Spironolactone & Water Consumption?

[Traci Elizabeth]

For you ladies on Spironolactone, how much water (or other beverages) do you consume per day since it is a diuretic to stay hydrated?

:daydreaming:

[luvSophia]

Ummm, I know this is not very scientific, but I drink a LOT. I do not really keep track of it but probably twice as much as I used to. I keep a glass of water by the bed at night and drink if I happen to wake up, but I usually get up in the morning feeling very thirsty.

[Felicity71]

Once i started, i realized i had to drink more than usual. Id be going through maybe 6 cups of tea, a day. Usually its a green tea without milk or sugar. In the morning as i wake up, if i havent had enough water, my left calf muscle seems to easily cramp, sometimes quite painfully.

[Traci Elizabeth]

Once i started, i realized i had to drink more than usual. Id be going through maybe 6 cups of tea, a day. Usually its a green tea without milk or sugar. In the morning as i wake up, if i havent had enough water, my left calf muscle seems to easily cramp, sometimes quite painfully.

It seems like I am thirsty all the time now but I also know that too much water is not good too.

[Daniela76]

Diuretics force the impurities out of your body. That requires the water to be forced out as well.
I have another condition that I have been taking diuretics for my entire life. Waiting until I can change one of them to Spironolactone.


Guess what, caffeine is something to be avoided if you are taking diuretics. And green tea does have caffeine in it.

Oh and take it from someone who knows. You will know if you are drinking too much water. I drink 3 gallons a day!!
Keep on drinking the water as much as you want. Only get worried if you get bloated feeling from the water or if you feel dehydrated no matter how much water you drink.
That is when you want to talk to the prescriber of the spironolactone.

Just a few helpful hints from someone who is ALWAYS dehydrated.

[JOANNE]

I drink 2 litres daily but I am not on spiro. You would probable need 3 litres at least.

[MJ]

well lots i drink 8 glasses of water a day plus tea and coffee

[Karen564]

Before using
WARNING: This medicine can raise your body's potassium levels. This is more likely to occur in people with kidney problems, diabetes, in elderly patients, or if the patient is severely ill. Potassium levels must be closely monitored in people with any of these problems or illnesses. If not treated, high potassium levels can be fatal. If you develop any of the following symptoms, notify your doctor immediately: muscle weakness, irregular heartbeat. Some medicines or medical conditions may interact with this medicine. INFORM YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST of all prescription and over-the-counter medicine that you are taking. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICINE if you are also taking potassium. ADDITIONAL MONITORING OF YOUR DOSE OR CONDITION may be needed if you are taking NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or indomethacin) or medicine for heart conditions (ACE inhibitors). Inform your doctor of any other medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or breast-feeding. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns about taking this medicine.

8 - 12, glasses of water is plenty unless you work in the hot sun all day.....that's about a gallon plus of H2O

[Felicity71]

OMG!!!,
I'll have to remember everything you said when I want to off myself in a hurry!!..:brolleyes:


When your on Spiro, you want to AVOID high Potassium foods!!
Because your body Retains it,,,, It does Not Deplete it faster.!!!!


If you don't know what your talking about regarding drugs, Please do Not give any advise..!!



Read below...



8 - 12, glasses of water is plenty unless you work in the hot sun all day.....that's about a gallon plus of H2O

ohh damn, i took Daniellas advice and ate a heap of bananas due to them having high potassium, and now im really poisoned :)

I remember my endocronoligist telling me about how spiro works and so i do avoid potassium rich foods. This is why we see doctors. They give us safe advice.

[Traci Elizabeth]

Yes, I too avoid Potassium and check everything for the amount it has in the ingredients. I also stay away from bananas but in truth there are a lot of things with more potassium than bananas.

As far as the Spiro, I have just noticed that my desire for water has skyrocket. I use to drink only one or two glasses a day and the rest was Diet Pepsi's (about 2-4 per day).

Now! I don't crave soda's just seem to want water, water, water, water all day long.

I guess that is a good thing. My gut feeling is that too much of any thing including water can't be completely harmless.

[Karen564]

Now! I don't crave soda's just seem to want water, water, water, water all day long.

I guess that is a good thing. My gut feeling is that too much of any thing including water can't be completely harmless.

Soda is no good for you anyway..so it's great your getting away from drinking it..

