Share your experience: submit a drug review
Below are Spironolactone reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 20 ratings/reviews, Spironolactone has an overall score of 7.50. The effectiveness score is 7.70 and the side effect score is 7.50. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence. | Spironolactone review by medical professional caring for 65 year old male patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | hypertension |
Dosage & duration: | | 50 mg taken po for the period of 2 weeks |
Other conditions: | | hyperlipidemia |
Other drugs taken: | | lipitor | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | lower blood pressure and preventing hypokalemia |
Side effects: | | breast tenderness |
Comments: | | spironolactone 50 mg PO QD |
|
| Spironolactone review by 44 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne and water retention |
Dosage & duration: | | 200 mg daily taken daily for the period of 6 months |
Other conditions: | | Hypothyroidism |
Other drugs taken: | | Synthroid and Cytomel | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | This drug works great for water retention because it is a potassium-sparing diuretic. However, it had only a moderate impact on acne. It did seem to help with premenstrual symptoms and cyclical acne, but not a complete cure by any means. No apparent impact on blackheads/hard plugs. |
Side effects: | | None |
Comments: | | 100mg Spironolactone twice daily. Did not do much for the acne. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 29 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | PCOS |
Dosage & duration: | | 100mg/day taken 50mg twice a day for the period of 1 month |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | less hirsutism, reduction in acne, reduction in oily skin and oily hair |
Side effects: | | slight tiredness, reduced sex drive, slight dehydration |
Comments: | | Spironolactone was prescribed to me for PCOS. I had hirsutism and acne due to high androgen levels. The spironolactone helped reduce my androgen levels. My skin is almost entirely clear and the hair is growing much more slowly now. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 47 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Marginally Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Hair loss |
Dosage & duration: | | 100 mg per day taken every day for the period of Ongoing for two years |
Other conditions: | | None |
Other drugs taken: | | None | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | The medications has slowed down hair shedding but not prevented hair loss. Hair loss is still ongoing, miniturization of hair follicles is still ongoing. |
Side effects: | | Period like cramps which increase in severity with increase in dosage. Medication would be more effective if the dosage were increased but I cannot tolerate the cramping which even two extra strength Advil cannot alleviate. |
Comments: | | Dermatologist prescribed Spironolactone for female Androgenetic hair loss. 100 mg per day. It has been somewhat effective in slowing down hair loss but has not completely stopped the excess shedding. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 45 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 50mg taken 1 daily for the period of 6 years |
Other conditions: | | night sweats, hot flashes |
Other drugs taken: | | climara .01mg | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | The once daily treatment was effective in keeping me from having moderate acne breakouts while I was taking hormone replacement therapy. I also used testosterone cream (compounded) and my doctor felt that this was the source of the acne and also some water retention. |
Side effects: | | I don't believe I experienced any side effects at all and have always been very satisfied with the the medication. I have only recently begun to look at other kinds of hormone replacement therapy that is all compounded and natural based. |
Comments: | | I have taken 1 50mg tablet daily for over 6 years for treatment of acne...caused by hormone replacement medications including testosterone cream. The medication worked very well for me for as long as I was taking it. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 33 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 100mg taken once a day for the period of 1 yr and continuing |
Other conditions: | | small acne also |
Other drugs taken: | | retinol A | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | the spironolactone has prevented the large cycst types of acne from forming. My skin looks a lot smoother. |
Side effects: | | if not taken daily it will not work. you can not miss a day or there will be some cycsts that will form. |
Comments: | | spironolactone is a water pill that has the side effect of clearer skin. the spironolactone only is effective on the large cycst types of acne. If not taken daily there will be some cycsts that will form the week before you cycle. The small acne is taken care of with a retinol A cream. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 24 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
Side effects: | | Extremely Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 25 mg/ 2x a day taken 1x a day for the period of 5 months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | none, vitamin supplements only | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Overall reduction in the severity of breakouts. |
Side effects: | | Extreme fatigue. For the first week I became so tired that immediately after coming from work I'd go to bed. I cut back to one pill a day and have greatly improved. Haven't had the nerve to work back to 2 pills a day due to the last reaction. |
Comments: | | Take one pill after dinner. Wash face with medicated facewash. Use Retin-A micro in conjunction with spironolactane. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 24 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 50 mg then 100 mg taken divided 2 times a day for the period of 1 year |
Other conditions: | | - |
Other drugs taken: | | - | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | it decreased my acne but never acne free,less oily skin, |
Side effects: | | irregular menstruation every 20 days,eczema on hand and face and hair loss and hair thinning when taking 100 mg thats why i stopped taking the drug. |
Comments: | | i dont recommend it for acne more than 50 mg a day hair thinning really made me scared of the drug, |
|
| Spironolactone review by 27 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 100 mg taken daily for the period of 6 months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | The benefits are helping to control my cystic acne. I used to have very painful acne cysts that caused major scarring on my cheeks and chin. I did use accutane for about 4 months to clear it up. However, I still breakout. Not with cysts but smaller pimples. They seem to form in a cluster in certain areas. I have tried all kinds of topical as well as oral medication to keep these breakouts at bay. Spironolactone has pretty much helped reduce the breakouts to almost non existant. My face is also less oily. |
Side effects: | | The only side effects were temporary breast discomfort. I swear they got bigger. That however did subside and I no longer have that discomfort. The other side effect is frequent urination. If I drink a lot of water during the day I have to go all the time but even if I don't I still have to when I drink water or whatever. It's a little annoying but the pros far out weigh the cons. |
Comments: | | I simply take one 100 mg pill a day after I have eaten and drink plenty of water. I usually take it in the morning. I use spironolactone in conjuntion with Ziana topical cream. This combination has really helped to basically rid me of acne. Thank goodness, since I am almost 27 years old and it is embarrassing to still get acne. I love this stuff! |
|
| Spironolactone review by 35 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 200 mg daily taken daily for the period of 2 years |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | oral contraceptive | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | It greatly reduced acne from moderate, sometimes painful breakouts to rare mild acne without any side effects. It even made body hair more fine and the need for shaving legs, etc was decreased. |
Side effects: | | There were none. NO skin iritation, sun sensitivy or dryness as with other acne treatments. |
Comments: | | Take 2 pills orally daily and facial and body acne was reduced to very occasional mild acne. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 53 year old male patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | M to F transformation |
Dosage & duration: | | 5mg taken daily for the period of one year |
Other conditions: | | nil |
Other drugs taken: | | prognova | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Male to Female transformation fat re-distribution, breasts and fat alterations in the face. In my case the feminine side was a more slender face |
Side effects: | | Very dry skin and un disirable looking skin, particularly on legs. Now using androcur, more powerful and better results in feminization of the male body
My dormant feminine hormone side was activated and the male hormones subdued. My feminine face was a more slender face to my male side. The fat re-distribution created folds at the side of the mouth. Facial excercises helped to eridicate the extra facial flab see u tube
More excercise required to tone body muscles and maintain strength |
Comments: | | Male to Female transformation fat re-distribution, breasts and general reshaping fat. Need to drink lots of water to counter effects of Spiro. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 31 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 75 mg taken 1x daily for the period of 4 months |
Other conditions: | | High DHEA |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Reduced acne significantly and quickly. I had severe cystic acne for about 3-4 months before trying spiro. Within 2 months it was nearly gone. I started on 50mg and that was enough to reduce cystic acne. I just recently went to 75mg and that was to reduce small comedones. |
Side effects: | | Mild headaches and dehydration. I need to make sure I drink ample water each day to prevent dehydration. I also need to get potassium levels tested evey 3 months as sprio is a potassium sparing diuretic. |
Comments: | | 75 mg a day. Potassium blood tests every 3 months. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 18 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | hormonal acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 25mg taken twice daily for the period of three months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | decrease in acne, and less oil in skin and hair |
Side effects: | | slight lack of energy, decreased sex drive, irregular menstrual cycle, - I experienced four periods in a span of a month and a half - slight dehydration, and more severe mood swings than usual |
Comments: | | I took 25mg twice daily for three months. It was definitely effective in treating my acne, although I still received breakouts - just not NEAR as many. It didn't take very long to kick in, but by the middle of the second month I started to notice my lack of sexual desire. Did that disappointment me? Yes. During the last month and a half I was having issues with my menstrual cycle. I had four periods during that time. My usual cycle is typically somewhere between 35 and 45 days. So this worried me a little. By the end of the third month I was experiencing mood swings. Caused by my irregular menstrual cycle? Possibly. I don't know for sure. I would wake up mad, have a wonderful day, and then come home and cry myself to sleep. And why would I be so upset? No freaking clue, but I do know that it was entirely exhausting. If it weren't for such side effects, I would have rated this drug higher because it did exactly what I wanted and cleared my skin up. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 39 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | adult moderate hormone related acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 50mgs taken once a day for the period of 4mths |
Other conditions: | | hair loss middle of the scalp, thinning mainly |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | my usually oily skin dried up considerably and as a result the frequency of spots reduced. |
