spiro and increased vellus hair?

Hair Removal Methods Prescription oral medications
#1

My electrologist insists that more than one of her clients has had spironolactone make their blonde hairs longer and more abundant. I’m worried b/c I’ve been on it for 3 months and want to keep giving it a chance since it takes a while to kick in but I don’t want to trade more and longer vellus hair for halting the increase of terminal hairs! Has anyone here noticed worsening of vellus hair while taking spiro?

Then I thought maybe those clients just attributed longer/more vellus hair to the spiro b/c they happened to be growing it out and not tweezing at the same time so that they could do electrolysis. I know all my extra facial hair, vellus included, seems more abundant now and of course longer but that is because I stopped tweezing. I don’t know how I would know the difference. I hope its not doing that to me, though.

She also said many clients had to go off of it b/c of liver damage. How common is this?

I just bought Geoffrey Redmond’s book : “The Hormonally Vulnerable Woman” and I have only skimmed through it but it seems to talk good of spiro.

#2

Hi alli,
I was prescribed Spiro by my Endo, I got the prescription, read the enclosed leaflet and promptly scared myself half to death. It does say that one of the side effects could be increased hair growth, of course I don’t know what percentage of people this has happened to! That in itself was enough for me not to take it. Also to answer your question regarding liver damage…this I’m not too sure about, I do know that if you are taking Dianette (sp), then regular bloods should be taken to check for liver damage.

#3

Hello Alli,

The author of the Hormonally Vulnerable Woman states on his website, and I am pretty sure in his book, that the leaflet that comes with the Spiro has been proven false a long time ago and the stuff is extremely safe. I know I mentioned that a few times in this forum. I think there are pros and cons to every drug, well I know there are, but forget the leaflet. You’re correct, we’ve stopped tweezing and it may make the vellus seem like there is more, but there is not. I’ve been on the stuff awhile, and frankly, over time it’s only gotten better.

The leaflet is very contradicting. One of the things Spiro is taken for is for congenital heart failure and kidney failure (or kidney disease, I forgot which). THEN it warns that it may cause kidney failure etc. Yeah, whatever. If it helps with kidney failure, it isn’t going to cause kidney failure.

As far as liver damage, ANY medication can cause that. That warning is even on the Tylenol bottles. The liver can only take so much, and a weak liver is going to take less. Even too many vitamin pills will cause liver trouble. Don’t freak out over that, nor over the vellus hairs. I pay very close attention to my face, I have no extra growth of vellus hairs. I can look at my cheeks, which I’ve never tweezed, and it certainly is not harrier. Harry-er. However you spell it!

Electrologists do not like to zap (I use that word because it’s short and sweet) blond vellus hairs because they’re hard to get to, apparently. So when they aren’t tweezed, waxes, shaved, or zapped, they may appear longer or fuzzier. Most likely they aren’t.

I hope you can breathe now!

#4

By the way, and I may mention this again in another post, I HAVE noticed that the Spiro I purchase from inhousedrugstore.com does have varying amounts of effectiveness in each batch I buy. One batch is sometimes more effective than another. To be expected, I guess, getting it this way.

How do I know? Oil in my skin/hair, which is slight but still there in some batches and not at all in others. Also, cramps. In the batches where I notice a little more oily skin, I will feel some cramps at those times. The oil is never “bad” and the cramps are never “bad” but nonetheless, sometimes they are there and other times they are non-existent. Depends on the batch, I’m convinced. They aren’t going to have the quality control overseas that they have in America, I’m afraid.

Just a heads-up.

#5

Sadly, I think this is the case with me…
I started taking Spiro in July-August of 2007 and after 6 weeks was taking 100 mx twice a day (so that’s 200mg/day). I got my spiro from inhousepharmacy.com without prescription…
So now it’s been about 6 months & I could swear that the fine hair I had is now darker and longer… in areas that I couldn’t really see/feel it before…
I don’t really know what to do now… I don’t know if I should stop taking it or continue… I dont know what will happen if I stop…

#6

Can you consult a doctor? There may be online websites where doctors respond too. I would personally decrease the dosage to start. That seems awfully high - similar to what MTFs are taking.

#7

I have read and heard reports about the drugs available online and manufactured in China; often they contain no active ingredient, little active ingredient, or in a worst case scenario, toxic amounts of active ingredient. If you want the benefits of spironolactone, look into Aldactone, manufactured by Pfizer.

#8

Here’s the thing about buying drugs online…for many of us, it’s the only way we can get them. Spiro to be more specific. You go to the doctor with your hair “problem” and ask for options and treatment and all you get is “there’s nothing wrong with you, it’s normal, here’s a prescription for birth control”. As much as we would like to go to a doctor and have them take us seriously and treat us, they just don’t. They see things as quantity of life rather than quality…It’s a cosmetic issue, so it doesn’t need medication for treatment.

What ingredients are you refering to when you say they are inactive, less active, or toxic amounts of an active ingredient?