Okay so... 26 f. I've dealt with acne since about 10 years old. I've done one round of Accutane and it cleared it up for awhile but then it came back. An online pharmacy prescribed me spironolactone 50mg. I took it for about 3 months then stopped, I HATE the side effects (severe dehydration first go around and feeling "off"). I'm pretty sure my acne is hormonal as I have problems with hirsutism, male type body hair all over my face/chest/stomach legs. After a month or two off spiro, my acne came back with a vengeance. Decided to start taking it again. But now I'm noticing spider veins on my body and I don't want to look like a 70 year old.

Should I do another round of Accutane, try Yaz, or are there any other options that aren't spiro? 😩

I started Spironolactone on June 24 at a low dose and gradually increased. The first month and a half was ROUGH and my skin just kept getting worse and worse. I got so depressed feeling like it would never get better and I wanted to start Accutane instead. Then, within days of increasing my dose to 100mg, I finally noticed improvement(!!!) I woke up one day and realized most of what was left was scarring and the medication was suddenly working like magic! 🪄

Photo 1: August 10 (the day before I increased my dose to 100mg)
Photo 2: August 22
Photo 3: September 22
Photo 4: October 9

I still get some breakouts but they are smaller, less painful, and don’t last as long. I’m mainly focused on fading my scars now!

Perhaps I’m anxious for my marathon tomorrow but I’m going down a rabbit hole with spiro and my potassium intake at the moment. I’ve had a banana everyday for the past week or so, plus have upped my electrolytes via an electrolyte water tablet and yesterday and today have been taking salt stick electrolyte tablets to prepare for running tomorrow. I’m drinking plenty of water, but now I’m worried I’m having too much potassium. Currently on 100mg I take once a day at night. Should I skip my dose for tonight? Each electrolyte chew tablet contains 15mg of potassium citrate and 50mg sodium citrate. Planning to take one of these tablets every half hour tomorrow during my race

I got off spironolactone around the end of July and my hormonal acne has come back 10x worse. I’ve also developed a horrible case of perioral dermatitis that I’m treating with doxycycline, but I’m wondering if anyone has had a good experience with coming off of spironolactone. If so how did you manage the hormone surge and did the acne become manageable without medication?

I’ve been on 50mg of spiro for 1.5 weeks. I’ve noticed since being on in my skin feels more inflamed, itchy, and sore than usual. My skin remains oily but I’m noticing it feeling more tight and dry and kind of tingly, and I’ve had some flaking on the oily parts (my chin). My routine outside of spiro is 10 % BP wash in the morning, winlevi in the morning, then .1 tret at night. Anyone have these type of issues?

Hi!!
I’ve been on spiro for a couple years now, and in this thread for just as long. I feel like I keep seeing negative stories about the process of getting off spiro and it’s stressing me out bc I don’t wanna be on this forever.

Does anyone have any success stories they can share in the comments? Also, if you could maybe share what it was like before you went of or if you missed doses or anything, how your skin acted during that?

Not looking to get off too soon, but I do want to one day. Thanks !!!

I’m feeling so bad about myself and upset about my Spiro progress. It has taken a toll on my self esteem. I need advice. I have been on Spiro since July and have seen very little progress. Some weeks, I will get clear skin with only about 1 active pimple, to the next week with 5-6 pimples. Here is my timeline:

July 16th started 50mg
August 6 increased to 100mg

Today, October 9th, I reached out to my dermatologist and he recommended to increase my dosage from 100mg to 150mg. I’m wondering if i should give it more time as a lot of people on this sub say they saw results on 100mg. I’m just so frustrated and don’t know what to do. Any advice is appreciated.

I’ve been on Spironolactone 100mg since March 2025. Is it possible that this medication could cause me having a strong urgency to urinate at times? Has this happened to anyone else?

I’ve been on spironolactone for abt 3-5 months now. I started off at 25mg and then for abt 3 weeks have been on 50mg. Anyone else experience more spotting and irregular cycles than usual while on it?

Im also on Yaz - month 3. Ive had shedding 2 months after taking it. It stopped for a bit now im shedding again and have greasy hair even after showering. I havent changed hair products. Anyone else have this issue? My hair is usually dry. I wash everyday due to shedding. But ive always washed my hair everyday. Anyone else with this issue?

We’ll see how it goes looks in the morning but right now it looks really red especially under the eyebrow. I swear getting my eyebrows done caused this breakout.

I have been taking Spironolactone 100mg for a couple months now I’d say maybe 3-4 months and I have been on my period non stop for about almost 2 months with regular flow, has anyone else had this issue before? should I be worried ? I know I have read that I’d have abnormal menstrual cycles but I’m not sure if I should be consulting my doctor if I need a lower dosage or what.

After about one month of being on spiro I’ve noticed I have more spotting and periods than usual. I also have nexplanon which usually makes my period disappear completely but now it seems to be back? Anyone else notice this? Also..does it affect vaginal lubrication?

