Spironolactone for Acne Treatment
The first time I saw the name “Spironolactone”, I definitely did not think of it as an acne treatment, let alone a medication, but it is indeed a medication that is used to treat acne, just like antibiotics, topical dermatological creams, and the ever so controversial isotretinoin (Accutane).
Spironolactone is actually a somewhat serious acne medication, as it is actually a synthetic steroid. Because of it’s androgen inhibiting abilities (this means it inhibits androgens, male hormones), it is really only used in adult women with acne, since excess androgen production is usually a prime cause for female acne, and many times it is used in conjunction with a birth control pill to treat female acne.
This acne medication is usually used once or twice a day, in the morning one pill is taken, and sometimes a second pill is taken in the evening, depending on the course of treatment decided on by the dermatologist and the severity of the patient’s acne.
Side effects of Spironolactone can range from irregular periods to fatigue and breast tenderness – mostly typical side effects of hormonal interference. Other maladies that are treated with this medication are high blood pressure and interfering puberty that is severe.
You may want to check out some of the best natural acne treatments first before taking on a treatment like this, since it does have some sort of unappealing side effects.
It usually takes at least two weeks to begin to really work, for whatever purpose it is intended, and some patients respond very well to acne therapy with Spironolactone combined with oral contraceptive therapy, since they complement one another and calm the hormones responsible for the acne.
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2 Responses to 'Spironolactone for Acne Treatment'
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on October 9th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Is their a time frame limit to how long you can take spiro?
on April 30th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
hi I have been only on the medication a month, I cant really see how effective it is yet, as from what I have read, it seems it takes 2-3 months to clear up acne. I started spironolactone just after my regular period, and was surprised when just 2 wks later I got another, I put it down to a blip in my system but then another 2 weeks on, I got another period, in the 12 years I have been menstruating I have never had 2 in a month (I would be more likely to skip the occasional month although rarely) I called my endocronologist and he said this is NOT normal, and I am really finding it an inconvenience, but I so wanted to give the spiro a chance!! The endocron was not helpful about staying on or off it…has any other women suffered this problem & if so did it stop after a while? or is it me reacting badly? p.s I have a mild case of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and have moderate to mild acne.