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What Causes Elevated Potassium Levels While On Spironolactone?
I was taking spironolactone ( along with other meds) and it completely stopped my ankles from swelling. Now my potassiem is found to be high (5.3 - 5.5) and he took me off of it. I know this is nothing to play with but I m and I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to go back but I m just wondering if there are more options or am I heading to long term problems.
Tue, 27 Feb 2018
yeah, it does that.
The drug blocks the exchange of potassium and sodium in the kidney making sodium go out more and potassium to stay inside. Potassium accumulates. This can be bad depending on a number of factors but mainly how high the potassium goes. 5% above normal is a very low elevation and doesn't by itself mean the drug has to be stopped, but I cannot say in your particular case.
The drug blocks the exchange of potassium and sodium in the kidney making sodium go out more and potassium to stay inside. Potassium accumulates. This can be bad depending on a number of factors but mainly how high the potassium goes. 5% above normal is a very low elevation and doesn't by itself mean the drug has to be stopped, but I cannot say in your particular case.
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