Hello everyone,
It has been a while since I listed something, but now I think I should.
Its now been 1 year 8 months since my stroke hit and was put onto Amlodipine, Lisinopril and Doxazosin for high blood pressure.
With Doxazosin I had side effects and so the doctor took me off it and put me on Indapamide. This was around Feb 24.
Interestingly my optician at the time congratulated me for getting off of Doxazosin.
However, for a while now I have been feeling quite rough and I remember saying to my partner âI feel like I am lacking somethingâ.
I saw my doctor who asked me âhas anyone said anything about your potasium level?â I said ânoâ.
My last blood test had revealed I was below minimum but it had not been acted upon.
My doctor took me off of Indapamide, offered Doxazosin again to which I said no thank you, and put me on Bendrofluzimide about 2 weeks ago.
Just had another blood test and so I hope to hear things are improving but still donât feel great yet.
You certainly donât need this when trying to recover!
Take careâŚ
Hello Poncho - nice to e-meet you. I donât believe our paths have crossed until now.
You may be interested to know we, here in this forum, have been discussing another mineral (sodium) that seems to be adversely affected by BP lowering medications.
The body needs both these minerals - sodium and potassium are essential electrolytes. I donât believe they are routinely tested for in blood tests and donât know what would trigger a test to see if these are at low (or high) levels.
Some further research came up with this AI generated summary (via Google).
âSodium and potassium are both essential electrolytes with an inverse relationship in the body, meaning that when sodium levels increase, potassium levels tend to decrease, and vice versa. They both play crucial roles in maintaining fluid balance, nerve and muscle function, and blood pressure. Potassium helps regulate fluid inside cells, while sodium regulates fluid outside cells, including blood volume and pressure.â
Namaste|
Hi there, itâs quite a runaround journey youâve been on there. I guess itâs trial and error? Meanwhile as you say it doesnât make for recovery it hinders and we have enough things to hinder us at times donât we.
I hadnât realised until recently how important potassium is for regular heart rate to I understand and electrolytes also every days a learning g curve. I hope you feel better very soon
Bananas are high in potassium, one a day might keep the doctor away for you 
Alternatively, you could take a supplement boost for a couple weeks. Do I take it your doctor has not prescribed a supplement for you?
Lorraine
Thatâs a good thought bananas I rember my hubbies specialist telling him that
I had low potassium when I had my stroke. May be completely unrelated it just got picked up on one of my hospital blood tests. I was given a short course of fizzy tablets (3 tablets I think) and my levels were back in range. My last blood test showed me right at bottom end of normal but Dr wasnât concerned.
I am probably one of very few people that canât eat bananas so canât get my potassium that way.
Unfortunately, it seems once you hit the low end, itâs really hard to build up to the upper range and the doctors arenât really bothered at all 
Knowing what they do about my Mum, the GP still has to be reminded by us to check for sodium levels and they are always at the low end. That said, we now know to look out for signs and Mum is very good at kicking up a fuss, just we never know what the fuss is about 
I 'm due some more bloods in a few weeks so if potassium still at low end of normal I might mention it to GP. We do have to advocate for ourselves a lot these days.
Does she let you know if youâre sorting her fuss out for the wrong thing? 
Hi Lorraine,
Thank you for your reply.
Yep bananas are good and I eat 1 or 2 a day anyway. I beleive nuts are also another source.
It seems that in my case the Indapamide has a negative effect on me though.
No the doctor has not so far prescribed a supplement. He wanted another blood test done.
Hey ManjiB
Thank you for info.
I am learning all the time.
As time went by I could not work out why my blood pressure would spike every so often. It became more frequent until I was laying on the bed with it hammering.
I had had enough and so called 999.
I in the end had a ride in the back of a wagon to a local hospital. The crew were great.
They did their tests including scanning my head but all was fine and decided it was to do with the meds.
Talk about finding out the hard way!
Hello Mrs5K
Yes I think I would mention it to the doctor about being at the bottom of normal.
I canât help but wonder if the minimum might be just too low for some individuals.
Think I would rather be a bit safer than that if I could.
Thanks Sue1958
Yes it does seem like trial and error.
At first the doctor uses current recommended medication and then perhaps changes are needed to suit.
We are all individuals and so definately one size does not fit all.
I am a beleiver in helping yourself whenever possible and try to keep meds to a minimum. Sometimes easier said than done of course.
Hey Ann - I think she gives us the benefit of the doubt as in she assumes we know what weâre doing and lets us do it. I think it also gives her the opportunity to get some company and contact with a human being, though she is never left on her own, she misses being able to walk around as she pleases
Before the stroke, if she got bored and she wanted a bit of light relief, she would sneak up on us and in her cute little way get our attention for 10/15 minutes and then accept we need to get on with what weâre doing so she would poodle off. But now she is pretty much sat in the chair until someone goes in to do whatever.
So having let us do what weâre doing, if weâve fixed her ailment, she will relax but if not, she will be quiet for a while and then repeat the request and so we know we have to think again. With internals, itâs difficult but usually it is just trapped wind which is a massive bother for her. Also, because she wears incontinence pads, she prefers not to soil them whilst sat in her chair and so sheâll wait until she is in bed and then try to do her âtoiletingâ - the only problem here is she is lying on her side and that is not the best or natural position from which you try to empty your bowels. We tried sitting her on a commode but after a few successful sessions something went awry and to this I donât know what that was. It was with the agency carers and since then Mum has not used the commode which is a huge shame as it was definitely benefitting her in more ways than one.
@Poncho - we live and we learn. I feel I learn something new everyday. Certainly being on this forum, this is almost guaranteed. You can learn so much and not just about being a stroke survivor or a carer, but about hobbies e.g. photography, cooking etc. or books, films and so many other things 
Your note to Sue about medication being trial and error - I think that is 100% the case. In some cases there may be a long established tried and tested medicine that works for the majority of the patients and so it looks as though they know what they are doing, but other times e.g. when the patient reacts differently, thatâs when it gets tricky for them. They often say try this and come back at the end of the course if you still have the problem etc.
Ultimately, we as patients have to be on the ball and nip things in the bud e.g. side effects.
Here endeth todayâs lesshon!!
Totally agree with those comments. Better way of putting it than me 
I donât know your mum but she sounds like a great lady. Definitely got you all on your toes
I donât remember who told me this recently, possibly a gp , practice nurse or similar, but present thinking is people should take responsibility for their own health so I assume this means keeping an eye on blood test readings or requesting them, reactions to meds and so onâŚ
Hello Shorn,
Thank you for reply.
I agree for sure.
In my case it was not knowing why I felt rough, and a blood test that was done and no alerts given and so you think everything is ok.