What would you do if the inside of your body overflows with unnecessary fluid?
You obviously want to get rid of all that, right? Lasix makes it possible for you to do so. Though Lasix (Generic name: Furosemide) helps reduce extra bodily fluids through urine, many people complain that they are taking Lasix but not peeing much.
This is a complicated condition because you should take Lasix to pee when you have edema due to heart failure, liver diseases, and kidney diseases. So, if the medicine is not working, there is something wrong, and you must address the issue immediately.
What can be the reason behind the failure of Lasix, and what can you do in this situation? This article answers these questions and more.
You should have a strong urge to pee within 60 to 80 minutes of taking Lasix. Depending on your body, it may take a bit longer. But the effect of Lasix wears off within 6 to 8 hours. If you don’t pee after 6 to 8 hours of taking Lasix, the medicine is not working on you.
Table of Content
What is Lasix and How Does It Work?
Lasix is, in a simple word, a water pill. It’s also known as a loop diuretic. This pill is usually taken alone or along with other medicines. The most common purpose of using Lasix is to treat high blood pressure.
But this drug is effectively used to treat edema as well. In case you don’t know, edema is the retention of excess fluid stored in body tissue. Simply put, edema is the condition when your body accumulates fluids without processing and bypassing them as urine or sweat.
Lasix or Furosemide helps the kidney get rid of excessive water and salt stored in the body. The medication prevents the absorption of excessive salt as well. As a result, the unneeded salt can escape your body through urine.
I hope you notice the essential thing here; urine. Yes, urine is the only way your body can release a significant amount of liquid. For this reason, it’s essential to pee after taking Lasix.
Why Do We Take Lasix?
As you probably know by now, Lasix helps us to pee. What does it mean? It means you should take Lasix when you have difficulty peeing, but you must urinate. These situations include medical conditions such as heart failure, kidney disorder, liver failure, etc.
A closer look at these problems will clarify how taking Lasix helps in these circumstances.
Edema
It won’t be wrong to say that edema is the only reason (most of the time) why people take Lasix.
As you already know, this condition essentially is the swelling of your body. Your body swells due to excessive fluid. When you drink tons of liquid, whether water, coffee, or juice, they are not properly processed and stored in your cell tissues.
Antidepressants, hormonal problems, and blood pressure medications can cause your body to retain fluid. The same thing happens when you have heart failure, kidney failure, or a liver disorder. How do they influence edema? We will get to that shortly.
Some symptoms of edema include tenderness or discomfort in the swollen areas, tight skin in the swollen areas, and weight gain. Consult your doctor immediately if you see these signs before taking Lasix.
Heart Failure or Cardiac Arrest
We are supposed to take Lasix if we have congestive heart failure. In this condition, the heart’s one or both lower chambers lose their ability to pump blood.
As they can’t pass on the blood, it returns to where it came from. In this case, it usually gets stored in the feet, ankles, and legs. Your abdomen can swell as well. In rare cases, congestive heart failure results in fluid accumulation in the lungs (known as pulmonary edema).
Kidney Disorder
It is no secret that the kidney is responsible for passing the unnecessary fluid out of the body. But when the kidney is not working correctly (due to diseases or disorders), extra fluids and sodium can’t escape the system.
As a result, the fluids keep circulating in the body as they have nowhere else to go. In this case, these liquids get stored in the legs and sometimes around the eyes.
Damages in the kidney can give the same result. Hundreds of tiny blood vessels accompany your kidney. Your body will continue accumulating fluid without processing them if these vessels get damaged. This eventually leads to edema.
Liver Failure
Liver damage is a dangerous reason for edema. Cirrhosis (liver damage) can manipulate the regular fluid circulation of the body, causing the liquid to accumulate in the abdominal cavity (or ascites). Some fluid may get stored in the legs as well.
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure excites the heart. When the heart gets hyper-excited, it pumps more and more blood with an elevated force. This increased blood pressure aggravates the blood flow even more.
Consequently, the fluid seeps all around the vein tissue due to brute force. This causes swelling in the legs. Fluid build-up can take place in the abdomen as well.
Damaged Veins in the Legs
The one-way valves of your leg’s veins can weaken or get damaged if you have a chronic venous insufficiency. Let me clarify what it is. The veins of your legs constantly circulate blood.
A valve helps to keep the blood flow going. But if the valve gets damaged, blood can’t escape the veins in your legs. However, this doesn’t stop blood flow from reaching your legs. As a result, fluid accumulates in the lower part of your body, causing swelling.
This problem usually occurs in athletes. It immediately swells the leg and causes unbearable pain in the calf muscles.
Lymphatic System Failure
The purpose of your body’s lymphatic system is to clear out the excess fluid from the tissues. Any damage to this system will indeed affect the usual flow of fluid dispossession.
