TVH: low potassium??

just got a call from my dr office and my nurse said my potassium was low in my blood work and that they would not operate with it low so she was calling in potassium supplements for me to take until my surgery date..

anyone else had this??

what does the potassium do?? why couldnt they operate?

Gray ~ I don't have an answer for you , but I did want to
send a gentle hug your way.

I will believe it will all work out so you can have the surgery
on time.

Hopefully someone else will know about low potassium.

Did the nurse say when you would need to be rechecked?

I should go take a potassium pill, my blood work is on Monday. Potassium keeps your legs from cramping up.

Also you should eat bananas they are high in potassium. I started eating one a couple times a week now just to make sure that I have enough potassium in my system. Wish you luck...My surgery was also cancelled had to find a new dr. and now my date to set new surgery was just cancelled due to bad weather....Im sick n tired of just about everything right now. I'll be glad when it's over.

I'm sorry you're dealing with low potassium. Having low potassium can cause you to be weak, potassium is needed to help muscles contract, the heart to beat properly and regulates blood pressure. In addition to bananas (which I love!) that are high in potassium, other foods high in potassium include tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupes and peaches.

I hope the supplements work out for you! Please let us know how you're doing!



Deb

Hi Gray27,
I had this happen before surgery several years ago. I was given oral potassium supplements to take before surgery too. The morning of the surgery, it still was too low though and they had to infuse me with potassium before they'd do the surgery.

I think the decision to do the surgery varies per anestheiologist. Maybe the doc too. I just remember my anesthesiologist was the one that was concerned. They had a conversation about what to do with me within hearing distance, and it scared me to death. It really wasn't a big deal since I already had the IV in though.

Don't worry, the potassium will probably bring you right up to where you need to be. If you do end up having to get potassium, it wasn't bad, it just adds a little more time to the pre-surgical preparations.

On the up side, I felt great after surgery since my potassium was up where it need to be! I didn't even realize I had been feeling so weak until then.

I hope this wasn't TMI.

Good luck!

Edited to add that the supplements will probably work just fine. I have an ongoing problem with potassium, it just happened to be then that it was discovered.

ive had low potassium before.. so ..and supplements brought it back up.. but i didnt have to stay on them.. it is usually borderline.. im really hoping it works b/c i swear i dont wanna come home! im ready for it all to be over!

ive been super wiped out lately so maybe this has something to do with it!

I took a potassium pill today. I am so glad you mentioned this cause I usually have pretty low potassium. (cramp a lot and such)

Hi Gray27 -

For unknown reasons my potassium level was very low after surgery, and I was put on supplements for several days. Since then, it's been fine. This quote is from the web: "Potassium is a mineral that helps maintain the normal function of the heart and nervous system."

The supplements work very well, so please be assured that you will be fine.