It is very true, Too much of Anything is no good for you...and that includes Vitamins...it's all about keeping our body chemistry balanced.

Yes, you can drink plenty of water...Although I don't recommend 3 gallons ....lol

Drink just enough you keep you well hydrated... so your Kidney's stay healthy and avoid forming stones..

If you've been extremely thirsty, you may want to keep track of your salt intake....too much sodium will leave you very thirsty...Like any fast food for an example is loaded with with it...even just 1 Micky D's hamburger has more salt in it than you need for the whole day.

Keep track of every single thing you eat during the day for a week, and write down all that info from the nutritional lable...it's amazing how easy it is to go way beyond the daily recommended amount in some catagory after you total up all the numbers....especialy sodium.

That's why I cook everything from scratch & also have lots of veggies..
Although, the one thing I can't give up is my coffee..I need it to function..but only drink it black...
I know, I know, Me Bad.....lol

[luvSophia]

Although, the one thing I can't give up is my coffee..I need it to function..but only drink it black...I know, I know, Me Bad.....lol
Most of the "facts" people know about coffee are really myths. Caffeine is only a diuretic when your body is caffeine naive, meaning you haven't had any in several days. Otherwise coffee is fine as a source of fluids. Coffee is also a decent source of anti-oxidants (fights free radicals). Don't knock my coffee! One drawback though, coffee is also a source of potassium. 87 mg per six ounce cup.

[TerryTerri]

I live in a desert climate and have for many years now. Keeping myself hydrated is a natural impulse, just like hunger. I drink gallons in the summer time when I am out in the heat working, and not so much during the winter months. As mentioned, I watch my potassium intake and, for me, add as much salt as I can stand usually. I usually have low blood pressure, which the spiro lowers further. So, since spiro leeches salt and salt helps to raise my blood pressure, salty stuff is the order of the day for me! I think in many ways we all have a quirk which we specifically need to be aware of. Anyway, one word of experience.

If you are of Spiro and avoiding high potassium foods, watch out for the low sodium / reduced sodium / healthy heart kinds of foods. Usually potassium is used in place of sodium, check out the nutrition label. Since Spiro leeches sodium, we do not need to be quite as sensitive to normal sodium level foods.

The best advice is, read up on spiro (not from a bunch of gals on a CD forum) and if your doctor's advice seems to counter what you think, based on what you have learned, question your doctor so that in the end both you and your doctor understand and agree on the meds you are taking and the dosage levels. Trust your doctor, but NOT blindly.

[Karen564]

One drawback though, coffee is also a source of potassium. 87 mg per six ounce cup.

Thank you for bringing that to my attention....:thumbsup:
Coffee is the only thing I never looked up, since it doesn't have a nutritional label, so I figured their wasn't anything worth worrying about right?.......
Wrong...lol

So I just looked it up....http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/beverages/3898/2

But even at those figures, I'm still safe.....:D

[helenr]

a personal trainer told me everyone should drink his (her)weight in ounces-daily- so if you weigh 120 (lucky gal!) that would be 120 oz. This is harder in cold weather when we seem less thirsty, but is a good habit to form. the trainer fills a large gatorade type bottle -maybe some spring water he gets at the store?- (Las Vegas has gross tap water) and empties it twice daily.I try to get my liquids well before evening-so I don't have to get up more than once (now, thanks to spiro, I can't 'get it up'--I mean 'me' getting up). limp (oops!) attempt at humor.

[Lorileah]

wow, so everything I learned about diuretics in vet school was flawed? amazing how that works.

a diuretic by definition increases urine output. This is done by increasing heart rate (sorry but caffeine is a diuretic by definition along with theophylline and theobromine and I don't think they have invented a caffeine yet that doesn't raise heart rate and increase contraction...feel free to cite where that came from), raising blood pressure (see above), increasing loss of fluid via the tubule of the kidneys or flushing said tubules. This is called diuresis.Spironolactone is in the family of "Potassium sparing" diuretics (which is different than Furosemide). It would take a huge amount from food to increase potassium significantly even with these drugs.


On average the daily maintenance rate is like 45-60 ml/kg/day. You get some of this from foods. You lose some from vomiting diarrhea respiration and urination. When you take a diuretic you lose more per average than normal. We use what we call ins and outs. If you urinate and extra 200 ml per day by taking a diuretic then you need to increase accordingly. In many cases you will also be losing some electrolytes. (30 cc = one ounce). By kicking you daily intake to the 60 ml/kg/day you will usually be alright.

