For those that take or have taken HCTZ for blood pressure

tdlsaint

Since starting MFP, (actually, since about two weeks prior to even knowing what MFP was ) , I have lost 44 pounds. The majority of that was done strictly with diet alone, and only in the past 2 weeks have I started doing any exercise to boot. When I started trying to lose weight, I was 265 pounds, and it was pretty common for my blood pressure to be 175/85. Since the weight loss and starting to be active, my blood pressure on average dropped to 110/55. I was taking 3 blood pressure pills a day, one being HCTZ for water retention. Since my blood pressure dropped like that, my doc took me off of the HCTZ. Has anyone else had experience with this ? I'm curious as to how much water weight you gained once coming off of it. For me , it took me from 221 pounds to where I am now bouncing between 222-225 for the past week. I realize that it's just my body catching up to what the HCTZ did as far as shedding the water, but hey let's admit it, once you see the numbers going in the wrong direction you get concerned. Just hoping someone else has experienced this and can shed some light on the situation. This past week I did lose an inch off my waist and hips, even with the couple of pounds gained, but I'm ready to continue my march to 180 pounds!

tdlsaint

bump for the pm crowd

tdlsaint

One last bump before I leave it to die a lonely death

FATJAKE5

I have been on HCTZ and now 10 additional drugs for 20 years and have finally decided to do something about it. The reason hctz is prescibed is to shed sodium. Too much salt makes your BP increase. The kidneys are what regulates the salts in your system. So to remove the salt hctz makes you urinate more. Once you started diet & exercise and eating properly your salt intake went down tremendously. That is why your BP went down and you had to cease taking hctz so your so you would retain enough salt to be healthy. The water weight is nothing to be concerned about. I have only been on MFP for a week and was blown away by how much sodium is in processed foods. I do not eat them any-longer. I called my doctor's office Friday and am waiting for a call from him today. as my current sodium intake is 500mg/day on average, which is the minimum safe level. So, continuing hctz would/could be dangerous. The other problem with hctz is along with the sodium your body dumps potassium which is not a good thing. You made your post 8 months ago. I am curious to know what your conclusions are?

icimani

I'm also curious about what you've discovered. I've lost a lot of weight, and I'm seeing my Doc next week to discuss taking me off or reducing the dosage of my BP meds (I'm on Altace and HCTZ).

I have found that at my current weight I'm much more susceptible to retaining water after a high-sodium day - my weight will go up 3-5 pounds and take 2-3 days to come back off.