Amiloride
Brand names
- Apo-Amilzide
- Midamor
- Moduret [CD]
- Moduretic [CD]
- Novamilor [CD]
- Nu-Amilzide [CD]
Usage
As adjunctive (supplementary)
treatment with other diuretics
to increase excretion of
sodium and water in the urine,
while conserving potassium.
How it works
Amiloride promotes loss of
sodium and water from the
body by altering kidney
enzymes that control urine
production. Unlike other
types of diuretics, amiloride
belongs to a class that promotes excretion of excess
water but does not deplete
normal levels of potassium. In
conjunction with thiazide or
loop diuretics, amiloride
reduces the overall fluid volume in the body and helps to
control symptoms of heart
disease, kidney disease, and
liver disease.
Side effects
- Serious
- Heartbeat irregularities, lightheadedness (caused by high
blood potassium levels).
- Common
- There are no common side effects associated with the use
of amiloride.
- Less common
- Headache,
nausea,
loss of appetite,
weight loss,
diarrhea,
vomiting, weakness,
dizziness, drowsiness, abdominal pain,
constipation,
impotence, increased skin sensitivity to
sunlight, nervousness, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath,
tingling in hands, feet, or lips.
Possible interactions
- Other medicaments:
Amiloride may increase the effects of:
- other blood pressure lowering medicaments. Dose decreases may be needed.
Amiloride may decrease the effects of:
Amiloride taken concurrently with:
- ACE inhibitors such as benazepril or angiotensin II
antagonists (valsartan-Diovan, etc.) may result in abnormally high blood
potassium.
- arginine (various) may cause extreme and life-threatening potassium increases.
- chlorpropamide (Diabinese) may lead to excessively low blood sodium.
- cyclosporine (Sandimmune, others) may cause excessively high potassium levels.
- digoxin (Lanoxin) may decrease benefits (positive inotropic effect) of digoxin.
- dofetilide (Tikosyn) may cause serious irregular heart beats. Combine only
with great caution and careful patient monitoring.
- lithium (Lithobid) may cause lithium toxicity.
- metformin (Glucophage) may increase Glucophage levels and increase
lactic acidosis or excessively lowered blood sugar (hypoglycemia) risk.
- NSAIDs may decrease therapeutic effect.
- potassium supplements may result in extremely elevated blood potassium levels.
- quinidine (Quinaglute, others) may prolong the QRS interval and increase
risk of abnormal heart beats.
- spironolactone (Aldactone, Aldactazide) or
triamterene (Dyrenium,
Dyazide) may cause dangerous potassium levels. Avoid combining.
- tacrolimus (Prograf) may cause excessive potassium levels. Increased
potassium checks are prudent.
- triamterene (Dyazide) may cause excessively high potassium levels and
should not be combined.
- Foods:
- Avoid excessive salt restriction and high-potassium foods. Taking this
medicament with food may help nausea and stomach upset.
- Herbal medicines or minerals:
- Ginseng may increase blood pressure, blunting the
benefits of this medicine. Eleuthero root,
hawthorn,
saw palmetto,
ma huang,
goldenseal and
licorice may also cause increased blood pressure.
Couch grass may worsen edema due to heart or kidney problems.
Indian
snakeroot, calcium and
garlic may help lower blood pressure. Talk to your doctor
before adding any herbal medicines.
- Alcohol:
- Use caution. Alcohol can exaggerate the blood-pressure-lowering effect of
this medicament and cause orthostatic hypotension.
- Exposure to heat:
- Caution is advised. Excessive sweating
can cause water,
sodium and potassium imbalance. Hot environments can cause lowering of
blood pressure.
- Occurrence of unrelated illness:
- Call your doctor if you contract an illness causing vomiting or diarrhea.
- Discontinuation:
- With high doses or prolonged use, withdraw this medicament
gradually. Excessive potassium loss may occur with sudden withdrawal.
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