What is Drospirenone?

Drospirenone is a synthetic female hormone called progestin, which mimics the natural hormone progestogen. It is used most often as a medication to increase the production of hormones, especially in females. This medication is often taken orally and can only be purchased with a physician’s description.

One way to use drospirenone is as menopause medication. During the menopausal stage, there is a decrease of estrogen production—another female hormone—in a woman’s ovaries. Such fluctuation can make a woman experience many symptoms such as dizziness, hot flashes, sweatiness, and chills. Taking drospirenone helps lessen these symptoms by replacing the lost estrogen with progestin. This menopausal medication is also often accompanied by estradiol, a sex hormone predominant in females.

Studies also show that drospirenone, along with estrogen, is one of the most successful ingredients of oral contraception. This medication can restore a woman’s menstrual cycle, sometimes with an initial period of irregular bleeding. Women who have irregular menstrual cycles that skip a few months may also benefit from taking this medication. Teenagers who suffer from acne can improve their complexion with this medication, though they have to check with their dermatologists if the cause is hormonal imbalance.

Taking drospirenone can cause some undesired side effects. Common side effects are breast tenderness and pain, a feeling of bloatedness, and stomach hurt and swelling. Other uncommon side effects include pelvic pain, an increased production of white vaginal secretion, drastic weight gain or loss, and vaginal bleeding. The hormone can also produce some latent side effects that will not surface until several months or years later. These side effects can include bladder cancer and leukemia.

Patients who have kidney or liver diseases are not allowed to take drosperinone, as well as those who cannot produce enough steroid hormones. A history of heart failure and blood clots can also prevent patients from taking the medication; smokers are also prohibited. Patients who are taking other forms of medication should also inform their physicians, because drosperinone may interact in a harmful way.

Physicians should also know of other information such as occurrences of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Future surgeries should be discussed as well, because a patient might have to discontinue the drospirenone medication. Patients should also check in with their physicians on a regular basis, probably two to three times a month, to evaluate whether or not it is safe to discontinue the medication. Severe side effects should also call for an urgent visit to the doctor.