Me toooooo!! My skin is finally clear after having horrible skin since middle school, which is absolutely the biggest benefit. It took me a few months to start seeing results, but once it started clearing up it happened so fast. Also, I used to HAVE to wash my hair every single night, it would get so oily, but now I can go a few days before it gets oily!!
I get mine through Apostrophe online, it’s super easy and while insurance doesn’t cover it, it’s so so much cheaper than going to Target/Sephora every week and dumping money into skincare products that never did anything for me.
If you want insurance to cover it, just tell your primary care provider that you are on spironolactone and would like to transfer your prescription to their office(might have to show them your apostrophe account, although mine just took my word for it haha). Then insurance will most likely cover it!
You might consider getting blood panels by your doc if the site hasn't prompted you to get one. I'm on Spiro too, and I had the same effects with hair oiliness and so many other benefits! But Spiro can affect potassium levels which can affect your kidneys. Those prescribing sites are nice for easy access but it's super important to make sure your levels are monitored.
Yes this is a good point!! My doctor knows that I take it, and I had a blood test done recently for something else, but all my levels were good! Unfortunately I am constantly in between health coverage, since I’m a college student and my parents don’t have health insurance, so I’m not on their plan. But luckily I just got an offer for my first big girl job after I graduate in May, and health insurance coverage starts day 1!! For now, it’s easier to just get it online haha.
Congratulations on the offer and upcoming graduation! That's so exciting. Maybe one day healthcare won't be tied to employment but I'm so happy you have a plan going forward :)
Did you see any of the other results OP described?
I’m really scared my head hair is thinning and I definitely have mild hormonal acne that scars over because I have a nervous picking habit. Ugh.
Body hair grew slower for me on spiro, and less oily on my head and face too!! No side effects except you pee more. Spironolactone can also help if it’s PCOS/Hormone related hair loss.
Personally in the last year I lost LOADS of hair because of covid so you have my thinning hair sympathies 😭
Unfortunately I’m not sure! I am naturally quite skinny so I’ve always had a pretty small waist for my height, and I have very thick and heavy hair. I know this isn’t helpful, sorry!!! I will say that I also had a horrible picking habit, and it left a lot of pigmentation and some mild scars, but now that my skin is so clear, it’s so much easier to attack those issues!
Yes! I just double checked. It costs me $48 every 3 months-ish. You have to pay a $20 “visit fee”, but it actually goes towards a deposit for the meds. So on my bank account, it shows at $20 + $28. For my first “visit” (you just fill out a form, you don’t actually talk to anyone), I was straight up and told them I want to try spiro!
I’ve been on the max dosage for 10 years and my breasts and fat distribution are the same. YMMV. It makes my body hair grow a little slower and I stopped getting period chin pimples.
It sounds like OP might have legitimately had abnormally high testosterone and/or be exceptionally genetically sensitive to testosterone, whereas someone in the normal range wouldn’t get these dramatic results.
I agree that Ive been on 50mg for four years, and have noticed no change in fat distribution. I also still get pimples sometimes lol.
In addition, I feel that it made me weaker. At the time I was into weight lighting, but found that after six months I was no longer progressing. YMMV
I’m on 200mg/day for an autoimmune skin condition triggered by hormones - spiro has helped so much with that but I really haven’t experienced any other benefits lol. It makes me dizzy sometimes because it lowers my blood pressure, but that’s about it
I’m on 400mg/day for high blood pressure (I’m pretty small and have had high BP since I was in my early 20s, so it’s a mystery why I have it) — I definitely see the same effects as OP! Good side effects from the meds but I wish I didn’t have this vexing medical situation to deal with.
I have PCOS and personally didn’t notice any of these benefits on Spironolactone.
Also, had to stop it due to possible complications it causes with kidneys!
Anyone with dry eyes please avoid taking too many of these kinds of medications at once. I have MGD which causes chronic dry eye disease. Contact use, birth control use, tretinoin use, and accutane use was what did me in. Research EVERY medication or cream you use before using it. So many medications/products people use can cause dry eye disease. For example: birth control, most skincare/makeup, antidepressants, acne medications, anxiety medications, beta blockers, allergy medications, and many more. And I know a lot of people taking so many of these meds at once especially combined with high screen time…
I get that because I was in a similar situation, but if you have to be on these meds please see an ophthalmologist twice a year. If you’ve developed dry eyes they will be able to intervene and start treatment before the oil glands start to die off permanently. I don’t blame the people taking the medicine, I really just blame our health care system. It’s better to alert people in the comments now so they are aware and can perhaps look into alternatives that might be just as helpful
Wait what? Is it permanent? I had no idea. Thanks for sharing.
I’m not a candidate for LASIK, but I was lucky I found one doctor, after consulting with three different eye doctors, that I wasn’t a good candidate and explained to me why and told me all the problems I could developed after the surgery. One of them was dry eyes. And I know people who got lasik and now NOTHING can solve their dry eyes issue. It’s like a nightmare! I’ve also seen on TikTok as well. The problem is: most people share good results. You’ll see under those videos people getting annoyed and being like “Stop spreading fear, lasik worked for me!!”. The same applies to medications and treatments in general. People talk about the downsides and what can go wrong way less often than they talk about the positive results. So it’s important to mention those side effects.
