water pills?

amcmillan730
amcmillan730 Posts: 591 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a lot of water retention in my legs (i'm pretty sure its water.... with a little fat mixed in haha). Anybody ever take water pills to help? Good? Bad? Feedback please :)

Replies

  • Crystleen
    Crystleen Posts: 81 Member
    I tried them once, never again, it made my kidneys hurt so bad... I don't think its healthy for you... just drinks lots of water to flush it out your tissues!
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
    I have a strong diruetic (water pill) in my blood pressure pill and some days it is a royal pain in the rear! Sometimes I get random, excrutiating charlie-horse type cramps from being too dehydrated. Also, headaches if I'm draining off too much water. I retain a lot of water and at the end of the day, even on b/p meds, my ankles will be swollen from the fluid.

    I have really found that by cutting my salt intake down, I can really improve the water retention. Even taking meds, I'm a big saltaholic so I'm really trying to watch that now and it IS making a difference.

    And honestly if you are just looking to take water pills, I would advise against them. Try cutting salt, drinking lots more water and see if that helps. Also, as a side note, if your swelling is bad, you may need to get checked out by your dr. for blood pressure issues.
  • rose1617
    rose1617 Posts: 469 Member
    I don't think that's a smart idea.
    I took them for a pageant a long time ago and they were great for short-term water loss, but the water comes right back.
    From my understanding (at least of the ones I took), the water moves from your muscles to your organs short-term. I could be totally wrong about that, but I know I'm not wrong about the short-term part.

    Drink more water (it should help).
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    I currently take Duirex over the counter at least once a week. it doesn't bother me at all. But with everything, caution is suggested. For the most part, I use hot Lipton Green Tea to shed water. It has a small amount of caffeine in it and caffeine is often times used as a diuretic.
  • cathyfigueroa
    cathyfigueroa Posts: 36 Member
    Yes I'm taking them. the smallest dose possible and the only reason I have to because I just had a problem with high blood pressure the first time ever it's always been low but I'm going through menopause so the doctor put me on them. I work 4-10 hour shifts at a desk so my legs really swell up to the point where i have to lay down as soon as i get home. I'm going to ask my doctor if i can come off them I really don't want to take something that takes all the water out of your system it's not good for you. I used to be addicted to them and exlax about 15 years ago because i thought i would lose weight... I lost weight the first week then after taking them, you start to SWELL up. Plus when your body is losing that water you are hungry all the time so you want to eat. I don't think there a good idea....Hope I've helped

    Cathy
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    I highly recommend going up MY HOME, click on Settings, then under your carbs, fats, protein enter sodium. Then save. Your daily sodium will be tracked along with all of the other nutritional info. Most people should stay under 2300 mg sodium per day. The elderly should take in even less.
  • cathyfigueroa
    cathyfigueroa Posts: 36 Member
    also you know what I'm trying now is medical socks. In the winter there ok because your dressing warm and you can wear them under your jeans. They help with my swelling now I've been wearing them the last month at my desk because there ugly and I don't want to wear them outside of my office., but they help better then any pill.
  • lisalynn35
    lisalynn35 Posts: 250 Member
    I have taken them in the past. I have Lymphedema due to a mastectomy and the swelling gets crazy so my oncologist prescribed them to me. I didn't find it a pain or have any adverse side effects from them.
  • KPaden1221
    KPaden1221 Posts: 433
    I tried them once.. per doctor's orders when i first started taking birth control and it made me actually retain water worse... obviously it's not like that for everyone... but just talk to your dr first.. and just drink more water.. i dont remember the website but there is a calculator that you put your weight gender activity level and height into and it'll tell you how many oz's you should drink a day... for some people it's more than just 64oz.... you should drink half of what you weight.. well that's what my dr told me
  • annglenn
    annglenn Posts: 162 Member
    I have been on lasix pills for several years besides diovan and aldacton for blood pressure. I have to admit I continue to consume too much salt. And of course my ankles are swollen by the end of the day. Can any tell me should I be drinking just 8 glasses of water per day or more? Some days I feel so dehydrated. Within this year I have had 2 bouts of gout and have never had before. Any suggestions
  • AmyNVegas
    AmyNVegas Posts: 2,215 Member
    I use home remedies all natural foods that take the fluid off: celery-eat the tops the leaves are even more diuretic than the stalks, parsley and cilantro are also great make a broth or a tea (you can hide the parsley taste with tea bags, chickweed which grows wild and is considered a nuisance weed is great for taking off fluid, no green growing here in Vegas so I take it in capsules. Make sure all of your minerals are balanced, balance sodium with potassium like in cantaloupe and almonds.
  • cjw6
    cjw6 Posts: 94 Member
    Diuretics are pretty heavy duty drugs which cause your kidneys to lose both water and salt. They can have serious adverse effects. I would be more concerned on focussing on WHY you have ankle swelling- if it is actually swelling rather than fat then this is not normal and suggests a possible underlying problem. It would be a good idea to talk things through with your doctor. The answer may be anything from increased activity, reducing salt intake, increasing protein, increasing fluid or treating with meds.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    Everybody retains some water but if it's so noticable that you notice it specially in your legs, it's time to see a doctor.
  • annglenn
    annglenn Posts: 162 Member
    Good information to have:bigsmile:
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