What brought you here
Potassium or sodium out of balance
Potassium and sodium have to stay inside a narrow range for your heart and nerves to work properly. Keeping them there is your kidneys' job — so when a result comes back off, kidneys are one of the first things to check.
High potassium usually feels like nothing
That's what makes it worth taking seriously. Potassium can climb high enough to affect your heart rhythm while you feel completely well, or with nothing more than vague muscle weakness. There's no reliable warning sign.
It rises when kidneys can't clear it as efficiently, and several very useful medications — including some of the ones that protect kidneys and hearts — push it up as a side effect. That doesn't necessarily mean stopping them. It usually means watching the level and adjusting around it.
About salt substitutes
Most 'no salt' and 'lite salt' products replace sodium chloride with potassium chloride. For someone with healthy kidneys that's fine. For someone whose kidneys are already struggling to clear potassium, it can be genuinely dangerous — and the label reads like a health food.
If you have reduced kidney function, read the ingredients on any salt substitute before you use it, and ask us first.
Low sodium is a different problem
Low sodium is usually less about how much salt you eat and more about how much water your body is holding. It's common in older adults, and it's a frequent side effect of water pills and of some antidepressants.
It's worth catching because it causes symptoms that get blamed on age — mild confusion, unsteadiness, fatigue, and falls. Correcting it has to be done gradually and with monitoring; that part isn't a do-it-yourself project.
Go to an emergency room for these
- Palpitations, a very slow pulse, or fainting with a known high potassium — this is an emergency.
- Severe muscle weakness that came on quickly.
- New confusion, a seizure, or someone who can't be roused.
- Vomiting or diarrhea that hasn't stopped, especially with a water pill or on hot Valley days.
What happens next
What we do
- We confirm the result, since a sample can read falsely high from how the blood was drawn.
- We check kidney function and look at how far off the balance actually is.
- We go through your medications and supplements — this is often where the answer is.
- We look at diet in practical terms, including salt substitutes and the higher-potassium foods worth knowing about.
- We set a monitoring interval, because these levels need watching rather than a single fix.
Questions people ask us about this
Should I stop eating bananas and oranges?
Not automatically. How strictly potassium needs limiting depends on your level, your kidney function, and your medications — and blanket food avoidance often costs more in nutrition than it gains. Bring your recent labs and we'll go through what actually applies to you.
Is 'lite salt' safe if I have kidney disease?
Often it isn't. Most salt substitutes are potassium chloride, and reduced kidney function is exactly the situation where extra potassium is hard to clear. Check the ingredients and ask us before using one.
My potassium was high once. Does that mean kidney disease?
Not by itself. It can come from how the blood sample was handled, from a medication, or from a temporary illness. It does mean the level should be rechecked and the reason found rather than left.
Not sure whether you need a kidney specialist?
Call and ask. Our staff will tell you whether this is something we should see, what your plan requires, and what to bring. A real person answers, and the whole staff speaks Spanish.