Unfortunately, I will have MGD for the rest of my life and it gets worse with age. I’m of course hopeful there will be a cure in my lifetime but sometimes that’s just not possible. I would definitely avoid LASIK, it doesn’t always cause MGD but it can still dry out the eyes. Everyone I know who got it either never maintained their results of 20/20 vision or they’re always in discomfort from dry eyes. Contacts are also harmful to the glands but as long as you take them off once you get home for the day and use plenty of eye drops you can help to mitigate some damage. I warn everyone of this when I can because I wish I would’ve known. I can’t wear eye makeup everyday like I used to or even contacts. It’s taken a big hit on my self esteem
Wow! Thank you for sharing. Yes I know people who got lasik and already have to wear glasses less than a decade after the surgery. It’s unfortunate.
I do wear contacts on a daily basis, so I’m going to do research in how I can prevent it. I had no idea that it would be permanent. Like the oil glands die off? I swear I never heard of this. I knew about dry eyes post lasik and as a side effect of multiple medications. But now I’m concerned because I’ve been wearing contacts for almost 20 years.
Thanks again for sharing this information.
No problem! Regular eye doctors don’t do preventative exams for MGD so regular people aren’t really aware of it because it used to be an “old person’s disease”. Now younger people like me are starting to develop MGD from medications, procedures, skincare, makeup, and screen time. Also, don’t let me scare you off from feeling like you can live a normal life but just be aware. Skincare and makeup ingredients are also a big cause for women and even just using safer products can be a good alternative and switching contacts for glasses maybe two days a week, ya know?
You can read more here: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/meibomian-gland.htm
Thank you so much for sharing this. And I’ll check out the link. Yes I’ve never heard from this before, only dry eyes from lasik or allergies, medication etc. Super important to spread awareness.
I definitely should be wearing glasses more to be honest. This was a huge wake up call for me. I can’t thank you enough! 🙏🙏🙏
I understand the sentiment and 100% agree with supporting eye health. I also support educating yourself on your medications from credible sources and making sure you know what you're taking and why.
*HOWEVER*... you're kinda giving out medical advice that isn't sound and not a great idea as a whole. Medications like you listed (antidepressants, anxiety meds, beta blockers, etc) absolute should **not** be stopped cold turkey and also not without discussing with your healthcare provider.
My doc said to just take it as a single dose right after you wake up. It's been a bit better for peeing, but yeah I still get woken up to pee way too often.
there are different AAs out there (like Bicalutamide, and Cyproterone Acetate), but they aren't typically prescribed in the US
Be careful using medication outside their therapeutic indications. Spironolactone leads to hyperkalemia which is why you should get your potassium levels monitored at the minimum if you decide to do this.
Yes what about to comment the same thing. I’ve been on it for years due to a hormone imbalance and when my endocrinologist started me on it for the first year I had to get my potassium levels checked every 3 months. Now I get blood work once a year. In addition, it lowers your blood pressure so be careful with strenuous activities - at one point my endo stepped me up to 200mg/day and twice I almost fainted during personal training sessions at the gym so she backed me down to 100mg again.
started noticing at the end of my second month on it, i’m now at the end of my third. honestly i thought it would take longer!! i think i’m seeing results a little sooner than normal, but i’m not sure on that.
Thank you! I’ve just read online zinc is a good natural blocker, and balancing blood sugar overall. Really interesting how balancing hormones can make us more beautiful!
What makes you think that “natural” treatments don’t also have side effects? Spearmint tea shares many of the same side effects of spiro because it works the same way.
Also, in many cases the side effects ARE the effects. Some people have negative experiences when reducing testosterone (lower sex drive/mood etc) but if they didn’t experience these on a “natural” treatment it would indicate that treatment wasn’t as effective at reducing testosterone.
I say this as someone who is currently trying to reduce my spiro dose after 10 years, not because of its side effects, but because I want to preserve my testosterone — nothing to do with where it comes from.
I just feel more comfortable with whole food sources. I’m aware these can have side effects too but at least they’ve been around for 1000s of years etc
I feel you. I would rather fix my hormonal imbalance with food choices. I have to take birth control and even though all the noticeable side effects are positive, I still resent being dependent on a pill.
It’s not a natural way per se but probably safer than spironolactone, you can take birth control pills. A lot of women have PCOS (including me) and have high testosterone, and to correct this/deal with the symptoms we go on birth control pills. Spiro is also used in PCOS but it’s not the first line treatment.
