Conflict

I have returned from Florida, where I was on a business trip for the last three days. It consisted of a lot of boring conferences, but I'd be lying through my teeth if I said that I didn't enjoy myself. Perhaps it had something to do with the ocean view. Or maybe it was the sunny, 80 degree weather?

I was anxious in going, as I haven't flown since before my illness, and didn't think that my body would take it. I'm also preparing most of my meals, so not being able to do that might have caused problems with the edema.

The result? I did come back with more fluid than when I started, but not as bad as I had feared. To be fair, I did do a bit of laying down by the beach, so that may have helped things along. I think that I can do trips now, however, I don't think I can do extended stays -- yet.

There's been a significant update in my water pill prescriptions. As you know, I had experienced some problems while taking the Omacor last week. I had stopped that medication for a bit until I came up with a better plan. While doing some research on the Internet, I discovered that this drug causes an interaction with thiazide diuretics, especially with people who are hypotensive (like me). This would explain the miserable, flu-like symptoms I experienced. Zaroxalyn, the strong water-pill that I have been using to keep my edema in check, is a thiazide diuretic. Oh oh. But wait... there's more. In addition, I learned that thiazide diuretics increase triglycerides, which I really don't want.

What did I learn from this? I need to stop taking the Zaroxalyn.

This leaves me in a conundrum, as I have not been able to control the edema on the Lasix alone. It's been a week since I last took it, and my weight has slowly began to creep up. To compensate, I am now taking 100mg of Lasix in the morning, and 100mg in the afternoon. It is too soon to tell whether this will work. I am currently in conversation with my nephrologist to see if there is another class of diuretics that I can take. But none are as powerful as the thiazide diuretics, so I am skeptical whether this will help.

The lesson from all this? Do your own research on any medications that your doctor places you on. Especially if you have any specific conditions which would cause problems. For example, many drugs have a nice side-effect of lowering your blood pressure, but this could be a problem if you already have low blood pressure (like me). And make sure your doctor is aware of any medications other doctors have you taking!

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