RE: Re: New Member - Potassium advice

[Guest guest]

Hi Thanks for your reply!I cant give you the renin figure as I never asked! I was just sat trying to understand what he was telling me , not thinking I should ask what the figures were. I will ask my family doctor though when I go back for BP check ups. I will then be able to compare it against your advice. Im going to check out your link now.Many thanks again.PennyDate: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:10:40 -0700From: jclark24p@...Subject: Re: Re: New Member - Potassium advicepenny.seward@...The number I don't see is renin. That is one of the big keys to PA because it needs to be low. Mine was 0.1 5years ago when I was on 7 different BP meds! They retested in 2010 after I was started on Spironolactone (1 month) and still on 6 of the BP meds. It was 0.51 and the lab minimum is 0.65! The doctor that put you on doxazosin is doing it right, that is one of the meds that works with PA and has minimal effect on ARR testing. If you haven't found it check this file out: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057029/pdf/IJHT2011-624691.pdf It is written by the doctors that treated me at NIH and does a good job explaining the process

and various tests. (It is also listed in the files section of the group.) I suggest you discuss general issues in group because there are many there that know more than I and the group process enhances the experience! I am just a patient who happened onto the group 16 months ago and being retired have had a lot of time to research. (I also spent 14 days at the National Institute of Health (NIH) so I have been checked out by some of the best Engocrinologists in the world. These are from Greece. One big benefit is I have experienced every test they use for PA!) Please understand I am happy to try and answer anything I can and feel free to e-mail me with anything you want to keep more private or is sensitive! (You have to learn to seperate facts from opinions but I and a few others try to keep them

honest! You will quickly learn!) From: Penny Seward <penny.seward@...> jclark24p@... Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:54 AM Subject: FW:

Re: New Member - Potassium advice

From: penny.seward@...To: hyperaldosteronism Subject: RE: Re: New Member - Potassium adviceDate: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:25:55 +0100

HiFirstly I didnt say I was actually dashing! I know I still eat salt as I mentioned I crave it AND add it to my food so I would never profess to being a dasher! I didnt mean to mislead! I was trying to give an idea of the types of food I ate without giving you chapter and verse of a full food diary. I realise I eat too much salt, its just not "hidden" salt as I know where its coming from and that fresh food contains it as well. I have ordered the dash book though! When I first saw my endo my blood pressure would range anywhere between 165/108 - 179/117. He immediately put me on the 2.5mg ramipril. My bp went down immediately to 130/70 for 3 weeks and all my headaches went away but I was

getting more tired and experiencing my symptoms still, with chronic light headedness thrown in for good measure!!!. I am quite annoyed that the endo put me on an ACE inhibitor now as I feel he should know that if they are investigating renin/aldo then you dont prescribe them as they interfere. I had been on them 3 days when I had my bloods and 2 weeks when I had my 24hr urine tests. So maybe this gave the high aldo reading? I dont know as I dont know anything about all of this ie: what effects it/ what masks it etc etc.After 3 weeks my bp started to creep up and my headaches were back. My family doc put my ramipril dose up to 5mg but the headaches didnt go. I am seeing a different endo now and when I saw him last week my blood pressure had gone up to 156/101 he told me the readings for PA were high and he suspected 80% that this was my

problem. Now I have to wait until my ACE meds are out of my system before repeating tests for it. The new endo has put me on 4mg doxazosin, I've been on it 3 days and my bp this morning was 134/79!!! yay, however I wont get too excited as it may not last.My blood sugars are good, my cholesterol is 3.9, my liver, thyroid and kidney function are all fine. I did have an adrenal CT back in 2009 as my family doc then suspected an issue. This was because after I had my second child in Jan 2009 my bp was all over the place eg 180/140 then down to 100/60 within minutes and I was admitted to hospital whilst they investigated but found nothing! The scan showed my adrenals were fine - no tumor etc. My bp in pregnancy was low 120/65, I was much bigger then also (baby excluded).I obviously dont want my worst symptoms:- headache, high bp and

palps, but I also dont want the professionals to miss what the underlying cause by me messing around with diet and supps (if there is one) so .............................. really I just want to know, if I dramatically decrease my salt and take a K supp will this interfere with the tests they are going to repeat and maybe mask an underlying issue??? I will put up with the symptoms until I have a more complete picture if the general consensus is that it will. If however, you think I will help myself and not hinder the investigations I will do that to feel better!Hope that covers everything, thanks for your help hyperaldosteronism From: jclark24p@...Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 02:22:00 +0000Subject: Re: New Member - Potassium advice

Welcome Penny. First, if you still know where the salt shaker is you Are further away from DASHING THAN YOU THINK! You don't need a salt shaker to find 1500mg of NA/day, read the labels!

What meds are you on? If your doctor knows about PA he should know ACE Inhibitors will not work. The 6 week off applies to MCB class meds(Spironolactone & Eplerenone basically.) The SX you gave us certainly point toward low K and that is often associated with PA. What is your actual BP? Do you have any other issues like diabettes etc?