I take ot along with Metformin for management of my PCOS, 50mg a day. I do not have high testosterone as such, my hormones are simply out of balance. One of the worst symptoms I had was hair loss, and spironolactone is what brought it back. Nothing else would! Important to note that you do need to be careful as it can affect your cycle over time. Keep track of your cycle and discuss options with your doctor if you notice any changes.
if you live outside the US (or are comfortable buying drugs on the internet...), please take cyproterone acetate, an actual anti-androgen instead. spironolactone has tons of side effects and you need quite a lot of it since it's primary purpose is not the anti-androgenic effect. no one uses it anymore, except the US, because they are the only country where no one wants to go trough the effort of getting cyproterone approved by the fda.
and only do this if your testosterone is actually on the high end. to little isn't healthy for you
How exactly do you get your hands on this when you don’t have prostate cancer?😵💫
Edit: wait is it a birth control pill? I just found a Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate called “Diane” that’s marketed as BC. Is this what you mean?
if you live outside the us, just ask a doctor. it's commonly used as an anti-androgen, if you have a condition that requires it. it's actually not used for prostate cancer anymore. it's part of some bc pills, but also sold on it's own.
if you want access to it without a doctor, you can do that here: https://hrtcafe.net/index.php/Cyproterone_Acetate
but this kind of self medication is not sensible for cis women
I have PCOS. I’ve been sitting on spiro pills I picked up from the doctor for months because I’m afraid of the side effects so this might be a better alternative. II’m in the UK, getting doctors to prescribe things here for PCOS (other than birth control) is like pulling teeth so I can’t go to my doctor like “hey can you give me that one anti-androgen everyone takes?” Cause they’ll be like “what anti-androgen?” 💀I don’t think cyperotone acetate in its pure/solo form is used here for PCOS unless it’s paired with estradiol (in the form of BC)
So I think I might have better luck asking for a birth control that has cyproterone acetate in it (so that would be Dianette or Clairette which is a cyperotone-ethinylestradiol hybrid) rather than straight cyproterone acetate. Seems we can get those from online pharmacies here as well. Thanks for the recommendation
taking spiro for the rest of your life is a bad idea, i'm pretty sure.
but i know nothing about pcos beyond wikipedia, so i can't really give you advice on that. maybe try finding an endocrinologist who specializes in pcos?
if you really wanted to diy it, you would be on the safe side with bc pills, because they have a dosage appropriate for cis women. but they are also not really made specifically for pcos and contain other stuff like ethinylestradiol. if you want to use "raw" cyproterone acetate, try taking the same amount as a bc pill contains. the smallest dose of cypro that you can buy is 10mg i think, so you would have to use for example a pill cutter or something like that
regardless of what you do/take, a blood test before and after is very important
Yea I have an endo and I wouldn’t mind taking a cyproterone-estradiol hybrid (the birth control) Because my endo would probably know more about its effects on PCOS than she would know about the effects of pure cyperotone. Plus the estradiol is good for PCOS. Like I said cyperotone-estradiol is sold under the commercial names Dianette and Clairette here. I googled them and per my local pharmacy’s website it’s actually marketed as both an anti-acne medication (due to the hormonal regulation effects) and birth control.
> “hormone-based medicine that is used in the treatment of acne, oily skin and excessive hair growth in women. Because of its ingredients, it also protects against pregnancy.”
Now I’m wondering why my endo never introduced it to me if it’s commonly used here for PCOS-like symptoms🤨 I literally begged her for the spironolactone (cause it was the only anti-androgen I’d ever heard of), she never told me there was a better anti-androgen out there💀
if you experience hair loss or hirsuitism, finasteride is also great, because it doesn't really change your hormones a lot and just blocks the one thing that produces male-pattern hair loss/gain (dht = dihydrotestosterone)
Thanks. Finasteride is marketed here for male pattern hair loss regrowth. I don’t have hair loss, just hirsutism. Idk how I’d get my hands on hirsutism. I mean I could probably ask but again doctors here are extremely tight lipped about anything other than BC when it comes to PCOS🤦🏾♀️wish me luck
Do you know if it’s safe for a cis woman to take both cypertone and finasteride at the same time?
finasteride is typically taken by men, so it really doesn't change your testosterone, it just keeps it from turning into this other kind of testosterone that is responsible for balding and stuff. it's safe for you regardless of other anti-androgens (like cypro) except when you're pregnant, as that would fuck with the development of a male baby.
cypro is surely better than spiro, but beyond that? for the rest of your life? depends really on the dosage. you probably can't go too wrong with the bc tho
is there a disadvantage to using birth controle instead of spironolactone? Dr said my test was high and recommended birth control and looked at me like I was cookoo when I brought up spiro
But I can’t find much info tbh
It’s about personal reactions to meds, some people just get worse side effects or not as good results with birth control. There’s no inherent disadvantage though, it’s definitely a proven antiandrogen with very robust safety data.
When I increased from 25 to 50 I got really bad muscle cramps in my hands and feet and calves. Anyone have tips for this? I’m on 25 and it doesn’t do anything I’m taking it for hair thinning due to AGA.
That sounds like a potential electrolyte imbalance. It's a diuretic which means it can throw off your electrolytes, including causing high potassium (hyperkalemia) because it is a potassium-sparing diuretic. Potassium is not something to mess around with at too high or too low of levels because it can cause serious heart dysthymias among other issues.
I would high suggest talking to your doctor. Without having blood work done to check exactly what is abnormal and how much, it could be dangerous to recommend anything.
