potassium and magnesium deficiencies

[ronnietoon]

i was in hospital with low potassium and magnesium.

my potassium was 2.7 the normal range is 3.5 to 5,it rose to 3.0.

my magnesium was 0.62 the normal range is 0.7.(not 100& on that one

i was given medication, but to a clerical error was only given enough tolast me to today.

i phoned my gp who said the blood tests were not back yet,and to call on tuesday.

i have two questions here, one of my relatives has the same problem but on a much more serious level with them being diabetic(i am not),could i take their medication(wrong i know) till tuesday.

second question if there was a problem would my gp have contacted me or does it really take the week it is taking to get the results?

in hospital a consultant says they get the results within 2-4 hours when your an inpatient.

[maplestar]

How do you know it was an error - were you told to take x amount for x days?

Do not take your relative's meds - big no as they may be on a different drug/dose to you and by having too much of either mg or potassium it can be harmful. Plus it may depend on your bloods as to whether it is necessary for you to take medication and if so how much- depending on the underlying cause of course - but your mg and potassium levels may have come back within normal range. Phone the hospital department/clinic who saw you and explain to them your concerns - failing that go to out of hours docs for advice. If you need to be on meds it is odd the hospital didn't send you with a greater supply... It sounds as though it will be the blood results that will determine whether or not you need to supplement your mg and k.

[Sqad]

I agree with maplestar....the magnesium level is no big deal.

The low potasium could be due to many factors and you have not given enough information for me to make a reasoned suggestion..e.g are you on diuretics or have you any underlying medical conditions?

The rest of my reply is as maplestar.

[daffy654]

Eat lots of spinach, it contains both potassium and magnesium.

[boxtops]

Results can take a week to get to the GP, although in these days of telemedicine, they shouldn't.

[ronnietoon]

potassium now all ok 4.2 (high i know but better than being low).

no magnesium results even though i had a FBC,

to test calcium also and a LFT,

if your about sqad can we chat?