Potassium 300mg

Purchased this supplement last Wednesday 3rd June at Chemist Warehouse, Cornmarket Centre, Cork, Ireland. I thought it would help some cramps I was having due to my potassium being depleted because of high dose steroids and potassium rich foods were not working.

The biggest mistake of my life. I tried to take 1 tablet with water and it was so large I could not swallow it. I tried 3 times. I cut it in half and it got stuck in my throat and I felt my throat and mouth were on fire. It wouldn't budge from my throat and I couldn't breathe. My husband was in the house luckily and he was banging my back and I couldn't talk. He tried the Heimlich manoeuvre which didn't work either. It took over 15 minutes to dislodge the piece of tablet from my throat and it shot out of my mouth from the banging on my back. Since then I have a raw throat, my voice is very weak and hoarse and have developed a permanent cough which is wracking and am having trouble breathing and I am sweating all the time. My husband tried to stay calm but he said afterwards that he thought I was going to die.

I phoned the Chemist warehouse pharmacist where I purchased the product but was barely able to talk to them with the coughing, sore throat and chest pain. I wanted to know if this had happened to any other customer when using this product for the first time. Why was I getting a hot burning feeling in my throat and chest???? They didn't give me any satisfaction whatsoever. In fact they told me they would not be giving me a refund because I had already opened the bottle and used 1 tablet. They had absolutely no comprehension that I actually came so close to actually choking to death. It was unbelievable. They said I would have to contact you Lifeplan if I wanted a refund. A refund was certainly not my first priority - my health and well being after a near choking episode was the most important thing to me. They said they would check it out with their manager and phone me back. That was last Wednesday and they have not phoned me since.

I got worse as the days have gone on. I went to another branch of chemist warehouse in Ballincollig, Co. Cork yesterday and have to say the staff there were exceptionally helpful . As I was walking around the shop I was coughing constantly so much that people were avoiding me. After 15 minutes I got so bad I had to throw my self on a chair as I found it so difficult to breathe. 5 staff members came to my assistance immediately and I had to try and explain through all the coughing and pain what had happened on Wednesday with the 1 potassium tablet. One ran to the fridge to get me a cold bottle of water. The manageress brought me some hot water which helped soothe my throat. They wanted to call an ambulance for me they felt I was so bad. I didn't want to go in an ambulance. So they said I have to be seen by a doctor immediately.

I did get to a doctor within an hour and discovered I have now developed a lung infection from the tablet being stuck in my throat and need antibiotics to try and help my breathing. I am warning people not to take these Potassium supplements as they are so large - like bullets and not very safe - In fact there should be a health warning on them stressing they are too large for many people to swallow - even a half one in my case. So I am here now still coughing and choking and feeling very weak. The chemist warehouse in Ballincollig did refund me the €8.99 I paid but that was never going to be an issue for me. They were superb in looking after me in an exceptional manner. I can not say enough positive things about all the staff who came to help me.

I would be very interested to hear from your company Lifeplan regarding my shocking and very upsetting experience with this Potassium supplement .

If I could give a zero Rating I certainly would. I feel lucky to be alive after this traumatic experience.

Please either make these tablets smaller or take the current ones off the market. You do not want to have a customer's death on your hands. I am not being a bit dramatic - I am just stating a fact.

My email address is [****]

I’ve regularly taken this supplement for more years than I care to remember. But when taking many supplements of one sort or another on a daily basis, it’s impossible to ‘isolate’ or state the benefits of just one supplement ie in this instance, Potassium, when taken in conjunction with many other supplements! Thus it remains one of my many assortment of supplements that I’ll continue to take.