Anyone deal with Low Potassium Issues

lisafit21
lisafit21 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have always had issues with Low Potassium but however this past Tuesday my Level fell to 2.7 and ended up being taken by EMS to the Hospital from Work. Im now eating foods with lots of potassium and I've gone through 3 days of lab work Im hoping I can keep it up. Not allowed to exercise heavy or anything that will make me over heat. This sucks cause I like to talk long walks and can't do that right now.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,415 Member
    Well, it's nothing to mess around with. Sounds like too much fluid intake and not enough fruits and vegetables. (?) Lots of potassium in plants.
  • Katiiee_gal
    Katiiee_gal Posts: 4 Member
    Hey! I’ve dealt with it in the past. It was only once and I had health issues at the time. I was prescribed Sando-K and I’ve been fine since.

    Do you have pre-existing health conditions that make you more susceptible? From my understanding, it’s very difficult to have a diet so low in potassium as to cause hypokalemia.

    What is your activity like? Does it include vigorous exercise (or anything that causes a lot of sweating) which would deplete your electrolytes?

    All I can suggest is to try and include potassium rich foods. I craved tomatoes when mine was low but I believe potatoes are also an excellent source.

    I‘m not qualified to give medical advice but I’m assuming your docs are investigating the cause? Potassium is one to be wary of and your body usually does a brilliant job of regulating your blood levels. Hope you get better soon.
  • BoundlessBow
    BoundlessBow Posts: 21 Member
    I had low potassium when I was recently admitted to the hospital with preeclamsia. I was to the point I was vomiting so much it was throwing off my electrolytes. I had such bad cramps in my legs from the low potassium. Did they prescribe a supplement like Klorcon to help raise your potassium?
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited October 2020
    yirara wrote: »
    Don't take potassium supplements unless prescribed and controlled by a doctor as both too low and too high potassium can be very problematic. Thus get your doctor to figure out why it's low and get a treatment plan. Have potassium-wasting conditions been ruled out?

    This, plus also going to assume you aren't taking a diuretic of some kind for high BP or anything, right? Probably not if potassium is a regularly an issue for you, but asking just in case..
  • domeofstars
    domeofstars Posts: 480 Member
    Can you take a potassium supplement?
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,937 Member
    domeofstars wrote: »
    Can you take a potassium supplement?

    Don't take potassium when not prescribed and controlled by a doctor. Did you read any of the comments above or do you only want to get your post count up?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    It might be a good idea to get a referral to a registered dietitian and take your MFP diary along for review. While it seems obvious that you must have an underlying issue it still might be helpful to have your eating reviewed.

    Just remember that even though bananas and potassium are connected at the hip, there are other foods that deliver a higher amount.

    I will sometimes have lower potassium during my massive whooshes. On occasion I am dropping 12-14 pounds of water in the course of 5 or 6 days. I know to supplement during that time. My doctor knows how closely I monitor things so he trusts me to use "as needed" and he, of course, regularly checks.

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