Horomone treatment question

[mre9392]

I've battled acne since 5th grade, and I'm just about to turn 21 now. Yesterday my dermatologist prescribed me 25mg Spironolactone 2xD and Tri-Sprintec BCP to help clear my skin up. I trust her judgement with placing me on both of those medications, but what worries me is that it may be too much of a hormone change for my body. I know that birth control pills increase estrogen levels in the body and that spironolactone is an antiandrogen drug, and naturally the body will replace androgens with estrogen. I'm scared that my already slow metabolism will slow down further with these medications and that I'll gain weight that I worked so hard to lose. Is this something I should worry about? What other effects should I expect in taking tri-sprintec coupled with spironolactone? Are there things I can do to prevent any of the negative side effects? Should I try just one for now and then jump on the other later?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
There are no reported interactions between Tri-sprintec and Spironolactone and you can atke the medicine as prescribed by your doctor. Apart from that, you can prevent and treat acne by changing your lifestyle like eating proper diet, getting a good amount of sleep and drink at least eight glasses of water daily.  You can also treat acne by cleaning your face regularly, using skincare products, apply antibacterial topical medications.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[mre9392]

I don't know if this information is relevant as well, but I'm 5'4, 125lb on average. I used to be much more active than I currently am, and I used to run 3 miles at least 4 times a week. Now I'm lucky if I can find time to do 3 miles once a month because of work. I'm a barista, and I'm always on my feet. I also take Adderall XR and I've just weaned off of Fluoxetine. As for vitamins, I take 5,000 mcg of biotin and 800 mcg of Chromium Picolinate + Green Tea. I've been trying to figure out if there are any other vitamins I can take to combat the slower glucose and carbohydrate metabolization from the BCP, or maybe that will just make sure everything is balanced? Is there anything to balance out potassium as well?

Basically I just want to know as close to exactly how these new medications are going to affect me and my body.