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Can serum electrolytes (such as Ca Mg or K) within NORMAL limits rise or drop substantially within 12-24 hours? Enough to go outside of normal range, even to the point of being symptomatic?

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  • Hey Yette, I'm sorry to hear that. We can't gibe you a personal medical diagnosis (I.e. tell you what your health problem is), so I have edited out your personal clinical information. The question can stand on itself the way it is now. // If you have already visited 10 doctors, I'd suggest rushing to one of them (or another one) when the symptoms are very strong. That's the last thing that comestibles my mind. If you actually have difficulty breathing and an inability to stand up, you might want to visit an EHR (depending on the setup of your local health system). Hope that you get well soon!
    – Narusan
    Sep 19, 2017 at 19:52
  • The answer to your question is yes, in some health conditions and/or medications. It's impossible to answer this question generally, as there are too many variations to discuss in an answer. It would have to be individualized, which we can't do here. Gather all your results and take them to a primary care doctor (or GP or whatever they're called where you're from) along with a list of your symptoms (in chronological order) and questions. Good luck!
    – DoctorWhom
    Sep 20, 2017 at 6:16
  • I don't have sufficient knowledge to answer this question well, but I can tell you from personal experience that serum potassium levels can vary dramatically very quickly.
    – Carey Gregory
    Sep 20, 2017 at 23:14

2 Answers 2

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Answer:

Blood levels for electrolytes are maintained by homeostasis in most people, primarily in the kidneys. But they can actually vary quite widely within hours - depending on health conditions and medications. It can even vary fatally in some (rare) cases.

Why I cannot give a more complete answer:

There are too many possible reasons to discuss adequately in an answer. Therefore it would have to be individualized, which we can't do here.

Advice:

Gather all your results and take them to a primary care doctor (or GP or whatever they're called where you're from) along with a list of your symptoms (in chronological order) and questions. They can guide your evaluation.

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Yes, there are conditions that cause this. One of the most well known is familial periodic paralysis.

Each form of familial periodic paralysis involves a different gene and electrolyte channel. In 70% of affected people, the hypokalemic form is due to a mutation in the alpha-subunit of the voltage-sensitive muscle calcium channel gene on chromosome 1q (HypoPP type I). In some families, the mutation is in the alpha-subunit of the sodium channel gene on chromosome 17 (HypoPP type II).

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