It is 2:30 PM on Thur, 7/16, and I have had a very good morning. No curly toes. No "offs". Less medication and longer intervals. So far I have had just 198 mg of potassium as I reduce it in keeping with the assumption that a deficit is being corrected. One thing that I particularly want to know is will I experience "freezing" this evening.

Nine years ago I presented with symptoms much like I have now. The difference is in intensity or frequency, but it boils down to difficulty walking. There was no check of electrolytes at the time nor has there been one by my neuro since. My GP did pick up on the same problem last year and prescribed a short run supplementation but there has been no follow up yet.

Had I been tested for potassium levels upon original presentation and before medications altered the equation, would I have been able to simply correct the imbalance? Or any of us, for that matter. Does our system need the same level of electrolytes to thrive as others? Are there enzymes or co-factors that we lack? These questions and dozens of others have not been asked. What research that has been done is on the channels in and out through the cell membrane and they have been shown to be important. Are serum levels less so? We don't know.

Am I an anomoly or is this a widespread but unrecognized problem? Curly toes is pretty common for PWP. Is it a biomarker for this? I ran across one of my earlier posts about the idea that there was a major shift almost immediately upon taking the tablets. Less than ten minutes. A friend (non-PWP) told me of a similar experience he had with extreme leg cramps that melted away in minutes when he took potassium years ago. If it is a "digital" problem (either on or off) instead of analog (gradual) does that affect its identification?

A couple of years back, a member named Steffi proclaimed the great beefit she experienced from a tonic whose name I forgot. But I remember that it was essentially electrolytes.

So, how widespread it the effect? Can we use it? And do constant sub-optimum levels stress a cell enough to power degeneration?