Any ideas would be helpful

Ever since I first got sick my potassium will not stay up.  NO matter how hard I try it falls out of range and getting it back up is a pain in the rear!!!! I am taking 12 yes count them 12 10 mg capsules  ( I cant swallow the larger ones) and it still is low ( going on 8 weeks now) Now my doctor wants me to eat at least 1 if not 2 bananas a day.  I am trying to do my pre -op diet and am trying to stay on 15 carbs the problem is after 2 shakes and a banana there goes my carbs for the day. I would love any suggestion on getting the potassium up without all the carbs. 

Talk with your surgeon or their Nut. about your need for the additional potassium.

I know that lack of potassium can be life-threatening, so if it were me, I'd add the bananas to my protien shakes and other than that follow the low carb program they've given me. You are likely to be getting so many fewer calories with the protien shakes and bananas than you would on a normal diet that you should have enough of a caloried deficit to start losing weight. As you start losing weight, you liver should start to shrink and that's the concern ... getting the liver to shrink before surgery so that it won't be in the way and require you to switch from a Lap to open procedure.

Please call your surgeon's office and let them know what's happening and ask them for their guidance. I'm sure that the instructions that they gave you re: carb limits are the general advise that they provide, but they need to know of your other issues with potassium to be sure to tailor a plan that takes all of your health concerns in to consideration.

Take care,

Barb

Potassium deficiency is not something to play around with.  It can be deadly.

I pulled the following info for you:

What foods are high in potassium?
Aside from the aforementioned cantaloupe, potassium rich foods include:
Bananas
Oranges
Apricots
Avocado
Strawberries
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chard
Bell pepper
Eggplant
Squash
Crimini mushrooms
Brussels sprouts
Turmeric
Parsley
Spinach
Broccoli
Tuna
Halibut

Here is a list of some foods high in potassium and their potassium content from the USDA National Nutrient Database:

Potassium Rich Foods	Weight	Measure	Potassium Content
Raw, baby carrots	10	1 medium	24 mg
Raw Lettuce	10	1 leaf	19 mg
Raw Onions	14	1 slice	20 mg
Fresh Strawberries	12	1 strawberry	18 mg
Raw Garlic	3	1 clove	12 mg
Honey	21	1 tablespoon	11 mg
Raw Radishes	4.5	1 radish	10 mg
Raw Peppers	10	1 ring	18 mg
White Bread	23	1 slice	17 mg
Papayas	304	1 papaya	781 mg
Lima Beans	188	1 cup	955 mg
Plantains	179	1 medium	893 mg
Jerusalem Artichokes	150	1 cup	644 mg
Bananas	118	1 banana	422 mg
Oat Bran	94	1 cup	532 mg
Tomatoes	255	1 cup	528 mg
Cucumber	301	1 large	442 mg
Cantaloupe	160	1 cup	427 mg
Pears	275	1 pear	333 mg
Mangoes	207	1 mango	323 mg

From: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/potassium-rich-foods-list-of- foods-high-in-potassium.html


Looking at this list, I know that most of the veggies, the strawberries, and the fish are all low in carbs.  Well, they are low in effective carbs.  Your fruits, like the banana, are going to be higher in glycemic index, and should be avoided unless there aren't any other choices.  Especially since others have a higher punch for the volume of food they provide.

And they ask me WHY I could live off Potatoes see Andrea just SAID they are full of Potassium!!! I could live off Potatoes, Bananas and yogurt hahahaha thanks for posting Andrea and sorry for the hijack!

Leslie,  I would call and ask for Jock and talk to him about this.  He is just so darn knowledgable!  I love the guy!  If I were in your shoes, the first thing I would think about doing is this...  Find the largest dose of potassium, regardless of size, and grind them up to put in my protein shake just to see if the flavor couldn't be masked that way.  I'd probably put it in the blender with a few cubes of ice.  If there is a slight taste, but you could get rid of it by dividing the dose over the course of the day in your shakes (probably a better idea anyway), you could try that.  Just thinking out loud of what I would do to try to start the pre-op diet and get my potassium level up.  Let me know if you talk to Jock and what he tells ya...or even if not what you decide to try...I'll be thinking of you! 

Thanks so much for the list Andrea this will be so helpful I will do salads that have all these good things in it.  I really work hard to keep the potassium up and we do blood work every 3 weeks to keep a close eye on it.  I have talked to the office guys about the extra carbs and they told me to do what my doctor said cause the diet will do me no good if I am sick from low potassium.  I will just keep plugging at it.  I really don't like the other choice.

You can buy no-salt salt, its fortified with potassium - add it to any SF drink, like crystal lite and make your own 'sports drink'... another way to sneak some in.
.025tsp has 650mg (8%) of your daily potassium.