Spironolactone withdrawal?

[bryan69]

Hi all,

I was stage 4 cirrhosis with ascites, and took the diuretic spiro for over 12 months, which (along with alcohol abstinence) got me to re-compensated stage 2 with no ascites. Since then I have tapered the spiro, and 2 weeks ago quit completely.

So far, thankfully I have not had any rebound gaining of fluid. However, I have found my urinary frequency has not changed. Every hour or so, especially at night. I am still getting dehydrated because of this.

My Docs have checked my blood sugar and HBA1C repeatedly, it is always within range, and there are no signs such as protein in urine. They also checked my prostate and it is normal.

I wonder if it is possible that my kidneys have somehow become "locked" in a diuretic mode, and are continuing to function this way despite having no diuretic medication? From what I could tell from google, spiro has a pretty short half-life, 24-48 hours.

My concern is there is an underlying problem that I may have had for some time, and was being "masked" by my being on the spiro. Should I be pressing my GP to keep looking into this?

Kind Regards,

-Bryan

[TT-2018]

Hi Bryan,

I was end stage decompensated and was transplanted last August. I had ascities and oedema, initially treated with Spironlactone and Furosemide, I was on the transplant list for 19 months with significant prior treatment for about a year before being listed.

I probably carried around 25 litres of excess fluid, the diuretics caused problems with my kidneys and were significantly reduced to Furosemide only. The ascities was drained every three weeks but the oedema remained, 8 to 14 litres each drain.

After my transplant, I still need to urinate frequently, like you, about hourly. I have had all the tests that you have had and all are OK.

I am hoping that in time this will improve because it is very restrictive.

Good luck with everything, another thing to get used to 😟.

Mark

[bryan69 in reply to TT-2018]

Thanks for your reply Mark, yeah it is a pain to have to get used to, but in the grand scheme of things, it could be worse!

I spoke to my liver nurse after posting this. She is also a little baffled and advised seeing a urologist, so I will. I think the kidneys have some kind of memory that they're not telling us about

Congrats on your transplant and best wishes for your continued health!

-Bryan