Adult Cystic and Hormonal Acne - Roseville, CA

A few weeks ago I started to ween myself off of the Spiro. I was taking 100mg a day (50mg in the a.m. And 50mg in the p.m.) for a week I took 75mg daily, the following week I took 50mg around midday and then the last week I took 25mg in the evening.

I'm going to be honest, the side effects from coming off of Spironolactone was ROUGH for me. Since it is a diuretic, once I started to taper off, I retained water like crazy. It stressed me out which probably led to the anxiety and then insomnia. Also had spurts of PVCs and some dizziness.

No Bueno.

I am however happy to report that so far so good. The true test will be in the next few months as I go through my cycles.
My period just ended about a week ago so we will see in a few weeks how I do with no Spiro in my system and hormonal spikes *fingers crossed*

I can hardly believe how liberating it feels to have my skin clear again. Part of me is terrified to even express it because of how on-and-off my skin has been over the last five/six years but instead of worrying about jinxing myself, I am going to just be grateful for how it is all going in this moment.

My plan was to take both Spironolactone (50mg at 2x per day) along with Retin-A (1%) every other night, for three consistent months to give the meds time to really work. I read somewhere in a thread online that "sometimes Spiro can take upwards of three months to really have a full effect" and I took it to heart, so glad I did. Previous to April, I would take it for a solid month then try and see if I could go without it.. I tried taking it during that week before my menstrual cycle (when my skin would really break out).. I also tried lowering the dose a touch, out of random fears of consistently being on medication and none of that worked out for me.

For the first few cycles (I've had three since I decided on this game plan) I still broke out the week before my period. The first cycle of the three I broke out the worst. Hormones didn't seem to be in check quite yet and neither was my skin. The second cycle I noticed that I still generated a blemish or two but there was something different about them. They weren't as deep and they seemed to go away quicker, which I attribute to the Retin-A (powerful exfoliant).
Between the second and third cycle I had a major epiphany, I didn't feel as psychotic as I used to, just about things in general. Things that would normally send me flying off the handle, I would just take in stride or just deal with it the way I used to, like In the "long long ago" when I was seemingly more level headed (pre-1st-pregnancy days).

So now there is no doubt in my mind that hormones are the key player here and it explains why Spiro worked so well for me, it targets hormonal acne in women. If anything changes, I will post an update. Also I plan on trying to work my way off of these meds slowly and I will document that as well.

My advice to you? Stay optimistic. Hook up with a solid Dermatologist and come up with a game plan. If it doesn't work, try your best to maintain your optimism and just push on to the next treatment plan. It's all just a matter of finding out what works for your situation (I know, I'm being Captain Obvious right now). When my skin was at it's worst I got SO DEPRESSED, I felt SO HOPELESS and ANGRY. I wondered all the time WHY!? WHY on EARTH is this happening to me?? Is this karma? Was I that shitty of an individual to deserve this? The hopelessness would set in from different methods not working and the depression from having to restart something new. It was a horrible cycle. Stay lifted, hopeful and optimistic. If there is anyone who knows how brutal this scenario is, it is yours truly. Good luck to you.

Side note: I bought a Clarisonic a few months ago and I love it. I use it in conjunction with Cetaphil's Oil Control foaming Facewash.

*sigh* wish I had something better to report but I'm at that week before my period and I can always tell when my hormones are crazy because of the intensity of my PMS. Now over the last 5 years, my skin tends to break out during my "week before" and this cycle is proving to be no different.

I have been on Spiro consistently for the last few months now. I'm holding onto something I have read which stated that it can take 3 months before it is truly effective.

In addition to the Spiro, I added Retin-A (2x per week) about a month ago. I am still easing into it, after being totally freaked out by everyone's experience on here with the "purge" phase.

What I noticed with the Retin-A is that if I do get a blemish, it seems to process faster. I apply heat in the evening and by the next morning there would be a head on it which I could just pick right off and drain the contents (deelish, I know).

My acne before was DEEP and cystic, usually painful and would rarely move to the surface.

Here I am at my first "week before" after starting to Spiro and Retin-A combo. I'm definitely breaking out :( the actual blemishes themselves don't seem to be as bad as before but there are still plenty of them and enough to make me self conscious in public (WITH makeup on).

Stay tuned for more...