10 Severe And Common Chlorthalidone Side Effects

“Chlorthalidone Side Effects”

If you have hypertension, i.e. high blood pressure, then you might have heard about Chlorthalidone. Even if you haven’t, Chlorthalidone is a medicine that is used to treat high blood pressure but like any other medicine, there are Chlorthalidone side effects as well.

Chlorthalidone helps in reducing blood pressure and doing that prevents strokes from happening. It also prevents heart attacks and some kidney problems as well. This medicine can also help reduce the extra salt and water present in the body which is there because of the conditions like heart failure. Kidney diseases as well as heart diseases.

Even though it helps with so many things, there are still a significant amount of Chlorthalidone side effects. Reducing the extra salt and water that is present in the body helps in decreasing the swelling, i.e. edema, and also helps with breathing problems that might have been created by the fluid in the lungs.

Chlorthalidone is a medicine that is called a ‘water pill’ or diuretic. This medicine can increase the amount of urine that is being generated and that happens a lot if you have newly started using this medicine. This is one of the mild Chlorthalidone side effects.

Even with all that, Chlorthalidone helps in relaxing the blood vessels which helps in making the blood flow through your veins easily. Chlorthalidone side effects can be common but some of the rarer side effects could be an issue and lead to something worse if not taken care of properly.

In this article, I am going to be talking about what Chlorthalidone is, how you can use it, and most importantly, about the Chlorthalidone side effects. If you know what side effects medicine can cause, then that can immensely help because for some people, consuming the wrong medication can be fatal as well.

What Is Chlorthalidone?

As I said, Chlorthalidone is a medicine that is used in reducing high blood pressure or hypertension in a person. The brands that manufacture and sell Chlorthalidone are Hygroton, thalitone, chlorthalid, etc.

The generic name for this medicine is Chlorthalidone and it comes under the diuretics, Thiazide drug class. This is a prescription drug and it can also be prescribed for some other uses by the doctor sometimes. It depends on what the doctor thinks you need.

As this medicine is taken for hypertension, your blood pressure needs to be checked regularly. Also, blood tests need to be regularly on the patient to find out if anything is abnormal or not. You should keep in mind that the person who has been prescribed this medicine should consume it and nobody else because there are a lot of Chlorthalidone side effects.

So if a person who has not been prescribed this pill consumes it, it can be really bad for their health and the Chlorthalidone side effects are not really subtle. If you have any queries about this medication or its dosage, you can ask your doctor or even the pharmacist. But to help you with it all, I will be telling you how to take this medicine as well.

Whatever medication you are taking, you should always keep a list of the prescribed medication on you and even of the medicines that you are taking that have not been prescribed to you. Even if you are taking any vitamins, minerals, or any other kind of dietary supplements, you should keep a list of that.

Whenever you go to the doctor with any issue like hypertension or anything, you should carry that list in case an emergency emerges. It is essential that your doctor knows what medicines you are taking and especially about Chlorthalidone as there are numerous Chlorthalidone side effects.

How Does Chlorthalidone Work?

Before telling you about the Chlorthalidone side effects, it is essential that you know how it works. As I said, Chlorthalidone belongs to a class or drugs known as diuretics. A class of drugs contains all the drugs that work kind of similarly. All these drugs are used to treat the same kind of conditions.

Chlorthalidone helps you reduce the blood pressure and also helps you get rid of some additional salt or water present in your body and helps with fluid buildup which leads to the reduction of swelling in the body.

Even though there might be many Chlorthalidone side effects, this medicine helps with a lot of things like:

• High Blood Pressure
• Diabetes Insipidus
• Visible Water Retention
• Prevention Of Calcium Containing Kidney Stones
• Accumulation Of Fluid Resulting From Chronic Heart Failure
• Fluid In The Lungs Due To Chronic Heart Failure

Chlorthalidone can help with all those conditions and is overall a very helpful medicine. Even though there are Chlorthalidone side effects, you will find that if you use it properly, it can help you immensely. This medicine can be taken with other medicines that help with reducing blood pressure as well but before using it on your own, consult your doctor.

Before we talk about the Chlorthalidone side effects, let me tell you about how you should consume this medicine.

How To Use Chlorthalidone?

