Electrolytes - Dizziness

Testing Jan 21

Magnesium - 2.0 from 1.6 - 2.5 range . . . I've been supplementing since October so perhaps was even lower before that.

Potassium - 4.1 from 3.5 to 5.0 range . . . just started supplementing with powder Potassium Citrate last week drinking water like a fish this last month trying to do better at Hydration to stave off Afib episodes.

Sodium - 134 from 136 to 145 . . . so low but not real low . . . recent drinking water since test perhaps flushed even more sodium out of my system.

Bottom line question. Beside my low thyroid TSH and T4 . . . Hashimoto perhaps leaning sub-clinical Hyper thyroid level numbers . . . this past 10 days having some dizziness. Mainly upon standing from sitting or laying. Thus I have not returned to the 2 x's daily treadmill.

EP wants to do Ablation . . . from appointment Tuesday to "give me back my quality of life" especially when I told him about staying home last 2 Big 3 Week Trips of husband and our son, 1 to UK/Ireland/Scotland and other to Switzerland/Italy past 2 falls. And yes, I'm very tired of living an "eggshell life" with Afib.

Plus he prescribed me to take Multaq until the Ablation. I haven't taken it yet due to the dizziness which I thought was going away but still happening today. My HRV has smoothed out greatly in past week, not 100% but improved.

Did I read here about adding a pinch of Sea Salt to their water / potassium? Since the Low Sodium and increased fluids maybe it would help the 3 to work together better. Otherwise I think I will message PCP and see IF he wants to re-run some blood work but unfortunately they don't work on Fridays.

Are you monitoring your EKGs, heart rate and BP. Do u have a history of bradycardia or low BP? If you were my patient I would want you in for re-evaluation as there are too many variables and possible explanations. I believe your primary health care professional and EP would agree with that recommendation.

Thanks Hugging, Yes Bradycardia. 40’s at night on my devices. Mid to upper 50’s resting during day. Heart Loop Monitor has average night 50 average daytime 58 vs my Apple Watch and Fitbit. I wear both. For instantaneous quick heart rate upon wrist rise on Fitbit and other info from Apple Watch.

I do ECG’s with Apple Watch but many times with 50’s HR I get possible Afib or Inconclusive. I think their algorithms don’t interpret PAC’s well. Perhaps.

Usual BP is 110 over say 65. Ranges 105-115 and 60-68.

The NEW low TSH plus low T4 and Hyper thyroid “feelings” which include cold and very jittery and 2 month recheck after new lower level dosing.

Thus hesitant to start the Multaq which is brand new script for me.

So guess I’ll have to wait out the weekend and play it safe until Monday.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2025 01:10AM by Qwackertoo.

"Sodium - 134 from 136 to 145 . . . so low but not real low . . . recent drinking water since test perhaps flushed even more sodium out of my system. "

Yes it is possible to drink too much water and end up causing Na+ to be to low. I was hospitalized with a 120 level a long time ago.

Various things can cause dizziness upon changing body position. I had this for about 3 weeks a month or so back. Never figured it out for sure. Could have been from hanging upside down with a Inversion table, causing the inner ear to become unbalanced. Or I thought it might be from the drug Diltiazem. It was bad, made me feel really yucky when it happened.

You can't increase sodium levels by increasing salt intake. The only way to do that is to decrease water intake, so you might want to back off the water a bit. Low sodium levels can be dangerous, so I would recommend doing that.

Quote
Carey
You can't increase sodium levels by increasing salt intake. The only way to do that is to decrease water intake.

I question this, from what I see, fluid restriction is just a common front-line treatment for mild low NA+ (hyponatremia).
They do give IV NA+ solution in the hospital for bad cases. Also according to Google AI and other sources, dietary NA+ supplementation is still being recommended.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

AI Overview:

Treatment for low blood sodium, also known as hyponatremia, depends on the cause and severity of the condition. Treatments include fluid restriction, medications, and intravenous fluids.

Fluid restriction

The first-line treatment for most chronic hyponatremia

For mild hyponatremia, limit fluids to less than 1 quart per day

Medications

Adjust diuretic use or stop taking them
Take medications to manage symptoms like headaches, nausea, and seizures
Take medications like tolvaptan or conivaptan to treat low sodium levels

Intravenous fluids

Used to slowly raise sodium levels in severe or acute hyponatremia
Requires frequent monitoring in the hospital

Other treatments

Salt tablets for mild to moderate chronic hyponatremia
Treat the underlying cause of the condition
If the cause is a disorder, treat the disorder

When to seek care
Severe hyponatremia is an emergency. Increasing sodium levels too quickly can cause permanent brain damage.

