Bob is in the hospital
@GardenGerty (169449)
United States
March 26, 2026 9:52pm CST
Tuesday we saw the cardiologist, changed a couple of medications. This was a follow up report from testing in February. He said Bob needs heart catheterization. (He said I do too.)
Today, Thursday, we had further follow up from the fall that Bob had before spring break. Our primary care doctor ran labs. Gave orders to change another med. Expressed her concerns and then I had my med check with her.
We drove home, and had been home maybe fifteen minutes when the clinic called and told me I needed to take Bob to the ER. His potassium was critically high.
He was monitored, given one bag of "normal saline" and a chest x ray. Chest x-ray was decent. Potassium came down some, but they wanted to admit him for observation.
High potassium is very bad for your heart and your kidneys. The med our primary wanted to cut in half has to do with potassium balance, so she was right on top of things. She is a real smarty. We are blessed to have her.
He may be released tomorrow, or the next day at the latest. I took tomorrow off of school.
After they took Bob to a room, he was given a big cheeseburger, and a bowl of strawberries. He is going to have to cut out a lot of his high potassium foods.
For now I am heading to bed.
23 people like this
20 responses
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
@rebelann oranges, and leafy greens,
3 people like this
@rebelann (117218)
• El Paso, Texas
27 Mar
I had forgotten about them, I rarely eat them @changjiangzhibin89 Thank you 
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (122122)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
27 Mar
Hopefully Bob will feel better soon.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
He is well enough to be at home and he really feels better there.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (122122)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
28 Mar
@GardenGerty Good to know.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135690)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Mar
Hope he is back home soon. Glad they are getting it down
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
He is home today. We will monitor his labs with a new medication routine.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
Yes, I am glad we are addressing this quickly.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59151)
•
27 Mar
I hope he will be OK. With all you have going on I don’t know how you even have the time to go to work. Big hugs, big prayers!!
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
In a way work is my therapy. I do need some kind of extra income to balance things, but I am working on that becoming in home work.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
@MarieCoyle Right now his dementia like symptoms really bother me.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59151)
•
28 Mar
@GardenGerty
I hope you can care for Bob as his official caregiver. I know this all has to be very difficult. 
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (34218)
•
27 Mar
It's good that he won't be on there very long Heather.
I hope you are ok, it's a lot to deal with as well as your own health
High potassium foods, what sort of things are they?
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
Leafy greens, oranges, bananas, potatoes. I will look some more. All of them are things he likes. It was not a problem until the medications got him messed up, though.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
@Ineeddentures He is good today. He only took a short nap yesterday. Today he slept about three hours, but we started him on a new medicine last night that will make him drowzy.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (34218)
•
28 Mar
@GardenGerty
I eat loads of bananas and tatties Heather
I ate 5 bananas yesterday.and.gkt another bunch today
Plus I made chips and had spinach also
How is Bob doing now?
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120689)
• United States
27 Mar
Heather, I will pray, and I’ll ask my dad to pray too. I commonly hear people’s potassium is too low, but I rarely hear someone say theirs is too high.
Please keep us updated. We love you and Bob so much, and we are sending you a tremendous amount of love.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
I think there is a certain ratio of potassium and sodium that has to be maintained. It is much more common to hear of low potassium, but one of his diuretics is "potassium sparing" in that it does not cause him to lose it when he urinates. Then he lost weight and it had a bigger effect. We are also going to start him on a medication for dementia.I keep wondering if any of your medications causes you to secrete and eliminate magnesium.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
@AmbiePam Good to hear that your doctor is looking into that. Some people think you can just pop a pill and be okay, but not all pills work well for all people.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120689)
• United States
28 Mar
@GardenGerty There is one of my medications me and my primary are suspicious of, and I go in Monday to talk about a possible connection.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
Mainly he had to have saline solution and then we have cut out medicines that are increasing his potassium.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
@LadyDuck Yes, and for the heart. Now our primary care doctor is not so sure he should have the heart catheterization, so we will have to wait and see.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502316)
• Italy
28 Mar
@GardenGerty - too much or too little potassium is a problem for the kidneys.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174335)
• United States
28 Mar
I hope you and Bob are both feeling better soon! I hope everything goes well for him in the hospital. You both worry me.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
I do not feel bad, and the "irregular beats" he says he saw on the stress test could be really unusual.A fluke. My primary care doctor says that she thinks it is a good idea to get the heart cath because I have not had any strokes or heart attacks so we may be preventing them.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174335)
• United States
30 Mar
@GardenGerty I would worry about heart surgery, even though I know I have a persistent murmur since I was a kid... It always worries new-to-me doctors until I tell them I've had it forever.
Whatever you decide to do, I'll keep you both in my thoughts.
@RasmaSandra (97991)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Mar
Quick healings to Bob and I will put him in my prayers.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
Thank you. He is much better now, and I hope still improving.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
He was only kept for observation. We will follow up with labs again on Monday.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
I feel like our doctor is a real blessing. Staying overnight just helps them take care of the levels better than I can.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
29 Mar
@JudyEv That is always a good thing.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381954)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Mar
@GardenGerty Vince has a great doctor too. It does bring peace of mind for sure.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222310)
• United States
28 Mar
I'm so sorry for all of this. I hope Bob is better soon. I have to watch my potassium, sodium and phosphorus due to the kidney disease. I've had to change my whole diet. Bob will need to do that too. I'm sorry you both need a cath.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208843)
• United States
27 Mar
Good they caught it. From what you were describing Bob was not doing well, so I hope getting the potassium straightened out will help him feel better.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
It is a journey for sure. He is also seeming to have dementia problems. We will address those as well. For his age he is pretty healthy, but when things go wrong they are bad.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)
• China
27 Mar
Fortunately the doctor has an intimate knowledge of potassium balance !
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
Yes, our doctor is very well informed of what to do to stay withing optimum guidelines.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86618)
• United States
27 Mar
Wow, I’m so thankful they were on the ball in regard to checking things and responding to an abnormal level!!! I pray he’s doing better quickly. You, too…a loved one having medical problems is taxing on everyone in the family.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
I have lived this before, playing nurse to my first husband when he had ALS. Other family members as well. I have cut back on work and if I have to I will quit. I am checking into whether the VA will pay me caretaker wages. It is in process.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
I am doing what I can for my own well being. My plants and my cats bring me joy.
@Marilynda1225 (91069)
• United States
27 Mar
I'm sorry to hear that Bob is in the hospital but glad they caught his potassium levels and are addressing the issue. Hope he's able to come home soon. Prayers for both of you
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
I am sure that this contributed to his weakness and falling. I had no idea it could be so serious.
@GardenGerty (169449)
• United States
27 Mar
Meat is not a good source of potassium. They would not let him have french fries or lettuce. Part of the reason his levels get so high is because he lost so much weight and he really likes potatoes, oranges, bananas, V8 juice and those are problematic.
1 person likes this
