Potassium Chloride

[judy1270]

Hello,

It has been some time since I have posted here but, I have been busy with My Grandson.

He was diagnosed with PANDAS all most a year a go.

He has been taking "CLONIDINE" 0.1MG 3 times a day and, he still jerks his head and his hands.

The Clonidine helps him if he was not taking the med's he would be jerking like a fish out of water.

Some thing interesting happen this week he became sick he was running a fever of 100.8 and he was throwing up and, his tummy was hurting him.

We took him to the ER they stared a drip of "Potassium Chloride" with in a 1/2 hour his jerking stopped.

They told us he had," Mesenteric Adenitis".

For two hole days he did not jerk.

He is home now and he is jerking could it be he needs Potassium?

He sees his Doctor on Monday I am going to ask for tests.

Douse any one here know anything about Potassium Chloride?

[kim]

Judy,

 

There is some discussion about potassium bicarbonate on the TS forum that you might want to read through.

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3497

 

I guess I'm wondering if there is a chance that his potassium was low prior to the illness that caused the mesenteric adenitis or if they figured it was low due to the vomiting?

 

I had never heard of Mesenteric adenitis before but after looking it up, I'm wondering if they ever determined what type of infection caused it?

 

I know your grandson had a slight fever and stiff neck when this whole thing started. They gave him the chicken pox shot and tics and behaviors became very intense. He also tested positive for lupus antibodies (scanned some old posts, even though I remember your little guys story quite well). What I don't remember is if he ever tested positive for strep during the onset.

 

For anyone who is not familiar with this condition that may have some idea's to help Judy, here is a little info

 

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/411043-overview

 

Pathophysiology

Mesenteric adenitis is most frequently caused by viral pathogens, but other infectious agents have been implicated, including Yersinia enterocolitica, Helicobacter jejuni, Campylobacter jejuni, and Salmonella or Shigella species.1, 2, 3 An association with streptococcal infections of the upper respiratory tract, particularly the pharynx, has been reported. In younger children and infants, concurrent ileocolitis may be present; this finding suggests that the lymph node involvement may occur in reaction to a primary enteric pathogen.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypokalemia

 

Hypokalemia refers to the condition in which the concentration of potassium in the blood is low. The prefix hypo- means low (contrast with hyper-, meaning high). Kal refers to kalium, the Neo-Latin for potassium, and -emia means "in the blood."

 

Normal serum potassium levels are between 3.5 to 5.0 mEq[1]; at least 95% of the body's potassium is found inside cells, with the remainder in the blood. This concentration gradient is maintained principally by the Na+/K+-ATPase pump.

 

and

 

A more common cause is excessive loss of potassium, often associated with heavy fluid losses that "flush" potassium out of the body. Typically, this is a consequence of vomiting, diarrhea, excessive perspiration, or losses associated with surgical procedures

[judy1270]

Judy,

 

There is some discussion about potassium bicarbonate on the TS forum that you might want to read through.

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3497

 

I guess I'm wondering if there is a chance that his potassium was low prior to the illness that caused the mesenteric adenitis or if they figured it was low due to the vomiting?

 

I had never heard of Mesenteric adenitis before but after looking it up, I'm wondering if they ever determined what type of infection caused it?

 

I know your grandson had a slight fever and stiff neck when this whole thing started. They gave him the chicken pox shot and tics and behaviors became very intense. He also tested positive for lupus antibodies (scanned some old posts, even though I remember your little guys story quite well). What I don't remember is if he ever tested positive for strep during the onset.

 

For anyone who is not familiar with this condition that may have some idea's to help Judy, here is a little info

 

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/411043-overview

 

Pathophysiology

Mesenteric adenitis is most frequently caused by viral pathogens, but other infectious agents have been implicated, including Yersinia enterocolitica, Helicobacter jejuni, Campylobacter jejuni, and Salmonella or Shigella species.1, 2, 3 An association with streptococcal infections of the upper respiratory tract, particularly the pharynx, has been reported. In younger children and infants, concurrent ileocolitis may be present; this finding suggests that the lymph node involvement may occur in reaction to a primary enteric pathogen.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypokalemia

 

Hypokalemia refers to the condition in which the concentration of potassium in the blood is low. The prefix hypo- means low (contrast with hyper-, meaning high). Kal refers to kalium, the Neo-Latin for potassium, and -mia means "in the blood."

 

Normal serum potassium levels are between 3.5 to 5.0 mEq[1]; at least 95% of the body's potassium is found inside cells, with the remainder in the blood. This concentration gradient is maintained principally by the Na+/K+-ATPase pump.

 

and

 

A more common cause is excessive loss of potassium, often associated with heavy fluid losses that "flush" potassium out of the body. Typically, this is a consequence of vomiting, diarrhea, excessive perspiration, or losses associated with surgical procedures

 

 

Hi, Kim

Thank you for the links and, I will look them up and read more about Potassium. The doctors did not tell us way they where giving the potassium to him. I did call his Neurologist but, he has not called back.

But, as of today My little grandson is jerking like a fish out of water.

Kim: Thank you for the info on the levels of potassium I'm picking up his records from the hospital on Monday so, I will take a look at the level of potassium.

[faith]

judy,

was he taking the clonodine during those days in the hospital? Was the potassium chloride given iv because of dehydration? Is that the same as just plain potassium in pill form? Could it hurt to just give pottasium or potassium chloride that you get from the vit shop and try it out to see what happens.

 

Also, don't discount the fact that some of us here have reported (myself included) that our child seems to not tic during an illness of fever and vomiting.

 

 

 

 

Faith

[pmoreno]

potassium is an electrolyte that has a very small margin of normal. If it is too high or too low it can cause serious cardiac issues. That's why it is never good to try to alter your level on your own without a doctor following your levels with constant lab monitoring. In the hospital they will give potassium supplements if someone is dehydrated because that can be dangerous in decreasing potassium levels. However, they are usually pretty careful about how much they give according to the blood work. If you have a child that is vomiting or having diarrhea and is not able to take in enough food or drink to replace the potassium they're losing, then parents can give pedialyte (which has electrolytes in it), the next step is IV replacement. I would think that the tics stopping with the potassium might have been either coincidental or because his potassium level might have been off and when brought back to normal with the IV, the trigger for his tics was removed. If people want to naturally add potassium to their diets, they can eat a lot of bananas and oranges, but beyond that, I would think it would be unsafe to add potassium pills without consulting a doctor and keeping a close eye on blood levels.

[Shireen]

Hey friends, thats a nice information you have shared here. Thanks for the appreciable views!!!

[EAMom]

Hi Judy,

 

is your grandson on anything besides the clonodine? It doesn't sound like the clonodine is really working! Are they doing anything to address the PANDAS/strep vs. just treating the tic symptoms?

 

my response to greeneyes would apply to your grandson as well http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?...art=#entry29066

 

Good luck! Let us know things are going.