Managing Potassium Deficiency - Share your experience

[pela]

Question about taking too much supplemental potassium: Does it cause diarrhea?
I've been needing about 2500-3000 mg of supplemental potassium a day. In the last week or so, some of the low potassium symptoms have eased off occassionally. This morning I took potassium chloride as usual but had the impression pretty quickly that I didn't need it. Within 4 hours my digestive tract cleaned itself out. Cause and effect?

 

[Freddd]

Question about taking too much supplemental potassium: Does it cause diarrhea?
I've been needing about 2500-3000 mg of supplemental potassium a day. In the last week or so, some of the low potassium symptoms have eased off occassionally. This morning I took potassium chloride as usual but had the impression pretty quickly that I didn't need it. Within 4 hours my digestive tract cleaned itself out. Cause and effect?

Hi Pela,

If one gets too much potassium at once that happens. I find it more likely than with potassium gluconate. I think that is an effect of it being an irritant to the stomach and intestines, maybe not enough water with it. I take 600mg with a meal, but if I take even another 300 within 2-3 hours, I get the same result. I jhave had to learn how much I can tolerate in one dose.

Are you taking more than 20-40 mg of b1 or b2 or more than 100mg or so of b3? That can increase potassium need and folate need. The exact amounts are very approximate and may vary considerably between people.

 

[pela]

Well I didn't think I was taking that much of the Bs, but yes, I am taking way more B1, so I guess I'll change that!
Anyway it's good to know our bodies have a built-in mechanism for dealing with too much supplemental potassium. That should be relief to everyone who is afraid to take it.

 

[Freddd]

Well I didn't think I was taking that much of the Bs, but yes, I am taking way more B1, so I guess I'll change that!
Anyway it's good to know our bodies have a built-in mechanism for dealing with too much supplemental potassium. That should be relief to everyone who is afraid to take it.

Hi Pela,

It sounds like a worthwhile trial. How much b1 are you taking, of any form? Dropping the B1 from 130mg to 30 mg a day cut my potassium need in half and approximately the same with methylfolate within a few days.

 

[pela]

Hi Pela,

It sounds like a worthwhile trial. How much b1 are you taking, of any form? Dropping the B1 from 130mg to 30 mg a day cut my potassium need in half and approximately the same with methylfolate within a few days.

I have been using Pure Encapsulations which has 100 mg B1. I have seen the discussion about too much of the Bs but just figured since I was taking only one a day of a B combo that I wasn't taking too much. Guess I should have looked at the label and not assumed. Now I will break the capsules open and use a fraction, or find a new brand.

 

[Freddd]

I have been using Pure Encapsulations which has 100 mg B1. I have seen the discussion about too much of the Bs but just figured since I was taking only one a day of a B combo that I wasn't taking too much. Guess I should have looked at the label and not assumed. Now I will break the capsules open and use a fraction, or find a new brand.

Hi Pela,

A quarter of a capsule twice a day might work a lot better for both reasons. Once a day can cause a whole lot of symptoms changing on a 24 hour schedule.

 

[L'engle]

If you get stomach problems from the amount you have to take a foot bath with potassium chloride powder can take the burden off your digestion. Harder to get a precise amount but putting a tbsp or 2 in warm water and soaking your feet for a couple of hours gets some potassium in.

 

[pela]

If you get stomach problems from the amount you have to take a foot bath with potassium chloride powder can take the burden off your digestion. Harder to get a precise amount but putting a tbsp or 2 in warm water and soaking your feet for a couple of hours gets some potassium in.

Footbath sounds like a great idea! K Chloride does bother my stomach. Fortunately in the past 3 days my need for extra potassium has fallen a lot and I feel better in general.

