My introduction to hyokalemia began, I thought, with running into displays at Sears (returning the ring I promised Clare) and continuously dropping my spoon into an Olive Garden soup liquid. I thought. Stumbling into urgent care. I thought. When I dragged into the ER… ending up 7th floor with a heart monitor… this is my intoduction to hypokalemia. I thought.
Knowing myself as I know me, there was something completely off about this mental health episode starting at the end ofJuly and culminating in my somewhat lucid decision to take myself inpatient on September 28, 2017.
Something was off, way off, totally off, destructively off. My mind broke. I’ll go into much greater detail of the delusional paranoia where I was certain “APD WAS OUT TO GET ME.”
Recall, I developed training for the Albuquerque Police Department. I train APD. I advise APD on MHRAC. And “APD WAS OUT TO GET ME.”
My mind never broke like this. Sure, I’ve had mixed bipolar symptoms, and I’ve had delusions, I’ve had paranoia.
And heading into the psych inpatient, blood drawn, my K level was low. Way low. Dehydrated, blood pressure so low techs checked my blood pressure while I slept. Often.
Here is a screen capture to share:
Neat list, yes? Nifty how many fit. Check out the last one:
My mind broke this time in a way it never has.
At least one month of extreme psychosis. Out of Haven October 12. Physical symptoms, muscle weakness, slurred speech, unavoidable inpatient for the physical symptoms on October 21. With
0.2 level.
When was my introduction to hypokalemia? Piecing together the past three months, low K level became a major player in my life, my mental stability, in July of 2017.
Friends, families, peers, police, providers, consider hypokalemia as a causal factor in pschotic behavior.
Potassium. Offer the peerva Gatorade, see if that works for deescalation.
I wish I knew sooner. My research has not ended.
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