I always hear people talk about having fibro and their vitamin levels being low but the vitamins everyone always lists, I've never had a problem with. All of my levels have always been normal except my iron and now my potassium.
I went through this once before where I had to take iron pills. They did nothing. My iron levels kept dropping. They eventually normalized on their own?? Then it happened again, with the same normalization on its own.
Saw my family doc last month because I kept getting sick. I didn't have the flu, but my anemia's back. He called me a couple of days later (after the rest of my labs came back) and told me that my potassium is low as well. I have an appointment set up with a Hematologist on Jan. 12th. It'll be the first appointment.
Has anyone else had problems with hypokalemia and anemia? It's been causing me really bad fatigue, muscle cramps, body aches (on top of what I'm already dealing with pain wise) and shortness of breath (which I've struggled with before in the past but have had my heart and lungs checked and they're fine).
Hi Bast75, I don't have personal experience with these vitamin deficiencies but I am curious to hear what your doctor says if you feel like sharing. Hang in there and keep us updated. Hugs!
Bast, you didn't mention your cycles, but I am wondering if you have heavy periods, causing the anemia. Of course, I am also wondering about your diet. A quality diet will do more than supplements to keep those levels up. Here is some information that may be helpful: http://www.livestrong.com/article/255553-facts-about-low-potassium-low-iron/
I see the hematologist on the 12th and will see what he says.
Auburnm said:
Hi Bast75, I don't have personal experience with these vitamin deficiencies but I am curious to hear what your doctor says if you feel like sharing. Hang in there and keep us updated. Hugs!
That's one of the things that's throwing not only my doctor but my family off. The way I eat, I should not be having problems with my potassium or iron. If anything, you'd think I'd have too much potassium and iron in my system but the opposite is happening.
We've tried iron supplements in the past and the numbers still kept dropping. My family doctor thinks I might have a blood disorder. Either that or an absorption issue maybe. As for the menstrual cycles, sometimes they're heavy, but the majority of the time they're not. I also had a couple of months where I actually missed my cycle and my numbers were still falling.
Thanks for the article link. My family doc has mentioned Thalassemia before as well. I guess right now it's just a waiting game to see what the hematologist can come up with. In the meantime I guess I'll just keep pumping myself with potassium and iron-rich foods.
dancermom said:
Bast, you didn't mention your cycles, but I am wondering if you have heavy periods, causing the anemia. Of course, I am also wondering about your diet. A quality diet will do more than supplements to keep those levels up. Here is some information that may be helpful: http://www.livestrong.com/article/255553-facts-about-low-potassium-...
Saw the Hematologist today. He thinks it might be an absorption issue. They're going to call my insurance to see if an injection is covered. They're going to inject me with Ferumoxytol solution (an iron complex). The injection will have to be done twice. Three weeks after the second injection, they'll check my iron again to see if it's gone up.
If my iron is still low, then it's not an absorption issue. At that point they'll do a scope to check me for GI bleeding and a bone marrow biopsy. So right now it's just a waiting game. I should get a call back either by the end of the week or beginning of next week letting me know when the injection can be done. Then I'll just have to wait about another month to see if my iron levels have gone up.