Ever had low potassium?

[blondielady]

I posted on here about a month ago having all kinds of anxiety problems. I was having trouble sleeping, some dizziness, and just a general feeling of being unwell. I went to the doctor and she immediately just wanted to put me on antidepressants because all of my bloodwork came back normal. I HATE meds so I went to some counseling and did a lot of EFT tapping and meditation. I started trying to eat better and everything too. I started to feel better and really thought I was getting past all that.

Well yesterday I wound up in the ER because I have AVNRT (tachycardia) that pops up maybe once a year, other than some PVCs here and there which I'm totally used to since I've had them since my teen years. They did my bloodwork again and said that I was hypokalemic and needed IV potassium. This was after giving me adenosine to put my heart rhythm back to normal, along with a bit of lopressor to keep it there. I'm not on any medications normally and the stuff they gave me in the hospital made me feel drained and heavy at the hospital for a couple hours, but then I wasn't too bad. Anyway, after the first couple hours they started the IV potassium without warning me that the stuff HURTS your arm going in... so about 3 hours of getting that and having my whole arm hurrrrrt. Well I went home exhausted, physically and emotionally because I was at the hospital all night. I've never had any bloodwork come back at abnormal levels, other than low iron while pregnant.

So my question is, have any of you had a potassium IV? Does that bring potassium back up to normal right away or does it take awhile? I think my level was something like 2.6. I had an IV drip that lasted like 3 hours plus some oral liquid potassium. I had a hard time sleeping when I got home just from anxiety. Then when I did get up I felt nauseous, which apparently is a side effect of potassium, but not sure if the IV drip and the oral kind would have done that since I'd taken those things like 6 hours earlier. Today I've had on and off crying spells, which is typical for me after having to go to the ER because it is a setback and emotionally hard to deal with. I'm now taking 20mg potassium twice a day for 7 days to keep bringing my levels back up into the normal range. I'm of course sitting here panicking about getting nausea again because hey, that's what a hypochondriac does. I'm also sitting here freaking out wondering what could have possibly caused my levels to go low when I've been eating a lot of bananas and oranges all month (and had been feeling a bit better!). So of course I googled.... and found things about kidney problems and endocrine diseases... because I haven't had vomiting, diarrhea, or any diuretics. I have had loose stools pretty much every morning when I wake up, but thats the only BM of the day. I also just got over having influenza and wasn't eating very well for about a week, on top of not eating the greatest a couple weeks prior when I was at the height of my anxiety. Anyway I asked the doctor what might have caused it and he just said "it could be anything... not eating right, getting sick, anything." So I'm of course just sitting here nervous and wondering.

[SADnomore]

I haven't had low potassium, but I wanted to say I'm so glad you found the answer for your symptoms, and treatment! If you need additional support, I am sure your doctor will continue to track your needs and will ensure they are met. Please forgive me for adding on a bit of advice for those others who routinely take all manner of supplements as soon as they hear of them, "just in case", or as a result of self-diagnosing symptoms as being indicative of "deficiencies".

My doctor is very firm about people not taking potassium supplements unless they have been diagnosed with a need for them. Otherwise, they can affect the normal heart, and similarly there can be negative effects on our other organs and overall health by supplementing unnecessarily. He supports dietary consumption of potassium and all other minerals and vitamins, etc, unless one has a bonafide deficiency, diagnosed through blood work and such. By the way, prune plums are very high in potassium as well, but of course if you are getting loose stools already, they would not be a good source for you since they do "cure" constipation!

Best of luck, so good to hear you have got to the bottom of your palps and potassium deficiency roots, and are doing better now!

[blondielady]

Yes that is true about potassium... you are not supposed to take it as a supplement unless you have actually been tested for low potassium and a doctor is monitoring your levels.

So far I have not been back to my regular doctor because she is on vacation for the holidays and I'm in the process of looking for a new doctor (stupid health insurance only covers certain doctors in their network... mine is out of network so I foot most of the bill). I've had no luck finding another doctor within my city who is part of my health insurance network who is accepting new patients. Its driving me nuts!

Also in regards to the potassium.... I wonder now if it is making some of my other symptoms worse. I have been waking up early for about a month and a half now because of loose stool/diarrhea. That had started to get a little better by mid December but now it seems to be back in full force. I know it is listed as a side effect on my potassium pills, which I have to take for a couple more days. I just want to feel good again :(.