Urine Calcium

Don Saklad <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

a. What do the letters represent mnemonically?... IH

b. What is Hydrochlorothiazde ?...

c. What do the letters represent in the Latin ?... bid qam

d. What do the letters represent in English ?... bid qam

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Ca 24: 350 *Urine Calcium: men <250, women <200; IH,
consider Hydrochlorothiazde 25 mg bid or chlorthalidone 25
mg qam, urine NA<100

...

*all values are mg/d except noted; normal ranges as noted.

IH = idiopathic hypertension = high blood pressure with
unknown cause (like most high blood pressure).
Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic which lowers
blood pressure and decreases urine calcium excretion. B.i.d.
= Latin for "bis in die" = twice a day. I don't know why any
doctor would want to give this drug twice a day for high
blood pressure. Perhaps it works better twice a day if
you're worried about calcium (decreasing urine calcium also
decreases your need for dietary calcium and decreases your
chance of making calcium containing urinary track stones).
Clorthaladone is also a diuretic (not a thiazide, but close)
with similar caclium action, which is also usually once a
day. qAM = quaque AM = each AM (ante meridian) = each
morning. Diuretics are frequently given in the morning so as
not to wake people at night with full bladders. Not really a
necessary precaution with the two very mild diuretics being
discussed here. BTW, these two diuretics probably don't
affect blood pressure by their diuretic effect per se.
Nobody really knows how they do it.