Potassium

Had a blood test last week. Results show a high level of Potassium. Have to have another blood test on Monday. Really worried. Any info please. x

[Hidden]

Info here nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/enc...

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Alan

[megannell]

brooke, are you taking prednisolone, I am not a Doctor, but I have worked along side Veterinary Doctors, a lot my working career, and in animals it can cause potassium levels to rise, and is caused by steroids but like I said I am no Doctor. But I personally I would wait till you have had your next blood test,and Monday is not that far away, Do try not to worry though as I am sure your Doctor who had told you with your other blood test if there was, just playing it safe by doing a second test.. Good luck to you brooks please try not to worry okay...Megan

[Hidden in reply to megannell]

No Megan I am not taking Prednisoine. Thanks for replying.

[megannell in reply to Hidden]

"Your welcome brooke. But do try not to worry okay. I know it is easier said than done...Megan"

[dall05]

Hi Brooke, My Mum was found to have high potassium levels about 5 years ago and it was causing shooting pains in her head. It was found that her water tablet, furosemide was the cause and she was told to stop taking them. She has had no trouble since then. Tony

[Nanaeal]

Not a clue Brooke try the help line. Hope you get some answered soon.

[nanaber]

Hi Brooke might sound a bit silly but do eat bananas a few years back I had low levels of potassium and dr told me to eat bananas one a day the levels soon came back to normal

[footyfan]

nanaber doesn't sound silly at all, our bodies need to have a balance of minerals to function as well as possible, Potassium is one of these things, too much can affect the ability of the heart to work efficiently. My mum had problems earlier this year with loose front teeth and stop eating hard fruit , she likes bananas and would often eat 2 in a day. Lo and behold after a short while the GP said her potassium levels were a bit high, asked if she ate a lot of bananas! Mum felt and seemed to be in the best health she had been for about 2 years! She didn't appear to exhibit any symptoms that could be attributed to high levels of potassium.

Mum stopped eating bananas for 3 weeks Potassium levels dropped. then after about a week she began suffering anxiety and depression culminating in very severe physiological symptoms. When I mentioned bananas and potassium being the only issue highlighted for a while I though the consultant would laugh but she didn't??

Mum has dementia and we believe now that stopping bananas totally affected her anxiety levels and I found an article on the web talking about some of the elements found in bananas as well as other foods can affect our mental functioning, suffice to say we now intend to encourage her to continue eating bananas in moderation!!

Good luck hope you get things sorted, it may be just a small imbalance that needs monitoring.

[O2Trees]

Useful to know the symptoms of surfeit of potassium.

I eat one banana each day as when you take reflux medication this can cause low potassium levels. I'd never considered what happens if you have too much.

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healthline.com/health/high-... But until another test it could be a glitch?

[katieoxo60]

HI Brooke12, many things can cause this not least your lung condition however it may just be a small rise on the day of your blood test caused by something you may have eaten. So a second test is a good option by your doctor. Fingers crossed it is only a glitz. Let us know how it goes.

[Hidden in reply to katieoxo60]

Thank you Katie. Never thought about my lung condition could have anything to do with it. Take care,

[2malinka]

All I know about potassium is to lay off bananas. Whenever I ate one, I got a terrible headache.

Cheers

Malinka

[jimmyw123]

hi brooke ,

if you are not showing very bad symptoms, i wouldn't worry too much, therese a few good informative links on this thread, it can be put right if caught quickly. the blood test on monday will probably be to see if theres a difference,from the last blood test , ,,,just like blood pressure it can go up and down, and often needs a few tests to "average" it ,

i had the opposite having low potassium levels whilst in hospital, they put me on a drip for two days [i have one kidney] , ,,im sure they did this just to lock me to the bed a bunch of bananas would have did it,,, i don't think they had them in the pharmacy

get that blood test tomorrow, try not to worry,, i hope all goes well, you could maybe let us know how things go,,, if you are really too worried,, tell the doctor that too,,,

thinking of you brooke,, jimmy xxx

[Hidden in reply to jimmyw123]

Thank you Jimmy. Will let you know the outcome,