Hypokalemic Sensory Overstimulation - Characterization of The Disorder

Characterization of The Disorder

The most prominent feature of hypokalemic sensory overstimulation is the feeling of sensory overstimulation that is characteristic of attention deficit disorder. In hypokalemic sensory overstimulation, the sensory overstimulation goes away abruptly after taking potassium supplements; one person described the disappearance of the sensory overstimulation as being “as if a shade had been pulled down” 20 minutes after she took a dose of oral potassium.

The sensory overstimulation is triggered by large carbohydrate meals, sodium chloride intake, and the period following exercise, the same factors known to trigger hypokalemic periodic paralysis. People with hypokalemic sensory overstimulation also have a reduced effectiveness of the local anesthetic lidocaine. This was first noted during minor surgery, in which one person was given lidocaine "in repeated injections totaling 15 mL because the patient reported continued sensation" but nevertheless he "could document the inadequacy of anesthesia by reporting accurately the location of forceps touches to the toe under conditions in which he could not see his toe". Similar reduced effectiveness of lidocaine in dental work was noted in his mother and in another family.