HCTZ - to take or not?

• By Eamenard
• Posted September 5, 2008 at 7:04 am
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Dear Uma
I had calcium in my urine and my doctor prescribed clorthaladone which is another type of diuretic similar to HCTZ. I have asked the pharmacist about the difference between HCTZ and clorthaladone and he knew of no difference in their action. It stopped the urine calcium loss and I am still taking it. The only effect I have is that it lowered my blood pressure quite significantly. I was taking high blood pressure meds and have stopped them completely so I got 2 for 1 so to speak.

Taking diuretics for this condition is common practice from what I have read. He prescribed minimum dosage which I have taken for 6 months but I am in the process of trying to reduce it further to get my BP a little higher but still not lose the blockage of urine calcium

Over dosing on calcium is not a good idea. Don't know how much you are taking but you should stay within the recommended dosage. More is not better and can cause other problems. My doc says normal diets provide about 350 mg calcium and need to get the rest from pills or milk products getting up to a total of 1200 mg/day. And no more than 500 mg at a time. My sis overdosed on calcium and ended up with kidney stones.

I think you need to give the diuretic a shot and keep your calcium intake within limits. Calcium urine loss is a seconday problem that needs to be corrected before working on anything else. Many of us have it and it is not related to the type of calcium pills you are taking or even not taking

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• By sieh
• Posted September 5, 2008 at 2:40 pm
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Hi Uma,
Maybe you would like to look up calcium supplement derived from whole food sources.

I was recently diagnosed osteoporosis. A nutritionist recommended taking New Bone Strength. www.newchapter.com They claimed that it has a 75% calcium absorbency rate compared with synthetics which have around 35%. They claimed it would not cause kidney stone. But of course the food derived supplements are more expensive.

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• By marion2
• Posted September 5, 2008 at 4:40 pm
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Ulma,
I was on chlorthalidone for almost three years for the same problem of calcium loss in my urine. It is a very strong diuretic,(I think stronger than HCTZ) and although it did make my body absorb the calcium, I had other problems with it. First of all, it causes you to lose potassium as it is helping you to absorb calcium, so I had to take large amounts of supplemental potassium and have my bloodwork done every few months to make sure my blood potassium level was okay. I always ran low, not dangerously low, but low enough that it then triggered me into other problems like upset stomach and most of all rapid heartbeat. Having low potassium can cause many problems. So, I finally said enough and asked my new doctor if I could stop the diuretic and potassium. Since I am on Fosamax, he said that as long as my 24 hour urine calcium test was okay that he would okay my doing that. Thank goodness it has been in the normal range for the last 9 months and the rapid heart stuff has gone away and no more diziness etc. So, if you need to be on a diuretic make sure you discuss all the side effects although I think the one you mentioned is one of the combo ones that doesn't make you lose potassium as much as chlorthalidone does. But all that should be considered first before you choose what you are going to do. Losing calcium is not good either, so we all get to the place where we need to discuss the pros and cons and risks vs. benefits and make our own decisions.
Marion

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• By Uma
• Posted October 24, 2008 at 3:35 pm
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Update from Uma:

I asked my dr. if there was anything else I could do to avoid going on HCTZ. She reduced my calcium from 800 to 200 mg a day (I had been on 1400 mg previously) and my Vitamin D from 1200 to 800 and then had me redo the 24-hr. urine test after one month.

The amount of calcium in my urine went way down so now she says I do not need to go on HCTZ. I am so happy and relieved as I definitely did not want to go on another medication in addition to the 35 mg actonel - I sometimes get side effects that others don't.

I guess maybe the supplements were too much on top of the improvements I made in my diet, and I was just taking in too much calcium.

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• By Cher1
• Posted October 26, 2008 at 11:07 pm
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I, too, was diagnosed with excreting too much calcium in my urine after a 24 hr. urine test, prescribed by an endocrinologist after my DEXA scores worsened after being on Actonel 35mg per wk for one year. He prescribed HCTZ and I have been taking it daily every morning with water (plus a banana) for about 1yr. I just had a DEXA scan again and my DEXA score is now -2.5 in the spine after being much higher. He said that this condition is usually found in families and sure enough my mother and brother also have it! I have had no reaction to either the Actonel or the HCTZ and will continue to take it if prescribed. I am glad that you didn't need it but just thought I would let you know it had the desired results for me.
Good Luck
Cher

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• By annsmac
• Posted October 27, 2008 at 8:22 am
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Don't know what HCTZ is.

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• By sharo
• Posted October 27, 2008 at 9:41 am
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i take a b/p med combined with HCTZ 6.25 mg....would that cause loss of calcium?

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• By Uma
• Posted October 27, 2008 at 10:48 am
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Annsmac,

HCTZ is a diuretic that drs. sometimes prescribe if there is high calcium output in the urine - somehow it is supposed to help retain calcium in the kidneys where it can be absorbed and keep it from being excreted.

Uma

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• By Uma
• Posted October 27, 2008 at 10:49 am
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Sharo,

HCTZ is supposed to keep the calcium in the kidneys so it should not cause a loss.

Uma

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