3 months and 2 weeks on Spiro and 100% clear!!

[22Girl]

I've had acne for over 10 years and after 3 months on spiro I am 100% clear. I have some old red marks and some permanent dents (which I'll learn to live with.. ) but no pimples! It is fantastic!! This last week (just to test the waters) I ate a whole block of chocolate, candy, chips and other junk. With spiro I don't even break out when I eat that kind of food anymore.. mind you, it didn't make me feel well, so I'll go back to my healthy diet.

Re: dosage. I took 100mg a day for the 1st month, 75mg the second month, 50mg the third month and in the past 2 weeks have just taken 25mg per day. I wish I'd been told about this 10 years ago!!! Acne wrecked the best years of my life.

[malia81]

i may have asked you this already but how bad was your acne before? was it just breakouts around the time of your period?

also, did the doctor tell you to taper off the spiro? i stopped taking it because i was getting an irregular breathing rate on 100mg a day and i was afraid i'd lose my sexual drive or mess up my menstrual period.

do you have any problems with that?

[joeh]

thats great girl 22!you must have sensative sebasious glands to testosterone.this drug has been out over 25 years ago.it could have saved me many years of grief from cystic acne.thats pretty good you can control your skin on 25mgs.it been almost 22 months for me.

[helpwiththis]

what's spiro?

[turbonamja]

Originally Posted by helpwiththis

what's spiro?

Spironolactone (Aldactone), With problems related to excessive testosterone effect spiro can only help, it will not make them worse. As with any medication, it does not work as well for everybody. Usually however, it does help. It does work slowly so the problem, especially alopecia, may get worse before the medication starts to work.

Spiro can cause mild dehydration due to increased salt and water loss. This can almost always be prevented by drinking plenty of water. Some need to increase salt intake but this needs to be discussed with your doctor.
Spiro sometimes makes periods come closer together but this can be prevented by taking it with birth control pills - again, something to discuss with your doctor.

Spiro may work best when combined with other medications, especially when the testosterone level is high. Of course, as with any medication which blocks testosterone, it is essential not to be taking it if pregnant. Effective contraception is a must.

Just to repeat: spironlactone will not make acne, increased hair growth or alopecia worse!

Just some information that I got for Spiro ... hope this helps. I am not sure the dermatologist will give you spiro if you are a guy, its made for women. There is a post on this board that males have taken spiro but I heard that it kills sex drive and all that, something I do not want to give up