Learned a New Thing

I rarely have pain these days, but I did a LOT of walking and riding two days ago (16 miles), and there is a limit for my QL. It was sore last night so I took an anti-inflammatory. I got on the scale (after a great deficit day), and my weight had JUMPED almost a pound!

I don't worry about that, but I traced back to what it might have been, and it had to be the anti-inflammatory. So I did some research, and here you go:

Why do NSAID's cause fluid retention?

NSAID's block the formation of certain "bad" prostaglandins which cause inflammation and pain. However, they also block some "good" prostaglandins too .. in particular those that are needed do keep blood vessels in the kidneys dilated. When blood vessels in the kidneys are constricted, then the flow of blood is reduced, which in turn reduces the glomerular filtration rate (GFR), or the rate at which the kidneys filter blood. This slowed filtration rate causes a bit of a backlog in the bloodstream which leads to increased blood pressure, so the body relieves the pressure by causing some of the excess water-fluid to seep through the blood vessel walls and into the tissues. The reduced filtration rate also causes the kidneys to retain sodium and potassium.

For most people, this effect is temporary and transient; it clears up once the NSAID is out of the system. However, persons with kidney disease, the elderly and also liver disease need to use these with caution, or even not at all. Also persons taking ACE-inhibitors for blood pressure, and potassium-sparing diuretics such as spironolactone should not use NSAID's without discussing with their dr. This includes aspirin!