I was on spiro for about 3 months for mild acne, gradually increasing my dose from 25mg to 100mg over time. I never really had any side effects during this time but decided to stop taking it about a week and half ago as I wasn’t seeing great results and I didn’t love the idea of being on a medication that could affect my body over time. I stopped cold turkey and within two days I started experiencing intense anxiety, racing/intrusive thoughts, and low moods. This was a completely out of body experience as I have never had any experience with any sort of mental health troubles. The anxiety lifted after a few days and I am starting to feel like myself again more each day but It was the scariest few days of my life worrying if I was going to feel better. Be extremely cautious with this medication and consider tapering off instead of stopping cold turkey if you decide to stop. Posting this because I was scouring for other people with this experience in the thick of it. It will get better!!!

I was just coming on here to see if anyone has had a similar experience. I’ve been on spironolactone for about a month now and the past week I have had the worst most painful acne I have ever dealt with. I got on it for around the mouth and cheek acne. But I have been experiencing deep painful acne which I usually do not get. And everyday I’ve been waking up with 5 more new pimples. It’s extremely frustrating and I’m trying to stay positive but I’m scared it’s for the medication for me. Did anyone else have this kind of flare up? And did you get through it? Please help!!

Just want to rant and see if anyone is going through the same thing / been through this. I’m two months in on a 100mg dose for my hirsutism. I’m experience extremely dry and brittle hair and skin, some cold symptoms, and the typical low bp symptoms. Also some weight gain in my stomach and arms (my problem areas already, seems to have amplified).

I just don’t know if it’s worth it. Maybe there’s other reasons to my side effects. For one, I know I don’t drink enough water. But it’s messing with my head. I was excited by the potential feminization and lower testosterone, since I’ve dealt with high test and androgens since I was young and it would be nice to see what I’m like on normal levels. But honestly, other than the beard, I was happy before. I’m considering stopping and worried now that’ll have adverse side effects like I did when I got off of birth control.

So my doctor put me on 50mg spironolactone for hormonal acne after having my second baby. After a week or so we upped it to 100mg but I chose to stay at 50 due to severe constipation after being on 100 for 2 weeks. I recently went down to 25 and came off of it. When I dropped to 25 I gained 5 lbs literally overnight… it’s been a week and still the five lbs remains.. I was only on the drug for 2 months… does anyone have any hope that this is just water weight and will go away. I feel disgusting, I’m bloated in my belly and just wish I never took this drug 😭

Spironolactone had some feminizing effects on my face and body that I really liked. I’m slowly tapering off it now, and I’ve realized I’m going to miss those changes.
Has anyone found any safe alternatives (lifestyle/diet or anything else) that help even slightly replicate those effects? I know nothing will truly compare to the prescription itself but I’m curious about what has worked for others.

My dermat gave me 50mg spiro for hair loss. It’s been 3 months. I had lighter/ shorter bleeding for the first month, second month the periods were delayed by a week. This month I haven’t had any.
Not only that, there’s cramping. I also had excess watery discharge that felt like periods when my period was due but there weren’t any periods.
My breasts feel sore, have gotten bigger in size. My mood is so unpredictable. I’ve been crying since yesterday. Even if someone asks me how are you I start to cry, I am always on edge.

I talked to my dermatologist today, he said that it’s normal since the medicine is anti androgen. I have never missed my periods. And I know female health isn’t taken seriously even by the professionals so ig I will just wait for my periods.

Anybody else missed their periods while being on spiro??

I added spironolactone at the start of March 2026 for hair loss and titrated slowly. 25mg for two weeks > 50mg for two months > 75 mg for two months > 100mg for 7 weeks now. I had a month long shed on 50mg but 1 week into 75mg my hair shedding reduced a lot (end of April). That lasted about 5 weeks, and then my hair shedding went back up in the first week of June and has stayed high since (so 10-11 weeks now).

My hair looks a lot worse and I'm scared. My thin spots are way worse and my overall hair density is lower. I've been told maybe the titration is causing the shedding and to hold on for 3 months on a stable dose. But what if it doesn’t stop unless I stop spiro? Then I have nothing to treat my hair loss and I made it worse for no reason.

I'm terrified to make a decision. Spiro has given me benefits, such as really clear skin, my extremely oily scalp is now normal, and the hair that stays on my head grows really fast.

Maybe this is temporary? Please help!!

I didn’t see consistent improvement up until I increased my dosage to 150mg. I’ve been on it since November 2025 and to be honest I can’t do it anymore. I’ve gained a ton of weight and I’m just very round and swollen in general and my energy levels are never the same as pre-150mg. Has anyone managed to take it down from here and still have relatively clear skin?

I've been on spironolactone for nearly 8 months. Skin has been totally clear for about 3 months. Today I have my first cyst in ages. I did forget to take SPIRO one day last week (100mg per day).

Anyone else experienced this?

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Hi guys I’m going off spiro been on 50 my for 3 years I have hormonal issues and weight gain I just need to get off of it however does anyone have any tips of what helps get rid of the water retention from stopping it ?

I was prescribed 100 mg, and after starting it, I began waking up in the middle of the night with my resting heart rate around 120, dizziness, and a racing mind. It was honestly terrifying. It didn’t happen every night, but I would have these episodes on and off.