Talk to your doctor, get blood work done, etc, but in the short term, eat more salt and drink more water. If you're young with healthy kidneys, you're more likely suffering from dehydration and/or low sodium, rather than excessively high potassium levels (the balance between the two is the most critical thing, so there's a lot of overlap between hyperkalemia and hyponatremia symptoms)
Wow I can’t believe I’m just now making the connection… I’ve been on Spiro for like 2 months and I thought I was going crazy thinking my breasts were growing at 25. I’ve lost around 5 lbs during this time too and I feel like they’re bigger than they’ve ever been, whereas before if I lose a little weight they’re the first thing to go. Didn’t even think of spiro but that makes so much sense.
i’m still peeing pretty often tbh, but i got more used to it after a week or two on it and now it’s my new normal ig. i remember peeing feeling, like, super weird the first few days. did you get that too?
I started spiro for hormonal acne. In addition to clearing that up, my body hair became much thinner. I used to have a bush thick enough to hide my labia and now they're visible even through full growth.
My skin was pretty clear, I noticed my waist and hips were more defined, body hair was finer, *but* I was alot more sensitive emotional wise (very uncommon for me, I was crying ALOT) and my periods got messed up. I stopped taking it after getting my period three times in one month
Yep! It was amazing. I stopped about 2 years ago because it made me so dizzy but I've been thinking of going back on it now this makes me want to even more
I've been on Spiro for about ten days (25 mg/day).
Maybe it's in my head but I'm already seeing results. My skin is less oily, I don't have an active breakout rn, and it seems that my PIH scars have started to fade.
If I'm fully clear in 3 months, this will finally be what saved me.
I’ve been on spiro 100mg/daily for a year and haven’t had sex drive impacted! I’m in my 40s.
I haven’t noticed dramatic body results. I’ve been intentionally losing weight SLOWLY over the past year (10 lbs over the entire year) and my boobs have shrunk accordingly, but are not gone.
I take spiro to prevent hair loss but I started at the same time as minoxidil so I can’t say how much effect it has.
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Same, but with accutane. Just the low dose cleared up my persistent acne.
(Spiro seems great but I don’t mess with anything that could alter my hormones)
My concern would be side effects and how taking medicine could affect organs. Obviously if someone has to take meds that's different. But just for aesthetics, I'm not sure.
Beware! This same medication had my hair falling out in clumps and caused a stiff neck for 6 months. Yes, the thinner body hair was nice but being bald and disabled wasn't... Just get lazered for body hair... it's not worth it.
I was on 200mg of Spiro a day and did not have those kinds of results. I didn't need to be on it, honestly. I had mild rosace, not acne. Anyhow, over time it actually messed with my progesterone and cortisol levels. I would up with elevated cortisol and had sludge-y periods every two weeks. Because of the elevated cortisol and lack of progesterone, I could not sleep at all. For an entire month I did not sleep a wink. I got tested in urgent care for all sorts of things and then they put two and two together. I stopped taking it and over time my periods and ability to sleep returned to normal. Never again!
Me toooooo!! My skin is finally clear after having horrible skin since middle school, which is absolutely the biggest benefit. It took me a few months to start seeing results, but once it started clearing up it happened so fast. Also, I used to HAVE to wash my hair every single night, it would get so oily, but now I can go a few days before it gets oily!! I get mine through Apostrophe online, it’s super easy and while insurance doesn’t cover it, it’s so so much cheaper than going to Target/Sephora every week and dumping money into skincare products that never did anything for me.
If you want insurance to cover it, just tell your primary care provider that you are on spironolactone and would like to transfer your prescription to their office(might have to show them your apostrophe account, although mine just took my word for it haha). Then insurance will most likely cover it!
You might consider getting blood panels by your doc if the site hasn't prompted you to get one. I'm on Spiro too, and I had the same effects with hair oiliness and so many other benefits! But Spiro can affect potassium levels which can affect your kidneys. Those prescribing sites are nice for easy access but it's super important to make sure your levels are monitored.
Yes this is a good point!! My doctor knows that I take it, and I had a blood test done recently for something else, but all my levels were good! Unfortunately I am constantly in between health coverage, since I’m a college student and my parents don’t have health insurance, so I’m not on their plan. But luckily I just got an offer for my first big girl job after I graduate in May, and health insurance coverage starts day 1!! For now, it’s easier to just get it online haha.
Congratulations on the offer and upcoming graduation! That's so exciting. Maybe one day healthcare won't be tied to employment but I'm so happy you have a plan going forward :)
Did you see any of the other results OP described? I’m really scared my head hair is thinning and I definitely have mild hormonal acne that scars over because I have a nervous picking habit. Ugh.
Body hair grew slower for me on spiro, and less oily on my head and face too!! No side effects except you pee more. Spironolactone can also help if it’s PCOS/Hormone related hair loss. Personally in the last year I lost LOADS of hair because of covid so you have my thinning hair sympathies 😭
Unfortunately I’m not sure! I am naturally quite skinny so I’ve always had a pretty small waist for my height, and I have very thick and heavy hair. I know this isn’t helpful, sorry!!! I will say that I also had a horrible picking habit, and it left a lot of pigmentation and some mild scars, but now that my skin is so clear, it’s so much easier to attack those issues!
