Drugs that lower blood pressure have proven generally effective over the years. Most people who have taken these drugs have not had any problems. However some of the drugs listed below can affect certain functions of the body, resulting in bad side effects.
! Always consult your doctor before changing or stopping your medication !

Diuretics: Some of these drugs may decrease your body's supply of a mineral called potassium. Symptoms such as weakness, leg cramps or being tired may result. Eating foods containing potassium may help prevent significant potassium loss. You can prevent potassium loss by taking a liquid or tablet that has potassium along with the diuretic, if your doctor recommends it.

Diuretics such as amiloride (Midamar), spironolactone (Aldactone) or triamterene (Dyrenium) are called "potassium sparing" agents. They don’Äôt cause the body to lose potassium. They might be prescribed alone but are usually used with another diuretic. Some of these combinations are Aldactazide, Dyazide, Maxzide or Moduretic.

Some people suffer from attacks of gout after prolonged treatment with diuretics.
This side effect isn't common and can be managed by other treatment.
In people with diabetes, diuretic drugs may increase the blood sugar level. A change in drug, diet, insulin or oral antidiabetic dosage corrects this in most cases. Your doctor can change your treatment. Most of the time the degree of increase in blood sugar isn't much. Impotence may also occur in a small percentage of people.

Drug side effects and the Pharmaceutical Industry...further details

All drugs have some side effects
Some of the possible side effects may affect us very slowly over an extended period of time: tiredness/lower energy, liver function, kidney function, depression, impotence and brain functions (including memory)
Slowly developing side effects could be very difficult to diagnose and connect to a drug that we have been taking for several years. It is possible that another drug would simply be prescribed to treat these new symptons
Relying solely on drugs as solutions for health issues - many people, as they get older, have to take - 5, 10, 15 different drugs every day, with the accompyaning cost and increased risk of adverse reactions between different drugs

Drugs are withdrawn from the market every year due to serious side effects that were not revealed in the initial studies. According to the 2003 medical report "Death by Medicine"

" Because there are so many drugs available, unforeseen adverse drug reactions are all too common, which leads to the highly conservative annual prescription drug death rate of 106,000. (these numbers came before the Vioxx scandal."

- Drs. Gary Null, Carolyn Dean, Martin Feldman, Debora Rasio and Dorothy Smith

A new study reported in - ScienceDaily (Jan. 7, 2008) states -

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development

Based on 2004 statistics -

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar on promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a percentage of US domestic sales of US$235.4 billion
The study's findings supports the position that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry is marketing-driven and challenges the perception of a research-driven, life-saving, pharmaceutical industry
The USA is the largest market for pharmaceutical drugs in the world, representing approximately 43% of global sales and global promotion expenditures

The Pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest and most profitable businesses in the USA.,
the main goal of all businesses is to sell as much "product" as possible.

Safe?

According to Janet Woodcock, M.D., (director of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research) the FDA's mission is making sure that drugs are "safe and effective."

So what does "safe" really mean?

When it comes to any drug, "safe" means that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risks for the population the drug is intended to treat and for its intended use.

"Safe does not mean harmless," Woodcock says. "Every drug comes with risks, and our tolerance for risk is higher for drugs that treat serious and life-threatening illnesses. There is no question that cancer drugs can be highly toxic. But they also save lives."

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