Still breaking out on Spiro

Rosieroo22 · 09-06-2006, 07:11 PM

Ok, so I'm 21 years old, and the last time that I had pretty moderate acne was when I was a Sophmore in high school. It cleared up pretty quickly and didn't really leave any scars. Well lately about the past 5 months, I've noticed my acne getting worse and worse by the day. I've been noticing these tiny bumps all over the sides of my face (like the ones you can only see in the light), and also cystic painful acne. I went to the Derm. and she put me on minocycline at first. I tried it for about a month, and noticed nothing but it getting worse. She also had me using Retin-A (which I have stopped, because it was doing nothing), and my face seemed to get even worse after I stopped using it. So I went back and she decided to put me on Spiro. as well as Bactrim. I am on 50 mg of Spiro in the morning, and then Bactrim in the morning and before bed. So far I haven't noticed anything...I can sort of see an improvement in the oil production, but the ance is still comming. Point being, is this just not the right combination for me or should I give it more time before I criticize? Thanks so much!

LisaMarie982001 · 09-06-2006, 07:53 PM

You should get the book The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman by Geoffrey Redmond. It talks all about Spiro and birth control pills and all kinds of things. Anyway it says you need about 100mgs to 200mgs for it to work on acne. And it takes about 2 to 4 months to work. I am on 100mgs and am on day 49. I have seen a major difference with the oil control, I don't have any oil any more. Before spiro I would wash my face and about a half hour later my face would be oily again. It sucked. I am still breaking out, but I think it was be/c of my birth control pills. My breakout all started from alesse so I stopped that and then switched to yasmin which wasn't the right birth control pill for me either so I had to go back to OTC again (I stopped using it a few years ago be/c of the mood swings I was getting, they were bad) but my face was great on it. So I am on day 3 on the birth control pill, so I'm hoping that things will start to work out now. And my derm did the same thing yours did. He put me on doxy first but that didn't help, it still isn't and I've been taking the doxy longer then the spiro. I don't put anything at all on my face be/c it just seemed to make it worse. How long have you been on spiro? I do think you need to be on a higher dose though. The book says some times 75 mgs can work. By the way I am 23 yrs old and I get cyst acne and it can be sooo painful

Rosieroo22 · 09-06-2006, 09:43 PM

Thanks so much for the response! I was starting to think that I wasn't on a high enough dose of the spiro. I tried taking Yasmin as well and that made my face worse. So I'm going to check with my derm. and see if I can up my dose. I am currently washing my face with Aveeno oatmeal cleansing bar, not too much of a difference. I'm going to try that for a while, but i've only been on the spiro for a month.

caliente · 09-06-2006, 10:24 PM

i agree, give spiro more time. its very slow to work, but it works well. 2-4 months like the other person said. and definitely talk to your derm about increasing your dosage to 100mg. i have been taking 100mg spiro for almost a month now and i'm still breaking out, but its significantly less than before. i also have a lot less oil. i used to have to touch up my makeup just a half hour after applying it, but now i can easily go half a day without any touch ups. its great.

babygirl2005_21 · 09-07-2006, 10:42 AM

You are not giving these drugs enough time to clear you. I used to be like you too and I would give up and the acne would just get worse. It took almost 2 months for Doxy. and Yasmin to clear me. And it did get alot worse before it got better but I stuck it out and I am glad I did! From what I have heard Spiro. takes even longer to show improvement like 3-4 months. Just stick with what you are doing and take your meds. every day and you will be clear soon! Good luck!