I have needed to take potassium for many years for various reasons: idiopathic fluid retention (so I need a diuretic), gastric by-pass (so I have had absorption issues even before MC) and now MC causing me to lose potassium.
The potassium tablets are harsh and actually exacerbate the explosions but I need them. Many potassium rich foods are off limits and wouldn't be sufficient anyway--no one can eat that many bananas.
My favorite apothecary pharm concocted a topical med for me but it feels like rubbing in sandpaper and doesn't work well enough.
What suggestions/solutions do any of you have?
Potassium supplments
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potassium supplement
I took an over the counter potassium supplement for a while and it helped muscle cramps tremendously. I had no idea if it was the right dose and that concerned me. I never test low on potassium tests my doctor does on me so she won't prescribe anything or discuss it with me so I need an answer on this also. What would be a correct supplement amount? I don't think too much potassium is good. And I can't get enough in my food because my diet is so very screwed up and has been for 10 months.
It's best to get potassium from food because even low dose supplements can be dangerous in some cases. I believe the RDA is around 3500 mg, but most pills are 99 mg because of that risk. There is no general correct supplement amount because it depends on individual needs. If you take potassium it needs to be spread out during the day to minimize the risks. Hyperkalemia can be very dangerous, especially if kidney function is compromised so that any excess is not promptly eliminated.
Potassium in food is very unlikely to ever cause hyperkalemia. Most of us eat a banana or 2 daily to help keep our potassium level up.
An MC flare can certainly cause a potassium deficiency if it goes on long enough. The only time I ever tested low and was prescribed a supplement was before I began to recover.
Tex
Potassium in food is very unlikely to ever cause hyperkalemia. Most of us eat a banana or 2 daily to help keep our potassium level up.
An MC flare can certainly cause a potassium deficiency if it goes on long enough. The only time I ever tested low and was prescribed a supplement was before I began to recover.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I had this very same question lately, this article from Mercola seems to give an ok answer and a list of foods....perhaps see if any of those foods are safe in any quantity and then go from there as to how much you may or may not be getting. It is a give and take with sodium too....I am applying and taking magnesium also but since I am doing a Pepto treatment right now I am not sure if I am binding up things and they are not absorbing right now anyway. I have been having some leg and feet cramps lately - something I didn't worry about until my diet changed and MC became a part of it.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... efits.aspx
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... efits.aspx
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
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I supplement with potassium. I take 6 of the tiny 99mg pills per day divided into 3 doses. Dr Mike Eades of "Protein Power" recommends it for people eating very low carb diets. I find that adding potassium along with magnesium eliminates my muscle cramping whereas magnesium alone does not. From what I understand as long as I don't have kidney disease, which I don't, this still relatively small amount of potassium (still on 18% of RDA) is not dangerous. At any rate I have been doing it for years without ill effects.
Here is what Dr Eades says:
"You can replace your potassium by taking potassium supplements. In our clinical practice, we gave all patients starting the low-carb diet a prescription for potassium. You can get the same dosage by taking four to five of the over-the-counter 99 mg potassium supplements you can purchase at any health food or natural grocery store.
There are a couple of prescription medicines that you’ve got to be aware of if you markedly increase your potassium intake, so if you’re on blood pressure medicines, ask your doctor if it’s okay for you to take potassium."
He's specifically addressing people just starting a low carb diet which tends, initially, to have a diuretic effect. He also advises adding more salt to the diet for this reason, as do most advocates of low carb eating. I understand that there are dangers involved with supplementing with potassium but I have found supplementation helpful for me.
Jean
Here is what Dr Eades says:
"You can replace your potassium by taking potassium supplements. In our clinical practice, we gave all patients starting the low-carb diet a prescription for potassium. You can get the same dosage by taking four to five of the over-the-counter 99 mg potassium supplements you can purchase at any health food or natural grocery store.
There are a couple of prescription medicines that you’ve got to be aware of if you markedly increase your potassium intake, so if you’re on blood pressure medicines, ask your doctor if it’s okay for you to take potassium."
He's specifically addressing people just starting a low carb diet which tends, initially, to have a diuretic effect. He also advises adding more salt to the diet for this reason, as do most advocates of low carb eating. I understand that there are dangers involved with supplementing with potassium but I have found supplementation helpful for me.
Jean
Jean,
Thank you for that very helpful post. I agree that potassium supplementation is not dangerous as long as you know what you're doing. I'm reluctant to try it because my long-term magnesium deficiency seems to have damaged my kidneys.
Tex
Thank you for that very helpful post. I agree that potassium supplementation is not dangerous as long as you know what you're doing. I'm reluctant to try it because my long-term magnesium deficiency seems to have damaged my kidneys.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