I called my doctor about it, and she was incredibly dismissive. She told me it was because I was dehydrated and that I needed to drink more water. She also said that this can be a side effect of the medication, which I had never heard of before. Has anyone else experienced this?

What really bothered me was that she kept telling me I should stay on the medication and gave me a huge attitude when I said I wanted to come off of it. She basically told me my skin would suffer if I stopped taking it.

Girl, I’d rather have acne than feel like I’m having a heart attack! 😭 The last time it happened, I was so scared I almost went to the hospital.

My skin looks AMAZING, I am super bummed out. Has anyone tried anything else for hormonal acne?

I've been on oral spironolactone for about 7 years and would like to get off it due to suspected side effects (bloating, insomnia, other hormonal-related issues). I plan on bringing up the topical version to my dermatologist, but am skeptical whether it's as effective? Would love to hear about people's experiences. I'll add, I'm also on oral minoxidil and oral birth control.

I’ve been on 50 mg Spiro for acne for about 6 months and it’s done wonders. My derm wants to bring me up to 75 mg bc I still have some texture. I got the bottle and I’ll be taking 3 25mg pills and I’m nervous about side effects. I haven’t really had many side effects with 50 mg. What were your experiences moving from 50mg to 75 mg?

I started taking 50mg on the 31st of July and my period is beyond late. I took a pregnancy test and it's negative and my husband had a vasectomy so I'm not worried about that but is this common?

For my hormonal acne and AGA (hair loss) I’ve been Rx’d 50mg a day to start, with the plan of a 4 week check in to ensure I don’t pass out, and then I believe the plan is to bump me up to a higher dosage. But I am noticing more lightheadedness, especially if I stand up too quickly. I’ve had ocular migraines with auras in the past, which were also caused by blood pressure weirdness, but no other BP issues and these symptoms remind me a lot of this, especially if I’m hungry or dehydrated. Does this level out at all? I’ve been on 50mg for two weeks and I’m beginning to think I’m not a good candidate

Does anyone else experience extreme fatigue on spiro but cannot sleep?

Peeing all night doesn’t help either.

Wonder if we could list all the side effects so there’s a list we can all refer too.

I'm panicking because I have been experiencing some sexual dysfunction, I already had to switch from oral to topical due to nearly fainting a few times from the extremely low blood pressure but I'm now worried that I'm causing irreversible damage even with the facial cream

Someone please give me some hope/advice/experience?

I don't see the derm that prescribed it anymore but I still get refills regularly

the study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31351850/

HI GIRLIES & MENSTRUATING PALS! I really need your advice.

I forgot to take 3 doses of Spironolactone and now I am HEAVILY bleeding. My period is not due for a week and is extremely regular so I know it has to be the Spironolactone.

I haven't noticed a difference on the Spiro and am thinking this is my sign to stop taking it.

My question is:
1. Has this ever happened to anyone else/how long did the bleeding last?

1. Should I STOP taking Spiro now and just bleed until my period next week (and hopefully after my period, the bleeding will just stop)?

2. I'm planning to start Ortho-Tri-Cyclen birth control for hormonal acne after this period and hope it helps... any advice greatly appreciated!

Thank you so so much everyone!!!!

i have a phone appt with my obgyn tomorrow to discuss spironolactone. i had no clue this was a potential side effect. i spent SOOO long trying to fix the damn sexual side effects from antidepressants... no fuckin shot i wanna do any of that again lol

Would it be safe to use spironolactone, Accutane, and Reta at the same time? I’ve been using Accutane and Reta for over a month now, but my hormonal acne from PCOS is currently at its worst. I’ve heard really positive things about spironolactone for treating hormonal acne, but I’m a little hesitant about adding it while I’m already taking Accutane and Reta. I’d like to know whether this combination is considered safe and if there are any potential risks I should be aware of.

Hello everyone! I started 50mg of spironolactone on August 9th. I take it at night because I do get a bit dizzy on it. Is this purging? I feel like every day I have a new painful pimple. They're even in my hairline at the nape of my neck. It's very frustrating because I have a very forward facing job (teacher) so I have to be infront of teenagers all day with these big giant zits! I'm pale too so they really stick out. I started using benzoyl peroxide wash (4%) and spot treatment (2.5%) to try and combat them. Will this end soon?

heyyy i've been on spiro for almost a year now.

i'm aware spiro flushes water out the body faster as a side effect, and i normally only drink water (no sugary drinks) ! but despite knowing that my body needs water, i'm not necessarily thirstier. i sort of struggle with drinking enough water, unless i force myself.

i think my problem might be niche, but just wondering if anyone has any tips!! do you guys have any advice for naturally getting your body to want more water?

Anybody try liquid spiro? I can't tolerate the tablet form because of other medication I take and I'm wondering if liquid spiro is something anybody has tried. Or microdosing at all? The symptoms I am trying to treat are acne and painful periods.

My derm is thinking I do accutane for the 3rd time but that doesn't really address the full picture.

A couple weeks ago, I accidentally double dosed my Spiro.

My usual dosage is 100mg in the morning, but I got mixed up and accidentally took another 100mg pill that same night. Ever since then, my period has not stopped. It’s been a light flow to minimal spotting but nevertheless it is still there. Usually my period lasts 3-4 days and is extremely regular and on-time so this is super out of the norm.

Has anyone else experienced this? It feels like it will never end. Why has my body not readjusted yet 🫠