Christina explains how insulin and potassium shift between cells. High blood sugar pulls potassium out of cells, raising serum levels. Insulin pushes glucose back in, and potassium follows, dropping serum potassium dangerously low. Nurses must monitor both closely in hyperglycemic patients, especially those with DKA.
In this video, we are going to talk about the relationship between insulin and potassium and which one shifts where and when. I'm going to tell you exactly what you need to know about those insulin and potassium shifts for nursing school. Let's do it. Hey there, friend Christina here with nursingschoolofsuccess.com helping you to raise your grades and have more free time in nursing school. Yes, it's totally possible. So if you're like me, you're struggling with fluid and electrolytes in nursing school, right? And specifically, I had a really difficult time with this concept of insulin and potassium and glucose. And what happens to the potassium level when you give insulin, and if there's too much glucose, will the potassium level increase or will it decrease or what's going on? So we're gonna put an end to all of that confusion right here. I'm gonna break this all down super simple for you. So the first thing you need to understand is that there are two different places that fluids and electrolytes can be, and that is inside of the cell or the intracellular fluid, or the icf, or outside of the cell called the extracellular fluid, or the ecf. Normally, potassium hangs out inside of the cell. Now, I like to think of potassium as a little home body. It likes to hang out and stay all nice and cozy inside of the cell. So potassium hangs out in the ICF or the intracellular fluid. But when there's too much glucose outside of the cell in the extracellular fluid or the ecf, potassium gets a little curious. It wants to join the party that glucose is having. So potassium then moves outside of the cell to see what all the fuss is about. So let's say you have a patient with hyperglycemia, meaning their blood sugar level is high. What do you think is going to happen with that potassium level? Will it increase or will it decrease? Don't worry. I'm just going to wait here while you think about it. The potassium level will increase because potassium will have moved outside of the cell, which then raises the potassium level. The potassium isn't hiding away in the cell anymore. It's moved outside of the cell to go to the party that all that glucose is throwing. Now, when that party gets a little too out of control, there's too much glucose around, and they're getting a little too rowdy. The police need to. And the police is insulin. So insulin comes and moves glucose into the cells where it belongs. And the potassium, like we said before, potassium is a really big home body. It doesn't like to shake things up too much or cause a ruckus or anything. It just came out of the cell to see what was going on. And when glucose was having that big, big party, it just wanted to see what the fuss was about. But now the insulin police is here. It's going to go back into its home, into its cell, so it doesn't get trouble. So it's going to move back into the cell. So what is going to happen with the potassium level when insulin arrives? No rush. I'll just pause here while you think about it. If you said the potassium level was going to drop when insulin arrives, you are 100% correct, my friend. When insulin shows up, potassium moves back into the cell out of the ecf, causing the potassium level to drop. Now, why is this so important? Well, if you have a patient with hyperglycemia, like during diabetes or dka, and you give them insulin, you need to be very careful with that potassium level. You need to monitor it as they're receiving insulin treatment, because you don't want that potassium level to drop too low. That can be very, very dangerous. So you need to monitor their potassium level closely when you're giving insulin therapy, along with monitor, obviously their glucose levels closely as well. Now, if you found this video helpful, make sure to hit that like button, share it with your friends. And, of course, don't forget to subscribe and click on the little bell so you never miss a video. Now go become the nurse that God created only you to be, and I'll see you in the next video.
