Potassium supplementation

CoconuttyMummy

Hi guys. I'm back! I was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia & M.E. so most the symptoms I was experiencing after adaptation, like severe fatigue/exhaustion, muscle cramps & spasms, body aches & burning pains, insomnia, IBS, Raynauds Syndrome, exercise intolerance, joint pains & stiffness, body temperature dis regulation etc etc etc were caused by being sick rather than due to lowering my carbs. Go figure! Soo, I ditched the CKD carb-ups and I'm back to eating low-carb consistently again. I'm still getting back in the swing of things and carbs are a little higher than I'd like but always well below 50g total.

I digress...! - my questions.....

1. Which type of Potassium do you supplement with? eg. Potassium Citrate? Potassium Gluconate? etc.
2. Which brand do you favor?
3. What dosage do you take per day?
4. Do you take it 1x a day or do you split into several doses?

Thanks all.

KnitOrMiss

I can't supplement potassium. It makes me dump magnesium, which tells me that either I have sufficient potassium from dietary intake or my magnesium is so bad even with supplements, it isn't improving yet.

That being said, I did "Lite Salt" for a while. It is half potassium, half salt. "Nu Salt" is the no salt all potassium version. I think at least the first is by Morton's. Others have difference ones they do, but that is the cheapest way to get it in, I think.

Congrats on getting back to things. Sorry you've had so much bad diagnosed, but it helps to know those things. Good luck.

feisty_bucket

I read this as "possum supplements" and was excited at first.

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

That being said, I did "Lite Salt" for a while. It is half potassium, half salt. "Nu Salt" is the no salt all potassium version.

Seconding Nu Salt. "Real" potassium supplements are kind of a joke, if you check how little is in them. Something to do with holding back because of people with a particular heart condition? I don't get it, it's a strange story. Anyways go to town with the Nu Salt on your food.

KarlaYP

I have the "Now" brand of potassium that I take every other day, for now, but don't think I will purchase anymore when these are gone. They are the potassium citrate, 99 mg capsules. My greatest challenge has been the fact that I never cared for the taste of salt. Using salt, nu salt...hasn't been an easy habit to form for me. Therefore I have supplemented. I am still learning to like the taste of salt. Will stick with the salt substitutes for potassium when the capsules are gone.

CoconuttyMummy

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

I can't supplement potassium. It makes me dump magnesium, which tells me that either I have sufficient potassium from dietary intake or my magnesium is so bad even with supplements, it isn't improving yet.

That being said, I did "Lite Salt" for a while. It is half potassium, half salt. "Nu Salt" is the no salt all potassium version. I think at least the first is by Morton's. Others have difference ones they do, but that is the cheapest way to get it in, I think.

Congrats on getting back to things. Sorry you've had so much bad diagnosed, but it helps to know those things. Good luck.

Knit! Great to see you're still on the LC team! Hope ur doing great, chick.

I mix my own version of Lite Salt using 50% Pink Himalayan Salt & 50% Potassium Citrate and use this liberally on my meals, but since lowering my carbs again I find it's not quite enough. I have to be extra vigilant at keeping electrolytes well up, particularly when I'm low carbing w/o refeeds b/c my Fibromyalgia/ME symptoms especially fatigue, muscle cramps & spasms go through the roof without more-than-adequate levels of nutrients, particularly those with a direct effect on the muscles.

I can't take any more potassium-salt on my food - i pile it on already! I was hoping to add a few potassium capsules as well but I'm not sure whether to get Potassium Glycinate or Citrate in the caps - Is Potassium Glycinate more bio-available? X

Sunny_Bunny_

I just use NuSalt or Lite Salt.
I've read some things trying to help my sister with fibromyalgia (she begs for anything to help to but won't even read the info I link for her

Sunny_Bunny_

I'm really glad I copied what I typed before posting it because almost everything I typed disappeared!

Here's the whole post.

I just use NuSalt or Lite Salt.
I've read some things trying to help my sister with fibromyalgia (she begs for anything to help to but won't even read the info I link for her

Sunny_Bunny_

Or not

Sunny_Bunny_

I just use NuSalt or Lite Salt.
I've read some things trying to help my sister with fibromyalgia (she begs for anything to help to but won't even read the info I link for her

Sunny_Bunny_

Omg! I even closed the app and reloaded it and it will not let me make that reply.

Anyway, I was just reading about magnesium deficiency being associated with it. Surprise, surprise! Magnesium is the miracle mineral after all.
It makes sense though, being that it relaxes muscles.
I take 900mg a day and I don't even have any symptoms to suggest such a deficiency. I've also read that the right amount to take, based on what your body needs is to increase your dosage until you reach the point that it causes a digestive reaction. Then back off a bit and that's the right amount for your body. The idea is that any excess, beyond what your body can use will be expelled through digestion. So up until the point you get that reaction your body is using all of it. Meaning that it truly needs that much to be at its best.

Sunny_Bunny_

Finally!!!

KenSmith108

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Finally!!!

Uphill battle sometimes.

or

CoconuttyMummy

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Finally!!!

Haha! I've been having problems with most my posts disappearing here tonight. Grrr.
Nice to see you're still here too, Sunny. X

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I just use NuSalt or Lite Salt.
I've read some things trying to help my sister with fibromyalgia (she begs for anything to help to but won't even read the info I link for her

Sorry to hear your sister's suffering too. Im in the process of learning what I can about Fibro' and trying allsorts to manage the yucky symptoms. Have you or your sister read "From Fatigued to Fantastic" by Dr Jacob Teitelbaum? I really recommend it. I follow his treatment protocol - it's tailored to the individual using a questionnaire at the end of each chapter which identifies your personal symptoms and recommends the best supplements & meds for each symptom individually (there's no 'cure' for Fibro so it takes a multi-pronged approach to tackle all the health issues it causes). I've been implementing this protocol for a couple of months now and I'm finding it helpful in all areas. My big flares are less frequent and shorter in duration and day-to-day pain & fatigue has improved about 50% too, which is quite remarkable in such a short space of time, especially with the severity of my Fibromyalgia/ME before starting treatment. Anything's better than that!

Hugs x

CoconuttyMummy

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Omg! I even closed the app and reloaded it and it will not let me make that reply.

Anyway, I was just reading about magnesium deficiency being associated with it. Surprise, surprise! Magnesium is the miracle mineral after all.
It makes sense though, being that it relaxes muscles.
I take 900mg a day and I don't even have any symptoms to suggest such a deficiency. I've also read that the right amount to take, based on what your body needs is to increase your dosage until you reach the point that it causes a digestive reaction. Then back off a bit and that's the right amount for your body. The idea is that any excess, beyond what your body can use will be expelled through digestion. So up until the point you get that reaction your body is using all of it. Meaning that it truly needs that much to be at its best.

Thats great to know, thanks Sunny. Mag is super important to help ease the muscle spasms n cramps but I was fearful of taking more than the suggested dose on the bottle internally, so I've been having to top up with transdermal magnesium oil ( which is great btw, sooo relaxing applied to tense, sore muscles) but it's so darn expensive to use as much as I need. I've got a huge tub of mag citrate caps so I'm upping my dose! I'll try 800mg and see how I go - my digestion is really sluggish so a 'reaction' would be welcomed! X