Side effects: | | in the first week i experienced headaces, pulpitations,nausea,insomnia and halusinations,dry mouth and lips along with frequent urination. i almost stopped taking the drug but i gave it a little more time and eventually felt better..most side effects disappeared and i remained with dry mouth lips and sorish throat.drinking alot of water helped. |
Comments: | | 50mg tab once a day for 4 months |
|
| Spironolactone review by care giver of 24 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | facial hair |
Dosage & duration: | | .25 (dosage frequency: once a day) for the period of 3 months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | orthotricyclone | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Hair loss. Helps hair follicles become less sensitive to protestosterone. |
Side effects: | | She had minimal hair loss on face and unwanted body areas and increased hair on head. |
Comments: | | She had had testing done for high levels of testosterone which were sometimes average sometimes average-high (5.0). So it was not that she had too much testosterone, it was the way her hair folicles were responding to it. With this treatment you must be careful to get plenty of electrolytes in body. Also most effective if taken with birth control. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 59 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | excessive testosterone levels |
Dosage & duration: | | 25 mg taken twice per day for the period of 9 months to date |
Other conditions: | | menopause |
Other drugs taken: | | HRT | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | I was growing facial hair in a classic beard pattern. Not heavy, but more was coming in. Doc took a look at my testosterone levels and said they were too high. He told me to quit taking any DHEA and to take aldactone in the morning and in the evening before bed. I didn't know that Aldactone would counteract testosterone, but it does. New facial hair quit coming in and there has been lessening of facial hair that was already there. |
Side effects: | | none, other than needing to drink more water |
Comments: | | Pop a pill twice a day -- what could be easier? |
|
| Spironolactone review by 41 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 50mg taken once daily for the period of 24 months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | Erythromycin | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Acne decreased significantly when used in combination with the antibiotic erythromycin. The addition of spironolactone cleared up the acne that seemed to be triggered by fluctuating hormone levels. It also increased breast size. |
Side effects: | | With the increase of breast size also came extreme breast tenderness, especially during the week before menstrual flow. |
Comments: | | Sprironolactone taken once a day in combination with antibiotic erythromycin to clear up acne that was triggered by hormones and antibiotic alone did not clear up. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 28 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 100mg taken twice daily for the period of 3 months and still taking it |
Other conditions: | | Autoimmune Hypophysitis |
Other drugs taken: | | N/A | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | I am 28 and had acne like a 16 year old the day before the prom. It was horrible and embarrassing. This was an experiment. We had no idea if it would even work. We started at 50mg twice daily and then went to the 100mg when there were no results. My face is flawless now. I am also sleeping better which I don't think is a coincidence. |
Side effects: | | Dry skin, intolerance to alcohol, frequent urination. |
Comments: | | I had brain surgery to remove what we thought was a pituitary tumor. We hoped this would resolve the acne. We were wrong about everything. I ended up having a very rare autoimmune disease called Hypophysitis. This is causing a whole mess of problems systemically. And when I say rare, I mean that there have only been 460 diagnosed cases since 1962. Yeah. So I have recently entered a study through Johns Hopkins. My treatment with Spironolactone will continue throughout my clinical trial and I will stay on it as long as it takes to keep the acne away for good. |
|
| Spironolactone review by 43 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
Side effects: | | Moderate Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | Acne |
Dosage & duration: | | 50 mg taken 1x/day for the period of 1 year and continuing |
Other conditions: | | hypothyroid |
Other drugs taken: | | armour thyroid | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | Eliminated cystic acne |
Side effects: | | frequent urination
fatigue
tender breasts |
Comments: | | I love the effectiveness of this drug but keep experimenting with timing of my dosage.
1) split dose of 25 mg in morning and 25 mg at night
2) 50 mg dose in morning
3) 50 mg dose at night
If I take 50 mg in the morning, I feel sleepy (perhaps due to dehydration -- need to drink more water and see if situation improves).
If I take 50 mg at night, I get up to pee once, sometimes twice, during the night.
25 mg twice per day seems like the worst of both worlds -- tired during the day and up to pee at night.
Next experiment -- taking 50 mg with lunch and increasing water intake -- maybe I can be energetic in the morning at least! |
|
| Spironolactone review by 30 year old female patient | | Rating |
Overall rating: | | |
Effectiveness: | | Ineffective |
Side effects: | | Severe Side Effects | | Treatment Info |
Condition / reason: | | POCS, elevated testosterone, hirsutism |
Dosage & duration: | | 50mg reduced to 25mg taken twice a day for the period of 2 months |
Other conditions: | | none |
Other drugs taken: | | none | | Reported Results |
Benefits: | | No benefits in 2 months, no reduction in body hair |
Side effects: | | Tiredness, thinning of the hair, hair loss, stomach ache |
Comments: | | Not effective for me at all, wanted to reduce body hair - no change after two months. But noticed hair thinning and some hair loss on the top of my scalp, have to stop it. |
|
|