 

[ahmo]

Yes! Footbaths. I've been using them for all my powdered supps + Mg oil for some months now. Only 20". And I'm using the same amounts I would orally. Twice a day works for me, including K+. ahmo

 

[caledonia]

Hi Caladonia,

Unstable potassium has been a plague all my life, even before starting any supplements of any kind. I have ideas about that now. I have collected lots of experiences in the past 11 years. It really appears that the root of my problems comes down to paradoxical folate deficiency and supplies a feasible hypothesis. So, each time I went into paradoxical folate deficiency by I would start putting on water and my need for potassium would drop. Then when the folate deficiency symptoms cleared I would start dumping water and my need for potassium would jump up, doubling more or less before decreasing a bit as things stabilized and the excess water poured out. This cycle for me, before the deadlock quartet, was a two week cycle. Now with my folate well stabilized, not too much B1, B2 and B3, my potassium is the most stable it has ever been.

I find that to avoid problems at night I need to take at least 300mg at bedtime. To avoid morning problems when I get up to get rid of the water from the bedtime dose I can take another couple of hundred mgs with more water.

Thanks, @Freddd. I got some NOW potassium gluconate powder and got stabilized. Interestingly, I required more potassium during the day, but more mag at bedtime. Yesterday I restarted my folate supp, so as you describe, I'm expecting the potassium need to increase greatly. I'll watch for the water dump. I think I had one earlier when I was experimenting, but didn't know what was causing it.

 

[L'engle]

For me I've also found decreasing my sodium intake helps get through the nights if potassium loss is in overdrive. However after a few days as the potassium overdrive slows down I started to feel funny from low sodium so now I'm taking a balanced amount of both. I wouldn't recommend restricting sodium most of the time, only as a way to cope when potassium loss is insatiable.

@ahmo good idea adding mg oil to the footbath! I should try that too

 

[Freddd]

Thanks, @Freddd. I got some NOW potassium gluconate powder and got stabilized. Interestingly, I required more potassium during the day, but more mag at bedtime. Yesterday I restarted my folate supp, so as you describe, I'm expecting the potassium need to increase greatly. I'll watch for the water dump. I think I had one earlier when I was experimenting, but didn't know what was causing it.

Hi Caladonia,

I found that LCF was also critical to that, but not in so closely related way. Rather it was needed to avoid deadlocking methylation so that adequate Methylfolate was the last item. Which I could be more definite about that.

 

[caledonia]

Hi Caladonia,

I found that LCF was also critical to that, but not in so closely related way. Rather it was needed to avoid deadlocking methylation so that adequate Methylfolate was the last item. Which I could be more definite about that.

I already take l carnitine fumarate for my Kreb's cycle. It gives me a nice little boost of natural feeling energy. If it's somehow involved in methylation, then it's doing double duty (which I'm not surprised at, a lot of substances are that way, as the body is so interconnected).

 

[zzz0r]

@caledonia I think you mentioned somewhere that you are convinced that low potassium is due to leaky gut ?

 

[caledonia]

@caledonia I think you mentioned somewhere that you are convinced that low potassium is due to leaky gut ?

No, low electrolytes (sodium, magnesium, potassium etc.) are due to low adrenal function. The adrenals regulate electrolytes and help hold them in the body. When the adrenals aren't working well, the electrolytes will leak out like crazy, and need almost constant replenishment.

Then when you try to restart methylation, your body will start building new cells. Interestingly, this is similar to pregnancy. Both are situations where your body will start demanding more potassium (on top of the potassium you're already losing from weak adrenals). You're "supposed" to be able to get potassium from your diet, and pregnant women are recommended to eat food sources rich in potassium.

I've tried that because my doctor wanted me to, and for whatever reason, it doesn't work for ME patients. You must take a potassium supplement to get adequate potassium. My gut is 100% now, so I don't think it's a gut issue.

At a guess, it's something at the cellular level, unique to ME patients. Yasko mentions balancing potassium, but it doesn't seem to be nearly the issue with autism patients as it is for ME patients. I haven't heard other types of methylation-illness patients complain about this either.

