I have written on here about the need for some research into RLS and potassium as some people get benefit from it. It seems there is great fear of taking it and available supplements are so low dose that they benefit few.
I noted it improved blood pressure so decided to buy some pot citrate powder and try it. I know as a former pharmacist that the BNF recommends a dose of 3G 3 times a day drunk in plenty of water for cystitis so had no fear from taking the 1.25ml spoonful (quarter teaspoon) twice a day suggested by the manufacturer. I took it in a glass of orange juice and drank it slowly. I also took magnesium supplements as low magnesium leads to hypokalaemia.
I don’t have RLS but have a friend who has though I had Guillain Barre syndrome (loss of sensation and muscle paralysis) 23 years ago and since then have been left with a numb feeling in both legs and being cold bodied - I used to be my wife’s hot water bottle.
After 5 doses I was sat watching TV and noticed a strange sensation in my legs as feelings started to return to the top of my legs and trickle down, in some ways reversing my original GB symptoms of ascending loss of sensation.
I now find I can feel my legs and tense my leg muscles and my old body heat has returned. That was totally unexpected. I have since found papers saying hypokalaemia can mimic GBS.
I am surprised RLS-uk isn’t pushing to get research into potassium or recommending patients to ensure they take sufficient in their diet with magnesium. A few with renal failure or heart problems are at risk from supplements but for normal people there must be a safe way to supplement. I have had no ill effects from the dose I took, but have now reduced it to one dose a day.
Come on RLS-uk get pushing!
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Oldcolner
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Good to hear it helped your RLS. Most of us don’t take enough in our diets of potassium or magnesium and given their roles in stopping nerve impulses and muscle contractions it’s bound to help some sufferers.
I don't take potassium suplements (only magnesium) . Instead I eat only the salt where sodium partly changed to potassium. Also I eat a lot of potassium rich food. Once I stop doing so my RLS comes back immediately and once I take potassium rich food - RLS immediately stops.
I think the thing with potassium is that we need to ensure that people use it wisely or we'll be cut down to 99mg tablets or capsules like in the US.
I took about 5 grams of potassium citrate daily for quite some months, but have cut back on it recently, just using it as condiment occasionally. I started to feel unsteady when I stood up quickly in the evenings, so lest it was orthostatic hypotension I stopped the potassium and only restarted as stated. Unfortunately, it seems the potassium may have been the cause.
I don't know that potassium helps my RLS – I think magnesium probably does.
That is interesting, I was in hospital recently for another condition and was found to be low on Magnesium and potassium. I was given both intravenously over a period of weeks and my RLS improved as did my overall energy levels. Must discuss this with my GP.
I agree the need to not overdo it and 5g is a high dose of pot cit for such a long time so you probably got hyperkalaemia as that would give you most of your daily needs alone.
Found this on hypotension - seems to be linked to high sodium intake at the same time.
“Potassium supplementation lowers blood pressure in hypertensive patients ingesting normal amounts of sodium. Blacks appear to be more sensitive to the hypotensive effects of potassium. The mechanism of potassium-induced changes in blood pressure is not well understood. Potassium depletion consistently induces sodium retention. The hypertensive effects of potassium depletion and hypotensive effects of potassium supplementation are not observed when sodium intake is kept low.”
I have high blood-pressure, preventing several necessary surgical procedures, and was told by my consultant that potassium raises blood-pressure...? So I stopped taking it. I still take magnesium.
Do you have kidney problems? This might affect your ability to excrete potassium.
This from heart.org
The more potassium you eat, the more sodium you lose through urine. Potassium also helps to ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which helps further lower blood pressure. Increasing potassium through diet is recommended in adults with blood pressure above 120/80 who are otherwise healthy.
No, no kidney problems. I have a hernia, and need a hysterectomy and a total knee replacement, which would all have been done by the autumn but for my high BP ( 209 at its highest, around 165 at the moment with drugs). I happened to tell her that I ate a lot of liquorice, which i discovered causes high BP, and she checked on the net, and came back and said potassium does too. Perhaps she mis-read something?
There is a new young GP at my surgery to whom I spoke briefly, who is the first doctor I ever met who knows something about RLS, so when I see him I shall ask him about potassium too. Thanks.
Insufficient potassium intakes can increase blood pressure, kidney stone risk, bone turnover, urinary calcium excretion, and salt sensitivity (meaning that changes in sodium intakes affect blood pressure to a greater than normal extent)
Thanks for your help, I'll definitely look closer into this.
I have been taking Extended release Potassium Chloride 20meq ER tab. One 3x a day for years. I live in the USA. Several times I have been admitted to ER for severe RLS and my potassium is always too low, so they do an infusion of potassium and my muscles slowly relax.
No one has ever explained why or what and other doctors asked Why are you on such a high dose of Potassium? When we try to wean off it my RLS goes berserk. It doesn’t seem to have caused any damage yet.
