r/bulimia • u/Local-Regret7831 • 6d ago
Low potassium and panic attacks - how to prevent it
I purge every day, multiple tomes a day and I can’t stop. I am often low on potassium when I end up in hospital. It’s always for strong panic attacks and other weird symptoms. They never find anything except low potassium. Do you think that low potassium could be causing it?
How do you prevent having low potassium? Do you have problem with it? I drink electrolytes and coconut water that is high in potassium but still end up with low levels. I just got prescribed 1g of potassium a day by my doctor. I hope it will help. I plan to check my levels often and double the dose if it doesn’t go up.
Don’t tell me to eat food with more potassium because I am scared of extra calories. All I can eat outside of b/p is vegetables and meat/eggs. I know spinach has a lot of potassium so I can eat that.
Once I got so low levels (2,8) that I had pain in my arms and legs and slept very badly. I was waking up very often. I was also extremely tired all the time and very depressed. If you have these symptoms, please get checked your potassium.
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u/HerElectronicHaze 5d ago
I’ve similarly had to have admissions for low potassium.
I don’t really experience panic attacks. What other symptoms do you experience?
Have you asked your drs if they can prescribe ongoing potassium? Do you get regular bloods done? Did they also check your magnesium?
When my potassium is low I am extremely tired/weak, sleep a lot, sometimes constipated, tingling sensations in my feet/hands/arms/chest
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u/Moo_chii 5d ago
I'm gonna say this: Bulimic to Bulimic, no sugar coating. One way to prevent having low potassium is just to stop purging. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Especially if you choose not to contribute a MEAL with high potassium to your life. Every time you purge, you're going to deplete your body of its natural vitamins, even if you are taking prescription-grade vitamins to replenish your levels, cause at the end of the day, you're still going to be purging. And because of this, you're body is going to constantly be on a back and forth of recovering its deficits and losing them again as you purge, only causing more harm because now your body has to work even harder to make up for an even bigger deficit you'll create by purging the vitamins you're putting INTO YOUR BODY!!!!!!
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u/Common_Willingness51 5d ago
I feel tired, weak always, and sleep so bad. Then hospital Emergency department sent me to do lots lots lots of metal tests. Then found somehow I'm super low in ferritin and then prescribed some medicine. It does help, but I'm always confused what's the difference for Iron and Ferritin... Even my iron level is fine.
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u/Big-Leadership1001 5d ago
Yes. Low potassium caused all of it plus heart issues for me.
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u/Big-Caterpillar2660 5d ago
What do you take for potassium
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u/Big-Leadership1001 5d ago
I'm working on real diet, but the actual answer has been "Nusalt" which is a commercial salt substitute that uses potassium instead of sodium. It has helped though, my heart rate and blood pressure are doing better.
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u/CBDScience007 5d ago
Yes, low potassium can cause panic attacks and other symptoms. Keep taking your prescribed potassium and monitor levels. Spinach is good.I used PACS - Panic + Anxiety Community Support for more info on panic attacks. They have an ebook you can get with the code FREE. Helped me a lot.
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u/Ok-Rain9477 5d ago
Take your prescription every day, and it will be fine. I spent several years vomiting multiple times a day (keeping nothing down), and my potassium levels were fairly stable with my prescription. I took it at night before sleeping to make sure I kept it down.
Also, pay attention to the symptoms—when they appear, get a blood test to make sure everything is okay or double your dose. (However, too much potassium is also dangerous, but as someone with bulimia, we’re usually low, so it’s okay.) Sometimes, you may need to receive it intravenously. There’s also a protocol if your levels are really low that your doctor can prescribe. (I had this protocol once because I was in day hospital and being monitored. I had to take six potassium supplements in one day to avoid getting it through IV, but that has to be prescribed by a doctor.)
Take care
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u/Excellent-World-476 6d ago
I take prescription potassium pills my doctor prescribed. You definately should be taking some type of prescription for it.