I would also like to mention that I'm one of the ones who doesn't do well with adrenal glandular type supplements. So the only thing I've been able to do for my adrenals is replenish the electrolytes. Now that I'm doing methylation, they need less and less supplementation, which I'm taking as a sign that function is improving. I haven't retested them yet, but they were virtually flatlined for many years - among the four worst my naturopath had ever seen.

RichVank said that this is because the adrenals are malfunctioning due to low glutathione. The glutathione is required to produce signals to make the gland work. The gland itself is fine - it just needs marching orders. So you do methylation, make more glutathione, and the adrenals start working better.

This should improve overall electrolyte status, but I assume you'll still need extra potassium until all the cells get rebuilt.

 

[NilaJones]

Thanks for this extremely enlightening post, @caledonia!

Do you, or anybody, think there may be some as-yet-undiscovered deficiency underlying the need for so much potassium?

It made a big impression on me, the last time I couldn't get enough potassium (before this current time), when somebody suggested that I try taking zinc. I took a pill, and my need for potassium dropped dramatically.

I have since had the same experience with iron, and with copper. They all cause the same symptoms for me, and all are alleviated by adding more potassium... temporarily. But when I find the real culprit, each time, I don't need such massive amounts of K anymore.

So, at least for my own body, I am now suspicious of symptoms that are alleviated by potassium.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

[zzz0r]

I need others people experience on potassium. I need to find out why my potassium is undergoing such a crysis when I try to work out. Is it due to adrenals fatigue that caledonia is metioning above? Well that also can be supported by the fact that after applying the quarter (@Freddd) it iseems that I am more fatigued during the day and even more in midday and I am more enlightened in the afternoon and night hours. That started to hapen when I added lcf in the mix! I do not know what that suggests? Is it adrenal fatigue (being exposed by the correct application of the quarter, meaning that i have to correct "what it remains" or is it excesive lfc ( I use 500mg daily) )
I need people that have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue to answer on this one.

 

[Freddd]

I need others people experience on potassium. I need to find out why my potassium is undergoing such a crysis when I try to work out. Is it due to adrenals fatigue that caledonia is metioning above? Well that also can be supported by the fact that after applying the quarter (@Freddd) it iseems that I am more fatigued during the day and even more in midday and I am more enlightened in the afternoon and night hours. That started to hapen when I added lcf in the mix! I do not know what that suggests? Is it adrenal fatigue (being exposed by the correct application of the quarter, meaning that i have to correct "what it remains" or is it excesive lfc ( I use 500mg daily) )
I need people that have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue to answer on this one.

Hi zzz0r,

You might consider looking for a time linked item. I found a 14 day cycle, a 10 day cycle, some 7 day cycles and a number of 24 hour cycles. This looks like a 24 hour cycle, perhaps something you are taking once a day that needs to be taken twice a day to even things out, even potentially the LCF. If you want to see, take the LCF 8 hours earlier and see if that changes the pattern, or split it into two doses and maybe everything evens out. Consider also that potassium from a meal peaks 14 hours later. There are all sorts of time cycles. They can be clues. Have you looked into pantithine?

 

[NilaJones]

potassium from a meal peaks 14 hours later.

14 hours after my main potassium intake is when my supposed potassium-deficiency symptoms are the worst! Which furthers my impression that there may be some other problem, masked by potassium.

 

[Freddd]

14 hours after my main potassium intake is when my supposed potassium-deficiency symptoms are the worst! Which furthers my impression that there may be some other problem, masked by potassium.

Hi Nila,

Potassium from supplements comes and goes in a matter of a few hours. The potassium drops rapidly from peak as it goes into tissue. I found keeping even times of eating or taking supplements and occurrences to be very informative. The better track you keep the better chance of finding it. Is this 14 hours after eating or taking potassium with a meal or ?

Insulin causes it to go into tissue. Do you have a blood sugar drop at the same time? I'm just giving you whatever ideas come up.