Midamor

Midamor is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure and fluid retention caused by congestive heart failure. This medication belongs to a group of drugs called diuretics ("water pills"). Specifically, it is a "potassium-sparing" diuretic which means that it works by helping the body get rid of excess fluid by increasing the amount of salt and water the kidneys remove from the blood, while still keeping potassium in the body.

This medication comes in tablet form and is usually taken once daily or every other day. Take Midamor with food.

Common side effects include headache, nausea, and diarrhea. Midamor may cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how it affects you.

Midamor is prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure and fluid retention caused by congestive heart failure.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Take Midamor exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The Midamor dose your doctor recommends will be based on:

• the condition being treated
• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication

Midamor is usually taken with another diuretic. 

The recommended starting dose is 5 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 10 mg once daily.

Like other potassium-conserving agents, Midamor may cause hyperkalemia (serum potassium levels greater than 5.5 mEq per liter) which, if uncorrected, is potentially fatal. Hyperkalemia occurs commonly (about 10%) when Midamor is used without a kaliuretic diuretic. This incidence is greater in patients with renal impairment, diabetes mellitus (with or without recognized renal insufficiency), and in the elderly. When this medication is used concomitantly with a thiazide diuretic in patients without these complications, the risk of hyperkalemia is reduced to about 1-2 percent. It is thus essential to monitor serum potassium levels carefully in any patient receiving Midamor, particularly when it is first introduced, at the time of diuretic dosage adjustments, and during any illness that could affect renal function.

Serious side effects can occur including:

• electrolyte imbalance. This medication may affect electrolytes including sodium and potassium. Your doctor will check these levels using a blood test. Warning signs of electrolyte imbalance include:
  • dry mouth
  • thirst
  • weakness
  • lack of energy
  • drowsiness
  • restlessness
  • muscle pains or cramps
  • muscle fatigue
  • low blood pressure
  • decreased urination
  • fast heart rate
  • nausea and vomiting
• hyperkalemia (high blood potassium levels) has been reported with the use of all "potassium-sparing" diuretics, including Midamor. This medication should be avoided in diabetic patients.

This medication may cause drowsiness or dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how it affects you.

Do not take Midamor if you:

• are allergic to Midamor or any other ingredient of this medication
• have kidney disease
• have high potassium levels (hyperkalemia)
• are taking spironolactone (Aldactone) or triamterene 

Common side effects include:

• headache
• nausea
• loss of appetite
• stomach pain
• gas
• mild skin rash
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• dizziness

This is not a complete list of Midamor side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects may occur. See "Drug Precautions" section.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• ACE inhibitors such as benazepril (Lotensin), captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), quinapril (Accupril), ramipril (Altace) and others
• angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) such as azilsartan (Edarbi), candesartan (Atacand), eprosartan (Teveten), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), olmesartan (Benicar), telmisartan (Micardis) and valsartan (Diovan)
• cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)
• tacrolimus (Prograf)
• other medications for high blood pressure
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin) or naproxen (Aleve), and others
• lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid)
• potassium products including potassium chloride (K-Dur, Klor-Con, Micro-K), potassium citrate (Urocit-K, Polycitra-K), potassium gluconate, potassium phosphate (Neutra-Phos-K, K-Phos)
• salt substitutes that contain potassium
• digoxin
• spironolactone (Aldactone)
• triamterene 

This is not a complete list of Midamor drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Midamor falls into category B. There are no well-done studies that have been done in humans with Midamor. But in animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication, and the babies did not show any medical issues related to this medication.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

It is not known if Midamor crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using Midamor.

Midamor should be taken at the same time each day to maintain an even level of the medicine in your blood.

Do not use salt substitutes containing potassium without talking to your doctor. Midamor can cause increased potassium levels in your blood.

Midamor should be used cautiously in people with liver disease, as it may increase the risk of a brain problem called hepatic encephalopathy in people with liver disease.