Val's story (con't)

[Guest guest]

I have been doing some experimenting.

I went off spiro on June 24. Five days off, I started taking RX K, 20 mEq +

1,170 mg K in LS V-8. A couple of days later, I started swelling awfully so

started 12.5 mg HCTZ. Except for the swelling (3 - 4 lbs), I was feeling

really well through last weekend - best I'd felt in a long time.

I went off potassium for three full days. I am on a heart monitor that goes

off every time I have irregular heartbeats. Beginning yesterday, I started

feeling the " gripping, " brittle feeling again, and my tremor and shakes came

back. Last night my monitor started going off. Each time it goes off, I

have to call and transmit the data. So, I took a K pill, drank low sodium

V-8. and took an Ativan. Within an hour, the brittle feeling started

lifting and I felt better. The monitor hasn't gone off since.

This shows me that all those months of " gripping " were, in reality,

incidents of irregular heart beats. I was calling it " anxiety " or " feeling

brittle. " I often wondered to myself how long my heart could stand the

stress. All those months, it was low potassium coupled with too much

sodium, causing the " gripping. " I'm now holding my sodium to 850 mg/d but

even then, I'm needing K pills + V-8.

Another interesting thing I've noted is that I break out in sweats when I

bend over a little, like to empty the dishwasher or get something out of a

low drawer. I can also bring on the sweats by doing isometric abdominal

exercises.

I've been off spiro just over two weeks. My BP has gone from average

121/79/83 to 129/83/81.

Val