Diuretics prescriptions available online

Your pharmacist will provide you with instructions on how to take your diuretics prescription. Be sure to read your prescription label and follow the instructions. Call your doctor or pharmacy if you have any questions.

Prescription diuretics can come in different forms and doses, so be sure to follow the specific instructions on your prescription. It is typically prescribed once or twice daily. Try to adhere to a schedule. For example, for once-daily doses, you can take it first thing in the morning before or after a meal. Try to take the last one before dinner or a few hours before bedtime for twice-daily doses.

Loop and thiazide diuretics can lower potassium levels in the blood and cause the body to lose potassium. This can cause a condition known as hypokalemia (low potassium), which can cause heart arrhythmias and even cardiac arrest. Often, potassium pills are prescribed together with loop diuretic therapy to keep potassium levels safe.

If potassium pills are not prescribed, doctors may suggest you consume foods that come naturally with high levels of potassium, such as:

• Bananas

• Oranges

• Cooked spinach

As diuretics can affect potassium levels, doctors should not prescribe diuretics to people with severe kidney problems or Addison's disease.

In addition, tell your doctor if you have any of the following conditions before starting diuretic treatment:

• drug hypersensitivity

• diabetes

• electrolyte imbalances

• gout

• lupus

• menstrual problems

• pancreatitis

It usually takes about one to two hours for diuretics to start to work

Natural diuretics refer to herbs and dietary supplements that contains properties similar to prescription diuretics: help your body get rid of excess salt and water. Some known examples include dandelion, ginger, juniper, hawthorn, and parsley.

However check to make you are not allergic to any of them. In addition, always check with your healthcare provider before taking a supplement to make sure it's safe for you.

If you are prescribed a diuretic (water pills), your doctor will recommend that you go on a low salt diet. Salt will increase fluid retention in your body. As more fluid accumulate, this can lead to swelling, most commonly seen in the feet, ankles, and legs.

Food items high in salt that should be avoided include:

• Canned beans with salt

• Chips

• Fast food 

• Pasta sauce

• Processed foods

• Salted nuts

• Smoked, cured, salted, or canned meat (ex: bacon, cold cuts)

• Soy sauce and Asian stir fry sauces

• Vegetable or meat stocks

Loop and thiazide diuretics can lower potassium levels in the blood as cause the body to lose potassium. This can cause a condition known as hypokalemia (low potassium), which can cause heart arrhythmias and even cardiac arrest. Often, potassium pills are prescribed together with loop diuretic therapy to keep potassium levels safe.

If potassium pills are not prescribed, doctors may suggest you consume foods that comes naturally with high levels of potassium, such as:

• Bananas

• Oranges

• Cooked spinach