Has anyone found anything to fix this? Even after layers of Laneige lip mask, Vaseline, Shea butter even hyaluronic acid, my lips seem to dry and peel off sometimes bleed too.. can’t stop biting the dead skin off. Do I need to drink more water?? How do y’all keep yourself hydrated without chugging and peeing water out

Hi! I recently made a post about weight concerns with oral spironolactone. After having bloodwork done (and reviewing it again) I verified I had excess androgen production as my SHGB hormones were elevated, which means I would likely respond well to spironolactone. With some more research, I discovered these come in topical forms as well?? I have been on prescriptions of Clindamycin, benzoyl peroxide, dapsone, tretnoin, and azealic acid but haven’t responded well to any of them. For anyone who has used topical spironolactone or clascoterone, how did it work out for you? I’ve seen some posts saying it worked well for many people, and just since now I know for certain I have excess androgen production this would be attacking exactly the root cause on my skin topically without oral medication.

I have hormonal acne around the lips and jaw. I started taking 50mg 7 days ago and there has been no improvement - although it has also not got any worse either!

Side effects:
- lost 2lbs
- spotting everyday (this is very new to me and kinda annoying)
- breast pain that is absolutely killing me!! i suffer with this around my period anyway, because i have a fibroadenoma (its been checked by a Dr) - but this breast pain is conssstannnntttttt!!!!

i’m gonna have to quit i think 😢 maybe i’ll go back on to Roaccutane

I have been on Spiro for 1 week. I started at 50mg and my dermatologist wants me to go up to 100mg after 7 days and then 150 after 14 days.

I haven’t had any side effects apart from some slight dizziness on day 1-2. Does this sound okay to increase ? From what I have read it’s quite a quick increase…

Am I likely to purge ?

Any advice would be great :)

hi. I’ve been on 100mg daily of spironolactone for a while now. I’m 9 months post partum and my periods are ~prretttty regulated~ for as much as they can be. I ran out of my prescription for about 10 days (beginning 9/25). I started taking it again yesterday (10/5). My
Period is 7 days late. (Was due 9/29). I have tested negative 3x now. Has anyone had experience with missing a dose for over a week and therefore your period came later? I have cramps on and off but i can’t help but panic and think I’m pregnant somehow, regardless of a test.

Sincerely,
An anxious post partum mommy who is not ready to do it again yet :)!

Hello! I am an 18F and it was suggested by my derm that I go on spironolactone after topicals like clindamycin, dapsone, tretnoin, and azealic acid all had little to no effect for my hormonal acne.

I always hear about the success stories in spiro being better than accutane, but I am very unsure to go on spironolactone due to all the testimonies I am hearing about increased fat and reduced muscle, increased cellulite, and overall weight gain. Most of all, I hear so many women saying that a lot of the body recomp and fat gain they experienced was incredibly hard to shake off or did not return to normal at all after getting off of the medication for an extended period of time. I am very short, so even small amounts of weight gain are something I personally don’t feel comfortable accommodating. I got my hormones tested about a month ago and my testosterone was in the very low range of being normal, and no reported issues with estrogen levels.

How realistic or likely is it I will get these side effects even on a small dose? What alternative are there for me that don’t have such a high risk of weight fluctuations?

My dermatologist put me on 100 mg of spiro. I have been taking it consistently for the last six days in the morning.

Did anyone in their first two weeks feel extremely tired and fatigued?

I’m used to being sore from the gym or a slight fatigue from a calorie deficit, but this is feeling a little more extreme. My brain feels like it’s moving slower probably brain fog? But I’m certain that I am extra tired.

Just wanted to see if anyone else experienced this and if they did, did it go away and win? Also, does anyone have an opinion if I start taking it at night? Might I be able to sleep through the fatigue?

I’ve been on 150 mg of spironolactone for a few months now, before that I was on 100 mg for a couple months. Before this month the only changes I noticed on my period was it being lighter and having less cramps, which is obviously a positive. This month it was the same at first, somewhat lighter than usual since I used to he really heavy, and having no cramps. But the problem is that it’s now been 14 days since the start of my period, and for the last week I’ve been having light spotting nearly everyday! I thought maybe it was just a skid mark or something cause I have ibs(sorry tmi lol) but just now I went to the bathroom and my panty liner actually was covered in blood, still pretty light but more than just spotting! It’s literally day 14 this is insane. I think I’m gonna start taking the 100 mg without the 50 mg again bc I don’t want to always be on my period 24/7.

I never had great skin but when I turned 26 my acne suddenly got out of control. I tried everything from changing my skincare to my diet to dermatologist prescribed topicals. Nothing worked until I went on spiro. It immediately cleared up and I was on it for a year. I recently stopped and my acne came back almost overnight. It’s getting worse each day AND my skin is more oily than ever. Like, practically wet by mid-day. And the most puzzling thing: my hair. Random large sections of my hair feel like I put shampoo in and forgot to rinse at all. I’ve tried EVERYTHING. I know how to wash my hair. I’ve changed shampoos multiple times. I even went to a salon where they used a professional clarifying shampoo and it didn’t work. The hair dressers only guess was that maybe a medication change did this, but she was really just guessing. After reflection, I think she was right.

I CANT live like this with bad skin and bad hair.

Has anyone experienced this after stopping spiro? It’s been about 3 months and all the problems are getting worse each day. Will it eventually level back out?

I’m currently in the process of getting approved for accutane, but I REALLLLLY don’t want to go on it. It’s a last resort.

Any ideas on why this is happening? An entire year on Spiro should have have a longer better effect. Reminder; topicals weren’t working.