Potassium questions

[silverseas2014]

Hey @BigD... I have been on Freddd's Methylation Protocol for many months now. I take quite a lot of Potassium Gluconate (Bulk Supplements from Amazon) every day. On average, I take about 2 grams every 3-4 hours. By the end of the day I will have taken up to 8 grams--give or take a gram. Lest anyone think this is a Magnesium deficiency issue---it's not. I take quite a lot of magnesium (mag. glycinate and mag. malate) throughout the day. The magnesium does not eliminate the symptoms I've identified as low potassium (see below

My body-signals for more potassium are some of the common ones people mention: cramps in lower calves.... pain/spasm in lower back..... tightening in the back of the neck.... headache----all relieved within 20-30 minutes of taking Potassium. I do eat foods with Potassium (bananas, some coconut), but the foods cannot keep up with my body's demand, so I take the supplement too.

Occasionally, I have loose stool with all this potassium, but no IBS. I have not taken the Potassium pills as I had read that they are rough on the stomach, and I could see from all my reading that the pills just wouldn't cut it in terms of getting enough into my body while doing the Methylation Protocol.

Also, I did not start out with 2 grams etc. .... I built up to it, as I did with all the Deadlock Quartet .... and I logged everything: every dose; time of day; symptoms; symptom-relief. I think the go low; go slow has merit.

Cheers,
Silverseas2014

 

[BigD]

Thanks for the great info Silverseas2014. I will definitely see if I can build up a bowel tolerance slowly and see if that helps. After seeing your symptoms, I might agree that Potassium has always been an un-addressed issue for me. I've been very diligent about magnesium but potassium has a fear around it I think. Even before I started this protocol I had/have a lot of muscle twitching and cramping. My neck is a mess. That no amount of magnesium can seam to quench. I'm interested in seeing how this goes. If I can't tolerate the supplement, I may have to stop the protocol and try a gut repair protocol of some kind. Dr Rostenberg (youtube's Beyond MTHFR) has one I've been thinking of trying. It's 10 days and a ton of L-Glutamine during that period.