and I think spiro was 5 to 10 dollars with insurance! Oh and I didn't experience any of the negative symptoms on Spiro that some people have. No tiredness, no dizziness, or I have read some of you have had weight gain? I haven't gained a pound. I am really lucky, because I know all our bodies are different, and respond to things in different ways. It also only took 3 months to kick in for me, that might be because the other stuff helped too.

Six years on Spirano and just quit for the second time in that period. I would break through every so often, but it's more dependable and safe than antibiotics and BCP. BCP is supposed to increase its effectiveness, but there are risks to excess estrogen, most notably weight gain and emotional sensitivity. It's almost worth it for the clear skin and diauretic effects.

I had developed horrible cystic acne when I decided to stop taking birth control pills b/c of the horrible side effects that I had including hair loss, depression, acne, weight fluctuations, and breast reduction, facial hair. I went on Spiro in July of 2012 at 50mg 1xd and my acne actually got worse. A month later in August 2012 my derm put me on 100mg 1xd and after a few months my acne and other post birth control symptoms got better. By March of 2013 my acne was completely clear and my skin was better than it ever was, I also saw a reduction on my facial and body hair. I was having normal periods every month and the other side effects like dry mouth were east to deal with. By April I had noticed that I gained a lot of weight. Atleast 10lbs. So I was determined to loose the weight. I ate healthier even turning to a gluten free diet and was trying to walk and stay active but I could not even budge the weight. I would loose a few pounds and then a few days later I would gain it all back. Id never gained some much weight in my stomach, butt and legs. It was horrible. So in June my derm bumped me down to 75mg but I haven't lost a pound. This month August I'm going to see if she'll bump me down to 50mg since my skin is holding up and my weight isn't going down. I am hoping I can get on a lower dosage that seems to work for my acne and also will allow me to loose some of this weight. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so what did you do? My email is koconnell.lbpl@[link removed]

This pill has been a miracle drug for me! I am 23 and have suffered from horrible cystic acne for as long as I can remember. Like everyone else, I have tried everything. I have seen multiple dermatologists but nothing ever worked for me. Finally, I decided enough is enough and I made an appointment at a dermatologist office in downtown Chicago. I explained to her that my acne has always been pretty severe. I have always broken out on my face, back, chest, and arms. It has always seemed to flare up right around my period and then it would clear up the week after my period. As soon as I mentioned this, she recommended Sprio. She told me that it would take 3-6 months to see the full results, so I needed to be patient. I was hopeful! She started me on 50mg of Spiro for the first two weeks and then bumped it up to 100mg in combination with Atralin gel and cerave lotion. The first two months were hell. My chest and back flared up the worst I have ever seen and my face was a mess. I went back to see her after two months and she added the antibiotic Monodox and bumped up the Spiro dosage to 150mg. Now I was finally starting to see some results. By 3 and a half months, my chest and back were perfect. Not one single blemish. My face is now the best it has ever been! I still get a few small bumps on my face, but I am confident that those will clear up as time goes on. I went back to see my derm and she added Aczone gel to use in the morning. She compared this gel to microdermabrasion. She said all my scarring should be gone within 12 weeks. I am absolutely thrilled with my results!!!

I used this for about a year in 2009-2010, and again from Nov 2012 until yesterday (March 30, 2013) when I began Accutane. It helped decrease, although not completely clear, my acne in 2009-10 - my acne was light for about three years, and became more severe in May 2012, leading me to start the process of Accutane. In my experience: if you have light to moderate acne and no nodules, this will help you. I took 50mg 2x per day.

I've been on minocycline for years and doxycycline on and off since high school (I'm 35)...adult cystic acne(seems to inflame monthly). I've been on all of the topicals as well. I took a round of accutane when I was 18. I've suffered with cystic acne for years. It always gets better in the summer, but once fall hits its all over!! Over the years I can see that I don't get as many cysts, and that they are not as severe as when I was in my early twenties, however, I'm 35 and I think I'm just over it!! I'm excited to be on my second day and hoping that I do not get the initial break out, but I guess I'll deal with that if it does happen! I will report back every month and hopefully I see results like everyone else!!! EXCITED!!!

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!

Ive had very stubborn acne for several years. I have used birth control in the past which helped considerably. But that isnt an option right now. So my dermo gave me this. I did notice a dry mouth at first but not much now. After a couple of weeks it clearly skin very well. Sometimes I may have one or two pimples but thats it. But if I forget to take a pill my face breaks out! Thats the only downside Ive had.