Anybody who has taken a water pill knows why they're called water pills:
They make you pee!
PEEING
ALAN, THE CENTURY TREE HEALTH STUNT-DOG
People with CHF have too much water in their bodies.
The most obvious place: The Legs
The most dangerous place: The Lungs
That water in your lungs isn't enough to drown you,
BUT IT IS ENOUGH TO MAKE IT HARD TO BREATHE
WHEN YOU ARE CLIMBING STAIRS
OR EVEN JUST SITTING IN A CHAIR
Extra Water In Your Blood
Causes HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE (and HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE is hard on your heart)
Healthy blood vessels have blood with the normal amount of water in them.
This HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE blood vessel has blood with too much water in it. So now - there is more BLOOD VOLUME, and blood is crammed into those pressurized blood vessels. That is HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE.
it's a strain on the heart
It's hard for the heart to pump blood into those crammed, high blood pressure blood vessels
the kidneys
if you're a healthy person, your kidneys make sure they don't collect too much water
NO EXTRA WATER IN THE LEGS
NO EXTRA WATER IN THE LUNGS
NO EXTRA WATER IN THE BLOOD VESSELS
Joe's KIDNEYS
MEET MR. AND MRS. KIDNEY
GLADYS
HANK
IT'S THEIR JOB TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR BODIES DON'T COLLECT TOO MUCH WATER.
one quart of blood is supposed to flow through the kidneys every minute
that's because mr. & mrs. kidney are always watching blood flow through them
amount of blood flowing through the kidneys is just fine
but, if they see too much blood flowing, they assume there's too much water in the blood
time to pee!
the kidneys separate the extra water out of the blood (and with it, extra water from the legs & lungs) and send it out in pee
CHF confuses the kidneys!
but when a person has congestive heart failure, there's a problem - the kidneys get confused! they don't order enough peeing!
that leaves too much water in…
"water pill man" to the rescue!
water pill man makes people pee!
it's pee - perfect!
"Thanks, Water pill man!"
– thinner legs! - Easier breathing! - More energy!
water pills
things to look out for
water pills are great medications but they can cause some problems
1
no running
2
because then you might fall
3
break your hip
4
and go to the hospital
5
water pills can make you lose so much water by peeing, that you feel dizzy
if you feel dizzy
sit down
so you don't fall down
and give the doc a call
tell her you're feeling dizzy and you're taking water pills. sHe might want to do something about that!
6
take your water pills in the morning (so you don't have to get up to pee all night long).
if you take your water pills at night:
you'll have to get up to pee in the dark
which is dangerous
and leave you feeling tired and drained the next day
take your water pills in the morning and get a good night's sleep
7
if your doctor prescribes more than one kind of water pill, take them all
8
don't be embarrassed about wearing absorbent under-garments (like depends)
