Posted by DocGreg on May 17, 1999 at 21:11:42:
In Reply to: Water therapy question. posted by Rob Heckemann on May 17, 1999 at 12:58:15:
Verapamil is mostly metabolized (broken down) in the liver (not affected by water intake). The products are then secreted in the urine. Approx 5% of the drug is secreted unchanged in the urine. Increasing the amount of urination might increase the amount of the drug secreted...but shouldn't be a whole lot.
Most of verpamil is bound to proteins in the blood. The proteins are not affected by frequent urination, so I don't expect that this would alter the levels of the medication greatly.
All and all, I don't think water therapy would affect the amount of verapamil in the blood significantly. But, to be honest with you, I'm not positive (don't know of any studies measuring verapamil levels in people intaking large volumes of water).
I don't think I would change your dose of verapamil when taking in larger volumes of water. It is always safer to have lower levels of the medication than too high. And if the water helps, great.
Again I caution not to use tooo much water. People can injest so much, that they loose excessive amounts of salts in the urine. Be sure to include a well balanced diet to help replace some of the salt loss that occurs in every urination. If you are taking in really large amounts of water, let your doctor know so he/she can monitor the amounts of salts in your body. If you drop it too low, you will do more harm than good.
Nothing documented about the use of water for the treatment of headaches...but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. A lot of people swear by it on this board, and I believe them. Just do it wisely.
Good luck. Feel free to write if you have any more questions.
Greg
docgreg@bigfoot.com