Earth Clinic Mobile: Home Remedies for People and Pets

Severe Foot Pain for Hypokalemia

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Robin (WA) on 10/17/2020:
5 out of 5 stars

I too suffer from SEVERE cramps due to a gastric bypass surgery which can put you into malnutrition and even death eventually. My cramps begin in my feet and travel in seconds up to my hips leaving me paralyzed for hours. I have drank 1 cup of dill pickle juice for years now, getting relief nearly every time. I heard about taking 3 tbsp. of mustard and find within 1 min.my cramps subside. It always works. Please give it a try, and I guarantee you will find relief! Eating a hot dog helps it to go down. It can be hard to swallow but it is also a miracle remedy. Good luck!

Tina (Princeton, NJ) on 10/16/2020:
5 out of 5 stars

Hi Deidre,

I'm so glad you got relief from intense foot pain and tooth pain. I love potassium! I've been taking it for about six months now. I started with one eighth spoon of potassium citrate in a glass of water to which I added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and, after three months I've increased the potassium to half a teaspoon. I have it in the morning before coffee and it tastes delicious. The result is no more leg cramps at night and the bonus has been the cold sensitivity in my teeth that had crept up over the years has gone. I can drink cold water or eat ice cream with no problem. You read a lot of scary info on the web about overdoing potassium. If you're cautious and gradually build up your dosage there are only good outcomes.

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Deirdre (Earth Clinic) on 10/15/2020:
5 out of 5 stars

About a month ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with intense pain in one foot. I thought it was a muscle cramp and got up to use the bathroom. As soon as I put weight on the foot, it became such searing pain, I was certain I had fractured my foot even though I had not had any injury earlier in the day to trigger such immense pain. I hobbled to the kitchen to get a balm to put on it.

At least an hour went by without any pain relief (which was a 9 on a scale of 1-10) almost bringing me to tears. I then thought to take a potassium capsule in case it was a severe muscle cramp since I hadn't injured my foot.

30 minutes after taking potassium, the pain started to subside, and an hour later, it was gone, never to return. Strange thing. Never have I had such a searing muscle cramp on my foot before! Glad I had potassium tablets on hand and that it worked.

Between this and my sudden tooth nerve sensitivity issue this summer that was also cured with just one potassium supplement in one hour, I knew I had to write an article for Earth Clinic and send it out in a newsletter. Please check out today's featured article at the top of our new hypokalemia (low potassium) page if you haven't seen it yet.

I think it's imperative for people to learn what symptoms can be brought on by a potassium deficiency AND what can cause a rapid loss of potassium (the list is long). Additionally, that eating a banana is not always going to be as effective as taking a potassium tablet even though a banana contains 422 mg. of potassium and a supplement only 99 mg. I ate 2 bananas for 2 days when I had my tooth nerve issue, and they didn't alleviate the nerve pain whatsoever. But a simple and inexpensive potassium tablet cured my symptoms and quickly!

Cost per tablet: About 20 cents.

While researching for today's article, I was perplexed to discover that no medical website recommends potassium supplements, even for short term use. They all warn against it. So I think this is one reason why people hesitate to take potassium supplements unless prescribed by a doctor.

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