Low Sodium

[Lonn]

Has anyone had trouble with Low Sodium, I have had severely painful joints, fatigue, hair loss,

After a course oF sodium much better, but soon goes low again without tablets. Any ideas please.

[StriatedCaracara]

I've had ongoing problems for two and half decades with its counterpart 'potassium'.

Usually issue is much, much worse for me in the summer.

I found things that affected this for me were:

Changes to kidney function.

Time of year - Sweating more in the summer

Illness - losing more with upset stomach

Stress - increase in adrenaline (eg including hospital visits makes level go down suddenly??)

Too much carb - increase insulin

Monthly cycle - lost like iron

SICCA

Over the years I have become aware of changes in my mouth, my taste and in my heart beat that prompt me to change diet. I'm prescribed a potassium supplement also.

I have had dry mouth symptoms since covid which have reduced by ability to sense the metallic dry taste I used to get in my mouth. My potassium level is hence bobbing around more.

At the moment I not being asked to have blood tests to get it checked (maybe because of vial shortage) which frustrates me as electrolyte changes have been important for me to monitor.

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Take care - you are going short of the opposite thing - so some of these things might not apply.

For more sodium , when I've had cramp, I have things like crisps, marmite, low fat cheese..once somebody said to sprinkle salt on an orange - though I have never tried this as seems a strange mixture..🧂 Hope you get answers soon. GP or nurses?

[Heatheric]

Hi there, I also have low sodium picked up during my regular blood tests. I don't have an symptoms apart from tiredness but that could just be the lupus anyway. My GP has consulted an endocrinologist about how to manage it, had a chest xray and another blood test after 24hours with just 1 litre of fluid which looked at sodium but I've not got the results yet. He thinks it's a side effect of carbamazepine which I'm taking for trigeminal neuralgia. All I'm doing at the moment is adding salt to my meals at table which I've never done before.

[Lonn in reply to Heatheric]

Sorry not been on site since first post.

I ended up seeing a specialist, I spent 11/2hrs with him going through my last 20yrs history and emergency hospital admissions.

2 visits had low sodium but the medical name was used. He could only come up with me having an Adrenal test to rule out Addison’s Disease, thankfully it was negative.

Now Dr put me on 1 sodium tablet a day, but still feel good for nothing. Blood test came back 29 which is better than where it was at 19 When I had 4 a day and I did feel better.

Trial and error I suppose!x