So, my surgery with Dr. Brassard is in a couple weeks. He requires stopping hormones, including spiro, 3 weeks prior to your surg. date. So, I stopped cold turkey my spiro about a week and a half ago and am still reeling at the side effect from such an abrupt stoppage (apparently no one told me that weening was a good idea ...argh!). Mind you, I have been taking them for years, so ymmv when it comes to how a cold turkey may affect you, but I gained 8 pounds in 6 days! I did not change my diet and I continued to run 3 miles 4 times a week, just like I always do. I about had a panic attack every day feeling bloated and watching the scale tick upward. It was like my first period and the bloat was uncontrollable and the weight gain was unstoppable. ugh! I got pretty morose over the whole thing. I finally did some research and the national institutes of health have published info about this:
Quote
Rebound sodium and water retention occurs when diuretic treatment is stopped
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1112648/
BMJ. 1998 Feb 14; 316(7131): 628.
PMCID: PMC1112648
Rebound sodium and water retention occurs when diuretic treatment is stopped
Constaninos G Missouris, Senior registrar in cardiology
Graham A MacGregor, Professor of cardiovascular medicine
Blood Pressure Unit, Department of Medicine, St George's Hospital Medical School, London SW17 0RE
Copyright and License information â–º
editor—Walma et al claim that patients should continue to take diuretics if they retain sodium and water on stopping diuretic treatment.1 However, if diuretics are suddenly withdrawn in patients with a normal salt intake there will be rebound retention of sodium and water. This is because the compensatory mechanisms that are induced to maintain sodium balance in the face of the diuretic are still acting several days after the effect of the diuretic has worn off.2
There are two ways of trying to mitigate the rebound retention of sodium and water that occurs on stopping diuretic treatment. One is to gradually reduce the dose to nothing. The other (and better way) is to place the patient on a low sodium diet so that only a small amount of sodium can be retained when diuretic treatment is stopped.3
Needless to say, with my GCS approaching and the Dr. requirement to stop spiro, my only course of action was the low sodium diet. I am here to tell you that has worked. I dropped 4 pounds in two days. The bloat feeling is gone. I have been off of spiro for almost two weeks, and off of estrogen, finasteride, and prometrium for one week now. My system is normalizing. I miss my pepperoni, polish sausage and sauerkraut, sunflower seeds, pistachios, etc, but I do not miss the bloat and weight gain!!
I just thought that since I had real trouble finding this info anywhere, and did not find it on susans, posting it in a thread may help the next poor girl going through what I deem her first period effects.
As my wife told me: Welcome to it!