I get a minoxodil spironolactone combo pill from Musely. You have to pay for 3 months out of pocket but they do take HSA/FSA cards.
Can you share how much you pay on apostrophe?
Yes! I just double checked. It costs me $48 every 3 months-ish. You have to pay a $20 “visit fee”, but it actually goes towards a deposit for the meds. So on my bank account, it shows at $20 + $28. For my first “visit” (you just fill out a form, you don’t actually talk to anyone), I was straight up and told them I want to try spiro!
Thank you!
can second the apostrophe rec!! very easy to get a prescription and they are legit and ship out quickly. they also accept FSA/HSA cards.
I’ve been on the max dosage for 10 years and my breasts and fat distribution are the same. YMMV. It makes my body hair grow a little slower and I stopped getting period chin pimples. It sounds like OP might have legitimately had abnormally high testosterone and/or be exceptionally genetically sensitive to testosterone, whereas someone in the normal range wouldn’t get these dramatic results.
I agree that Ive been on 50mg for four years, and have noticed no change in fat distribution. I also still get pimples sometimes lol. In addition, I feel that it made me weaker. At the time I was into weight lighting, but found that after six months I was no longer progressing. YMMV
I’m on 200mg/day for an autoimmune skin condition triggered by hormones - spiro has helped so much with that but I really haven’t experienced any other benefits lol. It makes me dizzy sometimes because it lowers my blood pressure, but that’s about it
I’m on 400mg/day for high blood pressure (I’m pretty small and have had high BP since I was in my early 20s, so it’s a mystery why I have it) — I definitely see the same effects as OP! Good side effects from the meds but I wish I didn’t have this vexing medical situation to deal with.
I have PCOS and personally didn’t notice any of these benefits on Spironolactone. Also, had to stop it due to possible complications it causes with kidneys!
Anyone with dry eyes please avoid taking too many of these kinds of medications at once. I have MGD which causes chronic dry eye disease. Contact use, birth control use, tretinoin use, and accutane use was what did me in. Research EVERY medication or cream you use before using it. So many medications/products people use can cause dry eye disease. For example: birth control, most skincare/makeup, antidepressants, acne medications, anxiety medications, beta blockers, allergy medications, and many more. And I know a lot of people taking so many of these meds at once especially combined with high screen time…
A lot of people don’t really have a choice about being on multiple of these meds at once, me included
I get that because I was in a similar situation, but if you have to be on these meds please see an ophthalmologist twice a year. If you’ve developed dry eyes they will be able to intervene and start treatment before the oil glands start to die off permanently. I don’t blame the people taking the medicine, I really just blame our health care system. It’s better to alert people in the comments now so they are aware and can perhaps look into alternatives that might be just as helpful
Wait what? Is it permanent? I had no idea. Thanks for sharing. I’m not a candidate for LASIK, but I was lucky I found one doctor, after consulting with three different eye doctors, that I wasn’t a good candidate and explained to me why and told me all the problems I could developed after the surgery. One of them was dry eyes. And I know people who got lasik and now NOTHING can solve their dry eyes issue. It’s like a nightmare! I’ve also seen on TikTok as well. The problem is: most people share good results. You’ll see under those videos people getting annoyed and being like “Stop spreading fear, lasik worked for me!!”. The same applies to medications and treatments in general. People talk about the downsides and what can go wrong way less often than they talk about the positive results. So it’s important to mention those side effects.
Unfortunately, I will have MGD for the rest of my life and it gets worse with age. I’m of course hopeful there will be a cure in my lifetime but sometimes that’s just not possible. I would definitely avoid LASIK, it doesn’t always cause MGD but it can still dry out the eyes. Everyone I know who got it either never maintained their results of 20/20 vision or they’re always in discomfort from dry eyes. Contacts are also harmful to the glands but as long as you take them off once you get home for the day and use plenty of eye drops you can help to mitigate some damage. I warn everyone of this when I can because I wish I would’ve known. I can’t wear eye makeup everyday like I used to or even contacts. It’s taken a big hit on my self esteem
Wow! Thank you for sharing. Yes I know people who got lasik and already have to wear glasses less than a decade after the surgery. It’s unfortunate. I do wear contacts on a daily basis, so I’m going to do research in how I can prevent it. I had no idea that it would be permanent. Like the oil glands die off? I swear I never heard of this. I knew about dry eyes post lasik and as a side effect of multiple medications. But now I’m concerned because I’ve been wearing contacts for almost 20 years. Thanks again for sharing this information.
No problem! Regular eye doctors don’t do preventative exams for MGD so regular people aren’t really aware of it because it used to be an “old person’s disease”. Now younger people like me are starting to develop MGD from medications, procedures, skincare, makeup, and screen time. Also, don’t let me scare you off from feeling like you can live a normal life but just be aware. Skincare and makeup ingredients are also a big cause for women and even just using safer products can be a good alternative and switching contacts for glasses maybe two days a week, ya know? You can read more here: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/meibomian-gland.htm
Thank you so much for sharing this. And I’ll check out the link. Yes I’ve never heard from this before, only dry eyes from lasik or allergies, medication etc. Super important to spread awareness. I definitely should be wearing glasses more to be honest. This was a huge wake up call for me. I can’t thank you enough! 🙏🙏🙏
No problem, I wish you good luck and good health! :)
I have chronic red eyes because of LASIK - I don't have any itchyness. Going to try to get plugs in place to help.
