Definition Of Low Potassium With Diabetes

Potassium is a critical element and electrolyte that is needed for healthy functioning of your cells, nerves and muscles. Your body has to maintain your potassium levels within a fairly narrow range to keep you healthy. Too much or too little potassium can cause serious health consequences. You help keep your potassium levels constant based on what you eat and what you lose through sweating, urinating and digesting. However, diseases like diabetes, along with certain medications can interfere with your potassium levels.

Normal Levels

A healthy level of potassium is the same for people with and without diabetes. Both MedlinePlus and "Diabetes Self-Management" (DSM) describe the normal range potassium as between 3.7 and 5.2 mEq/L. So any reading below that may indicate low potassium or potassium deficiency.

Potassium and Diabetes

Eating a healthy, potassium-rich diet may help to prevent diabetes, according to authors of an October 2010 "Archives of Internal Medicine" report. The researchers said that potassium sparks the production of insulin. So having low potassium -- whether because you don't eat enough of it or your are losing too much -- is an independent risk factor for developing diabetes. Insulin is needed to help move glucose from the blood stream into your cells. Without enough insulin, diabetes develops. Moreover, when diabetes is poorly controlled and results in kidney damage, that condition often causes excessively high levels of potassium.

Hypokalemia

Low potassium is called hypokalemia. Your doctor may say you have hypokalemia if your blood level is below 3.0 mEq/L. Hypokalemia can range from mild to severe. It often happens temporarily as a result of prolonged vomiting or diarrhea, but other diseases or metabolic disturbances can make it more severe. Symptoms of hypokalemia include fatigue, muscle weakness and cramps and stomach upset. Severe hypokalemia can results in paralysis and abnormal heart beats, and it can be a life-threatening condition.

Complications

A special concern for diabetics with low potassium is taking medications for high blood pressure. According to the American Diabetes Association, two out of every three adults with diabetes have high blood pressure. One of the most common medications used to treat diabetes is a class of diuretics known as thiazides. Research published in the December 2009 issue of "Hypertension" reported that thiazide causes loss of electrolytes, including potassium. The authors said that with every 0.5 mEq/L reduction in participants' potassium level came a 45 percent increase in diabetes risk. If you are diabetic and taking a thiazide, talk with your doctor about it. Your doctor may change your medication or recommend that you supplement your potassium.

Treatment

If a medical condition causes hypokalemia, then treatment of that condition is also treatment for low potassium. In mild cases, you can easily replace the potassium you lost by eating potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, cantaloupe, potato skins, tomatoes, prunes, spinach and beans. Take a supplement only if advised to do so by your healthcare provider; as some supplements can irritate your stomach. If your potassium levels are dangerously low or your supplements aren't effectively raising your potassium levels, you may have to be treated intravenously in a clinical setting.