PMS & AS Bloat & using a diuretic....

[JBRIII]

Mrs. P,

GNC has a Potassium and Magnesium Aspartate capsule I've been supplementing with. Also a must for low carb dieting by the way. It is 250 mg of each mineral. I would take one capsule 3 times a day with a meal, starting the day before your usage and ending the day after, just to be safe. Also do not skimp on your salt intake while taking Lasix either. Potassium,Magnesium, and Sodium all work in concert. Of course our diets usually contain enough extra sodium so it is not as much of a concern.

We used to give a minimum of 250 mg Potassium in an IV over a 4-6 hour period. Or 1 gram in a 24 hour period. This was liquid and was abosorbed much more readily, but these patients were also on 25 to 100 mg of IV lasix over the same period.

If you experience any dizziness, muscle cramping, profuse cold sweating, or nausea, seek immediate medical attention. Diuretics are no joke. They can deplete your system before you know it and your heart muscle will cease functioning without the proper mineral balance.

Have I scared you enough? Just please be careful and keep your dosage to the minimum and for the minimum amount of time you feel you need to.

J.

 

[Puddles]

J, thank you very much for all of this information. I'm not scared by your posts...just much better informed and actually feel safer having learned a lot more about it. Rest assured, I only use it once a month, and that's not even every month. I usually also drink a Gatorade (the chubby size bottle that's about a quart) a couple of hours after taking the diuretic, is that enough added salt? I do most of my own cooking, so overall, my diet is much lower in sodium than the average.

 

[JBRIII]

I would think that would more than adequately handle the sodium requirement.

Good Luck!!

 

[Night Fly]

Please pardon my stupidity, JBRIII. I was not offended at all.

Mrs. P. I talked to one of the docs here at work and told him I had a 'friend' who needed advice. He suggested trying something altogether different besides Lasix. He said that even using Lasix one time during the month can cause your electrolytes to get out of 'whack' so to speak. This can take a while to recover from.

After researching it more today and talking to people who are more knowledgable about it than I am, I would have to agree with them. I would stay away from that stuff or else go to your own doctor and take it under his supervision.

I tried to edit my other posts, but it was past 24 hours. Thanks, JBRIII for making me question myself.

 

[JBRIII]

Night Fly,

No Problem. I didn't mean to come off sounding like a know it all. Just a LOT of experience with that drug over the years.

There are much safer alternatives nowdays anyway. There are quite a few potassium sparring diuretics on the market today. Albeit not as effective as Lasix for those who need to keep edema at bay.

Have a great weekend.

John

 

[Deleted member 33117]

Dyazide is a great diuretic, and it has a potassium sparring component. I find low doses of lasix does help with my test bloat, however I eat over 7000 mg of potassium a day, on average so, I already take in excessive amounts.