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The Dangers Of Taking Diuretics For Fluid Retention

By: Linda Lazarides

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Fluid retention is becoming very common. It causes weight gain, produces swellings of your abdomen, feet or ankles, or even your face or fingers. Breast tenderness can also indicate fluid retention.

Lots of people on the internet are seeking information on how to get rid of fluid retention. There's plenty of advice out there, but it doesn't go very far. Fluid retention is a sign that your body chemistry is struggling, and it can't be cured with just a few words such as 'drink more water' or 'stop eating salty food'. And there are several types of edema, and what is good for one variety may not be any good for another type.

What Does Your Doctor Prescribe?

Some types of fluid retention respond very well to medicines. These medicines are called 'water pills' or diuretics. They work by making your kidneys - which extract fluid from your blood and produce urine - to work harder. Several common beverages are natural diuretics, such as tea, coffee and alcohol. Alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine also have a powerful diuretic effect.

If you are thinking of taking diuretic drugs for edema, you should think carefully. First check with your health care provider to ensure that your heart, liver and kidneys are healthy. Some people have edema because of problems with these organs. If so, then do follow your doctor's advice.

But if you are young and otherwise healthy, you will probably get the all-clear. Your doctor may say that your edema is 'idiopathic edema' or if your feet and ankles are swollen 'chronic venous insufficiency' (CVI). Your health care provider may suggest that you take diuretics, but before you agree to take these medicines, do ask this: 'If I don't take the medicines is there any danger to my health?' If your health care provider says 'No' then you would be much better off following a water release diet to control your edema. Diuretic drugs are the wrong treatment for idiopathic edema, chronic venous insufficiency and for fluid retention associated with the menstrual cycle. They might seem to work for a while, but can actually make it worse.

A Case Report

Here's a letter I got from a reader; this problem is only too common.

It was 3 years ago my body started to retain fluid so I started on water pills, every day. Afterwards my body got used to them and I couldn't stop taking them. Now they are damaging my health. I take 4 pills every day. If I don't take them for a day, my eyes swell up and my body becomes really swollen. Especially my eyes get really bad. I don't have any disease which will lead to edema. So I have to stop taking the pills I guess. Do you know, how long will it take for me to get better? Will I lose the weight I have gained because of my fluid retention? When will my eye puffiness go? I'm really worried.
Verity

Please be warned. The reason diuretics can be so damaging is that they can extract such a lot of water from your blood that they dehydrate it. Yes, your blood can be dehydrated at the same time as your body's tissues are full of water. Diuretics are not able to extract water from your tissues where all the excess fluid is being held.

When you take water pills you think you are losing edema because you pee more, but this water is from your blood, not from the tissues which are retaining water. Dehydrating your blood is dangerous, so your body learns to hold on to even more water in order to protect itself. That's why the lady who wrote to me was puffing up so much every time she tried to get off the diuretic medicines.

The blood only has too much water if a heart, liver or kidney problem is diagnosed by your doctor. In other cases the amount of water in your blood is normal, so you should not try to reduce it with diuretic drugs, not even natural products.

How To Treat Edema Without Diuretic drugs?

Your dietary habits could very well be failing to nourish your metabolism properly. Causes of edema include eating the wrong foods, developing intolerances to certain foods, not eating foods that help to keep your blood vessels strong such as dark blue and purple fruits, not getting enough of the right nutrients, not getting enough exercise, eating too much salty food, not drinking enough water, etc.

Do be careful. If your water retention problem is chronic, don't think about inventing your own water release diet. You could go round in circles for years if you don't have the right facts to hand. First check out the recommended website to get the knowledge you need.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Linda Lazarides is author of a bestselling book on water retention and is a naturopathic nutrition expert. You can find more information about edema by visiting her water retention site.

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