Safe Potassium Supplementation

This question is for Jackie, and of course anyone else who has experience with Potassium supplementation. I'm experimenting with Potassium Gluconate - powder form- before bedtime (per Patrick Chambers' article about Diurnal potassium rhythms - my episodes always come in the night). I'm at the time in my cycle where I would be having an episode, but I've taken about 1000 - 1500 mg of Potassium an hour or so before going to bed the last 5 nights and I've remained in perfect NSR. Too soon to conclude anything of course, but I am wondering about the safe "one dose" levels for Potassium. I know excessive or extreme doses can cause problems, even death. I think I'm well within a safe range, but I'd like to get some input about it.
BTW, my Potassium levels have always been good - 4.6 90% of the time I've been tested (lowest ever was 4.4 I think), and the Exatest reading was also well above the midpoint (I eat pretty well and have a big garden). What levels of one dose supplementation do you believe are safe? Thanks, Ralph

Ralph,

I consume 8-10 grams of potassium in bicarbonate form/day. More for the bicarb than the potassium. The 8-10 grams is potassium measure, not the compound. In addition, my diet is highly raw, mostly plant based, non-starchy veggies. This is also high in potassium. IF your kindeys work well, you will dump any {edit} excess potassium. There are plenty of posts on the board from people who have trouble with consuming large amounts, but it has never been an issue for me. I've been consuming > 2g/day plus my food for over 10 years without issue.

George



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2015 12:19AM by GeorgeN.

Ralph - Your personal observations indicating that with additional potassium supplementation and during sleep, you are able to avoid slipping into AF should be both comforting and encouraging that you are on the right path toward stability.

Your dose is not unusually high and the main issue is that it is keeping you in NSR. When potassium stores are low, it allows for the shortening of the refractory period which can produce more extra beats and also lead to AF. Therefore, you are offsetting a sodium imbalance that dominates over when potassium levels are low.

You probably remember reading Conference Room 72…published in Feb. 2011, but it would be good reassurance for you to go there now and read again the main points of why potassium is such an important player in the solution for managing AF. Read through at least the first four page as a start. But, it’s all very relevant and viable information. [www.afibbers.org] I also highly recommend reading the referenced book by biophysicist, Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD. That and his other book, The Salt Solution are important resources to understand the function of potassium in the body.

Of course, keep in mind the caveat… always… that unless there are optimal stores of intracellular magnesium, adding a lot of potassium can make arrhythmia worse instead of preventing it.

As I recall, lethal dosing of potassium (chloride) is something like 20 grams… and your 1 gram or 1.5 grams is a long way away from that. However, as you point out, your Exatest showed you to be higher in the normal range… but what we don’t know is how rapidly you deplete your potassium so thus, the dosing experiments become both important and useful.

I’ve often used 1 gram (1,000 mg) at bedtime along with a generous dose of magnesium, especially if I think the evening meal may have had more sodium than I typically take in…as happens on occasions when I eat away from home. When I do that, I always carry with me potassium capsules that are 300 mg each and take 2 or 3 of those depending on how salty I judge the meal to have been.

I presume that you have had normal standard kidney function tests so the extra potassium (or magnesium) isn’t a concern?

Jackie

PS - In George's response... I believe he meant to say: If your kidneys work well, you will dump any EXCESS potassium????

Jackie,

You are correct! I've edited to correct (careless lack of profreading!).

Thanks!

George

George:

What is, "potassium in bicarbonate form?" Can you provide more details on this? I've never heard of it.

Travis

GeorgeN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ralph,
>
> I consume 8-10 grams of potassium in bicarbonate
> form/day. More for the bicarb than the potassium.
> The 8-10 grams is potassium measure, not the
> compound. In addition, my diet is highly raw,
> mostly plant based, non-starchy veggies. This is
> also high in potassium. IF your kindeys work
> well, you will dump any {edit} excess potassium.
> There are plenty of posts on the board from people
> who have trouble with consuming large amounts, but
> it has never been an issue for me. I've been
> consuming > 2g/day plus my food for over 10 years
> without issue.
>
> George

Travis,

<[en.wikipedia.org]
Food grade:
<[nuts.com]
It's about 39% potassium by weight.

Recently I've been using about a tsp in my morning and evening mag cocktails which include about a gram of mag total from a mag chloride solution (I put 1/2 cup nigari <[naturalimport.com] in 2 liters water and use 125 ml at time) I make up and mag bicarbonate as Waller Water concetrate <[www.afibbers.org] using 75 ml of concentrate in my "cocktail".

George

Thanks for the quick reply, George! Do you know how much potassium is in each serving of this potassium bicarbonate? I wonder how "gentle" this is on a person's stomach and GI tract. I just published another post on this forum about my horrible experience with potassium gluconate powder. I'm looking for alternatives and maybe this bicarbonate form will do the trick. I'd just like to know how much potassium you're getting with it.

Travis

Travis,

I just got a gram scale, so I should be able to give you a reasonable answer. Before I've always had to rely on published density data. This can be inaccurate for a powder. 5 tsp was 27 g. So 5.4 g/tsp. The molecular weight of pot bicarb is 100.115 g/mol <[www.google.com] and of potassium 39.0983 <[www.google.com] 39.0983/100.115 = 39.05% 5.4 g/tsp x .3905 = 2.1 g potassium/tsp.

It is still a salt, so may give you issues. The key for me is enough dilution. As mentioned above, I put 1 tsp in with 200 ml combined of the two mag solutions. 200 ml is about 0.85 cup. I'll usually add some more water, which is dilute enough for me.

George

Thank you Jackie and George

Ralph, you should take the guesswork out of Potassium supplementation and just use a Cardymeter, I myself have had an Afib episode from too high a Potassium level....so I know too much can be a factor. I know the new meters are not cheap...but well worth it if you are paying high deductables for Afib related procedures.

Can u recommend one? How are they used and how do u convert to blood serum equivalent readings?

Ralph, the one I have is no longer made, however if you search"Potassium Meters", I am sure you will find one.Keep in mind they are agricultural devices...but they work just fine. For the conversion chart I would search out the "Periodic Paralysis" website...they used to have it posted there...or search this site for Cardymeter and you may find links there.