Re: aldactone question
From: Beth (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon, 16 Apr 2001 10:12:06 -0500 (CDT)
Jodi,
I understand your hesitation completely. I too was hoping for a real
fix and not a cover up, but that doesn't appear to be obtainable.
While I'm managing my IR great with diet alone, the effects of the
testosterone aren't so easily managed. I know some hope that losing
weight and watching the diet will offer improvement for it but it hasn't
for me. I would have no improvement at all if not for the Spiro. I
have 10 pounds left that I'd like to lose BUT with my weight loss am
well within my normal weight range, towards the lower end even. My IR
being in check hasn't helped the testosterone either.
I have been lucky with Spiro, no bad side effects from it. I haven't
had the bleeding or a problem with low blood pressure. (I'm at 104/74
which is about normal, maybe a bit higher than normal for me) After 2
months on Spiro my acne was drastically improved, the weight started
coming off fairly easily around 4 months but didn't notice hair regrowth
though until about 6 months.
Anyhow I understand where you're coming from. I didn't want to stay on
Spiro forever either. At this point though you couldn't get me off of
it. I cringe when I think of all my symptoms coming back full force :
P. I wish the testosterone was as easily managed as IR but
unfortunately it's not for me. There are just aren't good solutions out
there for it.
At Mon, 16 Apr 2001, jodi wrote:
>
>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
>>
--
Beth
Rockport, MA
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