Diuretic did not help urinary retention !

Men's health
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Recently, a forum member with the sign-in of Lester kept popping up recommending diuretics for urinary retention and even in lieu of BPH surgeries, at various discussions. I asked Lester how he came up with the idea. His answer was "My doctor gave me diuretic and I now feel great."

I thoght I understood the mechanics of diuretics. They will turn liquid in your body into urine more quickly then normal, and the kidneys will dump it into the bladder. I did not see how it can help emptying the bladder, or removing the BPH obstruction. I tried to explain that to Lester, with no avail.

Since I have access to a diuretic and I am currently self cathing, I decided to do a experiment, just in case there is some truth in Lester's suggestion. I took 12.5 mg of chlorthalidone, which is a diuretic, for a week, with breakfast, while monitoring my urinary retention. The result is the diuretic did nothing for my urinary bladder retention, whatsoever, just as expected. In addition, I noticed the following :

1. More urine was released during the day. This may help some people with night time urination, perhaps reducing night time trips to the bathroom.

2. My blood pressure was lowered moderately. This might be good for people with high BP. But for me, since my BP was already low, I experienced dizziness while getting up too quickly.

3. I had a bad case of constipation. This is one of the side effects, among many, of diuretics.

Hank

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Be warned, long term use of diuretics may lead to the loss of essential electrolytes from the body, with potentially serious consequences. 

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Hank  Thank you for taking the time to do the test.  It may help some but it could mess up others  Ken

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You are supposed to drink a fair amount of liquids throughout the day while taking a diuretic. Did you?

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Hank, Could have saved you time (and constipation) had you read my posts to Lester  Diuretics can be part of a nocturia strategy but he side effects are potential dehydration and lowering of blood pressure for which they are often prescribed. As Lester mentioned, you are supposed to drink more water when taking diuretics to compensate for their, well, diuretic properties. As to being a cure for bph, good luck with that. It might help in certain cases but it could get some people with marginalized bladders in a lot of trouble so I would advise speaking to your urologist first, or at least starting with something milder like an extra cup of coffee in the morning. One last comment, because at one point I took the diuretic Hydrochlorothiazide for bp. Be especially careful to hydrate well in hot weather and/or when exercising because again of the diuretic properties.

Jim

Jim

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I drank between 2 to 3 liters a day during the week, which is a lot. More than that would cause more retention, I noticed. Hank

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I know this, and many other potential side effects. I was not planning to do it for long, unless it helps, which it didn't. Hank

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Jim, I've read your post to Lester, and it was almost identical to the post from me to Lester, about 2 weeks before. Possible copyright lawsuits here ? 😀 However, Lester wasn't deterred so I thought maybe he was on to something miraculous. It was why I did the experiment. Also, I was hoping that I was wrong and maybe that I can reduce my meds and/or get off this self catheterization that i do not care for, yet somehow some people on this forum love so much.😀 Hank

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Since diuretics are only available by prescription it would be up to your doctor to decide if it is suitable for any patient. You should not have taken it on your own as everyone is different in medical conditions.

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Hank: I've read your post to Lester, and it was almost identical to the post from me to Lester, about 2 weeks before.

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Actually my first post about diuretics and nocturia were probably four years ago but who is counting

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It was prescribed for me for high BP before, which I don't have anymore. Hank

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As I told Lester I was prescribed a diuretic ( bendrofluazide )  in addition to my other BP meds in 2001. Not only did I pee less but I had pain in the pelvic area when taking it. I stooped it for a while and my output returned to normal and the pelvic pain went.

I tried it again after a couple of months with the same result and stopped it forever.

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I did feel some mild foot pain. Maybe it reactivate my long dormant gout problem, another known side effect. But only for a week so I am sure it will go away. Hank

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Retention and blood pressure are different conditions, It also relieves swollen feet.

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Thanks for trying to help others, Lester. But think you are confused between bodily fluid rention ( like swollen feet, which diuretic will help) and urinary bladder retention, which diuretic won't help. Hank

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On somewhat similar subject, I have noticed that if I take moderate amount of alcohol with dinner(1.5dl of wine) and small shoot of brandy about 1-1.5 hours before going to bed it acts as diuretic and stimulate release of urine before sleep and helps with reducing trips to bathroom during the night. This  and some other life style changes ( no naps in the afternoon) helped me reduce from 3-5 trips to 1-2 trips during the night.

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Thanks for sharing Nick. Hank