Thread by @ekverstania

When we talk about hypokalaemia (e.g., from a channelopathy) as a cause of #SensoryOverload, many people think that a lab test will reliably reveal whether you lack potassium. So: no, lab tests are often unreliable for this. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

To add to the confusion, hyperkalaemic sensory overstimulation (sensory overload from too much potassium) can externally look similar to hypokalaemic sensory overstimulation (sensory overload from too little potassium).

As the paper states, "Potassium is predominantly intracellular; hence small shifts can cause large changes in the measured value. [...] clinicians must have a high-index of suspicion [...] when the laboratory values are not concordant with the clinical picture."

But there is a problem when clinicians do not even know what the clinical picture of hypokalaemic sensory overstimulation looks like. This is the primary reason why most autistic people who suffer from this treatable medical condition never get medical treatment for it.

And to make matters worse, the lack of suitable formal diagnostic treatment guidelines for hypo- and hyperkalaemic sensory overload in autistic people seems to have some kind of logical error behind it, something like this:

There's not a lot of research on potassium-related sensory overload in autistic people specifically (even though genes associated with hypokalaemic periodic paralysis, which also involves sensory overload) are also associated with autism...

...and therefore only people with diagnosed ion channel diseases are likely to get guidance or treatment. And do you know how few people get diagnosed with those ion channel diseases? Those diseases are considered rare.

Never mind that hypokalaemic sensory overstimulation can also happen to non-autistic people who don't have ion channel diseases, if they are simply undernourished.

We are not going to see an improvement in treatment for many debilitating medical conditions which affect autistic people as long as behaviourists are doing autism awareness training for healthcare practitioners.

Do you know which other people typically experience severe sensory overload? People with #MECFS and PASC (#LongCovid).

And do you know what else? These people ALSO often experience electrolyte dysregulation and potassium loss.

If the role of magnesium in treating hypokalaemia was commonly understood in the healthcare industry, you wouldn't have this professor bothering to do an entire online lecture about it to healthcare professionals.

https://twitter.com/tony_breu/status/1058413700233773056

I've met hospital doctors who can't tell you what a clinical presentation of magnesium deficiency looks like, by the way. Not kidding.

Do you know how often I come across autistic people who say they're OK with being autistic, they just wish they didn't have to face discrimination and sensory overload.

What are the chances of either of those being addressed as a priority in a healthcare setting while clinical professionals are getting training on the red flags and deficits of autism from people who make their money from ABA?

More about treating sensory overload:

https://twitter.com/ekverstania/status/1508930800645189632?t=TKq0o_S6OIEBep9-B8Z3kg&s=19