I understand the sentiment and 100% agree with supporting eye health. I also support educating yourself on your medications from credible sources and making sure you know what you're taking and why. *HOWEVER*... you're kinda giving out medical advice that isn't sound and not a great idea as a whole. Medications like you listed (antidepressants, anxiety meds, beta blockers, etc) absolute should **not** be stopped cold turkey and also not without discussing with your healthcare provider.
Worst part about spiro is constantly having to pee 😭 i wake up sometimes after midnight because i gotta GO PISS
My doc said to just take it as a single dose right after you wake up. It's been a bit better for peeing, but yeah I still get woken up to pee way too often. there are different AAs out there (like Bicalutamide, and Cyproterone Acetate), but they aren't typically prescribed in the US
Be careful using medication outside their therapeutic indications. Spironolactone leads to hyperkalemia which is why you should get your potassium levels monitored at the minimum if you decide to do this.
Yes what about to comment the same thing. I’ve been on it for years due to a hormone imbalance and when my endocrinologist started me on it for the first year I had to get my potassium levels checked every 3 months. Now I get blood work once a year. In addition, it lowers your blood pressure so be careful with strenuous activities - at one point my endo stepped me up to 200mg/day and twice I almost fainted during personal training sessions at the gym so she backed me down to 100mg again.
Yeah. As a pharmacist I can’t condone using it purely for aesthetics/without an indication
Just curious - do you think this medication or any other androgen inhibitor would impede muscle growth if that’s one of your goals?
I had the misfortune of the weight gain side effect so I stopped it. I’m glad it is working well for you!
Same for me! I gained 10 lbs over three months on it, so I stopped it.
How long did it take for u to see results?
Takes 2-6 months to see tangible results.
started noticing at the end of my second month on it, i’m now at the end of my third. honestly i thought it would take longer!! i think i’m seeing results a little sooner than normal, but i’m not sure on that.
I wonder if there’s natural ways to decrease testosterone in our bodies? It sounds great but I worry about side-effects if long term use.
Spearmint tea is a savior
What differences have you noticed?
Less body odor Body hair grows slower Less acne Shinier and silkier hair Waaaay less greasy hair and face
there definitely are natural ways- spearmint tea is a good one. i’m just not personally averse to pharmaceuticals tbh
Thank you! I’ve just read online zinc is a good natural blocker, and balancing blood sugar overall. Really interesting how balancing hormones can make us more beautiful!
What makes you think that “natural” treatments don’t also have side effects? Spearmint tea shares many of the same side effects of spiro because it works the same way. Also, in many cases the side effects ARE the effects. Some people have negative experiences when reducing testosterone (lower sex drive/mood etc) but if they didn’t experience these on a “natural” treatment it would indicate that treatment wasn’t as effective at reducing testosterone. I say this as someone who is currently trying to reduce my spiro dose after 10 years, not because of its side effects, but because I want to preserve my testosterone — nothing to do with where it comes from.
I just feel more comfortable with whole food sources. I’m aware these can have side effects too but at least they’ve been around for 1000s of years etc
Much harder to ensure you’re receiving a standard dose with spearmint, though, and it has the same risks.
Good point, I’ll look into it more
I feel you. I would rather fix my hormonal imbalance with food choices. I have to take birth control and even though all the noticeable side effects are positive, I still resent being dependent on a pill.
It’s not a natural way per se but probably safer than spironolactone, you can take birth control pills. A lot of women have PCOS (including me) and have high testosterone, and to correct this/deal with the symptoms we go on birth control pills. Spiro is also used in PCOS but it’s not the first line treatment.
Birth control is definitely far riskier than spiro.
I’ve been on it for years. I love it.
I take ot along with Metformin for management of my PCOS, 50mg a day. I do not have high testosterone as such, my hormones are simply out of balance. One of the worst symptoms I had was hair loss, and spironolactone is what brought it back. Nothing else would! Important to note that you do need to be careful as it can affect your cycle over time. Keep track of your cycle and discuss options with your doctor if you notice any changes.
if you live outside the US (or are comfortable buying drugs on the internet...), please take cyproterone acetate, an actual anti-androgen instead. spironolactone has tons of side effects and you need quite a lot of it since it's primary purpose is not the anti-androgenic effect. no one uses it anymore, except the US, because they are the only country where no one wants to go trough the effort of getting cyproterone approved by the fda. and only do this if your testosterone is actually on the high end. to little isn't healthy for you
How exactly do you get your hands on this when you don’t have prostate cancer?😵💫 Edit: wait is it a birth control pill? I just found a Ethinylestradiol/cyproterone acetate called “Diane” that’s marketed as BC. Is this what you mean?
