posted
Does anyone else have a problem with their blood potassium and sodium levels being low on their monthly blood work?
My sodium is sometimes a point or two below normal and my potassium seems to hover around 3 points below normal.
My blood pressure is also lower than it used to be, but still in the normal range according to my doc.
Any ideas as to what causes this?
Lymers
Posts: 287 | From Humboldt County, CA | Registered: Jul 2009
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Bb.
Bb uses NaCl for motility. It has a gene for Na-ATPase.
Normally at the outset of lyme, K levels rise (= hyperkalemia), but in time, they drop.
Bb has a preference for Na and does NOT like K(Cl) or Ca or Mg, but looks like it may use those other minerals (and others) to build its biofilm.
Ultrasound disrupts biofilms...
Vitamin B6 controls Na among a lot of other things. It converts in the liver to the active form PLP/P5P. It must be taken sublingual because our stomach acids destroy it.
When B6/P5P is low, the body will find a back-up route to control Na...say hi to aldosterone which comes from cholesterol and -> increased testosterone and estrogen.
Testosterone/estrogen "dominant"...
Bb has a PKC inhibitor. It is preventing calcium from activating a phosphate (called kinases) transfer. Estrogen activates PKC.
There are good forms of estrogen and one bad form and many forms of PKC...adding to the complexity.
Tamoxifen, to fight breast cancer is a man-made PKC inhibitor...
Bb is one very very complex pathogen with lots of ways to protect itself from destruction.
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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lyme in Putnam
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11561
posted
Be careful with your sodium. I have to get my bloods checked every two weeks - I was hospitalized twice for this. I have soemthing called hyponatremia that started a few years ago and have to take 1000 mg. salt daily with a diuretic (lasix). No problem with potassium. Good luck. Have lyme, bart and maybe ehrlichia. On rocephin, zithro and tindamax, alternating doxi.
-------------------- He took u to it, He'll you through Posts: 2837 | From NE. | Registered: Apr 2007
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I didn't understand anything you said. I'm interested, though. Could you tell me what you said in layman's terms?
Lymers
Posts: 287 | From Humboldt County, CA | Registered: Jul 2009
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
Bb is depleting your salt. Low blood sodium is called hyponatremia and it can cause serious problems including seizures.
Bb's "swimming" ability is dependent on NaCl (sodium chloride = table salt).
Bb makes our infected defense cells "cold", so we send in the "de-icer" NaCl.
(Do you live up north where they "salt" the icy roads?)
Well...that makes Bb happy 'cause it WANTS NaCl (table salt) in the cell.
Low potassium can impact the heart. That needs to be addressed by your doc.
Difficult choice when it comes to supplementing...you can't go without sodium chloride, but Bb needs it too.
And MANY more nutrients, hormones, enzymes are impacted as well in lyme.
Magnesium is lost rapidly in lyme. Calcium is being pulled out of storage. Zinc is being depleted...the list goes on and on.
What nutrients to restore, how much, which form, how often...these are very difficult questions to answer.
It is an extremely complex pathogen which really "drains" us.
All pathogens love and need glucose and that maybe the key.
While we need glucose ongoing, a lot...in a jam, WE can substitute ketones to supply energy.
Our heart and brain love ketones, but too many too fast is really hard on the kidneys, so we have to be very careful.
(That is why the ORIGINAL Atkin's diet -> kidney failure.)
But very recently a doctor (woman, pediatrician) discovered that virgin coconut oil (saturated medium chain fatty acids = loaded with hydrogen) is reversing her husband's Alzheimer's Disease.
One of the ingredients in VCO is caprylic acid which converts to a ketone...a very specific ketone and caprylic acid is a KNOWN natural anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal.
This acid (caprylic) is in the brand new "medicinal food" for AD called Axona.
It might work.
But...along the way, we've discovered the real key to healing is 2-fold: reduce the inflammation AND hit Bb simultaneously.
There is more than one way to do that.
As far as inflammation goes, OmegaBrite looks to be the best so far. It is Omega 3s - Essential fatty acids...very high in EPA, just a tad of DHA and a tad of Vitamin E to prevent the other 2 from being "oxidized" (turning rancid from "free radicals" - lone oxygen molecules).
Years ago, in Romania, doctors cured early onset lyme in 2 patients by restoring very low Mg levels (Magnesium is an anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine) AND they gave IV abx.
In Romania,the patients STAYED in the hospitals and were closely monitored. Here we can't wait to get people OUT of the hospitals.
The combination of reducing inflammation AND hitting Bb looks to be very important.
There are other ways to do the same...but all take TIME...many months.
It seems like "pulsing" the treatment maybe best too. Hit it, get out (recover), hit it, get out (recover). We gotta give our body TIME to rid the "debris".
Too much die-off too fast = septicemia = blood poisoning.
Catching on? You CAN get well, but it will take time and be willing to think "outside the box".
Posts: 9424 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Just another thought on the low sodium/potassium issue...
This can happen very simply just from diuretic use (or drinking too much water without replacing electrolytes).
Also, malabsorption syndromes (Celiac, Crohn's, even sometimes post-op gallbladder removal) can lower several electrolytes and minerals.
I think many of us drink tons of fluids to help support the detox process, but it's so important to take in electrolytes/minerals if you are consuming large amounts of water (or especially tea with any caffeine!).
Many of the things we use for liver detox (milk thistle, dandelion, turmeric, etc) are potent diuretics. So be careful if you are using those regularly...
Just my two cents! Leigh
Posts: 95 | From Maryland | Registered: Sep 2009
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posted
I also get low potassium and sodium. Everything else is usually pretty much normal. Bilirubin can be a bit wonky. I'm not in the medical field, and I'm surprised most of Marnie's first post makes sense to me.
The product I have says, "Tablets are specially coated for protection against degradation from stomach acids."
I'm pretty sure it's still a problem since I make sure I get enough potassium, minerals, and electrolytes each day. If I back off my supplements and potassium-rich foods, my heart goes nuts. I had some potato tonight for potassium even though it's not on my diet. I'm on a strict diet, but I have to alter things sometimes since my body needs so much of this metal. Even when I eat a lot of it, I am in the low-normal range, so I am not worried about hyperkalemia.
[ 01-25-2010, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: kday ]
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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posted
bump from page 2
Posts: 967 | From A deserted island without internet access | Registered: Sep 2009
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beths
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18864
posted
I had low potassium-just a little bit on the low side (1-3 pts below normal) I started drinking coconut water (not coconut milk) which is like a natural gatorade, and high in potassium. My labs look great now!
Posts: 1276 | From maryland | Registered: Jan 2009
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