Give us your complete story and we can help you.

>> Hi> > I am new to all this, so just researching for info. I wondered whether i should take a potassium supplement?> > I live in the UK, I am 36, overweight mother of two. I have lost about 60lbs since my biggest but it has taken me 6 years of on and off dieting and only recent exercise (last 3years). I am now the slimmest I have been in about 8 years and the fittest I have been in my entire life. I still need to lose about 85lbs to be at a healthy weight. I train 6 days a week (running, spinning and heavy weight training) and my blood pressure is higher than when I was at my biggest and unhealthiest! even though my typical resting pulse rate is 52 when Bp being taken! I eat a very clean and high protein diet with more than my five a day but do add salt to my food as I crave it in great quantities

sometimes.> > I drink about 3litres of water a day on top of normal fluids. My symptoms are:- very slow weight loss considering my diet and calorific burn. High and erratic blood pressure, restless legs, fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, chronic headaches/migraines, muscle twitching and cramps, burning ears, insomnia, night waking for the loo. side flank and lower back ache.> > My doc finally referred me to an endo at our local hospital who has recently sent me for various bloods and 24hr urine testing. He also put me on 2.5mg ramipril which seemed to lower my bp for three weeks, then it started to creep up again. My Doc then increased the dose to 5mg but it was still high when I went back to see the endo. My tests came back with suspected hyperaldosteronism. I never heard of this before. > > Since researching, I found that low K is often associated with this and low K causes many of my symptoms. I am currently

waiting for my ramipril meds to leave my system before repeating my tests (6 weeks) so I am in limbo. I am now on another blood pressure med. My question is...... should I take a potassium supplement in the meantime to see if it helps with my symptoms? Or could this interfere with my up and coming tests.> > Also, any advice and help would be welcome. I have checked out the DASH diet and to be honest I am not far off it anyway. > > Many thanks> > Penny>

[Guest guest]

In reply to the previous post, where you expressed concern over the doc starting you on ramipril, I just want you to know Penny, that the doc putting you on an ACE is a good first choice and they probably would have put you on that even if they ordered testing right away - maybe, if they knew how to test for PA right they may not have, but the ACE is a good first choice and with the pressure as high as it was they had to address it. ACE's have some side effects, mostly just bothersome things (cough #1) like everything does, but the ACEI's also have a very good saftey profile with little long or short term dangers, so it is a very good choice and a very common, inexpensive choice for the first one to try (the guidelines in the US recommend a thiazide diuretic first like HCTZ, alone or with an ACEI, but that may have really knocked potassium down.)

So sounds like you have a decent doc and that was a common and very reasonable choice.

From: Penny Seward <penny.seward@...>Subject: RE: Re: New Member - Potassium advicejclark24p@..., hyperaldosteronism Date: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 3:46 PM

Hi

Thanks for your reply!

I cant give you the renin figure as I never asked! I was just sat trying to understand what he was telling me , not thinking I should ask what the figures were. I will ask my family doctor though when I go back for BP check ups. I will then be able to compare it against your advice.

Im going to check out your link now.

Many thanks again.

Penny

Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 13:10:40 -0700From: jclark24p@...Subject: Re: Re: New Member - Potassium advicepenny.seward@...

The number I don't see is renin. That is one of the big keys to PA because it needs to be low. Mine was 0.1 5years ago when I was on 7 different BP meds! They retested in 2010 after I was started on Spironolactone (1 month) and still on 6 of the BP meds. It was 0.51 and the lab minimum is 0.65!

The doctor that put you on doxazosin is doing it right, that is one of the meds that works with PA and has minimal effect on ARR testing. If you haven't found it check this file out: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3057029/pdf/IJHT2011-624691.pdf It is written by the doctors that treated me at NIH and does a good job explaining the process and various tests. (It is also listed in the files section of the group.)

I suggest you discuss general issues in group because there are many there that know more than I and the group process enhances the experience! I am just a patient who happened onto the group 16 months ago and being retired have had a lot of time to research. (I also spent 14 days at the National Institute of Health (NIH) so I have been checked out by some of the best Engocrinologists in the world. These are from Greece. One big benefit is I have experienced every test they use for PA!)

Please understand I am happy to try and answer anything I can and feel free to e-mail me with anything you want to keep more private or is sensitive! (You have to learn to seperate facts from opinions but I and a few others try to keep them honest! You will quickly learn!)

From: Penny Seward <penny.seward@...>jclark24p@... Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:54 AMSubject: FW: Re: New Member - Potassium advice

From: penny.seward@...To: hyperaldosteronism Subject: RE: Re: New Member - Potassium adviceDate: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:25:55 +0100

Hi

Firstly I didnt say I was actually dashing! I know I still eat salt as I mentioned I crave it AND add it to my food so I would never profess to being a dasher! I didnt mean to mislead! I was trying to give an idea of the types of food I ate without giving you chapter and verse of a full food diary. I realise I eat too much salt, its just not "hidden" salt as I know where its coming from and that fresh food contains it as well. I have ordered the dash book though!

