Question
Quote: I'm starting Spiro today. I saw a nurse practioner at a women's clinic yesterday and asked about hirsutism. She prescribed 200mg of spiro plus a birth control pill called Zovia. Not the Yasmin or the Diane others have mentioned, but I guess those contain some Spiro and it wouldn't be necessary for me to take both.

I'm 40 and have had acne, grotesquely oily skin and excessive body hair since I was 10. My skin isn't so oily and I don't get acne on my face much anymore. I'm not sure when that happened though. A year ago maybe? I have been taking antiandrogen supplements for about a year I think--Zinc, Saw Palmetto, B6--so that could be the reason. Or age.

I also cut back on the sugar and simple carbs around the First of February when people on this board were discussing digestive cleanses, Candida and what sugar does to hormones. And I just realized yesterday that right now I don't have any kind of inflamed acne for the first time in decades. Just red marks from the last few, blackheads and the ever present melia on my jawline, but even that is reduced. The aspirin mask has helped a lot.

So by women's clinic do you mean like a public health kind of place or Planned Parenthood? I looked up women's clinics on google and got a whole list of spots in this area. Did they actually know about spiro or did you have to enlighten them.

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Kathleen - was your acne really bad. They want to put my daughter back on acutane but I think treating it hormonally would be better.

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Quote: So by women's clinic do you mean like a public health kind of place or Planned Parenthood? I looked up women's clinics on google and got a whole list of spots in this area. Did they actually know about spiro or did you have to enlighten them.
She knew about Spiro and said she'd been seeing a quite a few women in recent years for the problem and wondered why their gynecologists never noticed their symptoms and did something about it years ago.

It wasn't a public health clinic, it was private, but you could go to those as well. I was referred to one of those when I went to a clinic located in our big local supermarket chain that does minor illness stuff and all kinds of testing (diabetes, cholestorol, allergies) at low cost. I'm going to stop by there someday and have my allergies tested.

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Quote: Yes, I believe it is only prescribed for woman as Spiro reduces testosterone. In males, you don't want to lower the testosterone for fear of developing female characteristics. This medicine was originally used to treat high blood pressure in men and woman so, maybe you can find a doctor who would prescribe a low dose. It does totally stop the oil and clear the acne.
I don't think that's true, although most of the people participating in these discussions are women. It doesn't reduce the amount of testosterone, it prevents it from being converted to DHT(?) that increases sebum production. Many mens's Prostrate health supplements do the same thing, i.e. Saw Palmetto and various herb and mineral combinations, which will also help with male pattern baldness. And I think topical spiro is the same thing or is related to one of those hair loss prevention topicals--propecia or finasteride.

Adding estrogen will cause males to develop female characteristics, but just lowering testosterone doesn't.

That's what I've gotten from all my reading, from which I never remember specifics. If you search for posts by SweetJade1 you'll find plenty of info about the roles of hormones and diet in the discussions she participates in.

I've been taking Saw Palmetto and Zinc supplements for over a year and my skin got a lot less oily and a lot clearer, it just didn't help with the excess body hair. I'm hoping that adding Spiro plus recent diet changes will finally do the trick.

Edit:
I just found this by the doctor that wrote the book Kathleen recommended:
The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman by Geoffrey Redmond, MD



Has some interesting explainations about how your hormone levels test results could be normal and yet, you still have a problem. Also some about the relationship between medications that help with hirsutism and medications for male pattern baldness. Doesn't answer the question about men taking spiro though.

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Im thinking of going onto Spiro for my persistent break-outs. I have oily skin and tons of clogged pores, although I wouldnt say I have acne unless i get really stressed and then I break out like crazy.
My derm gave me antibiotics a month ago when I went to see him during my worst break-out ever, and they havent worked at all. Years ago, doryx was my savior, but now Im immune and these minocycline antibiotics arent doing a thing. Proactive was working for a while and cleared me,but it stopped working as well recently. The next thing my derm said to think about was either Spiro or a low-dose of Accutane, which Im scared about.

Heres my question:Id like to start on 50 or 75 mgs of Spiro next month when I go back to see the derm. I dont have excess body hair or anything but considering the results Ive see from the posts here, Id like to try it before Accutane. At least to control the oil and clogged pores.
However, Im on Yasmin birth control. I think all OC's break me out in general (I havent found one yet that doesnt, except Seasonale and I had all types of issues with that one). Anyway, Yasmin has a little Spiro in it. The derm said therefore Id have to switch to another pill (he said OTC-Lo) if I get on Spiro. I dont want to switch- I love Yasmin. If Yasmin hasn't made my skin better,will Spiro not?
Im considering going against the derm's recommendations and taking Spiro while staying on Yasmin (I just dont know if its smart to do that).
Any suggestions? Id like to avoid Accutane esp. since it doesnt seem to work,plus summer's coming and I cant afford the itchy red dryness and major initial breakouts.
Thanks!

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