Aldactone Side Effects Center

What Is Aldactone?

Aldactone (spironolactone) is an aldosterone receptor antagonist that causes the kidneys to remove water and sodium from the body, with reduced losses of potassium. Aldactone is used to reduce edema caused by heart, liver or kidney problems, high blood pressure (hypertension), and certain patients with hyperaldosteronism. Aldactone is available in a generic form named spironolactone.

What Are Side Effects of Aldactone?

Aldactone may cause serious side effects including:

• lightheadedness,
• little or no urination,
• bloody or tarry stools,
• coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds,
• uneven heart rate,
• extreme thirst,
• increased urination,
• leg discomfort,
• muscle weakness or limp feeling,
• vomiting,
• muscle spasms,
• numbness or tingly feeling,
• slow heart rate,
• weak pulse,
• headache,
• confusion,
• slurred speech,
• loss of coordination, and
• feeling unsteady

Get medical help right away, if you have any of the symptoms listed above.

Common side effects of Aldactone include:

• skin rash,
• headache,
• dizziness,
• nausea,
• vomiting,
• gas, and
• stomach pain.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Aldactone including irregular heart rate, muscle pain or weakness, urinating less than usual, shallow breathing, tremors, confusion, or a severe skin reaction, hyperkalemia (high levels of potassium in the blood), and numbness.

Seek medical care or call 911 at once if you have the following serious side effects:

• Serious eye symptoms such as sudden vision loss, blurred vision, tunnel vision, eye pain or swelling, or seeing halos around lights;
• Serious heart symptoms such as fast, irregular, or pounding heartbeats; fluttering in your chest; shortness of breath; and sudden dizziness, lightheadedness, or passing out;
• Severe headache, confusion, slurred speech, arm or leg weakness, trouble walking, loss of coordination, feeling unsteady, very stiff muscles, high fever, profuse sweating, or tremors.

This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur. Check with your physician for additional information about side effects.

Dosage for Aldactone

Aldactone is available in 25, 50 and 100 mg tablets.

Aldactone During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Because of tumor formation in experimental animals, use in pregnancy should be avoided unless the benefits outweigh the potential risks to the fetus; women who are breastfeeding are advised not to use Aldactone. In addition, the drug should not be used to decrease the normal edema of pregnancy. An active metabolite of Aldactone appears in breast milk. Breastfeeding while using Aldactone is not recommended. If use of Aldactone is deemed essential, an alternative method of infant feeding should be used.

Additional Information

Our Aldactone (spironolactone) Side Effects Drug Center provides a comprehensive view of available drug information on the potential side effects when taking this medication.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have:

• a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out;
• little or no urination;
• high potassium level--nausea, weakness, tingly feeling, chest pain, irregular heartbeats, loss of movement; o
• signs of other electrolyte imbalances--increased thirst or urination, confusion, vomiting, muscle pain, slurred speech, severe weakness, numbness, loss of coordination, feeling unsteady.

Common side effects may include:

• breast swelling or tenderness.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.