What is Spironolactone?
Spironolactone is prescription medicine. The brand name is Aldactone. It belongs to a family of medications called Aldosterone Antagonists. Spironolactone is also referred to as a potassium sparring diuretic.
How does Spironolactone work?
You can refer to this drug as a “water pill”. This medication makes your kidney remove extra water as well as sodium. It also retains potassium in your body. In other words, it makes you pee more. That is why it is referred to as a potassium sparing diuretic.
What is Spironolactone used for?
- Spironolactone can be used to treat your high blood pressure. By lowering blood pressure it help prevent strokes & heart attacks. Having said that this medication is not a first-choice blood pressure medication. It can be used with other medications to treat heart failure. It can be used to treat extra fluid in your body, especially if it is due to a disease called liver cirrhosis or another rarer kidney disease called nephrotic syndrome.
- This extra fluid in your body called edema.
- Another use for this medication is to treat elevated Aldosterone levels in your body. Aldosterone is a hormone which your body produces. It is used in a rarer medical condition called Primary Aldosteronism.
- It can be used off label to treat acne.
- Another off-label use is to treat male pattern hair growth in women called Hirsutism. Here Spironolactone works as an anti-androgen.
Spironolactone doses and administrations:
The doses in tablets are 25mg, 50mg and 100mg.You can take this medication with or without food. Some individuals have nausea when taking this medication on an empty stomach. You can combat this by taking this in with some food.
16 MUST KNOW Spironolactone TIPS & ADVICE: (Spironolactone uses and side effects):
1.If you are taking this medication, especially if you are older, like I advise with all blood pressure lowering medications, is that it can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded, so take your time when you are getting up from a sitting or sleeping position. Be careful when you are walking up and down stairs.
2.Spironolactone can increase your potassium. You must be careful when you take in potassium rich food such as bananas, potatoes or oranges or taking in potassium supplements. Your Doctor will be checking your electrolytes, in particular potassium occasionally.
3.You are probably asking yourself what are the sign and symptoms of high potassium: They are nausea, weakness, fatigue, chest pain, palpitations because of an irregular heart rate chest pain, irregular heartbeats, uncoordinated movements.
4.Spironolactone is a diuretic. It would be advisable to take this medication earlier during the days. If you take this medication in the evening or at night time you will be always running to the bathroom.
5.You should not use this medication for weight loss. The weight you lose is water weight and not excess weight due to fat.
6.You should avoid taking potassium supplements or salt substitutes that contain potassium as you run the risk of excessive potassium in your body.
7.Alcohol and marijuana can slow the effects of this drug. Follow up with your Doctor if you are taking these substances.
8.This medication especially in higher doses can cause gynecomastia. Gynecomastia means enlarged breasts. Gynecomastia may affect one or both breasts. You will experience a breast swelling and pain. If you are a man and reading this, rest assured this condition is reversible once the medication is discontinued.
9) If you are on this medication and have a pre-existing kidney problem and you are taking it with other medications called NSAIDS such as Ibuprofen, Motrin or Aleve or are at some risk, although rarer, of causing kidney damage or kidney failure. Your Doctor will be monitoring your kidney parameters closely.
10) This medication can cause certain electrolytes to decrease. The electrolytes which can be affected are magnesium, sodium and calcium. You doctor will be following them with blood draws.
11) All drugs may cause side effects. The goal of this article is to educate you, if you are a on drug how it works and what you might expect in terms of common side effects. There will be always some people who have no or only mild side effects. If you do have side effects, call your Doctor ASAP to get advice accordingly.
12) Here is a list of medications that can interact with this medication causing drug drug -interactions. This is not an exhaustive list.I if you are on one of these medications check with your Doctor:
- colchizine
- digoxin;
- lithium
- loperamide;
- trimethoprim
- heart or blood pressure medicine (especially with another diuretic or ARBS and ACE-I medications)
- medicine to prevent a blood clot; or
- NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) –aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), celecoxib, Diclofenac, indomethacin, meloxicam , and others.
13) Your healthcare provider should check your potassium after one week of initiation of this medication and any time this dose is changed. Here are some of the blood parameters your healthcare provider should be occasionally checking as these can all be affected by this medication, especially at higher doses. Blood pressure, serum electrolytes potassium (within 1 week of initiation or dose titration and regularly thereafter), sodium, uric acid, glucose, renal function, volume status.
14) If you are pregnant or breastfeeding talk to your Doctor about the medication as this medication can cross the placenta and is present in breast milk. As this medication can block male hormones it can cause the male fetuses’ genitals not to form properly. Therefore, do not take it when you are pregnant.
15) Here are some of the side effects. Once again, the list is not exhaustive, but you will have some idea if you are experiencing the ones seen here:
Call your doctor at once if you have:
- a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
- GI side effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain
- little or no urination.
- Increased thirst
- Allergic reactions such as rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, chest pain, swelling in tongue face throat
- Erection problems, low sex drive
- Irregular menstruation
- Headache
- Muscle cramps & pain
- Confusion
- Feeling unsteady
Common side effects may include:
- breast swelling or tenderness.
16) If you are taking Spironolactone for acne, you should know that this medication cannot cure the disease. But it can manage symptoms especially if taken for a longer period of time, that is several months.
17) In women who are taking this medication to improve the thickness of the hair or even to treat hair loss, the treatment can take a long time to be of effect.(In fact several months).
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