Ask the doctor: Can I take a diuretic?
Ask the doctor
These medications work on different parts of the kidney, forcing it to make a more dilute form of urine than it would otherwise produce. Doctors have known for decades that combining these two drugs dramatically accelerates water loss. When you lose water, though, you also lose sodium, potassium, magnesium, and other so-called electrolytes from the bloodstream. Altering the finely tuned balance of these electrolytes in the blood can throw off the electrical circuitry of the heart, which can lead to a serious heart rhythm problem. My guess is that you were hospitalized so your doctors could monitor and stabilize your heart rhythm.
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