Caffeine and theobromine are mild diuretics at best so losses will be minimal if you drink that Red Bull or Starbucks but in combination with other diuretics you may see a multiplication and not a linear increase so that would be a good cautionary tale (we often combine two diuretics to get better results).

With normal use of Spiro one would expect a slight increase in urination but it will often be easily balanced with routine fluid intake

[Karen564]

Here you go, all you need to know about Spironolactone...and then some....some 10 pages worth...:Dlol

http://www.rxlist.com/aldactone-drug.htm (http://www.rxlist.com/aldactone-drug.htm)

[Loni]

i can never get enough water. lips are always dry.

but maybe it is a side effect of a med i must take. :sad:
i hate pills and must take about 10 or 12 a day.:doh:

Loni

.

[Daniela76]

...And this just in from the love & kindness department!!

When you disagree with someone & know they are incorrect, you don't kindly correct them.
Nope, you publicly mock them & suggest they have no idea what they are talking about.

I can freely admit that I didn't completely know what I was talking about when I made some of those statements.
They were based on a 34 year history of taking Hydrochlorothiazide & Amiloride (both diuretics). I have never taken Spironolactone though. Just a little clouded by personal history. And feeling like crap lately because I feel constantly dehydrated and weak & have really high blood pressure.

There's way too many opinions & feelings being thrown around this whole website & specifically any discussion (this one) about medical matters.

There's a reason the mods won't let us talk about dosages, it's because none of us are truly qualified to give other people medical recommendations. Even Lorileah (truly no offense intended sis), said she went to vet school, which is not people. I myself get sucked in when I think I know something. But I guess I need to remember my pharmacy technician training sometimes & remember that we can't broad stroke anything, due to safety.

So in the end maybe these discussions should be stopped more often before they devolve into sniping & misinformation.

But at the end of everyday we have to remember we are all emotional creatures, trying to become even more emotional creatures.

Have a good night! :love:

[Felicity71]

...And this just in from the love & kindness department!!

When you disagree with someone & know they are incorrect, you don't kindly correct them.
Nope, you publicly mock them & suggest they have no idea what they are talking about.

I can freely admit that I didn't completely know what I was talking about when I made some of those statements.
They were based on a 34 year history of taking Hydrochlorothiazide & Amiloride (both diuretics). I have never taken Spironolactone though. Just a little clouded by personal history. And feeling like crap lately because I feel constantly dehydrated and weak & have really high blood pressure.

There's way too many opinions & feelings being thrown around this whole website & specifically any discussion (this one) about medical matters.

There's a reason the mods won't let us talk about dosages, it's because none of us are truly qualified to give other people medical recommendations. Even Lorileah (truly no offense intended sis), said she went to vet school, which is not people. I myself get sucked in when I think I know something. But I guess I need to remember my pharmacy technician training sometimes & remember that we can't broad stroke anything, due to safety.

So in the end maybe these discussions should be stopped more often before they devolve into sniping & misinformation.

But at the end of everyday we have to remember we are all emotional creatures, trying to become even more emotional creatures.

Have a good night! :love:

no worries, no harm done, peace, sister

[Karen564]

...And this just in from the love & kindness department!!

When you disagree with someone & know they are incorrect, you don't kindly correct them.
Nope, you publicly mock them & suggest they have no idea what they are talking about.

I can freely admit that I didn't completely know what I was talking about when I made some of those statements.
They were based on a 34 year history of taking Hydrochlorothiazide & Amiloride (both diuretics). I have never taken Spironolactone though. Just a little clouded by personal history. And feeling like crap lately because I feel constantly dehydrated and weak & have really high blood pressure.

There's way too many opinions & feelings being thrown around this whole website & specifically any discussion (this one) about medical matters.

There's a reason the mods won't let us talk about dosages, it's because none of us are truly qualified to give other people medical recommendations. Even Lorileah (truly no offense intended sis), said she went to vet school, which is not people. I myself get sucked in when I think I know something. But I guess I need to remember my pharmacy technician training sometimes & remember that we can't broad stroke anything, due to safety.

So in the end maybe these discussions should be stopped more often before they devolve into sniping & misinformation.

