That 'might be' dangerous.         Doug

Re: Potassium episode  

Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Sat, Dec 24, 2005, 10:36am (CST-2)
From: tedw2@earthlink.net (anonymousone)
Scary. Is anyone talking pottasium supplementation during treatment?
Seems prudent.
////////////
I've always been an advocate of banana consumption while on tx.  Just
ask Chester the molester.  He'll tell ya.
elmo

http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/DocElmosHepFile

http://community.webtv.net/elmoemerson/TheFamilyAlbum

Yeah, and a holiday-- Take a trip to South America and climb banana trees!

All the best,

Waterspider

A banana a day should have kept your potassium levels up. Did they say
whether it was the ribavirin or Interferon which was causing the
depletion. I dont see how supplementing a modest amount of pottasium
would hurt during treatment.

Hi Lu Tze
What does your doc say about the high blood pressure? It's not been six
months yet, so maybe it will normalize in time if it was caused by tx. I
hope so, you're liver's giving you enough grief without another organ
jumping on the bandwagon. You take care,
Waterspider

Re: Potassium episode  

Group: alt.support.hepatitis-c Date: Sat, Dec 24, 2005, 9:51pm (CST+6)
From: lutzespamfree@nogginthenogle.com (Lu Tze)
Waterspider wrote:
"Steve" <Chemodog@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1135420406.579511.158600@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
4 days after stopping tx on my BCLDs advice (although all my blood work
was fine except VL) I crashed while watching TV. Started feeling a
little warm & sweaty and the next thing I know my wife is slapping the
sh.t out me and talking on the phone tp 911. I wasn't breathing and she
couldn't get a pulse, when I came to she was slapping and screaming. I
only had enough energy to stare at her. Six minutes later, the EMTs were
asking me all sorts of Qs which thankfully I new the answers to but had
a hell of a time slurring out the words. Low blood pressure and cold
sweat pouring out of me like a running faucet.
In the emergency room an EKG, CAT scan, Chest X-ray, and lots of blood
work revealed a low level of potassium as the only abnormality and my
blood pressure came back up. I of course in my ignorance, thought the ER
Doc must be an idiot. My BCLD and Internist both confirmed that low
potassium probably was the cause of my heart stopping. The BCLD didn't
have a clue as to why, and my Internist thought this was an episode due
to the treatment and the sudden stop in intake of the tx and other
drugs.
I did a little research on my own when I felt a little better and it
appears they are probably right.
Holy henfuck, Batman, that's scary! Folks here regularly recommend
eating bananas while on tx, for the potassium, but I never heard of
anyone having serious problems with a lack of it.
You've brought up a good point here. We always talk about helpful foods
and supplements for heppers, and those on tx, but no one's addressed the
issue of tx withdrawl. Definitely worth looking into.
New hepper slogan: An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but a banana
will keep you out of an ER bay.
Waterspider
I found that on both occasions, withdrawal was the reverse process of
entry into treatment. Symptoms which appeared and and then subsided
whilst on treatment reappeared in the months after cessation but most
have now subsided once more. Treatment does seem to have left me with
persistently high blood pressure however. It is always > 185/90. I'm not
really sure now which is the bigger threat, liver failure or heart
attack. 6 month pcr in January.