Have been on furosemide 40mgs for about 5 weeks now. It certainly helped with my breathlessness.I noticed today when out on walk I was getting a little breathless which surprised me as I was doing the same walk etc.
I noticed pins and needles in lower legs a bit more.
Wonder if I'm not drinking enough fluid.
I'll see how it is tomorrow.
Wondering if this is normal and if the 40mgs needs to be increased.
Thoughts anyone?
take a look at the pack leaflet and see what it says - and indeed if you think you aren’t drinking enough water then I expect you need to increase your water consumption.
a good source of information would be the pharmacist employed by your doctor’s group of surgeries. In my case we ring the receptionist, other practices will have their own rules. Pharmacists are the experts on medicines and can advise you and advise their general practitioners. Failing that, your dispensing pharmacist
Yes, I will contact the Pharmacist tomorrow morning
Your GP will most likely want to look into potassium deficiency & kidney function changes due to diuretic treatment.
Had bloods taken for kidney function quite recently and all ok
I got low potassium while on it. The GP took me off it.
Sorry it’s been a bit rubbish after a good improvement. defo one for the gp or your Consultant. I’m on quite a bit of your diuretic. They tell me to look out for puffy ankles/knees (yes in my case below my knees) and sometimes a cough and breathlessness and constipation. But as we know breathlessness can also be caused by side effects of drugs and the heart issues themselves so the gp is best. I’ve had a lot of low potassium too but you say a recent test was ok. It might have been ok but lower limit though and slipped a bit since so gp might retest but will help. We cannot eat sufficient bananas to reverse it believe me! The hot weather is defo making me very thirsty so I’ve had to watch that but still doing 10k steps daily. They say about 1.5l liquid per day max Inc soups etc but you only need to limit if you’ve been told to. You soon get a feel for that. I use the old pinch the fleshy back of your hand trick for dehydration. If the pinched skin stays up you could be a bit dehydrated but my consultant experiments a bit if I’m not well by increasing or reducing the diuretic by 20mg (and it’s not potassium deficit which also makes you breathless) but should be after a gp check as drinking extra when you are fluidy will hinder. Good luck. X
Many thanks for your reply. It did help me understand it all better.I have emailed the Pharmacist at the GP practice and waiting to hear back.
Seems a silly question but when thirsty do you drink? Bearing in mind not to overdoit.
I tend to drink more tea that anything else.
The pinch test does seem OK but doesn't spring back immediately.
I seem now to get pins and needles round my calves. Ankles don't look puffy like before but they're not perfect, so to speak.
I do eat the occasional banana. More by adding to weetabix or porridge.
I hope the Pharmacist contacts me today.
Otherwise I will pop into the surgery.
Thanks for your valuable information.
Peter
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