I was thinking of stopping my Diovan Hct 160/12.5 once in the morning and just taking HCTZ 25 in the morn and at night total 50 mgs a day. I have been reading alot of posts here that say just taking the diuretic is sufficient for most and I would like to experiment. What are your thoughts?..Thanks, Lisa
I was thinking of stopping my Diovan Hct 160/12.5 once in the morning and just taking HCTZ 25 in the morn and at night total 50 mgs a day. I have been reading alot of posts here that say just taking the diuretic is sufficient for most and I would like to experiment. What are your thoughts?..Thanks, Lisa
My first question is why would you want to do this? Is the Diovan HCT not working? If it's not working, then by all means try it. It also depends on your age. If you are over the age of 60, it really doesn't matter what you are taking; BP control is paramount. If you are younger, taking a diuretic for years and years can lead to diabetes. The good thing about the combo you are on is that the Diovan is protective against diabetes.
Remember, if you do try this, wait at least one week (preferably two) for the Diovan to flush out of your system before evaluating. What I would expect to happen is a drop from your increased diuretic for about one week. And, your BP will then gradually increase as the Diovan flushes out. I can't say for sure where you'll end up. If it were me, I'd me more interested in ditching the diuretic, not the ARB.
Pal is right on target with my thinking. He just knew more about it and could express it, lol.
Whatever you do, monitor your BP and heart rate. I don't think the meds you take effect your heart rate, but it is always good to be cautious. I am not a big fan of the diueretics. They just don't agree with me. I have read that some doctors are leary about long term treatment with diueretics. If I am not mistaken, Diovan is one of the newer class of drugs for hypertension, that appear to be very promising. Good luck and keep us posted
Jack
I would try it to find out which "kind" of hypertensive you are...Oops I AM trying it but in reverse order.
Good luck, keep good records and share your results.
Make sure you eat some potassium rich foods while you test. Good are: fish, spinach, rutabaga, squash, beans, bananas. grapefruit, OJ, to name a few.
Here is my history. I am an athlete woman of the age of 46. I have just increased my cardio to 20 minutes longer. I workout with weights and cardio 5-6 days a week. I eat healthy most meals except when we go out to dinner which is on weekends. I just developed high bp 2 years ago and have tried so many natural alternatives that did not work before accepting being put on any drugs. I have also tried beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers and all have either hurt my workouts drastically and put weight on me and have caused terrible side effects.
My BP on the Diovan HCT is the only one that has worked for me. I really hate being on meds and wanted to see if maybe just the diuretic would suffice rather than taking the ARB and the diuretic together. I did not take my Diovan HCT today and took the HCTZ last night and this morning. I want to monitor my BP throughout the day over the next few days to see what happens.
I really have no side effects whatsoever on the Diovan HCT and think it has worked really well for me. You ask why change if it works? I feel that if i could get away with the least amount possible of drugs why not try it. Today I ran 2 miles and 45 minute upper body weight training. I will keep my potassium enriched foods up as I do anyway but will double that. I will keep you al posted. I have a sneaking suspiscion I will be back on Diovan again as this may not work but it's worth a try..
Some people tend to be "salt senstive" hypertensives also called low-renin hypertensives (maybe a ballpark 20%.) These are the people who show a high BP response to salt and for whom the diuretics work best. Also these are people who gain weight very easily from a "salt insult.)
The majority are HIGH renin hypertensives and control of the resulting high Angiotensin-2 is best achieved with ACE and ARB classes of drugs.
Probably a large grouping in the middle share aspects of both, but that's a "probably."
I think if Diovan alone gives the best response you are high renin, and if HCTZ alone gives the best response you are low renin. THe easiest way is to test the drugs monotherapeutically.
One good reason to take thiazide if the ARB isn't particulary useful is the cost. Ten Years of Diovan will cost you upwards of $6,000...10 years of HCTZ cost $.06 a day or $200 a decade. Money matters to some more than others...I'm in the SOME category.
Great info Lenin,
I know i gain weight fast if i eat too much salt. I can pack on 8 lbs of water weight in one day. I have to be real careful of what foods have in as far as sodium and I stay clear of MSG. I have a perscription plan but i stilll pay 20 every 2 months for the Diovan. I want to save money and it does matter but if it came down to paying for my health I'd have to...Lisa
I am an athlete woman of the age of 46. I have just increased my cardio to 20 minutes longer. I workout with weights and cardio 5-6 days a week....I have also tried beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers and all have either hurt my workouts drastically and put weight on me and have caused terrible side effects..I have a sneaking suspiscion I will be back on Diovan again as this may not work but it's worth a try.
Best of luck with your trial. However, I do suspect that increasing your diuretic may have a negative impact on your workout performance even though it may adequately control your BP.
I REALLY REALLY wish I were able, like palamedes and zuzu, to get full BP control with an ARB (well, outside the doctor's office that is)...but it seems I can't.
Whether a diuretic alone will do it (at my current weight and condition) remains to be seen. But when I am done with my testing I will know for sure. If it can't do a monotherapy (or NONE, God Willing) I will continue with both losartan and HCTZ.
OKAY well that experiment didn't last very long. Palamedes I still don't know what you meant by a negative impact on my workouts but I can tell you first hand I felt like I was so fatigued muscularly as well as mentally. Going off the diovan HCT and upping my HCTZ from 12.5 to 50 for one day kicked my you know what. My BP remained 120/80 for the day but I could not take this every day. I am way too fatigued. Well it was worth a try maybe I will try to get the doc to just give me the diovan without the hct the next time. Thanks to all for your advice and opinion..Lisa
OKAY well that experiment didn't last very long. Palamedes I still don't know what you meant by a negative impact on my workouts but I can tell you first hand I felt like I was so fatigued muscularly as well as mentally. Going off the diovan HCT and upping my HCTZ from 12.5 to 50 for one day kicked my you know what. My BP remained 120/80 for the day but I could not take this every day. I am way too fatigued.
The fatigue is what I was talking about. I didn't expect it to be as dramatic as what you experienced.
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Well it was worth a try maybe I will try to get the doc to just give me the diovan without the hct the next time.
I think this is an excellent idea. Simply watching your sodium intake should match the performance you were getting with HCTZ. See:
I need some med advice from my buds. 
