Q: My elevated blood pressure (160/100) has been controlled with exercise, a better diet and the drug Benicar HCT 40/25. My doctor has taken me off the water pill portion and prescribed Benicar 40ng and my blood pressure has remained stable at 120/70. Can I expect any withdrawal side effects such as weight gain or headaches when stopping the water pill portion of the medication?
A: You may experience a slight increase in your weight. The diuretic forced your body to get rid of fluid it might have kept. Without the diuretic, your body now can hold on to more fluid. Headaches don’t usually occur from stopping a mild diuretic like you were taking.
Further Reading:
Benicar Side Effects – Livestrong.com
Hypertension: Side Effects of Diuretics – Livestrong.com
A natural way to rid yourself of water retention is to take a sauna. I take a sauna everyday for an hour. It rids my body of 2 quarts of excess water. I’ve been doing it for three years and it helps me with no side fx. Work up to at least 3 rounds of ten minutes each. Take a cold shower between rounds.
It also lowers blood pressure because saunaing is vasodilator.
If you are worried about weight gain, for example, or fluid retention, there are many natural diuretics that will help get rid of water without the toxic effects of “medication”. These include dandelion leaf, parsley, celery, juniper berry, urva usi, and others. Diuretic foods include celery, melon, and others. You will have some good side effects from stopping the Rx diuretic. You will no longer be depleting and putting into imbalance your electrolytes, and will probably feel better for doing so!