There is enough salt in the foods that we eat every day that you don't need
any added salt on any foods.  Drinking water helps me when I start getting
puffy ankles.  Usually that is your body trying to tell you that you are
dehydrated.

Water isn't fat.  If you tried diuretics to make the scale reading go
down, that's something you're going to need to learn on more
than just an intellectual level.

No amount of effort spent fighting water weight will ever have any
impact on the amount of fat you're carrying.  You started to taper
off on diuretics and you retained a bit of water.  You need to step
back and make yourself see that as not important.  It isn't fat,
it isn't a problem.

You've just started tapering off on the abuse of diuretics and
already you've focusing on salt restriction?  That's a very bad sign.
The human body is evolved to eject vast amount of salt.  Do not
worry about salt.  If it tastes really good use it; if not don't.  And
drink plenty of water.  That's all you'll ever really need to do to
deal with salt and water retention.

You're working with an MD on this, right?  Have you also talked
to a specialist who treats eating disorders?  Abusing diuretics,
realizing that's what you've been doing, and immediately diving
into abusing salt as a substitute abuse, that sounds very much
like an eating disorder problem to me.

Now that I think about it, if you've been focusing that hard on
fighting water retention, I doubt that worrying about body fat is a
good idea for you now.  What are your stats?  Current height,
weight, age?  if you've been putting that much effort into fighting
water retention what's the chance you started doing that in the
first place because you're already underweight?

The thing about a diet support group is most folks want to
support people reaching their ideal weight.  That includes if
you're below it gaining just like it includes if you're above it
losing.  Support isn't always about what you want to hear,
especially not if you find suggestions of eating disorders
trigger anything but puzzlement at why I would mention it.

An exboyfriend of mine prescribed water pills to me for puffiness as well.
I found myself totally hooked on them for years.

Finally, when I became pregnant, I HAD to stop taking them.  A full bottle
still sits in my cabinet nearly 3 years later just waiting to be used.  The
only reason I don't take them is because I am still breastfeeding.

I swelled up so much while pregnant.  So, I feel your pain.

Drink a good 3 liters (I'm just using what I drank when starting to low
carb) of water a day.  Your body will begin to flush itself.

Just try it for a week or so and you should see the difference.

I'm afraid we made a big mistake by taking these highly addicted and deadly
(from what I understand) pills.

~Carol Ann