This medicine may cause you to have an unusual feeling of tiredness when you begin to take it. You may also notice an increase in the amount of urine or in your frequency of urination. After you have taken the medicine for a while, these effects should lessen. In general, to keep the increase in urine from affecting your sleep:

• If you are to take a single dose a day, take it in the morning after breakfast.
• If you are to take more than one dose a day, take the last dose no later than 6 p.m., unless otherwise directed by your doctor.

However, it is best to plan your dose or doses according to a schedule that will least affect your personal activities and sleep. Ask your health care professional to help you plan the best time to take this medicine.

Take each dose at the same time each day. This medicine works best if there is a constant amount in the blood.

For patients taking this medicine for high blood pressure :

• In addition to the use of the medicine your doctor has prescribed, appropriate treatment for your high blood pressure may include weight control and care in the types of foods you eat, especially foods high in sodium. Your doctor will tell you which factors are most important for you. You should check with your doctor before changing your diet.
• Many patients who have high blood pressure will not notice any signs of the problem. In fact, many may feel normal. It is very important that you take your medicine exactly as directed and that you keep your appointments with your doctor even if you feel well.
• Remember that this medicine will not cure your high blood pressure but it does help control it. Therefore, you must continue to take it as directed if you expect to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. You may have to take high blood pressure medicine for the rest of your life . If high blood pressure is not treated, it can cause serious problems such as heart failure, blood vessel disease, stroke, or kidney disease.

For patients taking the oral liquid form of hydrochlorothiazide , which comes in a dropper bottle:

• This medicine is to be taken by mouth. The amount you should take is to be measured only with the specially marked dropper.

Dosing

The dose of these medicines will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of these medicines. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

The number of tablets or teaspoonfuls of solution or suspension that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are taking thiazide diuretics.

For bendroflumethiazide
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults At first, 2.5 to 10 milligrams (mg) one or two times a day. Then, your doctor may lower your dose to 2.5 to 5 mg once a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for only three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 50 to 100 micrograms (mcg) per kilogram (kg) (22.7 to 45.4 mcg per pound) of body weight once a day.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 2.5 to 20 mg a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into two doses.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor. The usual dose is 50 to 400 mcg per kg (22.7 to 181.8 mcg per pound) of body weight a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into two doses.

For chlorothiazide
• For oral dosage forms (oral suspension or tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 250 milligrams (mg) every six to twelve hours.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 250 to 1000 mg a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into smaller doses.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
• For injection dosage form:
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 250 mg injected into a vein every six to twelve hours.
    • Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 500 to 1000 mg a day, injected into a vein. This dose may be given as a single dose or divided into two doses.
    • Children Use and dose must be determined by your doctor.

For chlorthalidone
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 25 to 100 milligrams (mg) once a day. Or 100 to 200 mg taken once every other day or once a day for three days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 25 to 100 mg once a day.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

For hydrochlorothiazide
• For oral dosage forms (oral solution or tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 25 to 100 milligrams (mg) one or two times a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 25 to 100 mg a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into two doses.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

For hydroflumethiazide
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 25 to 100 milligrams (mg) one or two times a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 50 to 100 mg a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into two doses.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

For methyclothiazide
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 2.5 to 10 milligrams (mg) once a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 2.5 to 5 mg once a day.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

For metolazone
• For oral dosage form ( extended metolazone tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 5 to 20 milligrams (mg) once a day.
    • Children Dose must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 2.5 to 5 mg once a day.
    • Children Dose must be determined by your doctor.
• For oral dosage form ( prompt metolazone tablets):
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults At first, 500 micrograms (mcg) once a day. Then, 500 to 1000 mcg once a day.
    • Children Dose must be determined by your doctor.

For polythiazide
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 1 to 4 milligrams (mg) once a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 2 to 4 mg once a day.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

For quinethazone
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body or for high blood pressure:
    • Adults 50 to 200 milligrams (mg) a day. This may be taken as a single dose or divided into two doses.
    • Children Dose must be determined by your doctor.

For trichlormethiazide
• For oral dosage form (tablets):
  • To lower the amount of water in the body:
    • Adults 1 to 4 milligrams (mg) once a day. Or your doctor may want you to take this dose once every other day or once a day for three to five days out of the week.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.
  • For high blood pressure:
    • Adults 2 to 4 mg once a day.
    • Children Dose is based on body weight and must be determined by your doctor.

Missed dose

If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not double doses.

Storage

To store this medicine:

• Keep out of the reach of children.
• Store away from heat and direct light.
• Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
• Keep the oral liquid form of this medicine from freezing.
• Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For thiazide diuretics, the following should be considered:

Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to sulfonamides (sulfa drugs), bumetanide, furosemide, acetazolamide, dichlorphenamide, methazolamide, or to any of the thiazide diuretics. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy When this medicine is used during pregnancy, it may cause side effects including jaundice, blood problems, and low potassium in the newborn infant. In addition, although this medicine has not been shown to cause birth defects or other problems in animals, studies have not been done in humans.

In general, diuretics are not useful for normal swelling of feet and hands that occurs during pregnancy. They should not be taken during pregnancy unless recommended by your doctor.

Breast-feeding Thiazide diuretics pass into breast milk. These medicines also may decrease the flow of breast milk. Therefore, you should avoid use of thiazide diuretics during the first month of breast-feeding.

Children Although there is no specific information comparing the use of thiazide diuretics in children with use in other age groups, these medicines are not expected to cause different side effects or problems in children than they do in adults. However, extra caution may be necessary in infants with jaundice, because these medicines can make the condition worse.

Older adults Dizziness or lightheadedness and signs of too much potassium loss may be more likely to occur in the elderly, who are more sensitive than younger adults to the effects of thiazide diuretics.

Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking thiazide diuretics, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Cholestyramine or
• Colestipol Use with thiazide diuretics may prevent the diuretic from working properly; take the diuretic at least 1 hour before or 4 hours after cholestyramine or colestipol

• Digitalis glycosides (heart medicine) Use with thiazide diuretics may cause high blood levels of digoxin, which may increase the chance of side effects

• Lithium (e.g., Lithane) Use with thiazide diuretics may cause high blood levels of lithium, which may increase the chance of side effects

• Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) Thiazide diuretics may increase the amount of sugar in the blood

• Gout (history of) or
• Lupus erythematosus (history of) or
• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) Thiazide diuretics may make these conditions worse

• Heart or blood vessel disease Thiazide diuretics may cause high cholesterol levels or high triglyceride levels

• Liver disease or
• Kidney disease (severe) Higher blood levels of the thiazide diuretic may occur, which may prevent the thiazide diuretic from working properly