Electrolyte Imbalance

mrszuhwiggins

Hi all,

Mom was recently hospitalized twice (first time for 5 days, second for 6 days, and only 3 days apart). The only thing that the hospital could determine is that she seemed very dehydrated and low on potassium and magnesium. She has Congestive Heart Failure, but that has been managed fairly well on lasix and metolazone (zaroxolyn). I did not know that taking both of these meds may result in the depletion of sodium, potassium and magnesium. The effects of this dehydration were SEVERE. She is normally ambulatory, verbal, feeds herself, etc. She could not walk, was so weak she couldn't pick up a fork, was completely disoriented and could not put two words together, let alone a sentence. We have since severely reduced the lasix and removed the metolazone altogether. Has anyone else had experience with dehydration and it's effects? I'm now trying to balance keeping her hydrated with keeping fluid retention at bay due to the CHF.

fmb

Thank you for the information on lasix and metolazone. DH has Congestive Heart Failure and is hugely swollen from the waist down. When he was previously on lasix during rehab for a couple of weeks in November, it lowered his blood pressure too much. When he entered hospice care in November, it was discontinued. He is in AL, and the facility nurse just today suggested lasix and metolazone, as it has become very difficult for the aides to perform a 2-person transfer. He started using a Broda chair today, but I doubt the aides are going to use it to properly elevate his legs. The facility nurse, hospice nurse and I will be having a conference this week to discuss this, and I will be sure to bring up the possible electrolyte imbalance problem.

gnblmt

I'm so sorry to hear about your experience! We have issues keeping my mom adequately hydrated, and a home health nurse suggested adding electrolyte drops to her water to combat electrolyte imbalance and give the water a sweet flavor, making it more appealing. She recommended a brand of electrolyte drink mix called LMNT, though she also said there are generally cheaper brands in most grocery stores. I'm afraid I don't know much about CHF, so I don't know what risks/modifications/etc. you might need to consider, but the mix has been working well for us.

ButterflyWings

Wow - this makes me wonder about what I should be doing as a preventative for my late stage Alz DH with otherwise physically good health for his age (dementia and everything else considered). But I am pretty uninformed about what I should be doing (beyond regular nutrition and hydration) to prevent unneeded discomfort or complications. I'm so sorry for all your LOs and your experiences. This sounds terrifying.