Need help to make decision about Aldactone

July 17, 2002

I am trying to control my oily skin. I have read many things about

Aldactone/Spironolactone as being good for controlling oily skin in

woman. I do not want to take accutane since my son's bad reaction to

it. I have taken the spironolactone for two days now and it seems to

be making me flare. I was wondering if anybody else has tried spiro

and what their reactions have been. I have looked up everything I

could on this drug and nothing is said about flushing.

July 17, 2002

I am trying to control my oily skin. I have read many things about

Aldactone/Spironolactone as being good for controlling oily skin in

woman. I do not want to take accutane since my son's bad reaction to

it. I have taken the spironolactone for two days now and it seems to

be making me flare. I was wondering if anybody else has tried spiro

and what their reactions have been. I have looked up everything I

could on this drug and nothing is said about flushing.

July 17, 2002

Aldactone gave me hot flushes and is the reason my rosacea is so bad now.

I took it for a week then stopped due to scary racing heart sensations. I

immediately got hot flashes and night sweats. It completely messed up my

hormones. I am on the birth control pill so I thought that wouldn't

happen, but I was wrong. My rosacea was in remission when I took it and

now I flush all the time.

--- goldie4040 wrote:

> I am trying to control my oily skin. I have read many things about

> Aldactone/Spironolactone as being good for controlling oily skin in

> woman. I do not want to take accutane since my son's bad reaction to

> it. I have taken the spironolactone for two days now and it seems to

> be making me flare. I was wondering if anybody else has tried spiro

> and what their reactions have been. I have looked up everything I

> could on this drug and nothing is said about flushing.

>

> --

> Please read the list highlights before posting to the whole group

> (http://rosacea.ii.net/toc.html). Your post will be delayed if you don't

> give a meaningful subject or trim your reply text. You must change the

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>

> See http://www.drnase.com for info on his recently published book.

>

> To leave the list send an email to

> rosacea-support-unsubscribe

>

July 17, 2002

Aldactone gave me hot flushes and is the reason my rosacea is so bad now.

I took it for a week then stopped due to scary racing heart sensations. I

immediately got hot flashes and night sweats. It completely messed up my

hormones. I am on the birth control pill so I thought that wouldn't

happen, but I was wrong. My rosacea was in remission when I took it and

now I flush all the time.

--- goldie4040 wrote:

> I am trying to control my oily skin. I have read many things about

> Aldactone/Spironolactone as being good for controlling oily skin in

> woman. I do not want to take accutane since my son's bad reaction to

> it. I have taken the spironolactone for two days now and it seems to

> be making me flare. I was wondering if anybody else has tried spiro

> and what their reactions have been. I have looked up everything I

> could on this drug and nothing is said about flushing.

>

> --

> Please read the list highlights before posting to the whole group

> (http://rosacea.ii.net/toc.html). Your post will be delayed if you don't

> give a meaningful subject or trim your reply text. You must change the

> subject when replying to a digest !

>

> See http://www.drnase.com for info on his recently published book.

>

> To leave the list send an email to

> rosacea-support-unsubscribe

>

July 18, 2002

Goldie, this is probably the study that created the hoopla about

spironolactone and acne/oily skin:

-=-=

J Am Acad Dermatol 2000 Sep;43(3):498-502

Low-dose adjunctive spironolactone in the treatment of acne in women:

a retrospective analysis of 85 consecutively treated patients.

Shaw JC.

Section of Dermatology, University of Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in acne therapy in recent years,

treatment failures are common, especially in adult women.

Spironolactone, an established androgen receptor blocker, is

successful in treating adult women with acne, but side effects are

common at the doses reported in published studies to date. OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to assess the therapeutic effect and

tolerance of low doses of spironolactone used alone or as an adjunct

in the treatment of acne in adult women. METHODS: Records were

reviewed from 85 women with acne treated consecutively with

spironolactone 50 to 100 mg/day, administered either as single-drug

therapy or as an adjunct to standard therapies. The maximum length of

treatment was 24 months. RESULTS: Clearing of acne occurred in 33% of

patients treated with low doses of spironolactone; 33% had marked

improvement, 27.4% showed partial improvement, and 7% showed no

improvement. The treatment regimen was well tolerated, with 57.5%

reporting no adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Spironolactone can be used

in low doses as a single drug or as an adjunct to standard acne

therapies in women with adult acne. When used in this fashion,

treatment outcomes are favorable, and the drug is well tolerated.

PMID: 10954662 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

-=-==

From my experiences, aldactone is not a well-tolerated drug, as noted

in the abstract. This study used lower dose than previous studies for

acne, but compared to its use in other conditions the dosage is *not*

low, so I would expect it not to be a well-tolerated therapy, meaning

many or disturbing side effects. I'm not surprised that 42.5%

experienced side effects in this study. That's a very high

percentage, almost 1 in 2 patients.

It's antiandrogenic activity is a very helpful side effect for those

with too much androgen due to disease, but I'm not convinced at all

of the wisdom in taking it solely to interfere with manifestations of

normal levels of androgens.

The increased flushing you experienced is probably the result of

vasodilation, which occurs in more than half the people who take the

drug.

But don't listen to me or anyone else on the board, listen to your

prescribing physician. There may be something s/her knows that I and

others here don't. (If there is and you know it, I'd appreciate the

education.)

Marjorie

Marjorie Lazoff, MD

> I am trying to control my oily skin. I have read many things about

> Aldactone/Spironolactone as being good for controlling oily skin in

> woman. I do not want to take accutane since my son's bad reaction

to

> it. I have taken the spironolactone for two days now and it seems

to

> be making me flare. I was wondering if anybody else has tried

spiro

> and what their reactions have been. I have looked up everything I

> could on this drug and nothing is said about flushing.

July 18, 2002