Pain In The Back And Legs, Fatigue, Difficulty In Focusing The Eyes. X-ray Normal. Due To Low Potassium Levels

Posted on Tue, 1 May 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 1 May 2012 Answered on

Mon, 2 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : For the last four days I have been experiencing severe body aches, starting with back pain where my right kidney is. It has "spread" to my entire body with the pain being the worst in my legs. I went to an urgent care center where they did xrays, blood work and a urine test and all were negative. The next day the center called to tell me that my potassium was a little low. My other symptoms include extreme fatigue, a "floaty" feeling , trouble focusing my eyes and at times I feel as though I am going to vomit. I do not have a fever.I can not get in to see my PC until Friday and even though my potassium is 3.3 I wonder if that is causing my problems? I am quite sick and worry that maybe I shouldn't wait four more days to see a doctor

Answered by Dr. Dr.Raju.A.T (2 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for your query.

The symptoms you have are typical to states of low potassium .Though the potassium level you mentioned is not too low to be life threatening, I would recommend you to visit a XXXXXXX medicine specialist soon.

There are remedies to replace the potassium into the body orally or via injections but the site of loss and underlying cause for its low levels has to be made out to prevent further progression of the condition, for that you may have to visit the specialist.

A viral infection can also produce similar symptoms , hence a detailed examination by a internist will help to arrive at a specific cause and treat accordingly.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Regards,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar