My doctor has me on HCTZ for my blood pressure?

Question

I did some reaseach on this med. and it seams to be a water pill. I was wondering if there is an over the counter or herbal pill that might do the same job as the HCTZ. I hate going to the DR office every other month just to get a refill. And over half the time she don't even check my blood pressure

Answer 1

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HCTZ is a diuretic. There are different types Some work a little differently than others. Some are potassium sparing etc. I don't believe that there is an OTC that works the same as a prescription strength. This medication inhibits the re-absorption of sodium and chloride in the distal renal tubule, increasing the excretion of sodium, chloride, and water by the kidney. Some people can control their blood pressure with a diuretic alone. I think that your doc is having you come in monthly so that she can monitor how the drug is working. You could ask why you have to be there every month. Especially if they are "NOT" checking your blood pressure. I would think checking you blood pressure would be an important aspect to you visits. Doesn't sound right to me either. Talk with your doc. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's their job to answer them. That's "WHY" you have "EMPLOYED" them to take care of your health care needs.

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healthcare professional

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Thank you for your help

Answer 2

Took it for a few years. It is cheap, effective and pretty much free of side effects other than the "water" thing. Stay with it.

After a few month, he did switch to a 6 month supply after he was satisfied with the reactions

Answer 3

I know what you mean. Nope... nothing over the counter. It's a racket for these professionals.

Answer 4

actually i take the HCTZ and losartan together . Get yourself a blood pressure monitor and start writing down the numbers every day . So you have some facts when you go back to the doctor . Other wise start exercising to get your bloospressure down , like walking etc. or change the doctor!!!!

Answer 5

Stay on the prescribed meds, and ask if she can give you a prescription for a years supply refillable each month. Unless you are being monitored for some other problem you shouldn't have to see her every other month. Return visits that are needless are costing you and your insurance company money.

Answer 6

Dear Sue
I know how r u feeling being on this blood pressure pill and specially when you know that you'll have to take it lifelong.
But you should know that high blood pressure(BP) is called as 'silent killer'. It doesn't usually cause any problem/symptoms to the person but its one of the leading killers in medical science.

It is of paramount importance that you take your medication and get your BP checked REGULARLY. You should also buy a home BP measuring instrument. (will cost u $30-40 on amazon or ebay).
If your doc doesn't check your BP, you must ask her to do so.

Remember, we dont have any cure for high BP, but we can control it very effectively with medications. HCTZ is a very commonly prescribed and one of the most reputed drugs for BP.
There is no over the counter drug for high BP and there is no scientific evidence available to support that any herbal pill cn control high BP.

Let me tell you few of the complications of high BP:-
- Stroke: Can cause brain-damage and one might end up in a paralysed state when they can walk/feed/talk their own !!
-Heart attack: One of the deadliest complications, can kill immediately or slowly !
-Kidney failure: Slowly kidneys stop working and one will have to depend on dialysis to stay alive !
-Blindness: no treatment for this blindness available!

AND ALL THESE HORRENDOUS COMPLICATIONS ARE PREVENTABLE IF YOU TAKE A SMALL PILL REGULARLY!!

I dont want to scare you but as a medical professional I know very well that its very easy to prevent all these complications but very difficult to treat.
And most of the time people dont take the pill because the high BP initially doesn't cause any symptoms and to make things worse few doctors dont warn their patients about possible complications.

I m giving you some very useful links.
I hope it was useful.
Cheers :-)

Source(s):

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/…
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.j…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertensio…