Aldactone side effects

[nymima01]

Good afternoon everyone. My 93 yr old mother was recently put on 60 mgs of lasix and low dose aldactone (25 mgs) because she gained 20 lbs in a month by just taking the lasix by itself. She has valve problems and chf. So after taking the aldactone for a few days, she is complaining of leg cramps and back pain. So she doesn’t want to take the aldactone anymore. I will call the doctor on Monday, but is there another drug that would help her? Or any other means to keep her from retaining fluids? Perhaps she will need to take 80 mgs of lasix? Not sure how this will be managed now.

[Qualipop]

Sorry I can't help but I strongly suggest you phone the nurses at the British Heart FOundation. They are a mine of information

[nymima01 in reply to Qualipop]

How I wish we had such help here in the USA. I am calling her doctor now, but on hold for a half hour now. And even when they pick up, I will only be able to leave a message! But at least he will know about it. We see him in 3 weeks and I don’t want to wait until the. Thank you.

[Qualipop in reply to nymima01]

Could you not phone them via Skype or something like that?

[Fortepiano]

Bumetinide is a stronger diuretic or she can raise her lasix.

The important thing is to get her to her dry weight and then make sure the fluid doesn't creep up - 20lb in a month should have been picked up long before.

My husband's heart failure nurse recommended weighing every morning nude after peeing and keeping a record of weight. This is standard practice.

If it goes up more than a kilo in 2-3 days contacting the heart failure nurse.

Fluid restriction ( normally 1.5 - 2 litres a day ) and especially no salt is also very important.

You might find the bhf booklet on heart failure and their heart failure record book ( designed particularly for elderly people) useful and also phoning the bhf nurse helpline.

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

Are you in the Uk? your previous posts suggest you need to be prepared to organise palliative care if necessary.

All the best - this is not easy for either of you

[nymima01]

Finally went to the office of her doctor. I spoke to his nurse. The doctor wrote a script to “up” her furosemide by 20 mgs. So now she’s on 80 mgs. 2-20’s in the morning and 2-20’s in the evening. Now, fingers crossed she can take this amount - because she feels she is in the bathroom all day as is. We will see.