Chlorthalidone is a medicine that is administered from the mouth along with food and you must follow any kind of instructions that your doctor gives you. This medicine is usually consumed once every day in the morning preferably after a meal or breakfast. If you are taking it otherwise, talk to your doctor first and only then proceed with it.

It is advised that this medicine should be consumed at least 4 hours before bedtime. That is because this medicine increases the production of urine so you might feel the need to go and relieve yourself. If you have any queries regarding the dosage of the medicine, consult your doctor or even the pharmacist.

The dosage of this medicine will depend on the medical condition of the patient and also on how the patient’s body is reacting to the treatment and that is the reason why it is essential that you talk to your doctor if you are going to do anything other than what your doctor has told you to.

If you want to get the most benefit out of this medicine, you should consume it daily unless the doctor has instructed otherwise. If you need to get into the habit of consuming this medicine, you should take it every day at the same time in the morning.

Even if you start feeling well, you should continue the consumption of this medicine. You should keep in mind that most people with high blood pressure would not feel sick or need to vomit but some people still might.

Other Important Points

If you are taking some drugs to bring your cholesterol level under control, drugs that are bile acid-binding resins such as cholestyramine or colestipol, you should consume Chlorthalidone at least 2 hours before or 4 hours after you have consumed these medicines as you might experience Chlorthalidone side effects otherwise.

If you feel like your condition is not improving even after you have been consuming this medicine for more than a few days, then you should go to your doctor. The same thing applies when your condition worsens.

You should follow all the instructions given on the prescription label carefully. Keep in mind that this medicine controls blood pressure but it does not cure it. The dose or form and how often you consume this drug depends on various things like age, the condition that is being treated, the severity of your condition, whether you have any medical conditions or not, etc.

If you overdose on this drug, go to the doctor as fast as you can as an overdose might cause a lot of severe Chlorthalidone side effects. Now that you know how to consume this medicine, let us talk about all the Chlorthalidone side effects.

What Are Chlorthalidone Side Effects?

As I said, even though Chlorthalidone helps with a lot of things but like any other medication, there are a lot of Chlorthalidone side effects as well. It has a lot of common side effects as well as some severe side effects. Let us take a look at them.

The 10 common Chlorthalidone side effects include:

• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Stomach Cramping
• Increased Thirst
• Loss Of Appetite
• Excessive Urination

All these Chlorthalidone side effects are very mild and they will go away within a few days. Sometimes they can persist up to a couple of weeks as well. If these symptoms last longer than that or become severe, consult your doctor.

There are a lot of severe Chlorthalidone side effects as well. If you get any of the severe side effects, then you should call your doctor immediately. If you feel that your symptoms are life-threatening, you should immediately call for help and go to the hospital.

The 10 Severe Chlorthalidone Side Effects Include:

• Sore Throat And Fever
• Unusual Bleeding Or Bruising
• Trouble In Breathing Or
• Trouble In Swallowing
• Severe Skin Rash With Peeling Skin
• Muscle Weakness
• Severe Cramps
• Extreme Dizziness
• Hair Loss
• Low Potassium Levels With Added Symptoms like:
  • Tiredness
  • Drowsiness
  • Restlessness
  • Severe Nausea
  • Increased Heart Rate
  • Severe Vomiting
  • Extreme Thirst

You should note that every person is different and that medicine reacts differently to everyone. Not everyone might experience similar kinds of symptoms and that is the reason why you should go to your doctor if you feel anything is out of place or if the symptoms become severe.

Warnings Related To Chlorthalidone

Besides the Chlorthalidone side effects, this drug also comes with warnings of breathing troubles, hives, and swelling in the throat or tongue. If you get an allergic reaction to this medicine then go to your doctor or call the local poison control center immediately.

Also, keep in mind that you should not consume Chlorthalidone with alcohol because doing so will increase the risk of excessive dizziness. Also, taking this drug might worsen your kidney problems if you have any.

Chlorthalidone can also cause changes in the electrolyte level and the fluid in your body and it might even lead to coma. This drug is also known to cause gout episodes if you have it. If you have lupus then Chlorthalidone might worsen your condition as well.

If you are someone who has asthma or some allergies then this can cause certain sensitive reactions as well. If you have low potassium levels then refrain from using this drug as it will further lower the potassium level.

When it comes to pregnant women, Chlorthalidone is categorized in the category B drugs which means that the studies done on pregnant animals didn’t show a risk of the fetus but there aren’t enough studies done on pregnant women to tell if it poses a risk of fetus or not. If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant then tell your doctor about it.

