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  #31   ^
Old Sun, Apr-06-03, 15:58
Misa's Avatar
Misa Misa is offline
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Posts: 197
 
Plan: Modified Atkins
Stats: 276/269/125 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 5%
Location: Seattle, WA
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My doctor warned me against taking Spironolactone because my blood pressure (which, before LC, was high) is actually normal... and she worried that it would drop too low.

This bummed me out because I was hoping to take it for the hair problem.

That being said, I'm now trying to get off the BC pill (I had a tubal ligation on Friday!) and wouldn't want to get on any additional pills now.
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  #32   ^
Old Sun, Apr-06-03, 18:58
nitrovixen's Avatar
nitrovixen nitrovixen is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 537
 
Plan: BFL
Stats: 151/142/? Female 5'9
BF:35%/23%/15%
Progress: 5%
Location: Seattle
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Hi Misa!
I don't think spironolactone does much anyway. There's always bleach and lasers for us I think my blood pressure is pretty normal and the doctor prescribed it to me anyway! hmm...
I envy you for being able to stop taking BC! The doctor put me on it to control the the PCOS (If I do indeed have it) so looks like there's not much chance of going off of it.

does anyone know if Yasmine has the same amount of Spironolactone-like ingredients? Can I stop taking it if I take Yasmine? I mean, the doctor told me I could stop taking if if I wanted and if hair started coming back start taking it again.. but it takes 6 months to do anything! so I hate to stop taking it, just in case.

rrrgh.

Sheri
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  #33   ^
Old Tue, Apr-08-03, 01:57
Misa's Avatar
Misa Misa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 197
 
Plan: Modified Atkins
Stats: 276/269/125 Female 63.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 5%
Location: Seattle, WA
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Sheri,

I am on the birth control pill for my PCOS, too. However, I'm working with a low-carb diet and trying to see if that helps regulate the periods, which is my main concern, as I hate bleeding for three months nonstop.

I couldn't go off the pill without some other form of BC, though, as I didn't want to run the risk of getting pregnant.
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  #34   ^
Old Fri, May-09-03, 08:05
Akiwican Akiwican is offline
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Posts: 1,391
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 1/1/1 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 44%
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I'm back here to report that I went to my Dr yesterday and I am now off Aldactone as it [B]did not[b] work to reduce my excess hair growth at all.

So I have taken a pill 3 times a day for 8 months for nothing! He has scheduled repeat blood tests in about a month {once the Aldactone is out of my system} and I go back to see him again in July when the results are back!

When will this get sorted out........

Akiwican
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  #35   ^
Old Sun, Aug-22-04, 07:03
heatly heatly is offline
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Posts: 3
 
Plan: adkins
Stats: 125/125/115 Female 5'3
BF:
Progress:
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hey guys, just so you know i have been on aldactone for a year. i have heard by very good doctors that anything less than 75mg per day does not seem effective. however, everybody is different and reacts different so some people will see results on only 25mg. also, yasmin is the BEST birth control pill to be on. the progestin that is in it is a spironolactone-like agent. meaning it does the same thing. so yasmin is the best for women with PCOS. Also if you are taking Yasmin you do not need to be on as high of dosage with the spiro because it is in the yasmin. yasmin is equivilent to 25mg per day of spiro. so you could be on 75mg a day of spiro and yasmin and really you would be on 100 mg a day of spiro. i was on both 100mg a day and found it was too drying and i was too thirsty. so i dropped to 75mg a day and took yasmin. my suggestion to all is if you are going to be on birth contol pills for irregular periods and hirsutism or acne that yasmin is the one to go on. also make sure if you are on spiro also to get potassium checked within the first month of taking it. hope this is helpful!
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  #36   ^
Old Sat, Aug-28-04, 12:18
Lobstergal
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I took spiro for about 6 years when I was diagnosed with PCOS in 1997. It did not do a darn thing for the hair growth on my face and I was taking 100 mg per day. It *did* bring my acne under control but I do that now with lowcarbing. My acne is no where near as bad as it used to be before I lowcarbed.

Last summer I went off spiro because I felt it was not helping me with anything and not one of my doctor's...2 GPs and an Endo were not even monitoring me on a regular basis while I was on the spiro. I felt a little weird being on something where the doctors seemed unconcerned and gave me no information about the medication. I never even knew about the potassium/ibuprophen issues until just recently so I choose to toss the spiro for good.

I am going to see a new GP in October (my last doctor retired) so when I see him I will tell him I have PCOS and see what he says about that.
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  #37   ^
Old Tue, Sep-07-04, 01:02
bike2work bike2work is offline
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Posts: 4,536
 
Plan: Fung-inspired fasting
Stats: 336/000/160 Female 5' 9"
BF:
Progress: 191%
Location: Seattle metro area
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From the summer of 1999 to summer of 2000, I did Atkins, and was losing weight until I started taking spironolactone. I didn't make the connection at the time, but I think the spironolactone stalled me for eight months. I finally gave up on Atkins, thinking that the diet didn't work. Now I think it was the spironolactone.

And it didn't do a thing for the hair problem.

While I was on that stuff, though, I loved the fact that I only needed 4 - 5 hours of sleep per night. I got so much done! I don't know how I would have finished grad school without it!
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  #38   ^
Old Sat, Sep-11-04, 20:59
mar1971 mar1971 is offline
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Posts: 1
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 120/111/115 Female 62 inches
BF:
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From an article I have:
*********************************************

We compared the efficacy of spironolactone (50 mg/d) with metformin (1000 mg/d) after random allocation in 82 adolescent and young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

The number of menstrual cycles in the spironolactone and metformin groups increased from 6.6 +/- 2.1 and 5.7 +/- 2.3 at baseline to 9.0 +/- 1.9 and 7.4 +/- 2.6 at 3rd month and to 10.2 +/- 1.9 and 9.1 +/- 2.0/ year at the 6th month (P = 0.0037), respectively.