My water intake hasn’t been excessive just more than I’m used to or normally drink. We’re talking 4-5 16 oz bottles of water, 2 12 oz cups of coffee, maybe 10-12 oz of low-sodium V8 (new intake) and perhaps 10 or so ounces of liquids with my smoothie being 1/2 & 1/2 of kefir and almond milk or some days cereal with almond milk. Nothing crazy.

Perhaps with increased fluids, increased blood volume, maybe, and I have been less active after 2 Afib incidents on Feb 4th & 7th so legs felt a little heavy too.

Not debilitating or extreme but NOT pleasant either. Nothing like inner ear issues which knock on wood thankfully hasn’t happened in 10+ years. That is debilitating for me.

Thanks for the replies. Today is much better. Yesterday I backed off with 1 less bottle of water. Perhaps it was just a passing bug with a little dizziness and very slight nausea.

I’ll be sending a message to my PCP and still NOT going to start the Multaq to be on the safe side of issue. I usually deal with the Afib better and have once every 8-12 weeks or so it seems in recent months. I still have the sense of dread when I feel it upon awakening and lift my wrist to see the high heart rate and then watch it bounce around for the next few hours. Argh.

Quote
The Anti-Fib
I question this, from what I see, fluid restriction is just a common front-line treatment for mild low NA+ (hyponatremia).
They do give IV NA+ solution in the hospital for bad cases. Also according to Google AI and other sources, dietary NA+ supplementation is still being recommended.

I wasn't going to delve into what a hospital might do for severe cases. That's entirely different from what someone can do at home. As for routine supplementation for normal, healthy persons, sounds like a good way to put yourself into hypertension to me. You'd have to show me these recommendations.

Quote
Qwackertoo
My water intake hasn’t been excessive just more than I’m used to or normally drink. We’re talking 4-5 16 oz bottles of water, 2 12 oz cups of coffee, maybe 10-12 oz of low-sodium V8 (new intake) and perhaps 10 or so ounces of liquids with my smoothie being 1/2 & 1/2 of kefir and almond milk or some days cereal with almond milk. Nothing crazy.

I count 124 oz or 3.6 liters of water per day. That's actually quite a bit unless you're outside working in hot weather. Plus you need to count the water you get from food, which is usually more than the free water we drink. If I were you, I would definitely back off on the water until you have normal Na levels. I would make the 4-5 16-oz bottles 2-3 at most.

Seems like a lot of liquid, but body size, environment, activity play a role. Check out:

Quote
Carey

My water intake hasn’t been excessive just more than I’m used to or normally drink. We’re talking 4-5 16 oz bottles of water, 2 12 oz cups of coffee, maybe 10-12 oz of low-sodium V8 (new intake) and perhaps 10 or so ounces of liquids with my smoothie being 1/2 & 1/2 of kefir and almond milk or some days cereal with almond milk. Nothing crazy.

I count 124 oz or 3.6 liters of water per day. That's actually quite a bit unless you're outside working in hot weather. Plus you need to count the water you get from food, which is usually more than the free water we drink. If I were you, I would definitely back off on the water until you have normal Na levels. I would make the 4-5 16-oz bottles 2-3 at most.

Thanks Carey, Cut back to 3 bottles on Fri & Sat & only 2 on Sun. Feeling better.

I was counting water separately. Here I go over doing again. A little is good more is better, bad habit of mine. I was faithfully adding each bottle on the FitBit app and tracking them these past 2 or so weeks. But I really did think I wasn't suppose to count the coffee, a big chunk @ 24 oz's. Sure did cut down on the trips to the restroom past couple of nights and during the day too for sure~!!! Even my fingertips are looking better . . . despite all the liquid intake I was having "pruney fingers" and thought "how can that be with all the water I'm drinking". Even my fingers look better this a.m. Guess I will stick with my "normal" 2-3 bottles of water a day which I mistakenly thought was too little and go from there.

Quote
Carey

I question this, from what I see, fluid restriction is just a common front-line treatment for mild low NA+ (hyponatremia).
They do give IV NA+ solution in the hospital for bad cases. Also according to Google AI and other sources, dietary NA+ supplementation is still being recommended.


I wasn't going to delve into what a hospital might do for severe cases. That's entirely different from what someone can do at home. As for routine supplementation for normal, healthy persons, sounds like a good way to put yourself into hypertension to me. You'd have to show me these recommendations.

This is a complex situation, and there are so many variables. How much sodium is the person question consuming from their diet? How is their kidney function, as the kidneys filter and regulate the electrolytes? What climate do they live in? Do they spend alot of time outdoors? For example, in the desert SW, and the relative humidity is on average around 20% during the warmer months. Whereas back east it up around 75-80%. Caffeinated beverages cause increased urination, which can contribute to electrolyte loss.