Re: aldactone question
From: jodi (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 16 Apr 2001 09:25:24 -0500 (CDT)
thank you for your reply!
i understand about the birth defects aspect of aldactone. that is one
reason i was previously opposed to taking it - i would have to go off of
it if i wanted to ttc, and all the effects would come back if they
weren't being handled otherwise (met, diet... my old doctor would give
me nothing for the PCOS besides aldactone and this infuriated me as it
seemed i knew more about what was wrong than he did)
as for the BCPs, my new doc won't give me aldactone WITHOUT being on
BCPs... which in a way bothers me because i am also against using BCPs
to control this thing!!! i like to know if my body is working, not take
BCPs and make it look like it is all ok. but when i took aldactone
before, i bled for 3 weeks, and i will not endure that again.
i also had good effects on the aldactone... in less than a month my
skin looked much better and my chin hair stubble seemed less of a
problem. i know it's supposed to take 6 months to see results but i
really saw result in less than one month!!! but i couldn't take that
bleeding... and i couldn't take feeling the aldactone was all i was
offered, and all it was doing for my problem was making me look
prettier.
i still feel like in an ideal world, we should treat the cause of the
problem, and the visable symptoms will in turn be reduced.
unfortunately, met isn't doing the job, and i am getting more and more
depressed as summer nears. oh, it would be divine to have ONE normal
summer... one summer where i didn't feel like the hairy razorburned
freak... one DAY even it would be heavenly to put the skimpiest of
bathing suits and not see hair where no woman should have hair.
but i know it's too late in the game for that to ever happen... but if
only i could reducce the growth and make shaving less of a lost cause...
ANYWAY so i plan to keep taking the met and using diet/exercise to try
to correct the PCOS at its source... but i want a faster action on the
visable symptoms here. it's just, i wouldn't want to be back at square
one again, taking a medication that makes it look like everything is ok
and meanwhile under the surface everything is WRONG. i want to know
what my hormone levels are so i would know if the root problem was being
addressed or not. i want to know that aldactone won't make obtaining
such knowledge difficult.
now when friday comes, i'm gonna send my endocrinologist into a
tailspin, asking for the meds i was so adamtely opposed to just 3 months
ago!!!
- jodi
At Sun, 15 Apr 2001, Beth wrote:
>
>Aldactone / Spironolactone blocks the effects of the testosterone. You
>may even notice some of your symptoms reappear even if you miss just 1
>pill during the day. Certain things cause it to be less effective too,
>like aspirin. It does not lower testosterone and whenever one of the
>above things happens, that is obvious.
>
>Of course as with everything, it can depend on the person. Personally I
>was having good results with Spiro by itself before going on bcp's. Many
>of the things Spiro corrected were sent back into a downward spin with
>the bcp's. I also can't take any sort of otc pain pills without it
>causing symptoms to reappear.
>
>With that being said, Spiro has been a godsend! Here's what it's done
>for me:
>
>My skin is nearly immaculate now, very few and very minor breakouts (1-2
>pimples once a month or so). My hair isn't falling out as quickly and
>I'm regrowing hair! With reducing carbs, I've lost 26 pounds since
>January. I'm less than 10 pounds away from my ideal weight now and
>still losing. I also don't gain weight over every little thing.
>
>I am on 200 mg a day btw. It seems those of us on the higher dose have
>more dramatic results than those on a lower dose. I haven't had any
>trouble with low blood pressure, mine is steady at 104/74 which is a bit
>higher than mine used to be before my symptoms kicked in full force.
>
>Anyhow overall I am doing great on it. I am almost back to normal and
>feeling very good about myself again. Reducing my carbs is keeping my
>IR in check without meds and Spiro is managing the rest of my symptoms
>for now.
>
>I assume since you're willing to take bcp's you're not ttc right now?
>Because of the effects on a developing fetus Spiro shouldn't be taken
>during pregnancy.
>
>Good luck with your decision and I hope everything works out ok for
>you!!
>
>At Sun, 15 Apr 2001, jodi wrote:
>>
>>i have a doc appointment this friday and even though i was in the past
>>adamately against aldactone and birth control, i think i am gonna beg
>>for both of them this week. the met alone just isn't doing a damn
>>thing.
>>
>>there's just one thing i wonder about... i have heard that if you use
>>aldactone, once you go off the hair comes back with a vengence. this
>>makes sense, since it doesn't correct why all that testosterone is there
>>in the first place.
>>
>>it SEEMS like if you went on the aldactone and corrected what was wrong,
>>the hair wouldn't come back when you quit the aldactone. right???
>>
>>so i would want to keep doing the met & diet & exercise stuff...
>>
>>but if you're on aldactone, can testosterone even be measured so you
>>would KNOW if it was safe ever to stop???
>>
>>i have heard two explanations for how aldactone works.
>>
>>1. it blocks the action of testosterone on the skin & body. the
>>testosterone is still there, but it isn't able to affect the body in the
>>same way, causing acne, hair, etc. this is what i always believed, and
>>if this is true, you would still be able to measure testoserone levels
>>accurately.
>>
>>2. it binds to the testosterone and allows it to be flushed out of the
>>body. if this is true, you would not be able to measure testosterone in
>>the blood accurately, and you wouldn't know if it was safe to go off of
>>it.
>>
>>does anyone know which is true, 1 or 2?
>>
>>- jodi
>
>--
>Beth
>Rockport, MA
>
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