issie Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Not suggesting to try it (since it is a key electrolyte especially for heart rhythm and must be treated with great caution), but when potassium goes high it is supposed to trigger aldosterone. The aldosterone steers the kidney to dump the potassium... and indirectly to retain salt (with which comes extra water). Aldosterone is like a "rudder" between K and Na/H20... while ADH/Vasopressin is like a "throttle" directly to water retention.To use this theory, one would want both Na & K present so that the salt is there to do it's water retention magic. Of course, this *assumes* a standard working renin response to K and focuses on just one of the influences on renin stimulation (albeit a key one).I've had low potassium (from fludrocortisone & running out of K supplements) and the ER was surprised I didn't induce serious heart trouble (I was lucky). One needs to be wary of either high or low (especially if already prone to arrhythmia)... it is really critical to heart function. Sodium variations seem less critical in short term stuff, and I think the body treats it as such.I was re-reading this thread and like the idea that Erik has about upping potassium to help elevate aldosterone levels and maybe aid in retaining more salt and therefore more fluid. May be a simple fix. Most of the ideas on this thread are to not salt load. I'm only half way through reading it - so may add more later.Issie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
issie Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Well, I'm not on the propranalol any more and I didn't tolerate the florinef at all and I don't do well with heavy salt loading. So, lots has changed since this original post. I've also learned that I'm super sensitive to glutamate and the phenylalanine that was being talked about would be horrible for me because that plays a part in increasing glutamate.Some interesting ideas though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
issie Posted May 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Not suggesting to try it (since it is a key electrolyte especially for heart rhythm and must be treated with great caution), but when potassium goes high it is supposed to trigger aldosterone. The aldosterone steers the kidney to dump the potassium... and indirectly to retain salt (with which comes extra water). Aldosterone is like a "rudder" between K and Na/H20... while ADH/Vasopressin is like a "throttle" directly to water retention.To use this theory, one would want both Na & K present so that the salt is there to do it's water retention magic. Of course, this *assumes* a standard working renin response to K and focuses on just one of the influences on renin stimulation (albeit a key one).I've had low potassium (from fludrocortisone & running out of K supplements) and the ER was surprised I didn't induce serious heart trouble (I was lucky). One needs to be wary of either high or low (especially if already prone to arrhythmia)... it is really critical to heart function. Sodium variations seem less critical in short term stuff, and I think the body treats it as such.I think this quote bears repeating. Are we deficient in potassium and could that be the key here - if it increase aldosterone levels and that would help to balance the fluid levels. Erik also suggest Vitamin K - of recent there has been a lot of research and comments in the alternative medical field on the value of vitamin K and the need for it. I'm not sure how much Erik was supplementing with either of these (he hasn't been here in awhile - too bad - cause he had some really good insights) but, it might be something good to look into. The last few days with this edema I've been having - I've been using Parsley - high in potassium and also is a mild diuretic. I am feeling sooooo much better - just with this for two days. Maybe something to this idea.Issie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E246 Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Issie,I was trawling back and found this post too which you recently bumped. Have you tried extra vit K as a supp and is it completely different to potassium - bit confused as it has same initial.Quite a long but v interesting post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelloz Posted June 8, 2012 Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 Hello all, Very interesting thoughts. In response, I was always very ill after flu vacs. and stopped getting them. The last vac. I received was a tetnus booster and dysautonomia soon followed... I have always felt this is what started the ball rolling. Angelloz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
issie Posted June 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2012 I have not tried vit. K by itself. It is in my supplement for calcium and helps for it to go into the cells better. So, taking it by itself, I can't say. I have read a whole lot about it and thought I need to get some and see what the results would be. But, right now I'm trialing a few other things and things seem to be going in a pretty good direction for me. I do have it on my list of things to try. Right this minute, my doc. has me on a RX for potassium. I took the first one last night. Today, I seem to feel pretty good. I also am trying alpha lipoic acid. (This is NOT for everyone, as it will up your NO levels. Some with POTS have already too high NO levels. I seemingly - do not.) So, we will see what the future brings. Glad you got some useful info from this.A little note about vaccines. It has been over 10 years since I had my last tetanus shot. I was recently tested to see if I was still okay with my autoimmune system in relationship to it. I still test high and am good and do NOT need a shot/booster of it. I was unaware that they could do these test BEFORE you take an immunization. They can also do it for pneumonia too. So, why take the chance - you may not need it. Plus, as for the flu shot and pneumonia shots ---my father got Gallium Barre from a flu shot. The effects of this illness is horrible. I will not take either. I have absolutely NO antibodies to pneumonia and it would probably kill me if I got sick with it. But, I may not get it and I don't want to take the chance of lifetime pain and neurological problems. Everyone needs to make their own decisions and inform themselves of the risk. I do believe that the shot when I was a kid - started me on this roller coaster ride. It probably triggered some bad genes into action that maybe wouldn't have activated otherwise. (I've recently had gene testing and am figuring out a whole lot of things. Not ready to share yet. So much to learn and try to comprehend.)Issie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.