Hyperkalemia is my Word of the Week

Hyperkalemia is a word I’m sure most of you have not heard before. I heard it for the first time this week. As you know from last week’s post, I had been struggling to get (or give) some blood for a test the doctors said I needed to repeat. I went for said blood test this week and you guessed right. The phlebotomist could not find a viable vein from which to take the blood. I became really annoyed and frustrated as it would mean asking for time off again for a different date from work. Not only that, but I had to go again to a different facility miles away from work, and it was going to cost me in taxi fares as we do not like driving far, and also parking is a nightmare in those places. What made me even more frustrated was that I had drank a lot of water and also sat by the radiator to keep me warm until it was my time to go, so that it would be easy to get the test done. These are the things that they always suggest, right?

My doctor’s surgery currently only has one phlebotomist, and she informed me that she was going on holiday the following week so my appointment would be two weeks away! I tried to explain to her that the doctor had said it was urgent, so could she try it again. She looked me straight in the eye and said there was nothing she could do!

When I got home, I was still annoyed so I called up the surgery to ask the receptionist if she knew what was wrong and why an urgent test was requested. I wasn’t surprised when she said that she wasn’t trained to read up and give these results so I would have to book an appointment to see the doctor. So I asked for an appointment. Sorry, she said, but we don’t have slots available for today, so please ring in the morning. Then I remembered that I could ring up and ask to speak to a nurse. I was almost on the verge of tears when I spoke to the nurse, shared my frustrations, and asked if she could have a look at my last blood results and tell me what was happening and why I needed this urgent blood test.

So now you know the reason. I have hyperkalemia which is a condition which occurs when the body holds on to potassium from foods eaten. It stores it and this is not good as it can lead, without warning, to a heart attack and even death! I was at work but I started researching right away on what could cause it, what to do, what not to do, what to avoid etc. It was a roller coaster of a day. I cried, not because I felt ill but I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. I was very sad. I almost signed off work. I even had some phone calls to make for work but I was so emotional that I couldn’t do it. Luckily, I asked for help from a colleague and she agreed to do some of it for me.

I had asked the nurse if she could cancel my appointment (for 2 weeks’ time) and instead give me the blood request paperwork to take to another facility to have them done. Well, when I rang up the facility, the nearest date they have is Wednesday of next week (still a week earlier than at the doctor’s). I don’t feel ill at all. I still do my 30 minutes on the treadmill every morning (not sure if the docs would be ok with that) as it’s good for me and it makes me feel better.

Anyway, when I went downstairs to have lunch, I had a delivery of a beautiful bunch of flowers from my friend. She had no idea what I was going through and she sent flowers just because. It was a lovely gesture and I did let her know eventually about my ‘situation’. Arranging the flowers in a vase gave me a chance to think and one of the things that came to mind is that it could be so much worse! So many people are in worse situations healthwise and they have to just deal with it.

So, needless to say, the rest of this week, we have been thinking up ways to improve my situation, ways to work around avoiding certain foods, like my favourite fruits: mangoes, bananas, and oranges. I have to avoid a long list of foods, including red meat, most fish, milk, spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables, potatoes, beans, lentils and peas, mushrooms, tomatoes and bell papers, and most other foods, lol.

Pray for me, I need it. I am a little bit sad still. I think I am hoping that when I finally get to do the blood test on Wednesday, they will discover that it was just a mistake and I don’t have hyperkalemia.

I hope you all had a fabulous week. Happy Mothers’ Day to Anne and all the other lovely mothers who read our blog sometimes.

We had a lot of sunshiny days and leisa has been pottering around in the garden too. Life goes on and we are still happy to be on this wheel.