Low Patassium
I've never had low potassium in my life. I was on the liquid diet 5 days before surgery, had a physical, a few days later had my surgery, then the doc called and told me my potassium was low. Mine isn't related to the surgery. Not sure why mine is low. I have been feeling very dizzy when I stand up. Dizzy spells, EVERY day and several times a day. Several of the meds I'm on has a side effect of dizziness. No muscle cramps for me. Hope this goes away. One reason for me to have surgery was to get off the extra meds and not to end up taking more.
Potassium is essential to proper electrical conduction to all muscles, especially your heart. General anesthetics can slow heart conduction in some people, lower blood pressure to the point of cardiac irritability, and if your potassium is low, can flip you into a lethal heart rhythmn....Not very appealing to most people, for sure. New post-ops just can't eat enough potassium replacement, so a prescription is really needed to keep you healthy. Just like prev posters, medications & diet play a part in how much potassuim we retain, or lose.
Low potassium can KILL you.
Please learn what the normal levels are, and then find out what your actual levels are. It is IMPERATIVE that you keep track of this, especially if you are aware you are having trouble.
The bottom drops out of my potassium levels periodically and they are still trying to figure out why, but twice it has put me in life and death situations with my heart. Close ups with the defibrillator and cardiac massages = no fun. Last August when I went into the hospital after hubby found me passed out on the floor in the middle of the night, they said I had the potassium level of a corpse. Almost didn't survive that hospital visit.
Please, please educate yourself about potassium. It may seem like a little thing but the electrical system that drives your heart is by no means insignificant and it's essential that you get a handle on this so you (and your family) don't go through experiences like mine.
Good luck and take care =)
eta: the scariest thing to me about the potassium level thing - a lot of times you will be asymptomatic and not even realize you have an issue until its really an issue. Thats why its so important to get your blood checked regularly. And bananas are a nice thought and may help in minor cases - but if your are really low on your levels they are basically useless. If you don't want to get to the infusion point, keep up with your labs and insist on the doc prescribing supplementation if your levels are really low.
Please learn what the normal levels are, and then find out what your actual levels are. It is IMPERATIVE that you keep track of this, especially if you are aware you are having trouble.
The bottom drops out of my potassium levels periodically and they are still trying to figure out why, but twice it has put me in life and death situations with my heart. Close ups with the defibrillator and cardiac massages = no fun. Last August when I went into the hospital after hubby found me passed out on the floor in the middle of the night, they said I had the potassium level of a corpse. Almost didn't survive that hospital visit.
Please, please educate yourself about potassium. It may seem like a little thing but the electrical system that drives your heart is by no means insignificant and it's essential that you get a handle on this so you (and your family) don't go through experiences like mine.
Good luck and take care =)
eta: the scariest thing to me about the potassium level thing - a lot of times you will be asymptomatic and not even realize you have an issue until its really an issue. Thats why its so important to get your blood checked regularly. And bananas are a nice thought and may help in minor cases - but if your are really low on your levels they are basically useless. If you don't want to get to the infusion point, keep up with your labs and insist on the doc prescribing supplementation if your levels are really low.
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