r/Spironolactone

I’m just here to vent. This medication really ruined my skin and my confidence. I just went on it for cyclical acne but I wish I had never done that. My skin is absolutely terrible now because I’m purging and my confidence has gone with it. And because you don’t “purge” in a classic sense on this, I feel so gaslit. And there’s no hope if it gets any better. And if so, when. Today’s my birthday and I feel terrible and don’t want to go out and celebrate. I wake up with new pimples every day and it’s over 7 weeks now and it.just.won’t.get.better!

I’m on spironolactone, and have been since April. I have been basically bleeding since the end of May. Like it’ll be worse some days and a little bit lighter some days. But it’s not spotting because I’m soaking through pads and tampons. I’m on it for PCOS (hirtuism , I may have spelled it wrong) and I hadn’t even had a period since I gave birth in October. I know periods can be weird postpartum but this just feels like something is wrong but I think it could be the Spiro too. Has anyone else experienced so much bleeding in a month while being on it.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some brutal honesty and shared experiences because I am at my absolute wit's end with my chin hair. I’ve been on Spironolactone for 6 months total. I started at 100mg for the first 4 months, and I’ve been on 200mg for the last 2 months. So far? Zero improvement. Honestly, I’d wager my chin hair is actually worse and spreading.

(Side note on the dosage: I know 100mg seems high to start, but I have a heart condition and have been on blood pressure meds for years. The Spiro actually replaced a different medication, so as far as my cardiovascular system is concerned, it’s a weak dose/swap, but I am taking it now specifically to target this hair). This is officially my final try before I throw in the towel and invest in electrolysis. Before I talk to my doctor about stopping, I have a few questions for anyone who has been through this:

* Did Spiro ever actually work for your facial hair? If it did, how long did it take before you noticed a real change in texture or growth speed? Did it take longer than 6 months?

* Has anyone had it just straight-up not work? Did you give it a full year at 200mg and still see nothing?

* What happens when you quit? If you stopped taking it, did you experience a massive hormonal rebound flare? (More hair, acne, etc.?)

Don't worry, I won't stop taking it cold turkey without talking to my doctor first since it affects my blood pressure. I'm just tired of taking a daily pill that feels like it's doing absolutely nothing for my face.

Would love to hear your experiences good, bad, etc. Thanks in advance.

I'm also on a GLP-1 and have had to add kiwi and edamame to my diet to help cope with side effects (lack of dietary fiber, inability to probably absorb synthetic folate). These things were chosen because they fit into my calorie limit and/or help meat protein requirements.

Unfortunately these are BOTH moderate to high potassium foods, do I need to cut things like this out or is okay as long as avoid like, bananas?

I’ve been on spiro for 3 months now and just recently started taking 100mg a day (my final dose). However I’ve noticed my under eye wrinkles have become much more prominent in the past month. I’m only 24 and don’t have wrinkles elsewhere so I’m pretty sure it’s because of spiro (maybe dehydration?) rather than me just ageing 5 years in a months time.

I’m wondering if anyone’s experienced this before?

And also how much water should we really be drinking on this medication? I admit I probably haven’t been drinking enough but I don’t have any other dehydration symptoms otherwise.

Thanks!

Spiro is working absolute wonders for me (100mg) BUT it’s messing with me periods and i’m a little worried. Once i started 100mg i didn’t have a period for 4 months. I finally got it at the start of this month and it was the lightest period ever with little cramps (unusual for me i have a copper iud IYKYK) since then i’ve been spotting for about a week. Has anyone else experienced this? I came off the contraceptive pill because of spotting and i do not wanna deal with this again :(

Hi there, I'm 39 year old female and have been dealing with chronic skin issues (acne and perioral dermatitis) for over 4 years, i finally caved and started taking Spiro in October, I would say that within a month I noticed lower mood, but really wanted my skin to clear up and didn't think it was too bad, but over the last 9 months it has been a slow but steady decline with my mental health, culminating in this last week where I felt suicidal. I started seeing all of these posts about perimenopause and in addition to extremely low mood, and irritability, I also feel like I can't remember anything and have joint aches. I went to see my dr and she said that I have low ferritin (24) and that although rare Spiro can have side effects of depression and confusion/brain fog, so before she explores anything like HRT she wants to see how I feel off of spiro and then maybe put me on Wellbutrin. She says that if my other perimenopause symptoms persist (brain fog, irritability, joint aches, night sweats) then she will look at HRT for me. Has this happened to anyone else - specifically severe depression from being on spiro??

My doctor has me on a titration plan starting with 25mg for 7 days, then 50mg for 7 days, 75mg for 7 days, followed by 100mg, and I will stay there. I've been trying to read on here to see how others have handled a titration like that, but I haven't found many who have done it.

Should I talk to my doctor about switching to give myself more time on each dose? It’s not a problem, but it just seems like it's not very common, though I’m only going off Reddit posts lol.

