I know a lot of you ladies like me, pre surgery are on Water pills for blood pressure and swelling. Well then you have 90 day supplies sitting around and suddenly post surgery your body decides to hold some water weight and you reach for the water pill to make the scale look better the next day right?? Well let me tell yeah,, take a water pill or two and then come down with a stomach bug and you end up in the hospital with low potassium!

I just spent the night then some getting a potassium infusion and a bunch of heart tests including a stress test and a lot worry and stress because low potassium not only can you cause you to pass out upon standing, it gives you a rapid irregular heart rate!

Do NOT take the water pills unless the doctor tells you to! No amount of worries and time spent in the hospital is worth it to see the scale come back down in a hurry!

This is a great point. I am an RN so I know the physiological effect of water pills. Some take potassium with them as they flush out the water. This can cause serious cardiac issues. Accompanied with the stomach flu=no good! I'm glad you're doing better and thanks for sharing.

That is interesting because I have been on a prescribed water pill for 4+ months because I had some crazy water retention after surgery..Like 20lbs worth. I just went back to the surgeon for follow up and told him I had been getting cramps in my calves and asked if I could be deficient in potassium and he said he highly doubted it....Hummmm?...He did run blood work to make sure everything looked good and I guess it was normal because I didn't get a call. He did tell me at that appt that he'd like me to start weaning of of it. Can you tell me your dosage or how long you took it?

That is interesting because I have been on a prescribed Water pill for 4+ months because I had some crazy water retention after surgery..Like 20lbs worth. I just went back to the surgeon for follow up and told him I had been getting cramps in my calves and asked if I could be deficient in potassium and he said he highly doubted it....Hummmm?...He did run blood work to make sure everything looked good and I guess it was normal because I didn't get a call. He did tell me at that appt that he'd like me to start weaning of of it. Can you tell me your dosage or how long you took it?

I WAS taking here and there

triamterene and hydrochlorothiazide 37.5, but no Matter What, DON'T take it if you have a suspicion that something is not right right, I too had muscle cramp pre admission in my feet at night. there are other non potassium draining diuretics out there!

the best diuretic is water intake!!!! the reason you retain water is usually because you are dehydrated. your body sees it as a threat and starts holding onto all of your water that is in the body, just in case you wont be getting any for a while. once you rehydrate, your body says, ok we got the stuff we need, let go of the extra water. simple as that.

potassium and iodine regulate the heart, these are our electrolytes. when you take a diuretic potassium is depleated, and that is why the irregular heart beat occurs. it is scarry how being out of wack can make the healthiest person scarry sick!

I have not seen the scale move since post op day 14 and I am on post op day 23..... I am so frustrated. I feel like I drink all day but my body seems to be holding onto Water. My rings are tight and they were so loose they were falling off. My skin is dry etc. But, all my output is clear so go figure. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I am eating mushies, an egg for Breakfast or a Protein shake, canned chicken or tuna for lunch and refried Beans or some type of protein for dinner. So, I know I am not getting too many calories. I am also walking every 2-3 hours at work for 1/4 to 1/2 mile.

Any ideas? I am so frustrated. It's funny I saw this post cause I was just eyeing my water pills thinking " I wonder"...

I have to drink 100 oz water a day to keep from retaining water. Of course early on it was 64. How much water are you drinking Rebel? It took me a long time to lose the fluid retention from the hospital IVs. My leg was so swollen my surgeon wanted to check for a blood clot and made me get an ultrasound. No clot. Just fluid retention.

I have not seen the scale move since post op day 14 and I am on post op day 23..... I am so frustrated. I feel like I drink all day but my body seems to be holding onto Water. My rings are tight and they were so loose they were falling off. My skin is dry etc. But, all my output is clear so go figure. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I am eating mushies, an egg for breakfast or a Protein shake, canned chicken or tuna for lunch and refried Beans or some type of protein for dinner. So, I know I am not getting too many calories. I am also walking every 2-3 hours at work for 1/4 to 1/2 mile.

Any ideas? I am so frustrated. It's funny I saw this post cause I was just eyeing my water pills thinking " I wonder"...

Read this article- which I just posted in another thread- it is so great to get that when you stall your body is building a glycogen store with pounds of water- once that is done you will lose it. In addition, if you lost a lot pre-op your body is recovering from that as well. I have had several two week slowdowns- either staying the same or losing a half a pound or one pound- then suddenly will drop 5 or 6 pounds in a week.

http://www.dsfacts.com/weight-loss-stall-or-plateau.html