Expert advice:
Tortec helps removes excess water from your body and lower blood pressure. Take it in the morning with breakfast to avoid getting up at night to urinate. May cause dizziness in the initial days of treatment. Monitor your blood pressure after starting Tortec, and notify your doctor if it hasn't gone down. Notify your doctor if you experience dizziness, tiredness, or muscle weakness that doesn't go away. Take potassium supplements or potassium-rich diet (banana, spinach, coconut water etc) as Tortec can decrease your potassium levels and lead to dehydration. Requires routine blood tests to monitor your kidney function.
Side Effects:
Dehydration, Decreased potassium level in blood, Decreased magnesium level in blood, Increased blood uric acid, Hearing loss.
Faq for medicine:
Can Tortec cause gout? : Yes, Tortec can cause gout. It increases the blood uric acid levels by increasing its absorption from the kidneys which can cause a gout attack. Inform your doctor if you have hyperuricemia or a history of gout before taking this medicine. Use of Tortec is contraindicated in patients with gout.|Does Tortec raise your blood sugar levels? : Tortec can increase your blood sugar levels. This can worsen your diabetes control and affect your blood and urine sugar tests. Inform your doctor if you are a diabetic before taking Tortec.|Can I use Tortec with spironolactone? : Tortec can be taken with spironolactone. When used together the diuretic effect gets added along with maintaining the blood potassium levels. Tortec is a loop diuretic and causes loss of potassium from your body while Spironolactone is a potassium-sparing diuretic which prevents the loss of potassium. |Does Tortec cause diarrhea? : Diarrhea is a common side effect of Tortec. Other commonly seen gastrointestinal side effects are the loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation.|Can I take Tortec with allopurinol? : Tortec can be taken with allopurinol. Tortec can increase uric acid levels and allopurinol lowers uric acid levels. So, allopurinol is given to decrease the hyperuricemic effects of Tortec. However, allopurinol is not safe in patients with renal failure, so may need to be replaced with another similar medicine like febuxostat.|Can I use Tortec in sulfa allergy? : No, Tortec should not be used if you have a history of sulfa allergy or to sulfonamide group of anti-diabetic drugs.|Is Tortec used for weight loss? : Tortec can decrease weight by removing excessive water from your body. However, it is not used for weight loss in obese patients as it does not affect body fat.|Does Tortec cause electrolyte abnormalities? : Yes, Tortec can cause electrolyte abnormalities as it works by removing water and salt from your body. It can decrease the blood potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and calcium levels and increase blood sugar and uric acid levels. It is very important to get electrolytes and kidney function tests done on a regular basis while you are taking this medicine.|Is Tortec safe to use? : Tortec is a safe drug if used in prescribed dose and for prescribed duration as advised by your doctor.|Does Tortec cause hair loss? : Tortec is not known to cause hair loss. Consult your doctor if you have hair loss while you are taking Tortec. |Can Tortec cause kidney failure? : No, Tortec does not cause kidney failure, rather it is used to remove extra fluid from the body (edema) which is caused by conditions such as heart failure, liver disease, and kidney disease.|Can I take Tortec with prednisone? : Tortec can be taken with prednisone. However, when used together, they can lower blood potassium levels (hypokalemia) which can be severe, causing muscle pains or cramps, loss of appetite, weakness, dizziness, or confusion. Inform your doctor if you have these symptoms. Take potassium supplements or foods rich in potassium like orange, lemon or other citrus fruit.|Can I use Tortec with metolazone? : Both Tortec and metolazone are potassium-lowering diuretics. When given together, they can lower blood potassium level (hypokalemia) which can be severe, causing muscle pains or cramps, loss of appetite, weakness, dizziness, or confusion. Inform your doctor if you have these symptoms. Take potassium supplements or foods rich in potassium like orange, lemon or other citrus fruit.|Does Tortec have any serious side effects? : Serious side effects reported with the use of Tortec are atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, chest pain, diarrhea, digitalis intoxication, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hyperglycemia, hyperuricemia, hypokalemia, hypotension, hypovolemia, shunt thrombosis, rash, rectal bleeding, and syncope.|Is Tortec useful in the treatment of heart failure? : Yes, Tortec is useful in the treatment of heart failure. It works by removing excess water and salt from your body and decreases the workload on the heart and as well decreases the lung congestion. This helps in improving the function of the heart in these patients. |Can Tortec lower potassium levels? : Tortec can cause dehydration and lower the levels of electrolytes like potassium in your body. You can take potassium supplements or diet rich in potassium (banana, spinach, coconut water etc.) while you are taking this medicine after consulting with your doctor.