You should note that if you are breastfeeding then you should not take this drug as it can cause severe Chlorthalidone side effects to the child as well. Old people should take Chlorthalidone in lower doses and it is not advised that people under the age of 18 should consume this drug.

What All Medicines Can Chlorthalidone Interact With?

Besides the Chlorthalidone side effects, you should also know that this medicine can interact with other medications as well. It can also interact with vitamins or any kind of herbs that you might be consuming. If this drug interacts with any kind of substance, it can even affect the way this drug works.

If the working of the drug is affected, it might not work at all or be harmful to you. To help avoid such situations, you should tell your doctor about anything that you might be consuming as this will prevent additional Chlorthalidone side effects as well.

The doctor will tell you if Chlorthalidone will interact with any kind of medicine or dietary supplements that you might be taking and they will tell you alternative medicine or tell you how to consume it with anything else.

There are a lot of drug types that Chlorthalidone can interact with such as blood pressure drugs, diabetes drugs, Digoxin, etc.

Blood Pressure Drugs

If Chlorthalidone is taken with other drugs that lower drug pressure, the blood pressure might get dangerously low, so you have to keep that in mind as well.

The blood pressure drugs that are the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors will interact with Chlorthalidone. These ACE inhibitors include benazepril, captopril, fosinopril, moexipril, enalapril, imidapril, quinapril, ramipril, perindopril, trandolapril, etc.

Chlorthalidone also interacts with angiotensin II receptor blockers like losartan, olmesartan, valsartan, irbesartan, telmisartan etc. It can also affect the working of beta-blockers like acebutolol, atenolol, bisoprolol, nebivolol, pindolol, timolol, nadolol, etc.

Chlorthalidone affects the working of calcium channel blockers like amlodipine, felodipine, nicardipine, and nifedipine as well as with loop diuretics like bumetanide, furosemide, torsemide, indapamide, etc. It can also interact with potassium-sparing diuretics like eplerenone and triamterene.

Diabetes Drugs

If you are taking any kind of diabetes medicine then your doctor would advise you to adjust the dosage of those medicines because Chlorthalidone can prevent the diabetes drugs from doing their work.

The diabetes drugs that can get affected by Chlorthalidone are pramlintide, insulin, nateglinide, glipizide, glyburide, dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, saxagliptin, exenatide, metformin, repaglinide, etc.

Digoxin

Digoxin is a drug that is used to treat some heart conditions like irregular heart rhythms and heart failure as well. If you are consuming digoxin with Chlorthalidone then it might change the number of electrolytes that are present in your blood. If you are consuming both these drugs together then your doctor will examine your blood very closely and adjust the prescription accordingly.

Precautions You Should Take To Prevent Or Help With Chlorthalidone Side Effects

If you are allergic to Chlorthalidone, then tell your doctor about it because otherwise, it can cause severe Chlorthalidone side effects. Tell your doctor about all the allergies that you might have, even with sulfa drugs or any other kind of drugs.

You should let your doctor know about all the medicines that you are consuming because if you do not tell them that, they might not be able to judge your situation completely.

Your doctor should also know your medical history and about things like diabetes, gout, kidney diseases or liver, thyroid, or parathyroid related diseases as well.

If you are pregnant or about to undergo surgery, even dental surgery, then tell your doctor or the surgeon and dentist about your Chlorthalidone consumption.

You should never drive if you do not know whether Chlorthalidone makes you drowsy or not because that is one of the common and severe Chlorthalidone side effects.

You should avoid long exposure to sunlight and always wear protective clothing and sunglasses or sunscreen when you go out in the sun as Chlorthalidone makes your skin sensitive to sunlight.

Cessation

Chlorthalidone side effects can range from drowsiness to bleeding and skin rashes. If these symptoms stay for more than a couple of weeks, you should definitely go to your doctor because your condition might just get worse.

Make sure that you follow all the instructions given to you by the doctor when it comes to consuming this drug. Be honest with your doctor and tell them about all the allergies or diseases that you might have. If you are honest with your doctor, only then can they help you in recovering from your health issue.

Chlorthalidone side effects are not something to be too worried about but if they do get bad, go to the hospital as soon as you can because it can sometimes be fatal as well.