But at the end of everyday we have to remember we are all emotional creatures, trying to become even more emotional creatures.

Have a good night! :love:

I'm very sorry,
and do appologize...

It seemed that I got a bit cranky after 12+ hrs of homework & was awake 25 hrs prior..not that is a good excuse, but thats all I have...

And admit it, as in like totally lost it after reading your post, and totally freaked out because I know how many hits this site gets, so when I see info here that I know can have a possible deadly or bad outcome, I will react.......and quick at that..

I may not have shown any tack, but wanted it to make the message very clear......not so much to you personally, but to make it clear to the many lurkers out there that may have read it..

I know everyone is in different stages of health, and for anyone younger or healthy to begin with, this is not such a big deal.......But,,,,, I don't count on that, I'm more thinking of the ones in more fragile health & walking time bombs...

I'll be more than happy to edit my post clean (which I just did) hopefully you will edit yours to remove the mis-information about spiro ...........deal..??

:hugs:

[luvSophia]

...a diuretic by definition increases urine output. This is done by increasing heart rate (sorry but caffeine is a diuretic by definition along with theophylline and theobromine and I don't think they have invented a caffeine yet that doesn't raise heart rate and increase contraction...feel free to cite where that came from)...

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
Volume 12, Issue 2 (June 2002) Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance by Lawrence E. Armstrong

All studies I have seen on coffee and caffeine had as a requirement that the individuals participating be caffeine naive in order to get a common baseline. The body develops a tolerance very quickly to the diuretic and stimulant effects of caffeine.

[CharleneT]

Getting back to the original question....

I take Spiro and although I have increased my fluid intake, it is a small amount. I drink about one 16 ounce glass of water per day extra. Or there abouts. Especially after you have been on a drug for a while, you'll notice that your body adapts to the side effects and sometimes they become milder. It is worth noting, I take a low dose of Spiro....

Most recent medical studies about hydration say that you should drink when you are thirsty and not try to follow some prescribed amount of water intake ( such as a "gallon a day keeps the urologist away...")

[Lorileah]

International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
Volume 12, Issue 2 (June 2002) Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance by Lawrence E. Armstrong

All studies I have seen on coffee and caffeine had as a requirement that the individuals participating be caffeine naive in order to get a common baseline. The body develops a tolerance very quickly to the diuretic and stimulant effects of caffeine.

Took me awhile to find somewhere that article was that didn't require a subscription. Thanks. (when I did find it it was a little more current 2005). As you see there is a diuretic effect early on and as you point out the study claims it decreases. Good news for Starbucks fans :) It also seems to show why caffeine addicts need more and more. In this study it would show that the use of caffeine for let's say studying would be more psychosomatic (found a couple articles that reinforced that) also virtually every study showed an increase in urine output initially (some took a very high dosage). Most agreed that moderate caffeine intake does not lead to dehydration (maybe secondary to increased fluid intake with the caffeine).

Thanks again for the citation. It does explain that coffee won't dehydrate you. But in regard to the OP, neither will spironolactone when adequate fluids are consumed (which is a problem for many males).

[kristyk]

I do find myself drinking lots of water with Spiro but I find that I have my heart race and I get dizzy from time to time do these side effects ever go away
Kristy

[Karen564]

I do find myself drinking lots of water with Spiro but I find that I have my heart race and I get dizzy from time to time do these side effects ever go away
Kristy

Kristy,

This deeply concerns me, and should not be brushed off...

If I were you, I'd call your doctor office 1st thing in the morning & tell them what's going on...
He/she will most likely want to see you asap to run some test....

Take Care,
:hugs:

[luvSophia]

I do find myself drinking lots of water with Spiro but I find that I have my heart race and I get dizzy from time to time do these side effects ever go away
Kristy
Kristy - Like Karen said, you should see your doctor soon. An electrolyte imbalance and/or low blood pressure will both cause those symptoms. Neither is something to mess around with and both can be caused by spiro usage.

[kristyk]

I'll call him Wednesday

The symptom I have lived with for years off and on I actually thought that this was just a side effect that I was needing to deal with.

I can be so nieve to things sometimes

Thanks for your support

Kristy

[Arianna Aine]

oddly enough i never really noticed any feelings of dehydration since starting on spiro like two months ago...until now, reading this thread :raisedeyebrow:

gah! its only my fourth post! what are you girls doing to me already?

:huggles