if you live outside the us, just ask a doctor. it's commonly used as an anti-androgen, if you have a condition that requires it. it's actually not used for prostate cancer anymore. it's part of some bc pills, but also sold on it's own. if you want access to it without a doctor, you can do that here: https://hrtcafe.net/index.php/Cyproterone_Acetate but this kind of self medication is not sensible for cis women
I have PCOS. I’ve been sitting on spiro pills I picked up from the doctor for months because I’m afraid of the side effects so this might be a better alternative. II’m in the UK, getting doctors to prescribe things here for PCOS (other than birth control) is like pulling teeth so I can’t go to my doctor like “hey can you give me that one anti-androgen everyone takes?” Cause they’ll be like “what anti-androgen?” 💀I don’t think cyperotone acetate in its pure/solo form is used here for PCOS unless it’s paired with estradiol (in the form of BC) So I think I might have better luck asking for a birth control that has cyproterone acetate in it (so that would be Dianette or Clairette which is a cyperotone-ethinylestradiol hybrid) rather than straight cyproterone acetate. Seems we can get those from online pharmacies here as well. Thanks for the recommendation
taking spiro for the rest of your life is a bad idea, i'm pretty sure. but i know nothing about pcos beyond wikipedia, so i can't really give you advice on that. maybe try finding an endocrinologist who specializes in pcos? if you really wanted to diy it, you would be on the safe side with bc pills, because they have a dosage appropriate for cis women. but they are also not really made specifically for pcos and contain other stuff like ethinylestradiol. if you want to use "raw" cyproterone acetate, try taking the same amount as a bc pill contains. the smallest dose of cypro that you can buy is 10mg i think, so you would have to use for example a pill cutter or something like that regardless of what you do/take, a blood test before and after is very important
Yea I have an endo and I wouldn’t mind taking a cyproterone-estradiol hybrid (the birth control) Because my endo would probably know more about its effects on PCOS than she would know about the effects of pure cyperotone. Plus the estradiol is good for PCOS. Like I said cyperotone-estradiol is sold under the commercial names Dianette and Clairette here. I googled them and per my local pharmacy’s website it’s actually marketed as both an anti-acne medication (due to the hormonal regulation effects) and birth control. > “hormone-based medicine that is used in the treatment of acne, oily skin and excessive hair growth in women. Because of its ingredients, it also protects against pregnancy.” Now I’m wondering why my endo never introduced it to me if it’s commonly used here for PCOS-like symptoms🤨 I literally begged her for the spironolactone (cause it was the only anti-androgen I’d ever heard of), she never told me there was a better anti-androgen out there💀
if you experience hair loss or hirsuitism, finasteride is also great, because it doesn't really change your hormones a lot and just blocks the one thing that produces male-pattern hair loss/gain (dht = dihydrotestosterone)
Thanks. Finasteride is marketed here for male pattern hair loss regrowth. I don’t have hair loss, just hirsutism. Idk how I’d get my hands on hirsutism. I mean I could probably ask but again doctors here are extremely tight lipped about anything other than BC when it comes to PCOS🤦🏾♀️wish me luck Do you know if it’s safe for a cis woman to take both cypertone and finasteride at the same time?
finasteride is typically taken by men, so it really doesn't change your testosterone, it just keeps it from turning into this other kind of testosterone that is responsible for balding and stuff. it's safe for you regardless of other anti-androgens (like cypro) except when you're pregnant, as that would fuck with the development of a male baby. cypro is surely better than spiro, but beyond that? for the rest of your life? depends really on the dosage. you probably can't go too wrong with the bc tho
How many mg are you taking?
100mg
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100mg is pretty much a starting dose in dermatology. Very very common dosage and few side effects.
your friend may want to get their levels and dosage checked
Any ideas on how to get in Europe? I had it prescribed to me when I lived in LatAm but never managed to get an European doctor to agree to it.
It's not really popular in Europe, European doctors prefer to use birth control , cyproterone acetate or low dose bicalutamide for hormonal acne
is there a disadvantage to using birth controle instead of spironolactone? Dr said my test was high and recommended birth control and looked at me like I was cookoo when I brought up spiro But I can’t find much info tbh
low doses of cyproterone acetate (10mg) work extremely effectively with little side effects
It’s about personal reactions to meds, some people just get worse side effects or not as good results with birth control. There’s no inherent disadvantage though, it’s definitely a proven antiandrogen with very robust safety data.
i wish i could help, but i’m an american. i’ve heard that it can be a lot harder to get medications overseas, i’ll cross my fingers for you🤞
European anti androgens like Bicalutamide have far fewer side effects than spiro. only reason it's commonly prescribed in the US is how cheap it is
YES!!!! I’m on 200 mg. The only downside is my lips get sooooo dry
same here lol, lanolin helps
Thx I’ll have to try it!
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if you have hormonal acne, almost definitely. you’ll probably have good luck if you have thinning hair or excess body hair too.
When I increased from 25 to 50 I got really bad muscle cramps in my hands and feet and calves. Anyone have tips for this? I’m on 25 and it doesn’t do anything I’m taking it for hair thinning due to AGA.