As a result, the lymph nodes and vessels will fail to drain the extra fluids correctly. Then, as you’ve probably already guessed, these fluids will get stored in the area where the lymphatic system got damaged.
Cancer surgery can cause damage to the lymph vessels and the lymph nodes.
Apart from these, severe protein deficiency or lack of sufficient protein in your diet for an extended period can cause fluid to accumulate in your body and lead to further difficulties of edema.
I’m Taking Lasix But Not Peeing Much: Why Is That?
You should have a strong urge to pee within 60 to 80 minutes of taking Lasix. Depending on your body, it may take a bit longer. But the effect of Lasix wears off within 6 to 8 hours. If you don’t pee after 6 to 8 hours of taking Lasix, the medicine is not working on you.
Why does Lasix fail? In this section, we will be exploring just that.
Interaction With Other Medicines
As you know, Lasix, just like any other thing in the world, is a chemical. Thus, it engages in chemical reactions with other elements and is likely to change.
Case and Point: There is a chance the Lasix you consume is engaging in a chemical reaction with some other medicine you take and becoming neutral.
How can you be sure if Lasix is interacting with any other medicine? Share your medical history with the doctor. They will see the report and determine if you are taking any medication that can disturb the functionality of Lasix.
Food Habits
Just like medicines, foods can change the formation of Lasix as well. You have to make sure you are maintaining a proper diet while taking Lasix. Doctors usually give a dietary plan while prescribing Furosemide. Follow that routine to help Lasix work in your body.
Insufficient Lasix than We Need
If Lasix is not working in your body, you are probably not taking the right amount of Furosemide. Or you are not taking other medicines to help Lasix function correctly.
The case can also be that you are not taking medications correctly. If this is the reason, you will experience dehydration, nausea, and fatigue.
Discuss the issue with your doctor; they should give you all the necessary medicines and guides.
Vomit
If you vomit right after taking Lasix, the medicine didn’t have enough time to affect your body. Clearly, the Lasix won’t work for you now. Similarly, suppose there are other medicines you were supposed to take with Lasix but vomited them out, too. In that case, it doesn’t actually help you.
So, ensure the medicine is getting enough time to settle in your system.
Some Other Diseases
Lasix may not do its job if you have some uncommon or rare functionality. Your body condition matters a lot when it comes to any medicine and the way it functions
So, you are responsible for sharing your health condition with your doctor. It’s better if your doctor does a thorough checkup when Lasix is not working for you.
Lasix is life-saving medicine. It should work smoothly unless there is some external influence. Look out for them before using the medication.
What to Do When I’m Not Peeing Much Even After Taking Lasix?
There aren’t many reasons why Lasix shouldn’t work. But if you take Lasix but aren’t peeing much, it is a grave concern. However, suppose you know the right thing to do in this situation. In that case, you shouldn’t have much problem avoiding the upcoming consequences.
So, what should you know when you are not peeing even after taking Lasix? Let’s delve right into it.
Change the Medicine
There is a big chance that the Furosemide medicine you use (Lasix in this case) is not ideal for you. Your body is probably not reacting to the medicines the right way.
In this case, you have to consult your doctor. They will just do a simple checkup and recommend a different Furosemide for your edema.
Maintain a Balanced Diet
As already mentioned, your food habit affects the medicine you consume. This is why you must maintain a balanced diet while taking Lasix to help the Furosemide work on your body.
The perfect diet for patients diagnosed with edema is the antioxidant foods. This includes cherries, tomatoes, squash, bell papers, blueberries, etc. Apart from this, you should avoid refined foods such as pasta, sugar, and bread. Red meats and cold-water fishes are also a no for you.
Follow the Prescription to the Tee
Lasix is strong yet delicate medicine. It won’t work unless you give it the perfect environment. For this, you have to take the medicines properly.
Make sure to follow the prescription and maintain whatever habit your doctor recommends practicing.
In a word, taking the right medicines at the right time will allow Lasix to carry out its task.
Get a Checkup
There might be a problem in your body that you don’t know about. The issue may not be apparent to the doctor’s naked eye as well. In this case, you should get a thorough checkup.
A checkup will help the doctor identify why Lasix is not working on you. After this, they may recommend a different medication or give you some treatments. It totally depends on your health condition.
However, if you need to urinate urgently but the Lasix is not on your side, you should not wait and immediately head to the emergency room. Lasix usually works, but you have to take on some responsibilities if it fails.
My Last Two Cents on the Topic
Lasix has been saving lives since 1964. It gives the priceless comfort that edema patients crave. Unfortunately, taking Lasix but not peeing much is quite common.
However, the good news is you know what to do if this problem occurs. Apart from this, you’ve also learned why this problem arises and how the whole thing functions. This will definitely help you to calculate the situation in a much more effective way.
In other words, you will be able to handle the consequence appropriately, even if you don’t have any prior medical experience.
