I've had a seriously bad week, was taken into hospital on Monday with tachycardia and loads of palpitations. They done loads of tests and my magnesium levels were seriously low (I know this is very common with Lyme) but also my potassium levels were even lower! They put me on IV potassium for 12 hours! 2 big bottles! and also IV magnesium.
Just wondering if anyone else has had low Potassium before?
Posted by pq (Member # 6886) on :
i don't have my records in front of me for when i was hospitalized, but i don't recall my K being low. My Mg was borderline normal, but that was only because i had started taking magnesium approx. two weeks before going into the hospital. before entering the hospital, i had severe muscle cramps,twitching, and other Sx of a Mg deficit.
Posted by NP40 (Member # 6711) on :
Low levels of potassium and magnesium are pretty common in lyme patients. Our doc said to hit the orange juice and banana's heavy.
Posted by pq (Member # 6886) on :
for K, blackstrap molasesses : either 1T.or 1tsp. = 612mg of K. the K level is listed on the large bottle not the small one. this may also be 35% sugar. however, imo, the benifits to be gained by using blkstrp.molasses to restore K levels far out weigh teh the heart attack that could gained from a severe enough K deficit.
on the K from bannas, one radio-pharmacist(a real pharmacist) stated that the K is bound to the fibers in the bannana, implying that even if one were able to break the bond between the K and the fibers, there would not be enough K, to count on bannas as being a reliable source of K.
bannas also contain a significant amount sodium.
consider what, if any medicine(s) you were taking before the incident happened.
Posted by pq (Member # 6886) on :
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[ 15. April 2006, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: pq ]
Posted by DolphinLady (Member # 6275) on :
I have neurally mediated hypotension and take florinef for it. I also add salt to most of my food to keep blood pressure up high enough. Both of these will lower potassium. Therefore I take potassium supplements and keep my level in the mid-range.
However, you need to work with someone who knows how to supplement potassium because it can be potentially dangerous to get it too high, just as it is dangerous to have it too low.
Posted by lifeline (Member # 3445) on :
Because I'm on a diuretic, I drink lots and lots of Low-sodium V8 juice on a daily basis. Check the bottle and you'll be surprised at the amount of potassium...not the regular V8, just low-sodium. For some reason, there is more in the low-sodium V8.
lifeline
Posted by pru (Member # 9070) on :
drink pure coconut water, it has more potassium in it than oranges and bananas combined and gets the electrolytes back into place, give energy after a workout..
its the greatest, but loaded with fat so you might have to tweak your fat intake in other areas in order to incorporate it into your lifestyle