Furosemide

[gladliz]

Hi All. On going saga, Paroxysmal A Fb for 12 years , well controlled with usual cocktail of meds - Bisoprolol. Ramipril ,Doxazosin, Warfarin etc. Recently added antibacterial to help prevent UTIs. For a few years now ankles have been swelling and reached the stage where elevation etc are not working and they have become much we, so have been prescribed 40mg Furosemide daily, to be taken in the morning. Having read the reports on this website of spending ages going back and forth to the Loo and peeing for England I was wondering what sort of time line is there between taking the pill and it's effects. An hour, 2 hours? I realise that we are all different and times of meals can also make a difference , but just looking for general guide lines so I can plan for appointments without having to take a commode along. So far for the 2 days I have taken them not a lot seems to have happened. Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

Gladliz

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

I have been on Furosemide three times (once for fluid retention following surgery and twice for oedema related to omgoing macerated wounds on my remaining foot). It acts within the hour but takes a week to ten days to bed in before you really notice the difference.

I usually took mine about 6:00 in the morning if I was not going out before about 10:00. If I was going out early I took it later in the day (the recommendation is before 16:00).

Furosemide can affect the kidneys and in my case any extended course hits my eGFR. Your kidney function (Us & Es) really should be checked before starting and one to two weeks later.

[gladliz in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks for that Michael. I've got my next INR, and 6 monthly bloods scheduled for 10th. Dr has noted for kidneys and will mention it to my nurse. Don't know how long I will be on them, as I am now waiting for a scan as heart failure had been mentioned but the blood test I had came back negative. Will have to wait and see.😊

[Tommo1947]

Yes, I was prescribed Furosemide to reduce fluid levels when AF kicked off.

Initially, it was very effective - I lost 8 lbs almost overnight.

As a 77 yr old man , already experiencing a weak bladder, the drug had dramatic effects ! I would expect it to kick in within 30 mins, and last up to two hours, necessitating up to 6 loo visits/ hr.

For that reason I took it after lunch, when there were fewer social engagements.

After three years I was concerned that continued use would be harmful , and there was no repeat of leg swelling etc. or weight gain, ,so the medics agreed to stop it.

Good idea to have kidneys etc. regularly checked, and come off it when you can.

[gladliz in reply to Tommo1947]

Hopefully I won't be on it for too long, 3 years seems a bit excessive I'm hoping for 3 months. I know what you mean about dramatic effects though, had to make some wardrobe changes to accommodate swift exits to Loo.😀

[ChoochSiesta]

For me, they take about 40 minutes to kick in, but my god when they do it's like Niagra Falls. Literally every 10 minutes off to the loo. This frequency gradually reduces over the next 4 hours. Then, back to normal.

[gladliz in reply to ChoochSiesta]

That's really cheered me up. Will need to schedule all appts to afternoon then, or it will be a case of BYOC, bring your own commode to the meeting .

[Survivor1952]

I was on it for three months post surgery. I used to reckon three hours of effect kicking in an hour after taking my dose. I was glad to stop.