could be low on potassium

my arm and leg muscle are weak and painful so I think my potassium is low. if anyone has had this how much extra potassium should I take and how long does it take to work..I am having a heck of a time getting out of chairs even.
as always thanks for your help

You are self diagnosing again sweetie. Don't just throw potassium at this, okay? You could really mess yourself up. You need bloodwork and doctor supervision if it's a potassium deficiency. Damn I wish I didn't feel obligated to say that since your doctor treatment sucks so bad :-(. Please, please get new docs, okay?

****hugs**** I am terribly worried about you. Is there someone in your life who can go to bat for you and get you the care you need? If I were in your neck of the woods, I would be your mama grizzly bear in this. I really would. 

thank you very much I will get my pcp to do the blood work and see if it is low..I am doing better I get in 4 shakes a day now and much much more water so I am very hopeful

Potassium is nothing to mess with, too low and you could die, too high and you could die. You need some good medical care.  Is your surgeon still ignoring you??  Do you have another Dr. you can see?

I wish I could be there also.  You really need to get some medical help with the problems you are having.  Is there anyone you can call? 

I would be happy to get on the phone if you need me to do that.

I worry about you all the time.

Michele

thank you both so much for your caring. I think I really need to work with my PCP from now on and get some blood tests going. I was in the hospital a week ago for 5 days and my blood tests were normal

Wonderful!

Get your PCP to do a complete panel. Here is a link to the labs you need to have done:

http://www.dsfacts.com/Blood-Work-and-Lab-Orders.html

Let me know if you want a spreadsheet that you can fill in to track your labs.

You got off to a very rough start so you will need to be extra-diligent.  

Your surgeon should be very glad that I wasn;t his patient!!!

Michele

Her surgeon......

 I was just told this morning in the hospital that my potassium is low so they just gave me 4 bags of just potassium. I really dont know what exactly caused it to get low or what the number was but I would def. get your labs drawn to see what to do. Hope all goes well!