The information on this site is intended to supplement and enhance, not replace, the advice of a physician who is familiar with your medical history. Decisions about your health should always be made ONLY after detailed conversation with your doctor.
Generic drug name:
potassium supplements
Brand name(s):
K-LOR,
KAOCHLOR,
KAON-CL,
KATO,
KAY/CIEL,
KLOTRIX,
MICRO-K,
SLOW-K
GENERIC:
not available
FAMILY:
Minerals
Find the drug label by
searching at DailyMed.
Limited Use
[what does this mean?]
Generic drug name:
extended release potassium supplements
(eks TEN ded re LEES poh TASS ee um)
Brand name(s):
K-DUR,
K-TABS
GENERIC:
available
FAMILY:
Other Heart Drugs
Find the drug label by
searching at DailyMed.
Pregnancy and Breast-feeding Warnings [top]
Pregnancy Warning
No data is available on the use of potassium supplements during pregnancy. Use during pregnancy only for clear medical reasons. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant before you take this drug.
Breast-feeding Warning
There is no information on the use of potassium supplements during nursing. There should be no problem as long as the mother’s potassium levels do not get too high.
Facts About This Drug [top]
If you need to get more of the mineral potassium, the safest and least expensive way is to eat more potassium-rich foods daily (see section on potassium supplementation for a discussion of dietary potassium). When researchers compared people eating a potassium-rich diet, people taking potassium supplements, and people taking drugs designed to keep potassium in the body, they found the following: (1) diet is the safest way to replace potassium and (2) potassium supplements and...
If you need to get more of the mineral potassium, the safest and least expensive way is to eat more potassium-rich foods daily (see section on potassium supplementation for a discussion of dietary potassium). When researchers compared people eating a potassium-rich diet, people taking potassium supplements, and people taking drugs designed to keep potassium in the body, they found the following: (1) diet is the safest way to replace potassium and (2) potassium supplements and potassium-sparing drugs return potassium levels to normal in only half the people who use them.
Potassium supplements can cause stomach and intestinal ulcers, bleeding, blockage, and perforation. Because of these serious potential adverse effects, you should only take supplements if you have been eating plenty of potassium-rich foods yet still have a low level of potassium in your blood (less than 3 millimoles per liter of blood).[1] Also, you should only take potassium supplements if you have adequate kidney function. The safest form of potassium supplement is an oral solution (liquid) of potassium chloride, and you should only use other forms if you cannot tolerate the liquid. However, enteric-coated potassium products should never be taken.
Before You Use This Drug [top]
Do not use if you have or have had:
Tell your doctor about any other drugs you take, including aspirin, herbs, vitamins, and other nonprescription products.
When You Use This Drug [top]
How to Use This Drug [top]
Interactions with Other Drugs [top]
The following drugs, biologics (e.g., vaccines, therapeutic antibodies), or foods are listed in Evaluations of Drug Interactions 2003 as causing “highly clinically significant” or “clinically significant” interactions when used together with any of the drugs in this section. In some sections with multiple drugs, the interaction may have been reported for one but not all drugs in this section, but we include the interaction because the drugs in this section are similar to one another. We have also included potentially serious interactions listed in the drug’s FDA-approved professional package insert or in published medical journal articles. There may be other drugs, especially those in the families of drugs listed below, that also will react with this drug to cause severe adverse effects. Make sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist the drugs you are taking and tell them if you are taking any of these interacting drugs:
angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, potassium-sparing diuretics, salt substitutes.
Adverse Effects [top]
Call your doctor immediately if you experience:
Call your doctor if these symptoms continue:
These adverse effects can be reduced by taking potassium with food or by using more liquid (water or juice) to dilute it.
Periodic Tests[top]
Ask your doctor which of these tests should be done periodically while you are taking this drug:
last reviewed June 30, 2024
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