Spironolactone and side effects

[CanadianCutie]

i think my family Doctor is an idiot b/c he didn't warned me about any of the side effects of taking spironolactone. i'm taking 50mg/day. when i first took it i felt fine...but after a while i started to feel really dizzy. i didn't understand why, until i did research on spironolactone on the net and found out that u shouldn't take it on an empty stomach or eat any foods high in potassium. my Doctor never mentioned this. well i was eating bananas on the days i got sick which are really high in potassium. i stopped eating those and now i feel fine when i take it. but what really got me worried was that spironolactone is classified as a drug that can actually cause hair loss!!! so what am i doing, taking it to prevent hair loss? also its used mainly for high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, kidney and liver disease, sounds kinda dangerous to me....i've only been taking for about a month with no improvement i don't know if i should continue it or not? has anyone had success with spironolactone?

 

[jvantin1]

Hey CC,

I've been taking oral spironolactone for about a year and it's definitely helped keep the shedding down, although I wouldn't say I've regrown hair on it. However, you should know that a fair amount of women who take it say that it becomes less effective over time. I'm taking the max dose--200 mg a day--so if it stops working, I really can't up the dosage.

Also, a VERY few women have posted on other sites that spironolactone actually increased their shedding. I must emphasize that it's very few--and significantly fewer than those who post about the massive minoxidil sheds. In my opinion, the risk of using minoxidil is definitely not one worth taking, but everyone is different.

Good luck--I really hope the spironolactone helps!

J