How much potassium is too much on 40mg Telmisartan?

[Guna]

I know Telmisartan causes us to reatain potassium and that hyperkylemia is a concern. I cannot find anywhere after extensive searching how that fact impacts how much we should consume. 4.5 grams is the recommended amount. I think this would be very helpful to understand especially given that statins are taken due to steroids impact on the RAAS system which electrolytes play a huge part in. You want high potassium to avoid bloat and you take Telmisartan for bp/bloat but high potassium could kill you. Say your 100kg and on 40 mg Telmisartan and 12mh HCTZ how much potassium is too much?

 

[BioDad]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since telmisartan has potassium-retaining effects, I would assume that even eating a low potassium diet would still have your body's potassium circulating at a moderate-high level. In essence, the potassium-retaining effects of telmisartan would artificially amplify the amount of dietary potassium you intake, so even a low-potassium diet would equate to a moderate-high potassium diet of someone not taking telmisartan. Therefore, you wouldn't suffer the typical consequences of a low-potassium diet. I hope I worded that in a way that makes sense.

I agree with this. Potassium balance, including serum potassium levels, have to do with 1) intake, 2) utilization/distribution, and 3) excretion, which is based on a number of individual factors, making labs important. Utilization/distribution, for example, is impacted by pH, insulin signalling, and beta-adrenergic tone.

Reducing excretion will increase levels to some degree, but will be highly variable based on the individual.