Increase In Potassium Demand

[arx]

Hi,

I used to take 4000 mcg of mb12, 800 mcg of metafolin and take potassium in the form of bananas,coconut waters and potassium citrate solution, making the total potassium intake using these three forms around 3000mg. Five days back, I added adb12 to the protocol, and taking a Country Life Dibencozide sublingual everyday. I have also increased my metafolin to around 3000 mcg after suspecting folate insufficiency. Apart from the horrible adb12 startup effects, mainly insomnia and anxiety, I have also felt some weird feelings in my chest, vision disturbances, mood changes,fatigue, a feeling that my heart is beating too loudly. I took some more potassium and it did help a bit.

Now, I want to know if after increasing the metafolin intake and adding adb12 to the protocol, could the need for potassium increase drastically?


I would really like to understand this. My knowledge is very bad , but my understanding is that adb12 boosts ATP which is used to provide potassium to the cells and thus, the increase in demand. Please help me understand this process, if at all my suspicion is true.

I get scared about hyperkalemia when increasing the intake from 3000mg to around 5000 mg of a combined daily potassium intake. How much potassium intake is safe, and please provide some help with the suspected drastic increase in potassium demand.

Thanks!

 

[L'engle]

I have taken up to 2000mg of potassium supplementation with also food sources, but you would want to be careful with continuing to do this. If you can keep the symptoms away with small amount of potassium supplement throughout the day then if may seem safer. I never taken more than 500mg of potassium at a time, and wait a while to see what the effects will be before taking more. It is hard to get the right amount of potassium! I don't take adb12 often so I have had this experience. I have needed about the same amount of potassium supplementation since I started on methylb12, and the amount required hasn't increased with my increased intake.

I hope you can solve this!

 

[arx]

I have taken up to 2000mg of potassium supplementation with also food sources, but you would want to be careful with continuing to do this. If you can keep the symptoms away with small amount of potassium supplement throughout the day then if may seem safer. I never taken more than 500mg of potassium at a time, and wait a while to see what the effects will be before taking more. It is hard to get the right amount of potassium! I don't take adb12 often so I have had this experience. I have needed about the same amount of potassium supplementation since I started on methylb12, and the amount required hasn't increased with my increased intake.

I hope you can solve this!

Yes, I'm working on it. I should start splitting the doses and work with small amounts, maybe they are of help. It is really hard to keep up with the body's potassium demand, as it changes a lot in my case. Thanks for the suggestion, will work on it.

 

[richvank]

Hi, arx. I think that the increased need for potassium results from the cells dividing more rapidly when they are given more folate and B12 to keep the folate in the cells. This enables them to make DNA more rapidly, and that causes more rapid cell division. The new cells need potassium, which is normally the most abundant positive ion in cells. In ME/CFS, people are deficient in potassium to start with, so there is no reserve, and the increased demand causes potassium to go low in the blood plasma, which can affect the heartbeat and produce muscle cramps and other symptoms. So raising the dosages of B12 and methylfolate together will increase the demand for potassium.

For what it's worth, I don't favor going to the higher dosages. Lab testing indicates that this overdrives the methylation cycle and prevents glutathione from coming up as soon as it could. It could also be more hazardous, because of the diffiuculty in keeping up with the potassium requirement. Best regards, Rich

Ri

 

[arx]

Hi Rich,

Thanks a lot for the explanation. I will also look into the 'overdriving the methylation cycle' issue. Still in the process of understanding methylation and how my body responds to supplements. I am playing with the dosage and spending my nights reading up on these forums while being an insomniac. I hope I'm able to find a comfort zone soon. If you would like to share anything about Ad-B12 and ATP startup, it would be of great help to me.

Thanks!

 

[Red04]

http://www.livestrong.com/article/471819-rda-guidelines-for-potassium/

4700 mg for a healthy adult, I would guess if you are in a deficiency from methylation, you should be on the high end of that (or above it) at least until the deficiency goes away.

 

[arx]

Thanks Red04.

Any idea on how much dose/blood level does hyperkalemia occur?

 

[Red04]

The normal potassium level in the blood is 3.5-5.0 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L). Potassium levels between 5.1 mEq/L to 6.0 mEq/L reflect mild hyperkalemia. Potassium levels of 6.1 mEq/L to 7.0 mEq/L are moderate hyperkalemia, and levels above 7 mEq/L are severe hyperkalemia.

I have no idea how this translates into supplementation on a methylation protocol. I doubt any doctor would understand methylation treatment and potassium demand either. I dont think anyone has the answer your looking for, as it would require a lot of testing and could change hourly. My wife would be fine, and then go into full body cramps.

So, I think you have to watch the low and high potassium symptoms. Testing for potassium would seem futile as it could change by the time you got the test results. Freddd had said said once that it could take grams and grams of potassium to overcome the demand your body may need to heal.

I paid no attention to potassium ingested though diet and just figured out how much it took to relieve the symptoms.

 

[arx]

Yeah, I guess it varies from moment to moment. The only way to make out is to watch the symptoms. The question arose because it strikes me sometimes when I sense a lot of demand, and potassium is a delicate thing. Thanks for your reply.