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Marker · Ranges for learning, not a diagnosis

BMP electrolytes

Also called sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, eGFR, basic metabolic panel.

The everyday basic blood panel: sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, creatinine and eGFR (kidney function), and often blood sugar and calcium. Serum magnesium is sometimes added, and it is still not red blood cell magnesium.

Read this first

  • Coach, not doctor. Aaron Cuha is a coach, not a doctor. No medical credential is claimed for him, or for these pages. A number on a blood test is something to talk over with a doctor, not something to diagnose yourself with. Nothing here is a prescription, a plan to follow, or a reason to start or stop a medicine. Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.
  • Knowledge stays free. Knowledge stays free. Every page, every guide and every tool is free to read and stays free. No partner paid for a place on these pages.
  • Three kinds of lab page, kept apart. /bloodwork is blood tests for people. /testing and /prices/labs are lab tests on peptide vials. /supplements/quality is what is in the bottle.

Why a longevity audience asks

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, low-carb eating and fasting change your fluids and salts. The owner's basic magnesium goes alongside this panel, not in place of it. Kidney function decides whether magnesium, potassium and many other bottles are safe.

How a coach reads it

Sodium near 135 to 145 mmol/L and potassium near 3.5 to 5.0 mmol/L are the usual lab ranges. Potassium out of range needs a doctor the same day. eGFR tells you whether a magnesium or potassium bottle is even safe to consider. This is not a diagnosis.

Units on this page: mmol/L, mL/min/1.73m2

When it is low

Low sodium or low potassium after a long fast, a hot week, or a GLP-1 dose change needs a doctor or urgent care, not a guessed-at electrolyte packet.

When it is high

High potassium with falling kidney function (eGFR) can be an emergency. Do not add potassium salt substitutes on your own.

Easy ways to misread it

  • A powdered electrolyte drink mix is not a blood test.
  • Creatine can raise creatinine without meaning the kidneys failed. Tell your doctor you take it.
  • Serum magnesium on this panel is not the owner's preferred magnesium test.

What to ask your doctor

Ask for a basic metabolic panel (BMP) with eGFR. Add red blood cell magnesium if you want to know your magnesium level. Say if you take creatine, a GLP-1, or a potassium salt.

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Sources on this page