 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / General / General / December 2005Taken off hydrochlorothiazide
Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt like I was dying. My potassium and nutrients were being depleted, I was deprssed, had no appeitite, no sex drive, and experienced muscular cramps and constipation. In the beginning it hasd felt good but the excessive urge to urinate went way past rationality. > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > beginning it hasd felt good but > the excessive urge to urinate went way past rationality. Some blood pressure meds can cause depression. There are other blood pressure meds out there so it's a matter of finding the right one for you. I take it you have tried to lose weight and exercise regularly? Avoid salt and remember it takes some time before your body gets used to the meds. > Some blood pressure meds can cause depression. There are other blood > pressure meds out there so it's a matter of finding the right one for you. > I take it you have tried to lose weight and exercise regularly? > Avoid salt and remember it takes some time before your body gets used to the > meds. Far from it; I lost weight but the hydrochlorothiazide gave me side effects: loss of appetite, constipation, hemorrhoids, strange thoughts, a feeling of waves going thru my body while I was lying down; I was eventually taken off it after the dosage was doubled a few days before. I only took the 25 mg dosage only once; the 12.5 mg dosage was taken for a few weeks. Of course I have been watching salt intake but I still have to eat some food that has salt: some TV dinners, though I make sure they are around 500mg-660 mg sodium. I have to still consume canned vegetables because my freezer is small, though I try to watch that tomato sauce and paste I buy contain little sodium. I have had strange sensations in my back and at times in the right leg or right metatarsal. I used to sleep on the floor for a few years, now I have been sleeping in a bed; when I visit a friend of mine I find sleeping on his couch results in pain and sitting in his sofa chair and falling asleep in it results in back pain.I think his furniture may be sagging if it isn't just my condition. > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > beginning it hasd felt good but > the excessive urge to urinate went way past rationality. I'd suggest you see a doctor for yet further help, as this much HCTZ does NOT explain any of your symptoms or lab results. Nice thought, but forget it. SBH > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > beginning it hasd felt good but > the excessive urge to urinate went way past rationality. Most people with hypertension tolerate the small amount of hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) that you were prescribed without any adverse events (AEs). If these AEs developed gradually over time, they may be related to any weight loss you may have had that "normalized" your blood pressure so that even the small amount of HCTZ has become excessive. This has been a fairly common occurrence among the more than 625,550 people who have lost weight using the 2PD-OMER Approach: http://www.HeartMDPhD.com/wtloss.asp Would be more than happy to "glow" and chat about this and other things like cardiology, diabetes and nutrition that interest those following this thread here during the next on-line chat (12/08/05): http://tinyurl.com/cpayh For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how the LORD has reshaped me: http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt In Christ's love always, Andrew http://tinyurl.com/b6xwk > > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > Andrew > http://tinyurl.com/b6xwk Hello, This message is for the OP (original poster). I advise you to read the following book: "Coping With Kidney Disease" by Mackenzie Walser, M.D. (kidney specialist) The book mentions HCTZ and some of the problems you mentioned in your post. Jason  SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. > > > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > > > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > The book mentions HCTZ and some of the problems you mentioned in your post. > Jason Followup: Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not usually cause kidney related side effects. hydrochlorothiazide (a diuretic) and ACE Inhibitors can cause kidney related side effects. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. > Followup: > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not > usually cause kidney related side effects. hydrochlorothiazide (a > diuretic) > and ACE Inhibitors can cause kidney related side effects. > Jason Jason, I know I've tried before, but here goes again: This stuff is complex. Reading a book and posting "ACE inhibitors can cause kidney related side effects" as if you know something about this issue is dangerous if people rely on what you write. Please, if you insist on doing this, warn the people reading that you are not a doctor and don't actually know anything about the subject. SignatureDavid Rind drind@caregroup.harvard.edu > > Followup: > > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > David Rind > drind@caregroup.harvard.edu As if being a doctor is a guarantee of knowing something about the subject. > > > Followup: > > > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > As if being a doctor is a guarantee of knowing something about the > subject. Of course being a