high potassium/low vitamin D

I just had blood drawn and found my vitamin D was 27.9 and potassium was 5.3. I was not aware of the magnesium/potassium relation. But assuming i would not want to take it, as it typically increases potassium? Calcium levels were 10. no magnesium test.

have been dealing with symptoms of possible costochondritis for month and a half. Heart palpitations, high pulse, achy muscles joints & fatigue. Seen a cardiologist and ruled out heart relation. going for a second opinion this week with another cardiologist (specialising in electrical system).

Started 3000 units Vitamin D & 1200 calcium yesterday. ALso seeing chiropractor.

Thanks,
Heather

Comments for high potassium/low vitamin D

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You Should NOT have a high potassium
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Heather,

Do you have kidney problems? If you do, your doctors would have said something to you and your BUN and/or Creatinine levels on your blood test should be high. If they are normal, then you don't have kidney problems (and please don't start 'worrying' that you do because I said something). I ask this because having a high potassium level is almost unheard of without kidney problems or another MAJOR undiagnosed metabolic problem- it just doesn't happen.

So, if you don't have kidney problems, I suspect that your potassium level is WRONG and that you actually are truly magnesium deficient. Certainly get your potassium level drawn again to make sure, but an error in potassium levels is a fairly common problem on lab tests because the potassium is in high concentration inside the blood cells and during a lab draw, the blood can 'hemolyze'- meaning the cells can burst.

When this happens it releases high amounts of potassium into the serum and the result is an inaccurately high potassium level- quite common. So, I suspect it's just a lab draw error and not a YOU problem. It's much more likely to be a problem of magnesium deficiency...

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
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Same symptoms and bllod work as Heather
by: Rick

Has there been an update on Heather. I have gone undiagnosed for over a year with the same symptoms and blood work.

Same Issues
by: Di

I have the same problem. Potassium was 5.4, and Vit D was 23.8. My kidneys were checked, and they were fine.

Any other ideas?

Ummm, did you read the thread??
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

If you would have read the thread, it states that the ONLY reasons to get high potassium levels are:

* Kidney problems
* Incorrect blood test

That's IT! If you do not have kidney problems, then get your potassium level tested again because it's almost certainly wrong...

Kerri Knox, RN

I read the thread
by: Di

I did read the thread. And my potassium has been high for the last TWO tests. And, as I said in my post, my kidneys were checked about a week and half ago. They were fine.

There has to be something else going on (besides kidney problems and incorrect labs) as you've had three people in this one thread with the same problem.

The part about the repeat test is critical
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Thanks for clarifying. First of all, it's critical to mention that you had had a second test for potassium levels since that is the first thing to check for- and the first thing that I mentioned to do on my thread. And while there 'may' be something going on, you first need to remember that low vitamin d levels are ubiquitous- almost 85% of the population is low, so saying that there must be 'something' about the combination of those two is not true at all. For instance, if you were to take everyone who was in a car accident and checked their vitamin d levels, they also would all also be low. No one would then conclude that vitamin d levels have something to do with car accidents or vice versa- they just happen to have been noticed at the same time. Same thing if you checked everyone for vitamin d who had just received flowers for their birthday or... well, you get the idea.

Also, getting a high potassium on a lab result is EXTREMELY EXTREMELY common. In the hospital, I would see it 3 to 4 times per DAY! It's just simply not unusual at all, and since the other two people did not respond back, I'm going to assume that their potassium levels were a lab error since that is almost surely the case.

Second, if anything IS going on with you with your high potassium levels, I wouldn't know about it since high potassium levels outside of laboratory error and kidney problems are almost unheard of- oh, except for fairly serious dehydration or someone who is taking a lot of potassium supplements (if you are using a 'salt substitute', these are actually potassium chloride) or you are on 'potassium sparing' diuretics.

So unless you are taking a diuretic or super high doses of potassium (and even then, someone with healthy kidneys would likely still not have high potassium levels because healthy kidneys excrete excess potassium), I'm still going to suspect that both your blood tests were done incorrectly since I've personally never seen a single patient with normal kidney function in my 10 years of nursing who had high potassium levels chronically. What did your doctor say about it?

Kerri Knox, RN

low Vit D and high Potassium
by: Anonymous

Could low Vitamin D level and high potassium level all be related to hyperthyroidism?

Please read the thread
by: Kerri Knox, RN, The Immune Queen

Please read the thread

Snap
by: Anonymous

High potassium can be linked to [severe] adrenal problems too. I also have high potassium and no kidney problems, but my doctor noticed over a year ago that my adrenals are fatigued and I've since discovered this is true, [severe] adrenal [insufficiency ie: Addison's Disease and not just 'garden variety' adrenal insufficiency] are linked to high potassium levels and my hormones are out of whack [which is a per se trait of Addison's Disease], which for ladies is a good indication too that's something's not right with the glands that control your hormones.

[Kerri's note: high potassium is a VERY VERY unusual finding and it's finding is almost always a result of severe kidney failure. It can also be found in Addison's disease, but not 'just' low adrenals. People with low adrenal function, and not Addison's disease, will often have low potassium.].

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