Spironolactone and its effects on the kidneys

[Puggypip]

Hi everyone,its been a while since I last posted. I have been taking spironolactone amongst other things since i was diagnosed over a year ago. My doctor has said that I need to stop taking them as they are seriously affecting my kideys,the last time I did this i gained almost 2 stone in fluid and am convinced that it's going to happen again. My question is that is there an alternative to the spironolactone? She also mentioned that I have a build up of potassium that can really damage my heart and that could be life threatening!

Many thanks 😊

[theoldboiler]

Interested to know people's views as I take Spiro to control ascites but no-one has taken me off them

[Purdy01 in reply to theoldboiler]

Same here

[YvonneM60 in reply to theoldboiler]

I take it , new to this , however a nurse at the hospital whilst doing a fibro scan did warn me about them . She said to tell my gp that I'm sickly n dizzy off them . This is to get me off them . She asked me not to mention her Advice . ... get off them as soon as you can . She adviced

[Kristian]

Furosimide is the other diuretic they tend to use, but I'm sure there must be others. Most diuretics can affect the kidneys and a lot of times they will start them and stop them and restart then again if fluid returns to limit that effect.

[Zukosmile07]

I was on spirolactone a while and had my bloods done every week to check my kidneys, The consultants changed the dose and the medication. They lowered the Spiro and introduced furosemide. I was taking 100mg of each a day which slowed my ascites fluid from building up. Still had a drain every 2 to 4 weeks for 10 months. I got kidney failure after having a gall stone removed and they stopped the diretics immediately, gained 8 liters of fluid in 2 days. It takes a while to find a happy medium and I had to start again after that episode.Good luck with the trials........owe after the transplant it stopped straight away.....talk about relief..😃

[Lam1e]

I had been on spironolactone and furosemide and both caused me AKI’s. I am sure there are others.

I ended up having paracentesis regularly to keep the ascites at bay. It’s not a painful procedure, but quite time consuming as a day patient, however it kept me well and then I was blessed to have a liver transplant 🙏