Diuretic medications like Lozide, Dyazide, Atacand Plus, drain my blood potassium. When my doc switched me from Atacand Plus to Dyazide, he and the pharmacist warned me not to use APO-K potassium tablets because, they said, Dyazide contains potassium-sparing ingredient. However, after several blood tests my doc prescribed 600, 1200, 1800 mg/day of APO-K potassium tablets!!! How much can we trust pharmaceutical informations all claiming that Dyazide increases blood potassium!
[IMG]http://www3.telus.net/maxjasper/k_dyazide.jpg[/IMG]

Hi maxjasper-
I think the pharm companies are very careful to cover their a** by using the words "may" and "possiblity" and "potential for" etc.
I was on Dyazide at one time in the past and my potassium levels plunged. I was feeling horrendous. Abject exhaustion and weakness. So my doctor prescribed potassium supplements, to be added to my Dyazide regimen. Two weeks later, still feeling awful, blood tests showed that my potassium levels STILL hadn't budged upward, even with supplementation! Obviously the potassium-sparing agent in many diuretics doesn't always help.

I am now a very happy angiotension2 receptor blocker FAN.

zuzu xx

Max- After spirlhelix's fascinating post, just a quick answer to your question about which ARB I'm on...straight Diovan 160mg once a day. I'm one of the fortunate ones who does well (for the nonce!) w/o diuretics. It's too bad Atacand and Atacand+ wasn't helpful for you, since,of the ARBs the word on Atacand is that it has somewhat better blood-pressure lowering effects than Diovan. How's your BP (and serum potassium) now on the Dyazide, Norvasc and K supps?

zuzu xx