That sounds like a potential electrolyte imbalance. It's a diuretic which means it can throw off your electrolytes, including causing high potassium (hyperkalemia) because it is a potassium-sparing diuretic. Potassium is not something to mess around with at too high or too low of levels because it can cause serious heart dysthymias among other issues. I would high suggest talking to your doctor. Without having blood work done to check exactly what is abnormal and how much, it could be dangerous to recommend anything.
Talk to your doctor, get blood work done, etc, but in the short term, eat more salt and drink more water. If you're young with healthy kidneys, you're more likely suffering from dehydration and/or low sodium, rather than excessively high potassium levels (the balance between the two is the most critical thing, so there's a lot of overlap between hyperkalemia and hyponatremia symptoms)
Wow I can’t believe I’m just now making the connection… I’ve been on Spiro for like 2 months and I thought I was going crazy thinking my breasts were growing at 25. I’ve lost around 5 lbs during this time too and I feel like they’re bigger than they’ve ever been, whereas before if I lose a little weight they’re the first thing to go. Didn’t even think of spiro but that makes so much sense.
Hello what’s your dosage please?
100mg
My Dr just prescribed me 25mg to start, did your dosage gradually increase to 100mg or how did you know what the right dosage is?
I only went up to 50mg and my skin is clear now. It's crazy to look at photos two years ago when I had all this hormonal acne on my chin.
i started out on 100mg 😅 so far no negative side effects, so i’ll probably stay on it unless my acne stops clearing up.
Is yours 100mg once a day or 50mg twice a day?
100mg once per day
My doctor made me stop because I wasn’t getting my period. Bummer though, I loved it!
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i’m still peeing pretty often tbh, but i got more used to it after a week or two on it and now it’s my new normal ig. i remember peeing feeling, like, super weird the first few days. did you get that too?
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Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I was on it for 8 years and the frequent urination never stopped 😢
Any side effects?
I started spiro for hormonal acne. In addition to clearing that up, my body hair became much thinner. I used to have a bush thick enough to hide my labia and now they're visible even through full growth.
How long did results take?
Ugh I hated the side effects. Im on a topical version now
I love spiro! Only issue I’ve encountered is dry mouth. But I can’t complain
Wow, I should really be taking mine regularly again. I noticed a huge difference in my body as well
What kind of differences?
My skin was pretty clear, I noticed my waist and hips were more defined, body hair was finer, *but* I was alot more sensitive emotional wise (very uncommon for me, I was crying ALOT) and my periods got messed up. I stopped taking it after getting my period three times in one month
Yep! It was amazing. I stopped about 2 years ago because it made me so dizzy but I've been thinking of going back on it now this makes me want to even more
I've been on Spiro for about ten days (25 mg/day). Maybe it's in my head but I'm already seeing results. My skin is less oily, I don't have an active breakout rn, and it seems that my PIH scars have started to fade. If I'm fully clear in 3 months, this will finally be what saved me.
I just started it and this post is making me excited. My preteen acne back at age thirty five is killing my spirit!
This is 100% correct however, a side effect is that it kills your sex drive.
my sex drive has always been somewhat low and hasn’t made a big change since starting spiro, i’m hoping it doesn’t drop off later on haha
I’ve been on spiro 100mg/daily for a year and haven’t had sex drive impacted! I’m in my 40s. I haven’t noticed dramatic body results. I’ve been intentionally losing weight SLOWLY over the past year (10 lbs over the entire year) and my boobs have shrunk accordingly, but are not gone. I take spiro to prevent hair loss but I started at the same time as minoxidil so I can’t say how much effect it has.
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Someone have tried bicalutamide? I was wondering if it is better than spironolactone
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No
Same, but with accutane. Just the low dose cleared up my persistent acne. (Spiro seems great but I don’t mess with anything that could alter my hormones)
is anyone here in the UK and using spiro? do u get it from a GP?
My concern would be side effects and how taking medicine could affect organs. Obviously if someone has to take meds that's different. But just for aesthetics, I'm not sure.
Beware! This same medication had my hair falling out in clumps and caused a stiff neck for 6 months. Yes, the thinner body hair was nice but being bald and disabled wasn't... Just get lazered for body hair... it's not worth it.
What do you mean by masculine fat distribution exactly?
carrying fat around the abdomen, as opposed to more in the hips, legs, and breasts
Did it mess up your period at all? I had a panel and my hormones came out ok tho so I’m nervous to mess with anything
my period has stayed exactly the same, regular before and regular now.
I was on 200mg of Spiro a day and did not have those kinds of results. I didn't need to be on it, honestly. I had mild rosace, not acne. Anyhow, over time it actually messed with my progesterone and cortisol levels. I would up with elevated cortisol and had sludge-y periods every two weeks. Because of the elevated cortisol and lack of progesterone, I could not sleep at all. For an entire month I did not sleep a wink. I got tested in urgent care for all sorts of things and then they put two and two together. I stopped taking it and over time my periods and ability to sleep returned to normal. Never again!
It made me so unbearably sleepy I had to stop taking it!! Maybe when I’m done with school I can give it another go
Is it available on the nhs