Bananas are the enemy.

[Vaereyes]

Last month I went in for an annual wellness exam, and had blood work done per my nutritionists request to establish a baseline for me. Everything looked good (cholestorol was a bit high, no worries though still within the acceptable range). Except potassium. Apparently my potassium was so high they wanted to rule out lab error. I went back Monday, and today I find out that my potassium levels are *really high*. (No I don't eat bananas every day.) So I'm going on meds, and a potassium low diet.

 

Something I've been trying to avoid while getting healthy is the 'd' word. I've made small changes that I've stuck with (2 c fruit and veg a day, seafood twice a week, 4 pints water +1 for every caffeinated beverage, cardio 2 x week, strength training 1-2 x week.) I'm not super bummed out, but I am confused. Has anyone had this experience RE: high potassium levels?

[Diadhuit]

Last month I went in for an annual wellness exam, and had blood work done per my nutritionists request to establish a baseline for me. Everything looked good (cholestorol was a bit high, no worries though still within the acceptable range). Except potassium. Apparently my potassium was so high they wanted to rule out lab error. I went back Monday, and today I find out that my potassium levels are *really high*. (No I don't eat bananas every day.) So I'm going on meds, and a potassium low diet.
 
Something I've been trying to avoid while getting healthy is the 'd' word. I've made small changes that I've stuck with (2 c fruit and veg a day, seafood twice a week, 4 pints water +1 for every caffeinated beverage, cardio 2 x week, strength training 1-2 x week.) I'm not super bummed out, but I am confused. Has anyone had this experience RE: high potassium levels?

Hi, are you taking any particular medication? Are you taking multivitamins?
I had the opposite problem, my potassium was too low, then they discovered it was two medications interacting with each other (tbh, it was partially my fault, as I got them in two different countries and while I informed the doctor about it, he probably didn't understand fully the implications).
I hope you'll resolve soon!

[Vaereyes]

I'm taking sertraline 25 mg (up to 50 mg now) for depression, and I've been taking buspirone (buspar) for anxiety. Aside from that, no, no medications. I'm also not taking multi-vitamins. When I got my results back my nutritionist advised me to take Vitamin D supplements to help with winter and depression. So now I take 5,000 something D^3 a day.

[Vaereyes]

I just received instructions from my doctors office. I have to go on a low sodium diet. I'm encouraged to avoid everything from bacon to tacos to pizza to canned vegetables. Basically everything tasty and good. •weeps•

[Xena]

hmmm... i don't know anything about high potassium. How does low sodium diet help? I think @Elastigirl might have looked into this stuff more....

 

The only advice I would really give, is try to get as much information as you can from your doctor. If the answers don't make sense, ask more questions. Have you looked around on the internet? Of course there is a lot of misinformation and conflicting information, but at least you can get some ideas to discuss more with the doctor.

 

Oh, one other suggestion, have you thought of meeting with a nutritionist? Sometimes that's free or very cheap, depending on what kind of insurance you have. If it's available to you, it might be worth taking advantage of.