doctor is not the same as being omniscient (although some hold the opinion that doctors think of themselves as being omniscient). In truth, only the LORD is omniscient. That being said, I do not agree with Dr. Rind's opinion that Jason needs to add a disclaimer to his posts to warn people that he is not a doctor (having Jason also write that he knows nothing about a subject would be self-deprecating and unreasonable) Would be more than happy to "glow" and chat about this and other things like cardiology, diabetes and nutrition that interest those following this thread here during the next on-line chat this Thursday (12/08/05): http://tinyurl.com/cpayh For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how the LORD has reshaped me: http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt In Christ's love always, Andrew http://tinyurl.com/b6xwk > > > Followup: > > > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > As if being a doctor is a guarantee of knowing something about the > subject. COMMENT: "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but that's how you bet". Damon Runyon > "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the > strong, but that's how you bet". Damon Runyon Are you sure that wasn't Robert Heinlein? SignatureKeith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/ Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me. >> "The race may not always be to the swift nor the victory to the >> strong, but that's how you bet". Damon Runyon > >Are you sure that wasn't Robert Heinlein? It wasn't. Heinlein just *wished* he were that quotable. -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me." -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth >> > Followup: >> > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >As if being a doctor is a guarantee of knowing something about the >subject. Did you take a course in order to be this obnoxious, or is it natural talent? Jason *is* a menace to public health, he won't stop giving uninformed medical advice no matter how many times he promises to do so. -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me." -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patients know something about their illnesses and their meds. Doctors know a lot about illness and the medicines. The disclaimer can be as simple as stating that the data is anecdotal (one person's experience) or that the info is not from a professional or licensed health worker. My anecdotal experience with HCTZ over many years is that (1) it periodically causes pain from deposits of calcium pyrophosphate around different joints; (2) it depletes potassium thru excessive urination; (3) it has added side effects of muscle cramps and tachycardia (rapid pulse) which are mitigated by as little as 90 MG of potassium supplement per day. I use 2.5 MG of diazepam ad lib as a calcium channel blocker and sleep aid. The beta blocker (25MG per day) keeps my pulse usually between 60 and 70. The diazepam does occasionally cause minor heart pain or fingertip pain, which indicates to me there is plaque in the arteries. So now I am taking 1000MG (the "football" gel cap) of Omega 3-6 fatty acid per diem. Saturated fat intake is minimal. If I stop HCTZ and depend solely on beta blocker and ace inhibitor for HPB control, the BP goes up to 140/90 within one week. David H (a VA patient not a doc) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > My anecdotal experience with HCTZ over many years is that > (1) it periodically causes pain from deposits of calcium pyrophosphate > around different joints; (2) it depletes potassium thru excessive > urination; (3) it has added side effects of muscle cramps and > tachycardia Not good for someone who is merely borderline HP. > > Followup: > > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > insist on doing this, warn the people reading that you are not a doctor > and don't actually know anything about the subject. David, You are right. I should have mentioned that I was not a doctor and was merely repeating what I recalled reading in "The Pill Book". I should also have re-read that section of the "The Pill Book" before I made the post. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. > David, > You are right. I should have mentioned that I was not a doctor and was > merely repeating what I recalled reading in "The Pill Book". I should What you said makes sense, though. All medications can be dangerous; they can all produce side effects and can interact with other drugs; they can have adverse reactions in different people in various ways................. > Calcium Channel Blockers (eg Norvasc) (a blood pressure medication) do not > usually cause kidney related side effects. hydrochlorothiazide (a > diuretic) > and ACE Inhibitors can cause kidney related side effects. > Jason Kidney side effects. Makes sense. > Hello, > This message is for the OP (original poster). I advise you to read the > following book: > "Coping With Kidney Disease" by Mackenzie Walser, M.D. (kidney specialist) > The book mentions HCTZ and some of the problems you mentioned in your post. > Jason Jason, I advise you to read "Dioretix: The Science of Matter over Mind". This book will change your life. > Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > beginning it hasd felt good but > the excessive urge to urinate went way past rationality. Hello, I am not a doctor. I had a similar experience with hydrocholorothiazide. It's a diuretic. The electrolytes (eg Potassium, magnesium, sodium) were out of balance which was the reason for your side effects. You should ask your doctor to prescribe another medication such as Norvasc--a calcium channel blocker--instead of a diuretic. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >> Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was >> taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >You should ask your doctor to prescribe another medication such as >Norvasc--a calcium channel blocker--instead of a diuretic. Yep, there he goes again, giving medical advice. I think I can say with some confidence that if you ask your doctor to prescribe any specific med, you're going to meet resistance. Clearly, the med you were on was a bad choice for you, and some other approach is indicated, but if your doctor can't figure that out for him- or herself, you need a different doctor. -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me." -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth > >> Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > >> taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > indicated, but if your doctor can't figure that out for him- or > herself, you need a different doctor. COMMENT: Indeed. Calling HCTZ a "diuretic" is a misnomer, since the diuretic activity is minimal at these doses, and eventually disappears completely. And seems to have little to do with why it lowers blood pressure. As to potassium problems, 12.5 mg is just about the lower limit of where they appear, but it's possible. Unfortunately, it's also the lower edge of antihypertensive effect, so that's a hard battle to win with monotherapy. And one reason why combinations of HCTZ at this dose, combined with some other potassium-sparing agent like an ACE-inhibitor, are popular and well-studied. The effects of these are synergistic on blood pressure, and antagonistic on potassium. I'm fond of captopril and HCTZ, an old combo, but still a good one. The newer ACE inhibitors have improved on half-life but not on mortality. And the even newer ATB drugs don't have the effect on mortality we expected, either. Beta blockers have recently come under criticism as first line drugs after the giantic LANCET meta analysis http://www.webmd.com/content/article/113/110940 but a beta blocker and diuretic was where JNC VI recommended everybody start. That leaves us with the thiazides, but the caveats above apply. Thus, I'm for captopril/HCTZ first. Norvasc (amlodipine) in place of captopril if you cough. =================================== Blood Press. 1994 Jul;3(4):231-5. Relation between low dose of hydrochlorothiazide, antihypertensive effect and adverse effects. Jounela AJ, Lilja M, Lumme J, Morlin C, Hoyem A, Wessel-Aas T, Borrild NJ. Department of Hypertension Clinic, Deaconess Hospital, Oulu, Finland. Thiazide diuretics are widely used in the drug treatment of hypertension buttheir dose-response curves for the antihypertensive and adverse metabolic effects differ. To characterize the lower end of the dose-response curve a double-blind, parallel group trial was performed as multicentre study in Scandinavia. One hundred and eleven patients with newly diagnosed or previously treated mild to moderate hypertension (untreated diastolic blood pressure of 95-115 mmHg after 4 weeks placebo) were randomly allocated to various doses of hydrochlorothiazide (3, 6, 12.5 or 25 mg) or placebo for 6 weeks. Blood pressure and biochemical variables (plasma renin activity, serum potassium, magnesium, urate, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoproteins A1 and B were measured. 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide had a borderline effect on blood pressure whilst 25 mg had a definite antihypertensive effect. Biochemical changes were seen in plasma renin activity, serum potassium and urate after the 12.5 and 25 mg dose. Three and 6 mg had no effect on blood pressure or metabolic parameters. Publication Types: Clinical Trial Multicenter Study Randomized Controlled Trial > >> Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was > >> taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > "If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me." > -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth Dr. Wright, Thanks for providing your advice. If you are not a doctor, you should state in your post: "I am not a doctor" since that it what you advised me to do. Jason SignatureNEWSGROUP SUBSCRIBERS MOTTO We respect those subscribers that ask for advice or provide advice. We do NOT respect the subscribers that enjoy criticizing people. >> >> Last Dec I was diagnosed with borderline HBP. Last week I was >> >> taken off 12.5 mg hydrochlorothiazide, since it got to the point I felt [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >state in your post: "I am not a doctor" since that it what you advised me >to do. The difference is that I'm not giving medical advice, and you are. -- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me." -- Alice Roosevelt Longworth > I am not a doctor. I had a similar experience with hydrocholorothiazide. > It's a diuretic. The electrolytes (eg Potassium, magnesium, sodium) were > out of balance which was the reason for your side effects. > You should ask your doctor to prescribe another medication such as > Norvasc--a calcium channel blocker--instead of a diuretic. Right, my electrolytes were very much out of balance...I felt like I was dying, too. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.