When I first saw my endo my blood pressure would range anywhere between 165/108 - 179/117. He immediately put me on the 2.5mg ramipril. My bp went down immediately to 130/70 for 3 weeks and all my headaches went away but I was getting more tired and experiencing my symptoms still, with chronic light headedness thrown in for good measure!!!. I am quite annoyed that the endo put me on an ACE inhibitor now as I feel he should know that if they are investigating renin/aldo then you dont prescribe them as they interfere. I had been on them 3 days when I had my bloods and 2 weeks when I had my 24hr urine tests. So maybe this gave the high aldo reading? I dont know as I dont know anything about all of this ie: what effects it/ what masks it etc etc.

After 3 weeks my bp started to creep up and my headaches were back. My family doc put my ramipril dose up to 5mg but the headaches didnt go. I am seeing a different endo now and when I saw him last week my blood pressure had gone up to 156/101 he told me the readings for PA were high and he suspected 80% that this was my problem. Now I have to wait until my ACE meds are out of my system before repeating tests for it. The new endo has put me on 4mg doxazosin, I've been on it 3 days and my bp this morning was 134/79!!! yay, however I wont get too excited as it may not last.

My blood sugars are good, my cholesterol is 3.9, my liver, thyroid and kidney function are all fine.

I did have an adrenal CT back in 2009 as my family doc then suspected an issue. This was because after I had my second child in Jan 2009 my bp was all over the place eg 180/140 then down to 100/60 within minutes and I was admitted to hospital whilst they investigated but found nothing! The scan showed my adrenals were fine - no tumor etc. My bp in pregnancy was low 120/65, I was much bigger then also (baby excluded).

I obviously dont want my worst symptoms:- headache, high bp and palps, but I also dont want the professionals to miss what the underlying cause by me messing around with diet and supps (if there is one) so .............................. really I just want to know, if I dramatically decrease my salt and take a K supp will this interfere with the tests they are going to repeat and maybe mask an underlying issue??? I will put up with the symptoms until I have a more complete picture if the general consensus is that it will. If however, you think I will help myself and not hinder the investigations I will do that to feel better!

Hope that covers everything, thanks for your help

hyperaldosteronism From: jclark24p@...Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 02:22:00 +0000Subject: Re: New Member - Potassium advice

Welcome Penny. First, if you still know where the salt shaker is you Are further away from DASHING THAN YOU THINK! You don't need a salt shaker to find 1500mg of NA/day, read the labels! What meds are you on? If your doctor knows about PA he should know ACE Inhibitors will not work. The 6 week off applies to MCB class meds(Spironolactone & Eplerenone basically.) The SX you gave us certainly point toward low K and that is often associated with PA. What is your actual BP? Do you have any other issues like diabettes etc?Give us your complete story and we can help you. >> Hi> > I am new to all this,

so just researching for info. I wondered whether i should take a potassium supplement?> > I live in the UK, I am 36, overweight mother of two. I have lost about 60lbs since my biggest but it has taken me 6 years of on and off dieting and only recent exercise (last 3years). I am now the slimmest I have been in about 8 years and the fittest I have been in my entire life. I still need to lose about 85lbs to be at a healthy weight. I train 6 days a week (running, spinning and heavy weight training) and my blood pressure is higher than when I was at my biggest and unhealthiest! even though my typical resting pulse rate is 52 when Bp being taken! I eat a very clean and high protein diet with more than my five a day but do add salt to my food as I crave it in great quantities sometimes.> > I drink about 3litres of water a day on top of normal fluids. My symptoms are:- very slow weight loss considering my diet and calorific burn.

High and erratic blood pressure, restless legs, fatigue, palpitations, dizziness, chronic headaches/migraines, muscle twitching and cramps, burning ears, insomnia, night waking for the loo. side flank and lower back ache.> > My doc finally referred me to an endo at our local hospital who has recently sent me for various bloods and 24hr urine testing. He also put me on 2.5mg ramipril which seemed to lower my bp for three weeks, then it started to creep up again. My Doc then increased the dose to 5mg but it was still high when I went back to see the endo. My tests came back with suspected hyperaldosteronism. I never heard of this before. > > Since researching, I found that low K is often associated with this and low K causes many of my symptoms. I am currently waiting for my ramipril meds to leave my system before repeating my tests (6 weeks) so I am in limbo. I am now on another blood pressure med. My question is...... should

I take a potassium supplement in the meantime to see if it helps with my symptoms? Or could this interfere with my up and coming tests.> > Also, any advice and help would be welcome. I have checked out the DASH diet and to be honest I am not far off it anyway. > > Many thanks> > Penny>