I am calling my dr tomorrow. I have not been feeling well since....well awhile....my bloods from November showed low potassium 3.4 and low sodium 1.36. I have had low sodium in the past where my dr has called me and told me I needed to eat more salt. I found that strange because I eat foods that are bad for me...potato chips, fast food...etc. I drink alot of soda and hardly ever drink water. Dont get me wrong I eat salads and vegetables and stuff.

Anyways my question is I have noticed that in crease on the back of my legs and the creases on my arms are tanner. Same with in between my legs:D.
I will be showing this to my dr.

I have Decadron (for other reasons)that I have not taken. Would taking this help me feel better? I wont take it without consulting my dr. dont get me wrong. I am just curious.


My question is what tests should I be asking for since back in November he said my thyroid was fine (I dont know what tests he did). I'm assuming not the full run.

I have reason to believe that my mom has skin lupus (every summer in the sun she gets nasty lupus rashes). I am pushing her to get checked that way I know if auto immune runs in the family.

Please give me your advice..

Thanks
Mindy

Well... there are salt tablets that are buffered with potassium that might be good for you - thermo-tabs. As well as some plain old V-8 (the kind without reduced sodium, that is) as that will give you both sodium and potassium.
As for the decadron - that is a very long lasting steroid. Personally, I am not a fan of long lasting steroids. They do not let the body go up and down like a normal body is supposed to and therefore, you end up with far more problems in the immediate time (no sleep) and in the long run (cataracts to muscle atrophy to bone necrosis to name a few).
For the discoloration - it could be hyperpigmentation, but usually if it is in folds like that, it also could be blood sugar so you need to get tested for that too.
Yes, auto-immune runs in families... we all got hashimoto's and I seemed to have recieved the mother lode of auto-immune so once you get one, you can get er, lucky and get a bunch.
Don't assume what your doc ran - ever! Get a copy before you leave the office - always! They tend to overlook and *gasp* lie - so don't trust the whole "normal" thing - get a copy, see what they ran and track it yourself. And if the guy only ran a TSH - get rid of him.

Thank you very much for your reply. I know not many people have this so it is hard to find loads of information and to hear from others.
As for the hyperpigmentation in the folds is just a few I mentioned. I have been getting these brown freckle looking things on my arms, face and hand. I have small brown spots kinda like small cafe au lait marks. I always thought it was just age marks. I will ask for bloodsugar tests too. I am going to have him run me thru the ringer.

My mother found out 2 years ago that she is borderline diebetic so..THANK YOU for the information.

Mindy

You are welcome.
Docs also try to make it hard to challenge them so it is not just you... it is just years of being sick and ending up this way that I realized uh oh - I better learn or I will stay like this.
I also have a lot of the spots so it could be one, the other or a combo - only testing will tell.
I hope your doc will run all the tests you want. For thyroid make sure he runs free T3 and free T4 and antibodies - that should at least say what the thyroid is doing itself.