So I keep taking my horse pills three times a day!
Thanks for that information, it’s amazing you get low potassium on that dosage.
Have they checked your magnesium levels, as if you have hypomagnaesemia you will probably get hypokalaemia, even if you take supplements.
This is a bit technical but hope it helps.
“Concomitant magnesium deficiency aggravates hypokalemia and renders it refractory to treatment by potassium.
Herein is reviewed literature suggesting that magnesium deficiency exacerbates potassium wasting by increasing distal potassium secretion. A decrease in intracellular magnesium, caused by magnesium deficiency, releases the magnesium-mediated inhibition of ROMK channels and increases potassium secretion. Magnesium deficiency alone, however, does not necessarily cause hypokalemia. An increase in distal sodium delivery or elevated aldosterone levels may be required for exacerbating potassium wasting in magnesium deficiency.”
I used to work as a medical biochemist and it’s very interesting reading your article. But I have a normal magnesium, normal iron and ferritin level. My B12 runs borderline but not considered in need of boosting. I take vitamin D daily as it’s been low.
Yes this article is the one that got me started on this saga hoping it was the holy grail. Clearly it isn’t, but it can be part of the solution for some RLS sufferers. I tried to get the authors to reply but they didn’t respond to me at the email address on the article. I also asked RLS uk to try to get someone to repeat the work under more controlled conditions. I even suggested a theory to explain how it may work. So far no luck but a mention of the paper in the newsletter and a message not to try it yourself.
From my experience of taking 1.4g pot citrate twice a day slowly in a glass of orange juice or herbal tea, I have had no ill effects and some clear benefits for my non RLS nerve and muscle condition.
I have cut back to one dose a day as I think I have a reasonable potassium diet level.
I workout everyday and do saunas, I enjoy endurance sports, ultra endurance. So, I think electrolyte imbalances may be an issue. Potassium has an almost immediate calming effect. The buzzing tones down. Does it cure it? Hell no. I used to use it when things got bad. I think I have better results if I do it daily and lately twice a day. Of all the things I have tried, and that is a long list, this is one of the few I would recommend.
Thanks sounds like you need electrolytes, do you take magnesium as well, as low magnesium leads to loss of potassium? See quiltinggrandmother response above.
A couple of years ago there was a report on research in Bangladesh that found 100% of test subjects were relieved by POt Cit daily.
I tried this despite advice from several pharmacists. It didn't help me at all.
I contacted the researcher but he stopped responding. I will try contacting him again to see if there was something I missed.
I still make sure I eat one banana first thing in the morning. If it does no good it doesn't matter because I enjoy bananas!
Knowledgable people warned me that I could kill something useful like a kidney or a liver if I unknowingly overdosed on pottassium. I can only pass on that caution, particularly if you are over 40 because you will not get a transplant after someone decides you have run out of luck.
Hi Graham, would be good if you could get a contact email as there was no response to the one on the article and the ones I have tried for the university have bounced.
Did you take any magnesium at the time or know your magnesium levels? If it’s low then the potassium levels will fall.
There are two sides to potassium like most things too much of a good thing can cause harm.
Potassium is present in all body tissues and is required for normal cell function because of its role in maintaining intracellular fluid volume and transmembrane electrochemical gradients
Because of potassium’s wide-ranging roles in the body, low intakes can increase the risk of illness. This section focuses on four diseases and disorders in which potassium might be involved: hypertension and stroke; kidney stones; bone health; and blood glucose control and type 2 diabetes.
In healthy people with normal kidney function, high dietary potassium intakes do not pose a health risk because the kidneys eliminate excess amounts in the urine [1]. Although case reports indicate that very large doses of potassium supplements can cause heart abnormalities and death, the NASEM committee concluded that these reports do not provide sufficient evidence to set a UL [11]. In addition, there is no evidence that high intakes of potassium cause hyperkalemia in adults with normal kidney function or other adverse effects.
Potassium from dietary supplements, salt substitutes, and medications
Potassium supplements can cause minor gastrointestinal side effects [49]. Chronic ingestion of doses of potassium supplements (e.g., up to 15,600 mg for 5 days) in healthy people can increase plasma levels of potassium, but not beyond the normal range [1]. However, very high amounts of potassium supplements or salt substitutes that contain potassium could exceed the kidney’s capacity to excrete potassium, causing acute hyperkalemia even in healthy individuals.
The use of potassium salts in certain medications has been associated with small-bowel lesions, causing obstruction, hemorrhage, and perforation. For this reason, the FDA requires some oral drugs providing more than 99 mg of potassium to be labeled with a warning.
It can affect some medications and is a problem in certain diseases
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2 months of RLS and Alpha Lipoic Acid worked last night
Have you tried these..?
Magnesium
