Indapamide
Indapamide
Brand names of indapamide
- Apo-Indapamide
- Gen-Indapamide
- Lozide
- Lozol
- Novo-Indapamide
- Nu-Indapamide
- PMS-Indapamide
Indapamide is a diuretic drug, also known as water pill, which is basically prescribed to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). This medicine functions by thwarting the kidneys from taking up again or retaining the water and salt that are otherwise meant for elimination from the body by means of urination. As a result, the amount of urine passed increases, a condition called dieresis. It is also believed that indapamide also lowers the amount of salt in the smooth muscles present in the blood vessel walls. In fact, the salt present in these soft muscles is eventually done away with through urine. As the soft muscles give up the surplus salt, it helps them to loosen up and this, in turn, leads to lower blood pressure. It may be noted here that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of indapamide in 1983.
Things you need to tell your physician before taking indapamide
Before you begin treatment with indapamide, it is essential for you to tell your doctor a few things related to the medication, supplements and herbal products taken by you and your medical history. First and foremost, you need to tell your physician or pharmacist if you have allergic reactions to indapamide, any of its ingredients, any sulfa drugs as well as any other medication. Also tell your physician about all the prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbal products, dietary supplements you are taking. This is all the more important if you are taking any additional medicine for high blood pressure (hypertension), corticosteroids like prednisone, indomethacin (Indocin), digoxin (Lanoxin), probenecid (Benemid), lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) as well as vitamins and/ or dietary supplements.
Prior to starting treatment with indapamide, it is also important for you to tell your physician if you currently have or have ever suffered health problems like diabetes, heart rhythm troubles and/ or ailments related to gout, liver, kidney, parathyroid or thyroid. Women who intend to take indapamide should tell their physician if they are pregnant, are planning to become pregnant or are nursing mothers. It is not advisable to breast-feed when a woman is being treated with indapamide. In case any woman becomes pregnant during treatment with indapamide, she should immediately contact her physician and seek advice regarding what needs to be done next.
In the event of you requiring to undergo any surgery, counting any operation related to dental problems, tell your physician or dentist that you are already being treated with indapamide.
People taking indapamide or intending to take it ought to be aware of the fact that the use of this medication is likely to make you feel sleepy. Therefore, it is advisable that you should not undertake any task that requires alertness, such as driving a vehicle or operating a machine, till you are certain regarding the effects of the drug on you. In addition, always bear in mind that consumption of alcohol while being treated with indapamide may also contribute to the drowsiness caused by the use of this medication.
Usage
Indapamide is a diuretic drug that is used to facilitate regulating high blood pressure (hypertension) as well as to cure the cause of edema (a condition wherein the body tissues distend owing to presence of too much water and salt).
In addition, physicians also use indapamide to lower the additional salt and water retained by the body resulting in the swelling of some parts. This condition is often attributed to a specific heart ailment called congestive heart failure. It may be noted that when the blood is lowered it helps to avoid heart attacks, strokes as well as kidney disorders. In addition, when the excessive salt and fluid in the body is gotten rid of, it helps in lessening the swelling and also cures breathing difficulties caused by congestive heart failure. At the same time, it enhances the competence of the body to undertake work-outs. As mentioned earlier, indapamide is a diuretic or water pill that helps to augment the amount of urine made by and passed from the body.
Eliminating the surplus salt and water may possibly also facilitate in loosening the walls of the blood vessels, thereby enabling the flow of more blood and without any difficulty. Such consequences of taking indapamide eventually facilitate in lowering the blood pressure and also reducing the burden on the heart muscles vis-�-vis pumping blood.
How to use indapamide
Prior to starting treatment with the diuretic drug indapamide, ensure that you thoroughly go through the information leaflet provided by the manufacturer with the product pack. In addition, this medicine should be taken strictly as per the recommendations of your physician. In the event of forgetting to take a dose of indapamide, take it as soon as you remember. However, if it is already 6 pm, you should skip the dose and take the next dose on the following morning. It is advisable that you should never take a double dose of this medication provided you missed one, as it will never help to compensate for the skipped or missed dose.
In case you have taken an overdose of indapamide, you may have a number of symptoms which are related to diuretic consequences, such as hypotension, electrolyte disturbances and/ or debility of the muscles. It is important to note that treatment using indapamide ought to always be symptomatic (based on the symptoms of the patient) with the objective to rectify the electrolyte anomalies.
