What is Aldactone spironolactone used for?

Spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic (water pill). It prevents your body from absorbing too much salt and keeps your potassium levels from getting too low. This medicine is also used to treat or prevent hypokalemia (low potassium levels in the blood).

Since spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic, you should avoid taking potassium in your supplements or sports drinks and avoid eating too many high potassium foods such as papaya, cantaloupe, prune juice, honeydew melons, bananas, raisins, mangoes, kiwis, oranges, orange juice, tomatoes, tomato juice, white and …

Spironolactone sometimes causes drowsiness, so it’s best to take at night. You can take it with or without food. If you haven’t gone through menopause, your doctor might also prescribe birth control pills to take with spironolactone.

There are concerns that spironolactone can cause weight gain, but there isn’t much evidence it does. For example, the package insert for the drug doesn’t list weight gain as a side effect. Along with weight gain, many people worry that spironolactone will make their skin look worse when they first start taking it.

Most women find that their acne starts to improve after about 3 months of treatment. Hair complaints take longer, and treatment usually needs to be continued for up to six months before the benefit can be seen.

reported that spironolactone reduced the early morning increase in heart rate and collagen turnover in patients with heart failure. This suggests that spironolactone may have positive effects on heart rate variability (HRV).

In some cases, people who take spironolactone can become dehydrated. Be sure to drink adequate water while taking spironolactone. Watch for signs of dehydration, including: excessive thirst.

How to use Spironolactone. Take this medication by mouth, as directed by your doctor. If stomach upset occurs, take it with food or milk. It is best to take your dose early in the day (before 6 p.m.) to prevent having to get up during the night to urinate.

• diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
• nausea and vomiting.
• high potassium levels.
• leg cramps.
• headache.
• dizziness.
• drowsiness.
• itching.

Spironolactone does not cause hair loss for those with PCOS, it can actually help to reduce hair loss as well as reducing male-pattern hair growth and acne in women with PCOS.

No interactions were found between spironolactone and Vitamin B12. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.

But potassium-sparing diuretics, including spironolactone, help your body get rid of fluid without losing too much potassium. Spironolactone isn’t a blood thinner. It doesn’t affect your blood’s ability to form clots, which is what blood thinners do.

SIDE EFFECTS: Dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, loss of appetite, or diarrhea may occur. If any of these effects persist or worsen, tell your doctor or pharmacist promptly.

Aldactone (spironolactone) is a potassium-sparing diuretic (water pill) that makes you urinate more without lowering the amount of potassium in your body. It works in your kidneys to remove extra water and sodium, which helps lower the amount of fluid in your blood vessels and other areas of your body.

ALDACTONE is administered at a daily dosage of 400 mg for three to four weeks. Correction of hypokalemia and of hypertension provides presumptive evidence for the diagnosis of primary hyperaldosteronism.

Spironolactone is used in combination with other medicines to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart failure. Lowering blood pressure can reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Hepatotoxicity. Clinically apparent liver injury from spironolactone is rare and only a few instances have been reported as isolated case reports. The liver injury typically arises after 4 to 8 weeks of therapy and the pattern of serum enzyme elevations is usually hepatocellular or mixed.

If any of the signs or symptoms of high blood potassium are experienced while taking spironolactone, get immediate medical attention. These symptoms can include muscle weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, tingling, trouble breathing, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeats, and chest pain.

This medicine may cause blurred vision or eye problems that could lead to vision loss. Contact your healthcare provider right away if you have eye pain or a decrease in vision. This medicine may increase your risk of dehydration.

The recommended monitoring for potassium and creatinine is one week after initiation or increase in dose of Aldactone, monthly for the first 3 months, then quarterly for a year, and then every 6 months.

This medication is used to treat patients with heart failure when systolic dysfunction is present. Aldactone is usually prescribed to prevent heart failure symptoms from becoming worse. Aldactone protects the heart by blocking a certain chemical (aldosterone) in the body that causes salt and fluid build-up.

Aldactone (spironolactone) usually takes about two weeks or longer to start having an effect, depending on why you’re taking the drug. Because you may not feel any symptoms from high blood pressure, you will probably not notice any change in the way you feel after taking Aldactone.

Diuretic effect and menstrual irregularities were the most common adverse effects. Conclusions: After 200 person-years of exposure to spironolactone and 506 person-years of followup over 8 years, no serious illnesses thought to be attributed to spironolactone were reported.

It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it’s more common in men. Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) 5% is the only topical medication approved by the FDA for female-pattern hair loss. The once daily use foam treatment regrows hair in 81% of the women who try it.

Many people want to know if hormonal hair loss can be reversed. The answer is yes! Fortunately, unlike genetic hair loss, most hair loss caused by hormonal imbalances is reversible.

No interactions were found between spironolactone and Vitamin D3. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.

MedicationNutrients LostAmiloride (Midamor), triamterene (Dyrenium), eplerenone (Inspra), spironolactone (Aldactone)Vitamin B9 (folic acid) Calcium ZincChlorthiazide (Diuril), hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide)Coenzyme Q10 Magnesium Potassium Sodium ZincCholesterol-Lowering Agents

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Aldactone including irregular heart rate, muscle pain or weakness, urinating less than usual, shallow breathing, tremors, confusion, or a severe skin reaction, hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood), and numbness.

muscle weakness or cramps. rapid weight loss. signs of anemia (low red blood cells; e.g., dizziness, pale skin, unusual tiredness or weakness, shortness of breath)

An increase in cholesterol with spironolactone is fairly unusual. The literature suggests that the effect of spironolactone on lipid levels is usually minimal.

Of the individual symptoms, spironolactone significantly improved irritability, depression, feeling of swelling, breast tenderness and food craving in comparison to placebo. A lasting effect of spironolactone was observed in women started with spironolactone after cross over to placebo.

Gastrointestinal: Constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, upset stomach, enlargement of the glands in your mouth, indigestion, dryness of mouth, abdominal pain, and cramps.