Does your child get enough potassium?

[vintagesf]

Hello,
I have noticed that my child and I are always running low in potassium, which is understandable with our condition. We do eat a lot of meat and fish, but I suspect that any added sodium we get from any food sources counteracts the meat's potassium by a lot, so we try to eat very low salt as well, which is also tough.
Potatoes are a great source, but we can't eat a lot of them obviously.
Does anyone else have issues with low potassium and how do you deal with it? BTW, we are also lactose-intolerant so the dairy is out.
Thanks!

[ukbill]

vintageesf are you HFI or FM?

I am HFI and have never had a problem with potassium.. why should I? I do not think it is a problem if you are getting enough red meat.. I eat a lot of salt too..

[vintagesf]

Thanks! I have diagnosed FM, but going in for genetic testing finally soon, because my fructose tolerance is very low and I get crazy hypoglycemia with any veg these days. I also have kidney issues, so I guess that could be the sodium/potassium problem for me. My daughter also has FM diagnosis, but her tolerance is getting worse and worse, so I'm considering testing her for HFI as well soon. The reason I ask about potassium is it seems to really help with hypoglycemia for both of us even if we have a large fructose load at the time.

[ukbill]

That is interesting..

If you are havign kidney problems then that will depleat your bodies salt levels..

But if you had said Phosperous I would have given am AHHH! rather than an Mmmmm when I read it.

Question how do you take the potassium with a drink?

Reason for asking is I go Hypo if I get thirsty.. so is it the potassium or the potassium helping the water in the drink be adsorbed quicker thats helping?



keep smiling..

[vintagesf]

Hi there,
I don't take potassium supplements. I try to eat more meat and potatoes, plus not salt things as much and avoid all diuretics. This really brings my potassium up and helps hypoglycemia too!
If I overdose on water, usually from eating salty restaurant food, the only thing that helps fast is dextrose... I guess because it forces potassium back into the cells.

[ukbill]

How are you measuring your potassium levels?

A friend of mine has terminal heart problems (he is on the transplant list) and his potassium levels are very high but to test the levels he has to have blood taken and sent to a lab.

His levels are so high they would be really dangerous for a "normal" person.

Too much potassium is really dangerous as it can stop the heart!

If someone at the lab checks his results and has not looked up his records they tend to send an ambulance to rush him to hospital!

I have never heard of anyone having low potassium levels normally..

Certainly all the blood tests I have had done have never high-lighted any problems with potassium or anything else to be honest.

My vitamin and minerals levels have always been spot on.

Someone suggested magnesium helps with Hyperglycemia before so I bought a bottle of magnesium mineral tablets to see if they were right...

Only took one cos it made me feel really "odd" unfortunately Odd was not happy about this so I had to stop taking them.. Sorry my sense of humor getting the better of me again.

Seriously I have tried several vitamin and mineral supplements over the years as recommended by all sorts of people and all have had side effects (except vitamin C and D3) Really I need none of them and the sudden excess from the tablets really messes with my system badly.

A down dip after a Dextrose / Glucose spike is normal which is one reason its not a good idea to use the stuff.

The dip will be even deeper if the reason the Dextrose was taken was to cover a fructose hypo.. and will be even deeper still if the Dextrose / Glucose is contaminated with Fructose.

If you are not careful you end up a Dextrose / Glucose junkie constantly looking for the high / rush you get shortly after taking it.

And hurting from the lows you get after it has Burnt off, and the fructose drop knocks you back down.. The human body has not adapted yet to pure sugars without fiber to moderate the speed of adsorption of them.. hence the massive plague of diabetes / obesity sweeping the world.

Give us ( the human race) a couple of million years to evolve some more and we will be fine with it but for now and in our lifetime's or even in our great great grand children's lifetimes .. it is not good stuff to take.

If you are needing some Dextrose.. (and I cannot think of a reason unless you are a double Zero HFI) then mix it into some none digestible fiber to slow down its adsorption into the body so you can avoid the spikes and lows.

Better still eat some white bread and butter, (home made if you live in the USA) or how about cheese on toast? Pasta or a rice pudding? all much better for you and far healthier

Take care.

[artygirl7]

Hi vintageesf,

I just found this thread. I too have low potassium. I went 4 years undiagnosed with trouble breathing every time I ate. Finally I was diagnosed with FM. My symptoms got a lot better right away however now I have more unexplained conditions, one being low potassium. I eat red meat and potatoes but that doesn't seem to effect my levels. I have to supplement with 60 MEQs a day and I still feel that that is not enough. I have some nerve damage in my foot and feel tingly in my eye every once in a while. I have been to see a renal doctor and she couldn't make sense of it. Have you figured out why this is happening to you and your child? My 4 year old was just diagnosed with FM as well and has fatigue like I do which makes me wonder if her potassium is low as well.

[NicoleH]

hi vintageesf,
the foot tingly thing sounds much more like a problem with B vitamins. Try having a look at that.
HTH,
Nicole