High Potassium

[metalminded]

Hello everyone,

My second post in quick succession! LOL!

I found out last week my potassium is high. Almost to the "danger zone".

The rest of my labs were either in range or "normal" for my situation.

My creatinine was 2.56, which after probably 10 years living with BK and the damage it's done to my kidney, is pretty typical. I fluctuate in the 2.XX range and have been higher.

My potassium has never been out of range.

Any suggestions for my diet? I have the list of low potassium foods from the NKF website but could use some advice.

Thank you!!

[Bassetmommer]

What was your potassium? The foods on the NKF list are what you need to avoid. What they do not tell you it is in everything. So start Googling foods to see what I mean. Chicken and fish are all high in potassium. Things you would not think have it do. It will be up to you to figure out. BTW I have now had 2 false readings for labs. Last one had me at 7.7. Got a call from on call worried about it until we chatted. Next month, 3.2. Now my neph is worried I am eating too little. Its numbers.

[metalminded in reply to Bassetmommer]

Wow!! That is a crazy range of readings!! Mine was 5.6. I'm pretty sure it's accurate because I've been having a symptom of diarrhea for the last week.

I sent a message to my nephrologist and waiting for a response to see if she wants to do anything or wait until I test again, which will be next week.

I know, it is in everything! I'm reading labels or will look it up online. I think of any odd result I've ever gotten, this is the one that has me shaking my head. I'm hoping it was something that I was eating with very high potassium before the blood test that spiked it. So weird that looking back at my history I have always been in range.

Thank you for your reply!!

[Bassetmommer in reply to metalminded]

you did not get my point. The7.7. was not an accurate test. There were othe indicators that it was false. Even the doctor said it probably sat and was forgotten and then tested when it was too old. I had one other time this happened. It was 63. Rushed to the hospital only to find out when they re-tested me it was 4.5.

The 3.2 is probably true because I am not eating much with Potassium in it. But I usually run closer to 5 or 5.1.

[metalminded in reply to Bassetmommer]

Hi,

What were the other indicators that made your doctor think it was incorrect?

Yes, I think I understood, I just meant that range was such a wide range I could see it being suspicious. Sorry

I would be very happy if mine was inaccurate too! My doctor has ordered another set of tests that I'll get done this week to see where I'm at now.

Thank you for your reply!!

[orangecity41]

Here is a link for National Kidney Foundation on high and low potassium food list.

I was diagnosed CKD level 3b and have had high potassium levels.

kidney.org/kidney-topics/po...

[Tankjsl]

My wife is a nurse practitioner and said that there are medications that can bind with potassium. The med is called Kayexalate (sodium polystyrene). It will have to be prescribed by your doctor. Hopefully this is helpful. Also be careful of high potassium foods. Best of luck to you.

[metalminded in reply to Tankjsl]

Thank you! I'm going to retest in a few days. In an ideal world, it would just be an inaccurate result, but I'm not going to count on that!

[CKD2-4]

Hi. I had the same issue and I asked my Dr how many milligrams of potassium I should have. It helped me with my meal planning as I would look up the foods and calculate on daily bases how much I was potassium I was eating. It allowed me more flexibility in the types of foods I was eating with potassium while still maintaining the right levels.

[metalminded in reply to CKD2-4]

It's funny, when I sent a message to my nephrologist, that was the one question I forgot to ask her! I have started looking at what I'm eating and choosing lower potassium levels in foods or I will have smaller portions. I often eat PB&J for lunch at work and probably use less than a tablespoon on my sandwich (serving size being 2 tablespoons).

[CKD2-4]

you are on the right track! Portion size is everything! You can still eat foods higher in potassium you just may need to alter the portion size. Good luck on your journey.

[metalminded in reply to CKD2-4]

Thank you very much!!