What Is The Difference Between 99 Milligrams Of Potassium Chloride And 20 Meq?

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I was taking potassium cl er 20meq & im out of them so im trying to find something equivalent to that over the counter. How many 99 milligrams of potassium can I take to make one 20 meq dose?

11 Replies

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1

There is no direct conversion that I can figure out. Has your doctor instructed you continue with the Potassium? Because too much of it can also be dangerous, so you shouldn't continue, unless they instruct you to do so.

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2

Original prescription was for Potassium Chloride 1080 to take two 3 times a day; for some reason the pharmacy gave me potassium tabs 10meq to take 1 three times a day. Is it the same dosage?

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3

My husband is taking potassium 20 meq. Today we bought potassium 99mg. Can he take that? What is the equivalent to his 20 meq?

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4

Is 99mg of potassium more or last then 20 meq potassium?

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5

It's less. Equivalent to about 1500 mgs of potassium but in a different form.

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6

I need to know how many 99mg of Potassium to take to make 1 x 20meq's?

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7

I need an over the counter conversion for Potassium Chloride ER M-20 MEQ TAB. I need to take two a day and my script didn’t get changed before the weekend. I’m out right now and Trillium won’t cover it as they say it’s too early. Is it cheaper to buy an over the counter product, or is there even one?

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8

What is the 20meq versus the 99 mg in the store?

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9

Top Answer
Juli's answer is correct: 20 mEq is approximately 1,485 mg.

The conversion between mg and mEq is a bit tricky and requires some chemistry knowledge but I will note the calculations below.

"A milligram, abbreviated mg, is a metric unit of mass or weight defined as one thousandth of a gram. A milliequivalent is a measure of the quantity of ions in an electrolyte fluid. One milliequivalent is one thousandth of one mole of charges and is represented by the symbol mEq. The ions of different elements vary in mass, so it is necessary to know the atomic or molecular weight of the ions and their valence before a you calculate a conversion.

To convert milligrams to milliequivalents use the formula: mEq = (mg x valence) / atomic or molecular weight." [1]

Disclaimer: I am not a chemistry expert and am only tinkering with calculations based on a page which I am linking to at the bottom.

Potassium Chrloride (KCl) has a valence of 1 atom and a molar mass of 74.5513 g/mol.

1. 99 mg times a valence of 1 = 99

2. 99 divided by a 74.5513 molar mass ~ 1.33 mEq

3. 1.33 mEq goes into 20 mEq ~ 15 times

4. 15 times 99 mg is approximately 1,485 mg.

I don't think the dosage is meant to translate directly as they are taken in different forms. I wouldn't recommend taking a solid dose of Potassium Chloride to try and replace an electrolyte solution unless your doctor or pharmacist says it's okay. And I'd appreciate it if someone could verify the accuracy of my calculations and correct me if necessary.

[1] https://sciencing.com/how-to-calculate-solubility-from-ksp-13710440.html
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10

How many 99mg do I take to equal 20mEq?

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11

Re: Henrietta (# 10) Expand Referenced Message

According to the previous reply, it would be about 15 of the 99mg doses. But you should check with your pharmacist just to be safe.

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