The hirsutism score decreased from 12.9 +/- 3.2 and 12.5 +/- 4.9 at baseline to 10.1 +/- 3.1 and 11.4 +/- 4.1 at the 3rd month and to 8.7 +/- 1.9 and 10.0 +/- 3.3 at the 6th month, respectively.

Both groups showed improvement in glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, although the metformin effect was significant in the latter. Serum LH/FSH and testosterone decreased in both groups. BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, and blood pressure did not change with either drug. We conclude that both drugs are effective in the management of PCOS.

Spironolactone appears better than metformin in the treatment of hirsutism, menstrual cycle frequency, and hormonal derangements and is associated with fewer adverse events.

****************************************

Hi all - new member. I'm a physiologist and have worked in drug-development for years. I have PCOS, take 1000mg of Met and 200mg Spiro. I've had great results from that, and almost no side effects. I plan to stay on both unless or until I decide to become pregnant.

I want you to know that relatively low doses of spironolactone typically aren't "monitored" by docs because it's been proven safe for a long time, and because PCOS patients aren't at any higher risk of negative effects from Spiro than the regular population. Members of the "regular" population aren't monitored constantly, so why should we be? Sometimes in the elderly or other at-risk groups, they occasionally check potassium levels. That's because generally - in people who do not have reduced kidney function or kidney failure - it is really a very safe drug.

Also, in those who do not have high blood pressure, Spiro typically doesn't lower it. It's okay to take it for the testosterone. If docs had started using it to treat PCOS fifty years ago and THEN discovered it lowered BP, too - we'd be telling our grammas who have high BP that they're taking a PCOS drug! Do you know what I mean? What I'm saying is that the BP thing doesn't matter (unless you have extremely low BP in the first place and pass out a lot).

Spiro is an old, old, old drug that's been used safely for years. If you have excess testosterone (and that would be why you were put on it) - it could help you in ways other than just hair growth - it could keep you from developing other serious complications of excess testosterone (and we all know what they are!). That's because it inhibits testosterone, which for women - is a very GOOD thing. PCOS is more than just hair growth, as we all know - so the other benefits are really important (excess T can lead to heart disease, diabetes, various cancers, stroke, etc).

To me, that sounds like a pretty good trade off: taking pretty low risk meds (Spiro), with potentially great returns on longevity and life quality. If it's not giving you any negative side effects, and you trust your doc (very important), I'd recommend you stay on it.

My read on Yasmin is that the spiro dose in it is 12.5 mg/day. That's a really, really low dose - and may have beneficial effects in women with very mild PCOS or in normal women - but most PCOS patients do not respond to such a low dose. It's helpful to take additional Spiro, in many cases.

Finally, try to keep it all in perspective, and question what you read - specificaly the 'internet literature.' A lot of it is wrong, dead wrong. I fear for the health of those who take it as gospel. Read everything you can, remember who's writing it, keep in mind that individuals vary (so one individual's advice might not be right for you) and then make your informed decision.

Regards to all,
Maura

Last edited by mar1971 : Sat, Sep-11-04 at 21:04.
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  #39   ^
Old Sun, Sep-12-04, 06:05
heatly heatly is offline
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Posts: 3
 
Plan: adkins
Stats: 125/125/115 Female 5'3
BF:
Progress:
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hi maura, i have a question for you. What is metformin? is it a form of birth control or no? why are you on both spiro and metformin? i am currently on 75mg of spiro and on yasmin, the pill. i have heard about metformin but dont know exactly what it is, can you fill me in? thanks
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  #40   ^
Old Wed, Sep-15-04, 22:23
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WantsMore WantsMore is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 365
 
Plan: atkins
Stats: 193/180/134 Female 5'4
BF:Size 12
Progress: 22%
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I have a bad case of PCOS and the hair problem of course. I was put on Yasmin a year ago for the hair growth. The doctor thought it would help, plus she does not want me on certain birth controls. She said some have hormones that could make me worse off. Well the hair is the same. I see her again in about a month or a little less. I'm going to ask her about the Aldactone, I also have high blood pressure. I'm a little weary some of you have had results, some not. But I guess it's worth a try right? I'm so sick of the hair I'm willing to do anything. I've had laser already, getting it again is inconvenient due to the time where you have to let it grow out and I refuse to go in public when it is. The plucking has caused scarring on my neck. The hair is gone for a few hours, but I'm left scarred. Really frustrated with the facial hair issue. I've learned to just live with it elsewhere oh well, but not the face.
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  #41   ^
Old Fri, Sep-17-04, 11:09
heatly heatly is offline
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Posts: 3
 
Plan: adkins
Stats: 125/125/115 Female 5'3
BF:
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a word of encouragemnt. i have bad hair issues too. the aldactone keeps new hair from coming on, and it has lightened the hair on my stomach and chest a lot. It also has lightened the hair on my face. i also use vaniqa cream on my face which keeps the hair from growing fast. i used to have to take care of the hair everyother day, if that long. now i wait 6 or 7 weeks to do anything to the hair on my face. granted, i have been on aldactone for a year. yasmin is not enough alone to make it bettter but it does keep it from getting worse. i am currently on 75mg of aldactone and on yasmin. i was in a state of despair when this first happened to me, i have PCOS too, but now after finding the right kinds of products and getting help from good doctors, i feel very satisfied and secure. Vaniqa is a miracle for us women with hair on our faces. it seriously changed my life. i feel much more confident and normal now. hope this helps!
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