The Most Effective Treatment Yet

I have struggled with cystic acne since I was a teenager, but it was never severe. I’ve been on so many antibiotics, creams, and Retin-A with mixed results. The best luck I had was with Bactrim DS in my early 30s. Usually an antibiotic would help at first, but unfortunately my system would become accustomed to it after a couple years, and I would have to move on to another. I was going through so many I worried about being able to knock back infections later on in life (not to mention dealing with yeast infections and other side effects of long term antibiotic use). Accutane was a definite no with some of the chronic health issues I had (I made it four days on that medication before I had to give it up). I had one of my worst breakouts when I was 35, and I had a primary care physician recommend spironolactone for hormonal acne (Along the jawline and chin primarily). I wish I had known about this years ago. I did some research, and to my surprise, other doctors were recommending it as a first line approach instead of all the antibiotics I’ve been handed scripts for for the past two decades. I started at a 50 mg dose but didn’t see much improvement the first two months. Once the doctor increased it to 100mg, I definitely began to notice a difference. It took about 4-5 months of being on it for my skin to completely clear up, and it has never looked better the past two years. Once every few months I might get a cyst on my chin, but it’s smaller and goes away much more quickly. I’ve had no side effects, and it’s nice to not have to wear makeup or worry about covering spots on my face. You just need to keep tabs on your potassium levels initially. I went in at the three month mark for a blood test (all was well!). More dermatologists should recommend this as a first line treatment instead of antibiotics which increase the chance of an antibiotic-resistant infection later in life. I highly recommend giving this a shot. Please be patient for the first few months. You may have to increase the dosage to see results. I got discouraged initially, but I’m so glad I stuck with the treatment.