Question about hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic?

Question

i am taking this medication prescribed by my doctor. it's not used for any medical-related conditions though, it is used to help me get rid of a few pound of water weight. should i supplement this with a potassium supplement? my doctor didn't mention anything about it but after researching around the internet, i feel that it's somewhat necessary since this is not a potassium-sparring diuretic.

anyone with experiences with this medication, please help me out. thanks

Answer 1

It is very unprofessional of your doctor to

prescribe HCTZ for you, "just to get rid of

a few lbs. of water weight".  He could put his

license in jeopardy for this because he is NOT treating a disease or anything contributing to the treatment of a disease.

  There are many other natural supplements

and herbals that will act as a diuretic without

taking a chemical.  Go to a good health

food store and tell them you want a NATURAL diuretic.  I don't want to do the

research for you, you can do it for yourself.

  HCTC removes electrolytes from the body.  It removes magnesium/potassium and some calcium.  You need magnesium

for your heart.  Your Potassium absolutely

must be in balance.  Not too much and not

to little.  If you get too little, your heart will

begin to skip beats and cause other major

problems (that I don't want to look up).

  Anyone on HCTC should have a blood test

covering electrolytes (*at the time of beginning the med, and every 3 months

thereafter).  You need an Rx for Potassium,

or at the very least, take some good Potassium supplements and eat high

potassium foods.

  Your doctor should never give you an

Rx for HCTZ and not another one for the

Potassium and do a blood test.

  I advise finding a dr. that actually has a

license.

Answer 2

I was on this drug

I was told not to take a supplement

but to eat things that are high in potassium.

you can eat things other than banana's that are high in potassium.

the following are all high in potassium.

I also listed what other vitamins are in the herb/veg/fruit as well.

cantaloupe is high in potassium

fresh parsley 1/4 cup of fresh parsley provides 1/3 of your daily vitamin C requirement. it is also high in vitamin C and A

excellent source of potassium

Chives fresh

are a good source of potassium/ calcium and they also have iron

they are high in folic acid(a B vitamin)

vitamins A and C

fresh basil

contains carotenoids and floic acid.

in it's dried form it is a good source of calcium / potassium and iron.

parsnip

contains vitamin C

folic acid / potassium / calcium/ magnesium/

flaxseed oils have both omega 3 and 6

flaxseeds contain protein / fiber/ magnesium/ beta-carotene/ zinc/ vitamin E and potassium.

pineapple the fruit and the juice

contain vitamin C folic acid/ potassium and fiber.

cucumber

moderate amounts of potassium/ magnesium

potatoes are also a good source

if you fill your diet with these foods you can get all of the potassium without doing harm to your body

because the potassium is coming from foods your body will dump it if you eat too much.

if you are going to stay on this pill you should get your potassium level blood test every month at first to see how you are reacting to the med and over time you can have the blood test done farther and farther apart.

if you would like more options on what potassium rich foods you can eat feel free to email me.

also if you eat things like water-melon

it will also help with the fluid

I also wanted to share something

I have only come across a couple of cases like mine

I lived in the country side with a good well

every time I was in hospital I put on fluid

they told me that it was walking on the concrete floors

I moved into the city I filtered the tap water

but I put on 80 lbs of water in two weeks

the only thing that changed was the water

I was put on 2 different fluid pills at very high doses

so I started to get spring water and over time

I lost all of the water retention.

Answer 3

HCTZ is really a very mild diuretic, and you do not lose all that much potassium when you take it.  If you are concerned, eat some potassium rich foods, raisins are the best, 1/2 cup of raisins a day will meet your total requirement for potassium and then some.