Treat Your High Blood Pressure With Diuretics

High blood pressure medications fall into various categories. And, each category is designed to

tackle a specific symptom of high blood pressure.

Whether used alone or with other hypertension medications, diuretics are one of the most

prevalent types of medications is diuretics. They are referred to as water pills by many people.

This is because when you take these water pills, the body excretes excess water from your body.

And, more importantly, it excretes excess salt along with the water. It is this getting rid of the salt

that helps to lower the blood pressure levels.

Diuretics come in a variety of types. The problem with many of them, however, is that even though

they will eliminate excess salt from your body, they do it at the expense of also removing much

needed potassium. And, potassium is very successful in helping the body to manage the blood

pressure. When you lose potassium, your blood pressure levels generally go up. Fortunately,

there are some diuretics that will not force the body to excrete potassium. If you have a choice, it's

often better to use this type.

Even though they can be effective, diuretics are not for everyone. In some patients, they will

trigger dizziness or disorientation. A more serious side effect can be arrhythmia. So, if this is the

first time you are taking a diuretic, you need to monitor your symptoms carefully and notify your

doctor of any troubling reactions.

One of the more minor signs that diuretics can induce in patients is muscle cramps. Especially, leg

cramps. Primarily this is because of the loss of potassium from the body. Typically, this can be

resolved in one of two ways. Have your doctor put you on a medicine that does not drain

potassium from your body. Or, simply increase your diet of high potassium foods.

A percentage of people are actually allergic to most diuretics. This is because many of them are

sulfa based and a large percentage of the population has sulfa allergies.

As is true with many medications, the hardest part of taking a diuretic based high blood pressure

drug is getting the dose correct. In most cases, the physician will start the patient on a lower than

normal dosage. Then, based on your reaction to the medication, he will adjust the dosage and

frequency. Also, except in really mild hypertension cases, diuretics will often be combined with

other types of medicines.

The effectiveness of this type of medical treatment relies on removing salt from the body. As a

result, you can often hasten its effectiveness by simply limiting the salt in your diet.

Medications used to control high blood pressure are highly individualized. And, not all medications

work for all patients. Because of this, you should never stop taking your medication or change it on

your own. Always talk any changes over with your doctor first.