People taking indapamide should essentially take their dosage at the same time every day with a view to prevent missing any dose of the medicine. Normally, this medicine is taken in the morning with the view that it will be working throughout the day and will not disturb the patient's sleep during the night.
Provided your physician has prescribed the indapamide modified release tablets, you need to swallow the tablet as a whole with some water. Never crush or chew the tablets for this may cause adverse effects.
How indapamide works
Indapamide, which forms an active ingredient of natrilix SR tablets, is a diuretic medicine that helps to eliminate the excessive salt and fluid retained by the body through urination.
Diuretic drugs function by making more amount of urine containing excessive salt and body fluids. In other words, these drugs make the kidneys work to augment the amount of various salts, for instance sodium and potassium, which are removed from the bloodstream and got rid of the body in the form of urine. When the kidneys remove these salts from the blood, along with it water is also taken away. Since, diuretic drugs help in augmenting the elimination of salt from the blood, they also help in drawing out more water from our blood and pass them in the form of urine.
As the excessive water is removed from the blood, it reduces the amount of fluid passing through the blood vessels. Subsequently, this reduces the pressure inside the blood vessels and, hence, diuretic drugs are employed to bring down the blood pressure.
While indapamide comes in the category of a diuretic drug, it also helps to bring down high blood pressure by means of acting directly on the blood vessels. Indapamide facilitates in dilating the blood vessels, which, in turn, lowers the strain within the blood vessels. This, in turn, assists in lowering high blood pressure or hypertension.
It is worth mentioning here that natrilix SR tablets are basically extended-release tablets and they are meant to gradually release indapamide over many hours, thereby causing a stabilized level of the medicine in the blood all through the day.
Side effects
- Serious
- Common
- constipation
- cramps
- dizziness especially upon arising from a sitting
- dry mouth
- heart palpitations
- muscle pain
- Less common
- decreased sexual ability
- gout
- increased blood sugar (diabetic patients)
- increased sensitivity to sunlight
- loss of appetite
Possible interactions
Specific herbs, minerals, foods and other issues are known to interact with indapamide. Below is a list of the things that may possibly interact with this diuretic drug.
- Herbal medicines or minerals:
- The herb ginseng is likely to raise the blood pressure lessening the advantages of such diuretic drugs. Similarly, other herbs, such as goldenseal, hawthorn, ma huang, saw palmetto, licorice and yohimbe also possess the aptitude to raise the blood pressure. On the other hand, taking garlic and calcium supplements may possibly assist in lowering the blood pressure. The herb called Indian snakeroot possesses a German Commission E indication for high blood pressure. It is advisable that you talk to your physician regarding the use of this herb. Here is a word of caution: people suffering from high blood pressure should always keep away from the herbs ma huang and eleuthero.
- Foods:
- While you may take most foods while taking indapamide, you need to follow your physician's recommendations regarding the use of salt in your food.
- Alcohol:
- Consumption of alcoholic beverages is likely to augment blood pressure lowering attributes of indapamide resulting in hypotension (decreased blood pressure).
- Exposure to heat:
- Exposure to extreme heat is likely to cause too much sweating which may, in turn, result in further loss of salt and water.
- Occurrence of unrelated illness:
- It is worth mentioning that when people taking indapamide suffer from unrelated ailments (diarrhea or vomiting), it may result in severe disparity of the vital body chemistry. In such cases, it is advisable that the patient should talk to his/ her doctor for advice and help.
- Heavy exercise or exertion:
- Undertaking isometric exercises may possibly increase the blood pressure considerably. In such cases the patient ought to consult his/ her physician for assistance.
Discontinuation
If you are scheduled to undergo any kind of surgery, including dental surgery, it is essential to stop taking indapamide at least five to seven days prior to the operation. In addition, it is advisable that you also consult your physician and/ or surgeon as well as anaesthesiologist for advice as to when you need to stop taking this medicine before a surgery.
Storage instructions
Indapamide should always be stored in the container it came in. The container should be closed tightly and kept in a place that is beyond the reach of children. It is advisable that you store indapamide at room temperature and in a place devoid of extreme heat and/ or moisture. Never keep this medicine in your bathroom. You ought to discard all medicines that are required no longer or have passed their expiry date. In addition, consult your pharmacist regarding the safe manner to dispose of the unwanted medicine.