Blood tests
lonely guy said:
I went to the doctor's today for a checkup. My protein levels are slightly elevated and I have a slighly elevated potasium level as well. The Dr. wasn't too concerned, but he ordered a second round of blood tests just to be sure.
I slightly elevated potasium level could mean dehydration or diet???
A slightly elevated protein in the urine....could that mean diet or what about masturbating?
Both potassium and protein blood levels are primarily relevant to kidney functions. These are questions you need to put to your family doctor if you have one. But generally, your potassium levels should be between 3.5-5.2 MMOL/L, and your protein levels between59-79 G/L. Pin your doctor down (not literally) and ask him/her what you readings are if you have not been told.
If these readings are modestly high then diet can have a bearing on them and any physician or dietition can make suggestions as to what foods to avoid or limit. Moreover their are lots of books available on the subject.
I take your reference to masturbation to be a perfunctory genuflection to your raising this question on Terb; but it has no particular place unless you find blood in the urine.
But,as you can see from the above normal ranges, potassium concentration has a very narrow range for indicating that the amount of potassium ingested is matched with the amount excreted. Hence the diet emphasis.
A high potassium reading "might" cause heart arrhythmia of some sort if it is not checked and leads to inadequate excretion of potassium (hyperkalemia) . The latter can be mild or severe and, besides diet, can be associated with some drugs. Some diseases such as Addison's and AIDS can also cause hyperkalemia. If your repeat blood tests are close to normal, as your doctor has indicated, you probably only need to monitor your intake of bananas etc.
Protein in the urine (proteinuria) may be constant or intermttent, so a repeat test is a good idea, as your doctor has informed you. If it is intermittent it could be related simply to strenuous exercise. If it is constant and is not related to genetic factors of no consequence, then it could be a sign of some form of kidney problem. And if your doctor thinks it is significant enough to be suspicious of this he/she will certainly suggest at least dietary modifications and if still an issue later, then further more specific tests.
These comments might be of some help in your justified concern. But they are only intended to suggest ways to acquire more substantial information from your medical professional so that you can exercise your rights as a patient to be fully informed -something medical professionals very often sadly ignore.
Hope this is helpful.