Hi everyone! I started spironolactone titrating up to 50mg in the morning and 50mg at night in late April and in late May developed what I thought was a sinus infection with sinus pain, severe dizziness and general malaise. I took 3 antibiotics where 2 caused horrible side effects. Then I went to see an Ear Nose Throat specialist 2 days ago and he said he didn’t see any evidence of a sinus infection even with a CT Scan.

I just have slight facial pressure but very little pain.

He said he suspected vestibular migraines and gave me medication if a migraine hits plus told me to follow up with my Primary Care doctor but I have a feeling the dizziness is from the spironolactone during the day.

I messaged my dermatologist but I don’t think she understood my question. I think I should take the 2 50 mg tablets at night as she did say in an appointment that it’s better to be dizzy at night. I didn’t take the 50mg tablet this morning to see how I feel today.

I haven’t been able to go in the office to work as the dizziness has been debilitating.

What do you think? Thanks!

Hey guys, I'm gonna post this here in case someone has had a similar question before. I'm a 28F who's had acne since puberty, have been prescribed multiple mostly topical treatments (ex: benzoyl peroxyde) with limited effectiveness.

In recent years my acne has become more typically "hormonal" : primarily on my chin/jawline with bad flares ~7 days before my period, and often deep cysts that leave scarring. Before you ask about Accutane, I've struggled with mental health issues for years so that's not an option I want to consider (the risk is just too high).

My older sibling, who has similar skin to mine, recently tried spironolactone and got good results from it; that's why I became curious about it in the first place. And I admit I wouldn't mind some of the possible side effects like having bigger boobs or generally looking more "feminine."

I spoke to a nurse practitioner about this and she mentioned birth control could also be an option. I'm not as keen on that, mostly because I've never been on birth control before and there seem to be so many different meds that it's a bit overwhelming.

Has anyone here hesitated btw spiro and birth control, or tried both before?

I’m just finding out that some people breakout after switching spironolactone manufacturers? Does that mean different manufacturers give different results? I’m currently taking the pill that says 662 on it. I’ve been taking it for 3 months now, i started the medication in march, and i’m still breaking out, has anyone seen good results from this specific pill?

Has anyone taken this medication before. How did it make you fee? I just started two days ago. I take 100 mg once daily. I’m taking this for HS not for any other reason.

I’m worried about starting it now when I have 2 events in the next week where I will have alcohol, because I’m worried about the dehydration and having to go to the toilet so much.

I’m worried about getting too high potassium and having a heart problem, because my diet consists of Avocado, tomato, potatoes, beans. Not every day but I probably eat each at least twice per week.

I guess I’m just nervous in general. But I’m hopeful it will help me.

Should I wait to start until I don’t have any events on? I have a gig and a friends birthday in the coming days.

Title basically. I've been taking brand name Aldactone for 4 months, now at 100mg. My only side effect is 9 pounds of weight gain/cellulite/fat in very estrogen-like places (butt/thighs/upper arms).

I workout 5-6 times per week of a mix of kickboxing, HIIT, muay thai, and running 3-4 miles outside, live in a walking city, and eat clean, so none of those things changed. Actually I'm more active now than before, but my diet is just as clean as before - I'm very intentional.

For those that either didn't gain any weight or lost weight, please share who your manufacturer is. Thank you!!

I have been on spiro now for ten months, two months ago my dose was increased to 100 to try and reduce the final spots that were persistently coming up. I actually wouldn’t say the increase has made much of a difference, I still get a few.

However I have noticed getting increasingly more depressed recently, something I suffered with about 10 years ago. I also was on Accutane 10 years ago, coincidence?

It’s actually very bad now and I was wondering could this cause this at all? I do have a lot of external factors which has triggered a lot, so I can’t really know for sure. But just curious if anyone else has experienced low mood?

I have LOVED being on this, my skin is so much clearer. I felt like a shell of a person before as I was so insecure but now I feel empty inside. Great timing 🤣

I am planning on asking my OBGYN but can’t get in for a few weeks - curious what others were advised in similar situations, seems like it can vary from advising to stop once getting a positive test all the way to 6 months before trying

i’ve been on this med for 2,5 weeks now (50 mg, for excessive hair growth and hair thinning) and a symptom that i struggle with a lot is the hot flashes and heat intolerance / not being to tolerate heat as well as before. i was wondering if any of you have had this and if it ever went away and if it did — how long did it take for it to go away?

Okay this is a lot but I will try to keep it as simple as possible. Here are the basics:

I’m a 31 year old woman who has had acne since I was 18. I was recently diagnosed with PMDD, which explains a lot of my other symptoms and definitely explains the hormonal pattern of my acne. When that diagnosis was made, we measured my hormones and found that my testosterone is on the lower end. I take progesterone to manage PMDD symptoms.

I had my first dermatology appointment today and the first thing she prescribed was spironilactane. Starting off with 50mg/day for a week and then increasing to 100mg/day.

I immediately contacted my pcp to check in with her because a medication that’s whole purpose is to disrupt hormone production seems like it could be problematic. She is unfortunately on vacation (she deserves it!!!!) and won’t be able to answer until she returns.

Has anyone had experience with this combination?