Annie,

This is all pretty minor stuff! I wasn't retaining a lot of water--not so that I noticed. Just typical PMS stuff. But for some reason, it was triggering migraines. None of my other doctors ever heard of such a thing, and they raise their eyebrows when I tell them I take HCTZ to prevent migraines, but I went from having 15 migraines a month to zero as soon as I started taking the diuretic. Pretty dramatic!

As for my heart, I was having PVCs (premature ventricular contractions). Your heart beats a bit early, and then the next beat comes on the old schedule, so it fills up with extra blood and goes THUMP. Runs in my family. Now that I think of it, I can't remember the last time I noticed that. Aside from the devastating autoimmune diseases, I'm remarkably healthy.

Abby