do the AVS or not?

[Guest guest]

Hi,I'm new to this group. I'd really love feedback about whether or not I should do AVS or not.Prior to surgery for a torn meniscus last summer my pre-op lab work showed very low potassium levels. This almost stalled my surgery, but my PCP and I felt the low levels were probably due to the food poisoning I had had early in the month and he felt it was safe to proceed. In every other way I am healthy as a horse. Low blood pressure, good labs in every way. I am 39 (was 38 at the time), and have had blood pressure that has inched toward high (138/86) when I've gone into the doctor

for illness or an injury--but he has always taken that into consideration. I had high blood pressure with my first pregnancy due to preeclampsia but it went to normal after delivery. So, I proceeded with knee surgery and never gave low potassium another thought. During some lab work this past winter, low K showed up again, this time lower. My

doctor prescribed potassium supplements for one month. They made me massively ill--as though I was drunk, I couldn't even sit up I was so dizzy and nauseous. So, I went off the supplement after only a week. I didn't go back to the doctor for a few months or have my levels checked. When they were, my levels were lower still. At that point, they weren't sure why or what was going on, be/c all other blood work was fine (of course) including blood pressure (my mystery). My doctor called me an enigma. Nice.On my own, I went to a nephrologist who started ordering lots of tests and wanting all my medical records from long ago. He was particularly interested in the fact that I have epilepsy and that two other siblings do too. At that point, he thought there may be something functional going on with the tubules in my kidneys. Lab work indicated high aldosterone along with

my low potassium. A CT scan

revealed a small tumor on my left adrenal. Because of its size and the fact that its contained, he feels confident that it's benign, but be/c of hormonal disruption wants to do AVS to rule out the possibility of it being malignant. Benign tumors don't disrupt hormones he said. But, of course, Conn's does. So, what I wonder is, should I do the AVS or not? The hospital I have to go to per my insurance only does about 4 or 5 AVS's per year and I know the procedure carries some considerable risk. Isn't there another way he can get the results we're looking for with a less invasive procedure? Time is of the essence, here. I'm scheduled to do this next week and I kind of feel like the lamb being led to the slaughter.In the meantime, I have been put on Eplenerone and encouraged to eat a high potassium diet. I am very thin due to just high metabolism and my epilepsy meds which suppress my

appetite. I'm barely 100 lbs, so I work at keeping my weight on ( I am barely 5ft--so tiny). I crave salty foods and have never been much into sweets. Focus on foods like avocados, artichokes, honeydew, etc. per the list he gave me. I eat a lot of protein too. Have very low uric acid levels, which doctor thought was interesting and even asked if I was vegetarian (very much not!). No discussion about avoiding salt in my diet. Perhaps be/c blood pressure isn't an issue? After being on Spiranolactone for four weeks my potassium levels were normal for the first time! But it messed with my digestion so much that I lost a few pounds, so he switched me to Eplenerone to see if it would be easier on me and still keep my potassium levels in check.To AVS or not AVS, that is the question....Thanks for feedback from

people--Best,MDB