I don't have congestive heart failure yet, but I do retain fluid in my legs and ankles.
I have had supraventricular tachycardia, for which I had to have the nerve ablated. That was no fun at all. I also have both valves in my heart leaking. Mytral valve and the other one has regurge.
I think I'm taking a big chance taking Actos. My doctor has never batted an eye at it.
Do I refuse to take Actos?
I also have pulmonary hypertension and nonspecific pulmonary fibrosis. The lung specialist says that the pulmonary hypertension weakens the heart and sets it up for failure.
I'm worried.
The link between CHF and Actos lies in the peripheral edema some experience. Actos activates the sodium tubules in the distal part of the kidneys. So, you are more prone to salt and fluid retention. Actos is a good medecine and highly recommended due to the number of pathophysiological defect it treats, but in order to keep from causing or exacerbating the CHF the edema must be kept in check. There are a couple ways to combat this. First, you will see higher instances of edema at higher doses of Actos. So, stay away from the 45mg's. And, depending on what other drugs you are on you can see more edema as well. For instance, insulin and sulfonylurea use coupled with Actos will yeild more edema typically then Actos alone. Second, make sure you are on a low sodium diet. Take your Actos at night. Your body naturally diureses at night while sleeping. If the edema still cannot be kept in check, a distal acting diuretic may be perscribed, such as Lozal (Indapamide) or Aldactone (Spironolactone). Loops and Lasiks will not help with the edema caused by Actos. And, if that doesn't work Actos may not be the right choice for you. Hope this helps.
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redgiant
Friday, May 29, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Jason
Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 12:51 AM
Glad I could help. It's not that it works better at night as far as glycemic control, but it will have a more favorable effect as far as the edema goes. And since Actos is dosed once daily without regards to meals it just makes sense to set yourself up for success. Take care.
cant give you all your answers--but it sounds like your heart is under strain--you need to at least take CQ enzyme (look it up) Its good for heart failure,Try fo find something natural for your pul.hypertention.
Other things that are good for your heart are calcium and magnesiom-hawthorn -vit e --vit c ---carnitine ---and more
for PET CQ10 is good and EFA(esentil fatty acids)---NO ALCOHOL--MEDITATION TO REDUCE STRESS--
THATS ALL FOR THE MOMENT.
YOURS
BLUESTAR
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Jason, thank you for answering my question.
I am on 120 mg. of Lasix a day. It is because of the venous insufficiency I have in my legs and I wear compression socks which help a lot.
I didn't know that loop diuretics wouldn't combat Actos fluid retention. I will discuss this with my M.D. next week and see if I can get changed to Aldactone. I don't much like being on such a high dose of Lasix anyway. With loop diuretics I have steadily gone up in dosage over the last 4 years. They cease to work after about 4 months.
I do avoid salt in my diet as much as possible. There seems to be a trend with all packaged foods now where they are adding more salt, so I don't buy them.
I will take the Actos at night, I didn't know it worked better then, either. you're a font of knowledge. thanks very much.