Thalitone Side Effects Center

What Is Thalitone?

Thalitone (chlorthalidone) is a thiazide diuretic (water pill) used to treat fluid retention (edema) in people with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis of the liver, or kidney disorders, or edema caused by taking steroids or estrogen. Thalitone is also used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).

What Are Side Effects of Thalitone?

Common side effects of Thalitone include:

• dizziness,
• lightheadedness,
• headache,
• blurred vision,
• loss of appetite,
• stomach upset,
• diarrhea, or
• constipation as your body adjusts to the medication.
• Other side effects of Thalitone include muscle spasm,
• decreased sexual ability, or
• increased sensitivity to the sun.

Tell your doctor if you have serious side effects of Thalitone including:

• fainting,
• toe or joint pain, or
• changes in the amount of urine (not including the normal increase in urine when you first start this drug).

Dosage for Thalitone

To treat hypertension the usual starting dose of Thalitone is a single daily dose of 15 mg. If the response is insufficient, the dosage may be increased to 30 mg and then to a single daily dose of 45-50 mg. To treat edema in adults, initial dose is 30 to 60 mg daily or 60 mg on alternate days. Maintenance dose is usually lower.

What Drugs, Substances, or Supplements Interact with Thalitone?

Thalitone may interact with other medicines that make you sleepy (such as cold or allergy medicine, sedatives, narcotic pain medicine, sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and medicine for seizures, depression, or anxiety), lithium, digoxin, steroids, other blood pressure medications, insulin or oral diabetes medicine. Tell your doctor all medications you use.

Thalitone During Pregnancy or Breastfeeding

Thalitone should be used only when prescribed during pregnancy. This drug passes into breast milk. While there have been no reports of harm to nursing infants, consult your doctor before breastfeeding.

Additional Information

Our Thalitone (chlorthalidone) 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; difficult 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;
• low sodium--headache, confusion, slurred speech, severe weakness, vomiting, loss of coordination, feeling unsteady;
• low potassium--leg cramps, constipation, irregular heartbeats, fluttering in your chest, increased thirst or urination, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness or limp feeling;
• low magnesium--dizziness, irregular heartbeats, feeling jittery, muscle cramps, muscle spasms, cough or choking feeling; or
• kidney problems--little or no urination, swelling in your feet or ankles, feeling tired or short of breath.

Common side effects may include:

• low blood pressure (feeling light-headed);
• kidney problems;
• dizziness; or
• an electrolyte imbalance (such as low levels of potassium, sodium, or magnesium in your blood).

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.